Page 130 of Into the Dark
I laugh. “I’ll have to look out for that next time.”
We’re silent for a few seconds, and then she’s eyeing me closely over the rim of her glass.
“So, a doctor.”
“Yep.”
I think she wants to say something more, but I’m not sure. It reminds me of whenever I ask my patients a particular question and they’re afraid to tell me the answer in case it’s a symptom of something awful.
“Must be really weird,” she goes on, “people always wanting to tell you everything that’s wrong with them all the time, ask you things. Do you get it at bus stops and stuff?”
“I don’t get the bus very often,” I say, and we both laugh.
She comes around the kitchen then and gestures with me to follow her into the living room. As we pass the stairs I glance down and strain my ear for the sound of screaming or shouting or worse coming from below, but I hear nothing. Only the sound of some inoffensive pop music fills the air from speakers hidden in the walls. I take a seat on the large corner sofa facing the TV, and Steph sits across from me on a shorter white sofa with lots of cushions propped stylishly over it. She kicks off her gold heels and pulls her legs up under her, dragging a hand through her hair.
“He’s all right, you know,” she says suddenly, casting a look at me. “I mean, he gets a reputation, but he’s all right.”
Confused, I frown at her. “Jake?”
She gives a small flash of a smile. “No—Freddy.”
“Oh, right.”
“I mean, everyone thinks he’s a complete bastard, but he’s not—not when you get to know him. He’s very loyal,” she explains. Unsure of how to respond to that, I just nod, hoping it tells her something at least. “I’ve been around far worse than him. Some of them who used to come into the club were fucking pigs. Treated us like meat.”
“Club?” Not Jake’s, surely.
“Talia’s.”
“Talia’s?”
“Oh, I thought Jake would have mentioned it at some point. It’s one of Freddy’s places, a bar I used to dance in.”
“He mentioned something about you being a dancer,” I say, and Steph’s eyes widen a little. It occurs to me Jake has likely watched her dance. If Jake hung out at Freddy’s places then he’ll have seen Steph half-naked and dancing on a pole. That’s what they do, right? Dance on poles. Christ, does he still go there? I’m not sure I’m okay with that.
“Yeah, well, that was a while ago now—I haven’t done it for almost a year. Freddy offered me another job and then we got together, so now I’m a lady of lee-zure.” She laughs again, shaking her head as she slugs back a mouthful of wine.
“Living the dream.” I smile though I’m not sure I mean it. Is this Steph’s dream, to be a kept woman by one of the most notorious gangsters in London? I can’t blame her for seeing Freddy as a ticket out of Talia’s strip club. Jewelry, a home with a swimming pool, and trips to Antigua are a far better prospect than taking your clothes off for drunk men in exchange for money. Even I can see that. Faced with limited options, people made difficult choices—isn’t that what Jake taught me? I wonder how much Steph knows about what her savior does when he’s not with her though. Does she put it from her mind easier than I do? Does she worry about him like I worry about Jake?
I consider what will happen to her when Jake does what he has to do. When Freddy’s dark empire is destroyed from the inside out. I feel a creep of guilt move over me.
When I look at her, she’s watching me carefully. Maybe she’s also wondering how much I know about what Jake does when he’s not with me. No doubt she thinks I’m the naïve doctor from out of town who’s in the dark about it. I’m guessing “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a large part of the life people like Jake and Freddy and Steph live. I’m an outsider, not to be trusted.
“You’re not the kind of person I pictured him with,” she says, then she clears her throat and sips her wine again. “I mean, not like I pictured him with anyone, I just mean guys like Jake. That sounds bad. I just mean…” She trails off awkwardly.
“It’s okay, I get it.” I offer her a smile. “We’re not an obvious couple, I suppose.”
“Fuck, I mean, Fred and me aren’t either—so fuck everyone else, right? And forget what I just said—fuck me too.” She laughs, and I find myself laughing with her. I like Steph. She’s open and funny and seems genuinely sweet. After a moment, her face turns serious. Her voice is low when she asks, “So is it true? Did Jake really put Kev in the hospital?”
I swallow and look away, but it’s enough to confirm it.
“Ugh. I wish I could have seen it. I hope he made it hurt. There aren’t a lot of people I hate more than that fucking prick…” Her soft eyes are hard, mouth tight.
“Oh, he made it hurt,” I answer quietly.
Steph’s eyes gleam, and she opens her mouth to say something else when the sound of heavy footsteps distracts her.
There’s nothing on his face to indicate what they spoke about, whether or not I should be worried, but Jake seems to be searching my face for something. He glances at Steph and then back at me, and I give him another of my reassuring smiles.