Free Die Hard Mod by Charlie McQuaker Page B

You don’t own me and it’s my business who I see.’
    ‘So what about the other night, then?’
    Jeanie cackled.
    ‘Oh get a grip, Steve. A quick drunken shag up an alleyway does not a relationship make.’
    Steve’s precious memory of a sensuous moment was shattered.
    ‘Thanks Jeanie. It’s good to know it meant as much to you as it did to me. But I just don’t get it… I’m under no illusions about my status in life but fuckin’ Cubitt… how could you ever get mixed up with a psycho bastard like that?’
    Jeanie began walking away.
    ‘Answer me, Jeanie. How could you be with such an evil scumbag?’
    Jeanie turned round and glared at him.
    ‘Okay, you asked for it Steve. Because he’s a real man, not some day-dreaming backstreet loser. Oh, and he’s the best fuck I’ve ever had. I come every time with him and if you really want to know, I always had to fake it with you. It’s hard to get too aroused by someone that deep down, you just feel sorry for.’
    Steve flinched like a dog that had just been kicked.
    ‘Ach please, Jeanie…’
    All he could was stand and watch as she faded from view in the hazy sunshine.

 
     
    25
     
    Steve spent the next few weeks in a fug of despair. Work at the Regency house provided a welcome distraction. A dividing wall needed removing in one of the larger rooms on the second floor and Steve relished taking out his frustration on it. One Friday afternoon, as the rest of the workers started slacking off as the weekend beckoned, Bobby felt compelled to have a word.
    ‘For fuck’s sake slow down a bit, boss. You’re showing the rest of us up.’
    ‘Hard graft is the best therapy I know, Bobby, but maybe yer right.’
    He put the sledgehammer down.
    ‘Okay, I’ll pace myself so that this wee job takes me up ‘til knockin’ off time. And ye better be up for goin’ for a pint instead of buggerin’ off to see yer girl again.’
    ‘Alright boss. The gaffer’s gonna let us get off early today so Cooper’s Cask at four o’clock it is. You never know your luck… there might be some nice chicks around to admire those bulging biceps you’ve been growing lately.’
    Bobby was good to his word and by five, the pair already had a couple of pints under the belt as the barmaid brought two home-made quarter-pound beef burgers with chunky fries to their table.
    ‘Could ye get us another couple of pints, luv?’ said Steve.
    With their meals quickly devoured and a fresh pint put in front of them, Steve and Bobby lent back contentedly and watched the pub fill up with the Friday night crowd. Bobby knew all about the ill-fated meeting with Jeanie and its effect on Steve’s mood but they’d avoided the subject until half way through the third pint.
    ‘So boss, hope that encounter was enough to draw a line under the Jeanie saga. Time you got out there and found yourself a nice easy-going Brighton girl who won’t fuck with your mind or put you in mortal danger.’
    ‘Yeah yeah, I know mate but the other thing I’ve been worryin’ about is that I don’t have a baldy notion what’s been happenin’ back home. Like have Trevor and Donzo been tryin’ to find out where I am or have the peelers been on their case or wha’?’
    ‘Maybe its time you called one of your home-town confidants to find out how the land lies, boss.’
    Steve nodded.
    ‘Aye, sure I got maself a wee pay-as-you-go job the other day. About time I made use of it.’
    After another pint, they made for home so that Bobby could wash and change before he went to meet Helen while Steve was happy to veg out on the sofa. Around seven, he heard Bobby shout ‘Have a nice evening, boss’ as he left the flat. With the place to himself, he finally felt ready to put in a call to Johnny Bell to see if there was any significant news from Belfast . He called Johnny’s landline number, which he knew by heart.
    ‘Steve, is that you? Good fuckin’ job you called, hombre. Can’t say for sure if it’ll have got back to