Page 70 of Cruel Hearts

I raised a shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Now you know what it feels like.” His fingers curled into fists.

“You’re looking well, considering.” At a time like this, there was no point in telling him that I’d been innocent of dealing cocaine, while he had been as guilty as buggery.

“Better than Stevie and Trevor Nelson.” He paused to make several shallow breaths. “They’re lying on mortuary slabs.”

I swallowed. This was what I meant about the man being invincible. He gets thrown in jail and comes out looking like the Terminator, then he gets shot, but it’s his attackers who die. There was no point in asking if Billy Hancock had regained his stolen territory. He probably took control of the Nelson brothers’ turf while waiting for the ambulance.

My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips. “Over Christmas, I looked through Mother’s old bedroom. There was a photo of you and her in Glasgow—”

“You want to know if I’m your biological father?” He opened his eyes.

I nodded.

“I could have been,” he whispered.

Without meaning to, I edged closer to the hospital bed. The scent of antiseptic mingled with Billy’s signature scent, Obsession For Men. Its spicy musk used to make my stomach lurch, but now, I felt nothing.

“Maybe if you were, I might have treated you better.” Regret shone in his eyes. “When you were around three, we tried for another baby but it didn’t happen. That’s when I found out a childhood bout of mumps made me infertile.”

Cold disappointment shrouded my heart and lowered it down to my belly. After my conversation with Lady Liddell, I had hoped my biological father was Billy Hancock. It was a damn sight better than any of the alternatives.

“Oh,” I said.

“Sorry, treacle.” He hadn’t called me that since I was a toddler.

A surge of sentiment filled my chest, and tears filled my eyes. I reached down and placed my hand in his. “It would have been nice but thank you for putting a roof over my head.”

“I’m so glad you came.” He raised my hand to his lips and pressed a dry kiss on my knuckles. Once the euphoria of his near-death experience faded, I hoped he wouldn’t return to hating me again. “When I’m gone—”

“Don’t say that.”

“Lilah.” His eyes reverted to their usual hardness. “Your mother is in no state to run my empire. We both know that.”

My insides writhed with dread. This was where he would bequeath his empire to me, then I would become the next target of any up-and-coming dickhead with a gun who fancied himself as a drug lord. Even if I agreed just to please him, I’d seal my fate. Word would spread that I’d taken control, and rival gangs would never give me a moment of peace.

“That’s why I’m joining forces with Sammy Kettering. He’s promised to take care of you and your mother if anything happens to me.”

“Oh.” I masked my disappointment. Sammy was more suited to the quieter life associated with growing and distributing weed. Maybe in their plot to capture me up in Glasgow, Billy Hancock had seen something in my ex that I’d missed.

“He’s a good man with a good head for business. You and he could build up the firm and take over all territories within Richley.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked. “Sammy and I broke up months ago.”

Billy Hancock chuckled. “Don’t throw your toys out of the pram because of a little slap.”

Any affection I might have had for the man evaporated as memories of him brutalizing Mother rushed to the surface. Of me pounding at him with my little fists only for him to scoop me up and dangle me over snapping dogs. In his world, domestic violence was a man’s right.

I pulled my hand away from his and walked to the exit. Billy Hancock didn’t call me back. If this was any other day and he wasn’t laid up in bed recovering from being shot in the chest, I could expect those massive hands to grab me by the back of the neck and force me to listen.

After pulling the door open, the policemen parted, revealing Maxwell standing in the hallway between Crawford and Sammy. While Maxwell stared ahead, the other two turned to him as though burning the sides of his face with their glares. Thank fuck the police were here to stop their aggression from turning physical.

As soon as our eyes met, all the tension melted off Maxwell’s face. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Thanks for coming with me.” I crossed the hallway, placed my hands on his shoulders and gave him a peck on his lips.

He wrapped a strong arm around my middle. “Let’s get a taxi outside.”