CHAPTER 49

Six months later…

The past six months have just flown past. I went back to college and picked up where I left off with my GCSE's. In no time I had caught up the two months I had taken off when I had Lily, I have now completed the syllabus and am waiting for the time to arrive to take my exams. I am confident that I will pass and so are my tutors at the college. They have already started talking about A levels and other qualifications and there has even been talk of eventually applying for university and degrees. I had been astounded at that but how I am feeling at the moment I am finally beginning to realise that it is only my own doubts and insecurities which hold me back.

Gideon has been amazing, so supportive of me and my ambitions. I really hit the jackpot that day when he ran into me and I insulted him. He has also been brilliant with Del, offering him encouragement and helping him to realise dreams which even he didn't know he had. The change in Del since he started working at Cross Industries has been astonishing. He took the opportunity that was given to him and he just ran with it. As soon as he discovered how much he would be earning he asked me about the classes I had been taking to get my GCSE's. I had pointed him in the right direction and he is now enrolled in evening classes and is also doing really well and on track to get his basic education qualifications. I have been helping him with some of his coursework, it's the least I could do.

Maisie is going from strength to strength. She is devouring the work the school is setting her. Lily is growing like a weed. She is six months old now and so aware and alert. I have a feeling she too is going to be a clever little madam. She reminds me so much of Maisie at that age, so curious of everything around her and smashing her developmental milestones.

Cross Industries is also going from strength to strength under Gideon's watch. It is clear his grandfather's strangle hold on the company and his reluctance to move with the times was slowly destroying it. His approach worked in the 1970's and 1980's but now it is totally wrong for the modern era. Geoff's decision to pass the company straight to Gideon upon his father's death was the best decision he could've made as now it is streamlined, lean, efficient and thriving. It was stuck in the 1970's and slowly dying when Gideon got his hands on it, now though it is looking forward to the future. The decision to close the head office and the factory in Manchester was the best decision that could've been made. There was one decision which had to be made recently which wasn't so pleasant. Despite the time and effort Gideon put into the Burnley depot things didn't improve as they should've done and it was with huge regret that in the end, they were beginning to bring the whole company down and Gideon had to make the decision to close the depot. Not a popular decision but necessary and the results spoke for themselves. Profits increased by 25 per cent in the first month after Burnley closed and have slowly risen since then. We have taken the majority of the customer base who used that depot and we have had a lot of positive feedback about how much better it has been dealing with us here in Stoke rather than Burnley. That we seem to be far more efficient than Burnley ever was, and a number of customers have said they should've come to us long before now. A handful of the Burnley staff relocated to Stoke. David Williamson was one of them and he has seamlessly slotted into the Stoke Picking Area and is tipped to take over from George as picking area supervisor when George retires later this year.

Gideon tortured himself over the decision to close Burnley. He had the stats sent down weekly and despite the warnings and change of management they could never hit the levels of productivity which were needed to keep the depot viable. It was a tough decision and one which I know gave him a number of sleepless nights before he finally came to terms with it. I had quietly been at his side offering him what support I could. I'm fully aware that we are one of a dwindling number of manufacturing companies left in the UK and with the tough competition from places like China we have to be ruthless to survive. Gideon has taken the tough decision to keep the company healthy and prospering.

It's March now and the first signs of spring are starting to be seen. It was a hard winter with quite a lot of snow this year and seeing Maisie playing outside in the garden in it and watching her build snowmen with Gideon, Declan, Reece and Kyle was a joy to watch. Kyle was in his element with the camera that Gideon gave him photographing the snow and some of the candid photographs he captured of his brothers and niece playing and having snowball fights were absolutely stunning.

We got a visit from Charles the other night. Apparently, Nathan is trying once again to be released. His four-year sentence comes to an official end next month and it appears he has managed to convince the powers that be that he is not any threat to me or Maisie. He has been made aware that if he were to be released that conditions would need to be met. Charles has worked tirelessly objecting and offering evidence to prove that Nathan is a lying bastard who is just saying what everyone wants to hear.

I have a feeling Gideon is planning something. What it is, I have no idea but I have seen him in deep discussion with granddad and dad after Charles had made us aware of Nathan's intentions, so I am certain something is afoot. I haven't said anything to Maisie. I have no idea if I should or not. She is so happy now and looks upon Gideon as her father. It is almost as if she has forgotten Nathan ever existed and I don't want to remind her that he does and potentially cast a shadow over her obvious happiness and contentment. But on the other hand, if Nathan does manage to get to her somehow, would it be better if she is prepared? I am hoping that he stays in prison until the very last second. However, I am realistic enough to know that probably won't happen. Gideon keeps trying to reassure me that everything is being done to prevent him getting anywhere near us and he keeps reiterating his promise that Nathan won't hurt me or Maisie again. I have also seen Gideon in discussion with Kelvin. I know that Kelvin has been to talk to Gideon and kept him updated with all Nathan's plans of what he is allegedly going to do once he gets out. I haven't been kept in the loop on this one as I have told him that I just don't want to know. I have said I'm not interested in him or his plans unless they involve hurting Maisie and they have assured me that if Maisie does come up I will be told.

"Penny for them". I turn from where I was standing gazing out of the kitchen window and smile as I feel Gideon come up behind me and wrap his arms around me. I shiver as I feel him nuzzle me and place a number of small sweet kisses on my neck. I tilt my head to give him better access and he takes advantage by pulling me even closer to him. I feel his arousal against me and I put down my mug of tea and reach behind me to run my hand down the growing bulge in his jeans.

"My thoughts are of you, so they are priceless" I say and I hear him let out a small snort. I don't mention the fact that my thoughts have also been drifting towards Nathan again.

"That's what I like to hear" he murmurs as he turns me around and cupping my face with his hands he plants his lips on mine and kisses me soundly.

Eventually when he pulls away, he looks around and realises that we are alone. "Where are Maisie and Lily?" he asks and l smile up at him.

"You've only just noticed?!" I say and he shrugs.

"Maisie is at mums playing with Dec, she is having her tea there and I said I would go and fetch her later and Lily is upstairs having her nap" I say.

I watch as his eyes light up at this and his hands start to wander restlessly over me. "Well, in that case then" he mutters seductively.

I reach for the buckle on his belt and slowly unfasten it and his eyes widen. Before I realise what is happening, he has grabbed me and hoisted me over his shoulder and he is heading for the bedroom. I giggle as he sprints up the stairs and then throws me on the bed before following me down on to it.

"So, you didn't fancy making love over the kitchen table then?" I say sarcastically and he pauses and pulls back looking at me questioningly.

"Did you?" he asks after a moment and I shake my head.

"No, we eat there" I say. But my mind immediately goes back to the various places around the house where we have made love. Places I cannot look at now without remembering the things he did to me there. He was like an animal when we resumed our physical relationship after I had got over Lily's birth. Although to be fair I was pretty desperate for him as well as I had missed our intimate moments and as a result, we had almost gone insane. Gran had the girls for us and we had used one of our date nights to devour each other. We had tried to see how many different places around the house we could make love. Practically every surface in the house had been desecrated and I could barely move the next day – not that I am complaining!

"Call me old fashioned but I like my creature comforts" he says as he busies himself unfastening my top as he straddles me.

I giggle again and help him whilst undressing him. Soon we are naked and wrapped around each other. Touching, kissing and teasing each other. Our physical relationship is so special, we were both so damaged when we first met but we have learnt to pleasure each other and show our love for each other physically and how we have grown together has been just wonderful.

"God, I love you so much" Gideon murmurs in my ear as he thrusts into me deeply. I respond with a moan and wrap my legs around him and pull him towards me so he goes even deeper. We have experimented with many different positions but for me basic and simple is best, I love the feeling of his body pressed against mine as he moves inside me.

As we both come with a shout and we lie there coming back to sensibility I hear Gideon's phone ringing. I glance around and spot it on the bedside table.

"Are you going to get that?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"No, let it go to voicemail if it's important they will leave a message" he says lazily.

I giggle and a moment later I hear his phone buzzing notifying him a voicemail has indeed been left. A few moments after that it starts ringing again.

"Someone seems desperate to talk to you, so you'd better get it" I say as I pat his arm.

Gideon sighs and rolling over he reaches for it and glances at the screen. He stiffens and sits up; I notice that his whole demeanour has changed and it sets me on edge as to what has caused it.

"What's up?" I ask but he doesn't answer me and dials a number.

"Charles" he says a moment later. I watch and wait, knowing that if Charles is so desperate to speak to him it means only one thing… Nathan.

I wait for Gideon to explain what is happening as I listen to him, but to be fair he isn't actually saying much as Charles seems to be doing all the talking.

"Alright, thank you Charles" he says eventually and then he hangs up and looks at me carefully.

"Angel" he begins and reaches for my hand.

I swallow hard, "It's Nathan isn't it?" I say and he nods.

"He's being released, on Monday. Charles was informed, but he said you should be getting a call. Charles said if they fail to do so you need to tell him so he can make an official complaint".

I nod but I am now feeling numb. I start shivering and Gideon shuffles towards me and pulls me into his arms.

"He won't hurt you Eva, I promise you" he says firmly.

oooOOOooo

Monday morning…

I open my eyes and look at the clock, time to get up and get Maisie ready for school. The bed beside me is empty and I can hear Gideon downstairs and I smile as I go for a shower and get myself ready.

I am still on maternity leave and loving every moment of it. My plan is to sit my exams, get my results and then apply for some business qualifications with the view to joining Gideon on the management side of the business. With my experience in the picking department and seeing how the business operated from that perspective I know I will be able to give a different opinion and point of view when discussing how the company should move forward to that of Gideon, who was brought up only ever seeing the company through statistics, facts and figures. I won't make that transition though until I am fully qualified to do so and I have told Gideon that I will remain in the picking area until I have obtained the qualifications that justify me taking on a management role. Gideon is happy with that, but at the moment he is also happy for me to be at home with our daughters.

I walk into the kitchen where I find Gideon placing a bowl of cereal in front of Maisie.

"Good morning family" I say brightly and Maisie giggles while Gideon pulls me into his arms and kisses me soundly.

"Good morning beautiful" he says as he pulls away. "I've fed and changed Lily," he says as I glance towards our baby daughter who is sitting happily in her small chair and playing with the toys dangling in front of her.

He hesitates a moment, "Will you be ok to take Maisie to school this morning as I have an appointment with Charles?" he asks and he glances at Maisie as he says this.

I nod, "Fine" I say simply.

"Has anyone contacted you about today?" he asks vaguely and I know what he is getting at and I shake my head.

"No, they haven't" I say and he shakes his head in frustration.

"Right, I'll tell Charles" he says simply.

I shrug, "Maybe they think because Charles was informed that was enough, after all he is our solicitor so they knew he would pass on the information. Plus, it's more than I got last time" I say.

Gideon considers that and nods, "Possibly" he replies as he accepts what I am saying.

"Does he know when it will happen?" I ask and Gideon nods.

"He was told about midday, so I suppose there is still time but you would've thought something would've been said before now" he says.

I sigh and try and concentrate on my breakfast which Gideon places in front of me, but the thought of Nathan being let out today has severely diminished my appetite.

I arrive at the school with Maisie and I remember that morning when Nathan was previously released and was standing waiting at the school gate. So much has changed since that day. As Maisie goes into school I also decide to go in as I want to make them aware of Nathan's impending release. He is now officially and legally nothing to do with Maisie so they also need to be aware in case he comes here and tries to cause trouble.

I walk around to the office and I quickly get buzzed in, I smile as I see Valerie in the reception area with the receptionist and she greets me warmly.

"Good morning Eva, what can we do for you this morning?" she asks.

"Erm… I just… I mean" I stammer and Valerie looks at me kindly.

"Why don't you come through Eva" she says and she buzzes me into the school.

As I walk through the doors she is there waiting for me, "What's the problem Eva?" she asks and I look up into the kind eyes of the woman in front of me.

"Nathan is being released today. I know he is nothing to do with us anymore and legally he isn't even Maisie's dad anymore, but it appears that he doesn't seem to have got the message about that and I was just making you aware in case he came here and tried anything or started kicking off" I say.

Valerie nods, "Thank you for telling us, we will make a note of that. We haven't been informed of this but I wouldn't expect that now that Maisie is no longer under Social Services supervision, so I'm glad that you have mentioned it. We will of course make the relevant staff aware of this. May I ask who will be picking Maisie up this week?" she says.

I point at myself, "Me, I'm the only one doing the school run in the afternoons while I am on Maternity leave" I say as I glance down at the car seat in my hand. "I know Gideon normally drops her off in a morning now but he had an appointment this morning" I explain and Valerie nods in understanding.

"We will ensure all staff are vigilant and that Maisie isn't released from the school until we are certain you are here on the premises" she says.

"Thank you, I appreciate that… also if you wouldn't say anything to Maisie as she has no idea he is coming out today. She doesn't even mention him now. As far as she is concerned Gideon is her daddy and Nathan is… well, nothing and I want to keep it that way". I say and Valerie nods.

"I understand, and that's fine I'll make sure that Maisie's teachers are aware" she says.

After thanking Valerie once more I leave the school and decide to go to grans for a while. I look at my watch, she should be back from her morning job at the secondary school by now. As I pull up outside grans house granddad appears and grins at me.

"Well look who it is" he says as he pulls me into a warm hug and presses a kiss to my head, before peering into the car seat and touching Lily's face with his finger.

"Hi granddad, is gran in?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah, she's not long got back. I'm just off to work so I'll say goodbye" he says and I nod and give him another hug before walking up the path to the front door.

"Hello love" gran says as she opens the front door, she looks at me carefully as she steps aside to let me in.

"Thanks gran" I say as I walk through into the house.

"Would this early morning visit have something to do with a certain person being released from prison today?" she asks and I nod my head, I can't get anything past my gran.

"It may have" I say vaguely and gran grins at me and goes to the kettle.

"Sit down, you have nothing to worry about. As soon as that piece of shit steps foot on the estate he will be watched. You have no idea what has been going on since you were told he was being released" she says.

I look up at her questioningly, "What do you mean gran?" I ask, curious to find out what she means by that.

She sighs and sits down. "There are a lot of people around here who want their pound of flesh from that boy for what he did… especially now that we all know exactly what he did to you" she says meaningfully.

I roll my eyes, I knew that once my family found out the truth about what Nathan did to me they would want to kill him, but the last thing I need is my family getting in trouble with the police for seeking revenge on him as he isn't worth it.

"I hope they are not planning on doing something stupid. I should never have said anything" I mutter.

My gran shakes her head, "No you should've told us sooner than you did and no, nobody's going to do anything stupid. They are all fully aware of the consequences if they did. But there are a lot of people who will be keeping an eye on him, I'll say no more than that" she says.

I'm not sure if I feel better or more worried about what my gran has just told me. But I will try and look at the positive side and not let the fact that twat is being released have any more influence over me and my thought process. I have made it totally clear he is out of my life; Gideon has assured me he won't get near me or Maisie. I have done my part and told the school so they are in the loop and now gran has told me that more people than I ever thought are also in the loop and just waiting for him to step out of line. There is nothing more that can be done so for now I am going to try and let it go. But a part of me knows I will always be looking over my shoulder for Nathan fucking Barker.

After a long chat and a couple of mugs of tea I eventually leave grans house with a hug and her telling me not to worry about that 'piece of shit'. I smile and hug gran back assuring her that I will be fine. I glance at my watch; it is now quarter past eleven and I still haven't had any notification that he is being released today so I quickly send a text to Gideon letting him know this fact.

Still no notification about Nathan, would've thought they should've done so by now?

His response is immediate.

I agree, I told Charles and he said he would say something, Nathan is due to be released at 12.15pm.

I look at that message and swallow hard, so exactly an hour from now he will be walking the streets again. When I don't respond to that I get another text from Gideon.

Don't worry about this Angel, I promise you he won't hurt you x

I smile as I read that and quickly send a response so I don't worry him.

I know, thank you and I love you x

I smile as my phone pings at me once more and as I read Gideon's response.

I love you too Angel, with all my heart x

(GIDEON)

I push my phone away and look at the man stood in front of me, who cares about Eva as much as I do.

"She's worrying about Nathan being released. She's trying to put on a brave face but I know her too well, this is really bothering her" I say.

"Well hopefully if our plan works and he behaves to form after today she shouldn't have to worry about him ever again" Vic says coldly.

I look at Eva's stepfather. He is so certain about this and I am too. I don't want Eva looking over her shoulder anymore. I want Nathan Barker to disappear and it seems that the only way to do that is to get rid of him permanently. As far as I know the only people who are fully in on this plan to kill him are myself, Vic and Tez. A number of Tez's friends, Kelvin and some of the men from the depot have all expressed a desire to make him pay for what he did to Eva, even though they are not fully aware of the extent of the abuse she endured or the plan we now have in place to rid Eva of him once and for all.

"Do you think it will work?" I ask and Vic shrugs.

"There are always variables to any situation, but as long as he behaves true to form, he should make it fairly easy for us. Practically the first thing he did after he was released last time was go and get high and he also had a large amount of drugs on him to resume his career as a dealer of that filth. So that being the case if he does the same thing again, he should make it pretty easy for us".

I nod my head. Kelvin had come to me this morning telling me that Nathan had called him asking him to pick him up from the prison. It appears that when Kelvin had refused stating the fact he would be at work as his reason along with the fact he wanted nothing to do with Nathan, this hadn't gone down well as it appeared Nathan had just assumed that Kelvin's disowning of him was temporary and that as soon as he was released he would be welcomed back into the family as he had always previously been.

We have a number of Tez's friends keeping an eye on what Nathan does after he is released. If he makes any attempt to approach either Maisie or Eva they will alert us and we will go to Plan B. We are however hoping that Plan A is put into action and successful by the end of the day, today.

"Tez said Eva turned up and stayed with Sandra for a while this morning so she is obviously worried about this" Vic says and I nod.

"I know, Sandra text me after Eva left and told me she had been there most of the morning" I say.

Before I can say anything else, Vic's phone starts ringing and he quickly answers. I watch him and see him smile widely before he simply says thanks Tez and hangs up.

"Tez says Harry just text him. He is in position outside the prison watching and waiting for when that scum appears and he will send the signal when he is" he explains.

I nod, as I remember the lorry driver who had stepped in and brought me home to Stoke from Manchester when I had made the decision to move my life down to the Midlands.

"Nobody ever explained that" I say and Vic looks at me questioningly.

"Harry, the meaning behind that nickname. When Mark brought me back to Stoke that night Tez called him Harry and just said it was an inside joke" I say.

Vic laughs, "Tez, Rob - the guy who took you home to Manchester that night and Mark - who brought you back to Stoke were all in the same regiment in the army. They were close friends and looked out for each other, they socialised together and they fought together. They had a reputation for being bloody good at what they did and some Commanding Officer said he didn't want just any Tom, Dick or Harry to do something and those three were put forward. So, when they heard about that, as a joke they all took one of the names – Tom, Dick and Harry. Mark was Harry, I think Tez was Tom and Rob was Dick. Rob dropped his nickname pretty much straight away… and you can't really blame him, I mean Dick!" Vic pauses and snorts in amusement at that and I smile as I think about it.

"Tez didn't really mention his nickname much either but for some reason Mark's stuck and he is often referred to as Harry even all these years later".

I nod as I recall that journey to and from Manchester with Rob and Mark and learnt that Tez had served in the British Army.

"So, it's Mark who is watching out for Nathan?" I ask as I realise the implications of what Vic told me.

Vic nods, "When Tez told them that dickhead was being released and that we were worried he would approach Evie they immediately stepped up and offered to keep eyes on him. They know what we are planning to do, Mark said he will help but doesn't want to be involved in the actual act, Rob is all in, but he's Evie's godfather so I expected that. But yes, they will be shadowing him from the moment he leaves the prison and they hopefully will find out where he keeps his stash of drugs".

I nod in understanding as the plan we had put together goes through my mind. Tez had put it together and it relies on Nathan being true to form, but Tez is confident he will be. Nathan will be watched and his movements relayed to us by whoever has eyes on him. Tez assured me that there were numerous people willing to do this. We are hoping that he goes to wherever he goes to get his supply of drugs to take and sell and with him being watched we will know exactly where to find him. Then it will be the simple matter of cornering him and putting an end to him. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about taking another person's life. I know that I would do anything for Eva, and I also know this is the only way to break the hold he seems to have over her. Tez has no qualms about ending him. He has witnessed death before and he sees this as a service to humanity ridding it of that scum. Vic hasn't said anything and I'm not sure how he feels about it. But all we can do at this moment is wait. I glance at my watch it's nearly ten past twelve now. Another five minutes and that scum will be released once more.

Vic looks at me carefully and places his hand on my shoulder, "Take it easy son, I know this is easy to say but hopefully by the end of the day you and Evie will be free of him".

I look at Vic, "I hope so Vic, I really hope so" I say.