A/N

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Grateful to those sticking with it :)

Chapter 22

Brendan pov

The buzz of his phone alarm roused Brendan from his deep slumber with jolt, he'd been having quite the dream involving blue eyes, soft dexterous fingers and a highly capable mouth, he shook the lingering memory from his mind and slapped his palm down his face in attempt to wake himself up. As the buzzing continued he realised it wasn't his alarm at all but a call coming through, he reached blindly for his phone, squinting at the screen.

Amy

"Hello" , his voice was gruff and hoarse having not been used that day yet.

"Brendan?"

He coughed a few times trying to clear the frog in his throat as he sat up in bed and tried to decipher what time it was, the alarm clock displayed 07:35

"Yeah, yeah" cough "Amy? Is everything ok? Is Steven ok?"

"Sorry, I've woken you up haven't i?" she said apologetically, voice soft

"No, I'm up, it's fine. What's wrong?" he was trying to sound more alert than he actually felt.

"Well it's just Steven's was meant to have his home visit tomorrow" Brendan's heart sank. 'Meant to'.

"and i had it all planned out, but he called late last night and said they're happy to let him come back today so he gets an extra day at home."

Brendan let out a faint sigh of relief.

"That's grand, and I'm still seeing him on Sunday and dropping him back in the evening?" he confirmed

"Yeah, thanks for that again, it's a real help. The thing is, I planned on coming to the flat today and cleaning it up ready for tomorrow, getting some stuff in because no one's been in there since…. Well you know, but I don't have time now. I won't be able to get the kids up and ready, get to hollyoaks and do everything I need to, then get to Clairmont again. I mean i could just leave it but i really wanted it to be nice" she was stress rambling down the phone to him.

He rubbed his temples with his free hand as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his towel getting ready for the shower.

"I'll sort it" he cut her off abruptly.

"You will?"

"Yeah, I've got time this morning, don't worry about it Amy. i have keys"

He cringed as he spoke, hoping Amy didn't pick up on that last bit. He's not sure how well it would go down if he admitted he'd stolen Stevens keys about a year ago and made a copy. For emergencies only ofcourse.

She sighed with relief "thanks so much Brendan. I've got to go"

"See ye sunday" he put the phone down without waiting for a response, he probably seemed rude but he really needed a piss. His and Amy's relationship had never been a good one, she pretty much despised him, with good reason you could argue. However they'd been forced to converse amicably since Steven's admission into hospital and they were getting good at this being civil thing, he managed to keep his snarky remarks to himself and Amy managed not to look like she wanted him to drop dead every time she saw him. That was progress in his eyes.

He sprinted up the stairs with his towel wrapped around his waist and made his way to the bathroom for his much needed cold shower. He strode past Lyndsey's room, the door still shut as she tried to catch as much sleep as possible being on a late shift this evening.

As he passed Cheryl's open door he remembered that Nate, or whatever his name was, had whisked her off for some romantic getaway for the night, they must have left early as her weekend bag was gone and she was nowhere to be seen.

As he kept going down the hall he stopped and backtracked a few steps before he was at Cheryl's door again, peering in at the well decorated and homely room, she did always have a knack for these things, womanly things, and she was about to make that talent very very useful for Brendan.

….

As he opened the door to Steven's flat he was hit with a flood of memories, the tatty carpet, dated wallpaper, mismatched furniture and faint smell of damp weirdly made him feel at home. There was life in this shithole, love, laughs, family. Ste and Amy had no money but they knew how to make their kids happy and provide a home for them, they always managed in a way he never could, and a way he never had.

He walked through to the kitchen and placed the two large bags he had down on the counter, running his finger along the dining table and assessing the thick coating of dust it now had on it. Time to get to work.

After two hours of dusting, scrubbing, laundry, folding, dishwashing and binning rotten food, the place looked good as new, or as good as it was going to get. He'd even changed the bedsheets to make sure they all had fresh bedding to sleep on tonight, taking particular care when making up Stevens bed. He'd filled the fridge with the essentials, milk, eggs, bacon, bread etc, fixed the dodgy dripping kitchen tap and changed some missing light bulbs, now it was time for the finishing touches, courtesy of Cheryl.

Once done he closed the door behind him, triple checking that it was locked and thumbed a message to Amy.

To: Amy

Flat All done, got some milk and food as well. Call me if you need something else, I'll see Steven sunday.

…

Brendan walked through the village towards the club with purpose, it was another sunny summer's day although thankfully cooler than it had been these past few weeks. He was wearing his navy blue suit, blazer slung over his shoulder, the collar unbuttoned low and sleeves rolled up on his white shirt. He had a meeting with a new dj that was becoming a big name around Manchester at the club in about 15 minutes and then he'd be able to get on the road for the brewery supplier event in Liverpool later on.

As he strode past the entrance to the yard heading straight for the club side door, something caught his eye and made him do a double take. He walked into the club yard staring at his Mercedes that was parked up ready for his getaway in a bit, he bit his lip and balled his fists in anger.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me" he exclaimed as he kicked the back wheel of his motor.

A flat tire, he didn't have time for this shit. He sank down on his haunches to inspect the issue, as he ran his finger along the side of the wheel his brow creased in confusion. There was a large nail sticking out of the side, which looked like the obvious culprit of the flat, but further in, almost out of sight, there was a tear that could have only been caused by some sort of knife. Some little ejit had vandalised his car and the fucker was lucky Brendan hadnt been around to witness it himself. He slammed his hand on the roof as he stood up and let out a grunt.

"Everything ok boss?"

He jerked his head round to see Kevin on the balcony stairs staring down at him.

"Flat tyre" he spat

"Oh shit, nightmare. Erm, just to let you know, the dj's here for you"

Brendan ran his hands through his hair in frustration "of course he's fucking here early!" he bit sarcastically.

"The car can wait, can't it?"

If Kevin was in reaching distance he would have happily landed a punch on his irritating jaw right about now.

"No, it can't wait, Kevin. I need to get to Liverpool"

The lad turned and began retreating back up the stairs to the club before stopping and looking back over the railings

"I could change it? If you need to speak to this guy now, i know he's important"

He raised his eyebrows at him trying not to laugh in his face, but then he remembered Kevin wasn't actually skinny, he had some braun under that t-shirt. He flicked his fingers over his car as he quickly mulled it over, he supposed Kevin couldn't really mess this up and he did need to take this meeting.

"Yeah, alright, sort it" he fished for his keys in his pocket and then threw them up at Kevin who clumsily caught them.

He jogged up the stairs, smoothed down his hair and suit and entered the club through the balcony door ready to get this deal done.

…

As he shook the obscenely young Djs hand and watched him walk off, he'd managed to arrange a once a month spot for the next three months. This guy had a huge following and Brendan knew he'd sell out the club every night he performed, and then get Chez Chez on the map of the right crowds.

He looked over into the yard where Kevin was finishing up and putting the lug wrench back in the car boot.

"If that comes flying off when im on the motorway, you better make sure you're not around when i get back" he said, not a hint of humour in his voice.

Kevin rolled his eyes "This isn't the first time I've changed a tyre Brendan. Hidden talents me"

"If you say so" he replied dismissively.

Brendan held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, indicating to Kevin he should return his car keys, the lad did so without further prompt.

"Right, I'm going to grab my bag and then I'm off. Cheryl's away, Rhys is in charge. Call me if there's any issues" he instructed as he made off towards the flat. Realistically he could have not drunk this evening and driven himself back, but he decided a night in a 5* hotel was what the doctor ordered..

After grabbing his weekend bag and locking up he was jogging down the village steps when his eyes flicked up to the Carter and Hay sign, his stomach rumble reminding him he hadn't yet had lunch. He darted inside to see Doug working on his own, just handing over a customer's change whilst she picked up her freshly made pizza.

"Douglass" he greeted

Doug gave the customer a parting smile as she slipped out the door that Brendan held open for her.

"Brednan, what can I do for you?"

They weren't exactly friendly, but the yank didn't regard him with the same venom as he once had and Brendan didn't torment him like he used to, ah the good old days. They'd brokered an unspoken peace, for Stevens sake, much like him and Amy.

"A coffee and one of your chicken and chorizo paninis. You on your own?"

Doug set about making the order.

"Leanne's just run out, she forgot to hand her uni essay in and the deadlines today."

"Huh, the brain of Britain that one eh?"

Doug chuckled "yeah, one of a kind"

He placed the steaming hot disposable coffee cup on the counter, Brendan swiftly began pouring his 3 sugar sachets in and stared down into the vortex his stirring created.

"So are you erm, coming tomorrow?" Doug asked cautiously, looking over his shoulder at Brendan whilst he waited by the grill.

"Tomorrow?"

"Oh erm, the lunch Amy's doing for Ste tomorrow. It's really small, obviously, no one really knows about him so it has to be. Just at the flat, me and Tony are bringing some bits from here" Doug was starting to babble as he realised he'd put his foot in it.

"No. i'm seeing him sunday, driving him back after" he replied dismissively.

He felt his cheek twitch as he held back the urge to inform Douglass, maliciously as possible, that he didn't need the poxy little lunch that Amy had arranged tomorrow because he'd have Steven all to himself on Sunday. He found it hard to ignore that little niggle though, he knew he and Amy had pretty much been arch enemies at one point in their lives, but they'd moved past that hadn't they? It was him who she'd called this morning for help, not Tony or Doug. Fuck her, if thats how she wanted to play it.

"Ah right, makes sense."

Does it?

"Alright here you go, one chicken and chorizo panini" the yank placed the tightly wrapped sandwich down on the counter with a napkin placed neatly on top.

Brendan chucked him a ten pound note "keep the change".

He swiftly exited the deli and made his way back to his car, head down as he checked his phone for traffic alerts.

He placed his coffee and lunch on the roof of his car as he fished for his keys in his pocket with one hand whilst holding his phone in the other distracted by his own actions, when a voice made him freeze.

"Ello Brady, long time no see" came the deep gruff voice

"Tommo"

…

Liverpool 6 years ago

The latest RnB melodies played loudly through the VIP room as beautiful girls danced seductively and rich men watched them intently. The room was made up of rich mahogany surfaces and deep red velvet booths, incense burned behind the bar to give it the exotic aroma that Danny's missus loved so much. In Brendan's opinion it was seedy and dated, Liverpool's version of a knock off Moulin rouge, with overpriced cocktails and a selective entry criteria. It wasn't really Brendan's thing, but it was better than the strobe lighting and relentless thumping music of the main floor with its sweaty punters jumping and gyrating all over the place, plus he loved to make a cocktail, it was a real talent of his even if he did say so himself.

He finished off the two apple martinis and placed them in front of the blonde pair of girls propping up the bar, covertly looking for some sap to invite them over to their table and pay for the rest of their evening.

"That's 17 please ladies"

The one that had ordered the drinks batted her lashes and seductively licked her lips

"Even for us?" she asked slowly, running her finger up and down the stem of the glass

He gave a strained smile. He didn't know what was more draining, the gold digging tarts that turned up in bars like this or the lecherous men who thought they could buy any woman they liked, as if they were in a whore house. Perhaps they were as bad as each other.

"Unfortunately so"

Barking up the wrong tree, he thought to himself.

The girl pouted obnoxiously whilst she pulled a twenty pound note out of her purse

"Keep the change" she said sullenly as she turned to her companion and 'cheersed', both of them swivelled on their bar stools to face the rest of the room and resumed their hunt.

He rolled his eyes and opened the till to deposit the note, neglecting to take his generous £3 tip.

"I think she's upset you didn't fall for her charms" a cockney accent rang out behind him.

He turned to see Danny Houston walking behind the bar to join him.

"Danny, i didn't know you were coming in tonight" he wiped his hand with a tea towel before shaking the other man's in greeting.

"Yeah well Roxy fancied a night out didn't she"

"Ah and what Roxy wants Roxy gets eh?" Brendan joked "got you wrapped around her well manicured finger"

Danny gave a menacing smile "oh believe me, she knows who's boss, but it's good to indulge her every now and again. Let her think she gets her way"

Brendan forced out a laugh and ignored the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Got time for a quick word"

"Anything for you Danny"

"Good, see you in the office in 10" Danny grabbed a bottle of the top shelf whiskey and two glasses before disappearing into the crowd. Brendan took a deep breath to steady his slight nerves and started serving the next waiting customer.

He made his way to the top floor a few minutes later and braced himself before entering the office, faking a whole lot of confidence that he didn't possess in that moment. Here goes nothing. He swung the door open and walked in, swiftly closing it behind him.

"Ah Brady, right on time. Me and Tommo were just talking about the Liverpool Arsenal match at the weekend, don't suppose footballs really your thing though"

Brendan gave a tight smile

"You'd suppose right I'm afraid" holding his hands up by way of surrender.

Danny was casually reclining in Brendan's seat behind the desk, feet up and resting on the corner. Tommo was Danny's main henchman and pretty much went everywhere with him, a stocky man in his 40's with a shaved head with multiple scars who stood at a lofty 6'4. He was cockney, just like Danny, covered in prison tattoos and always wore a leather bomber jacket, regardless of the weather. The strong silent type mostly, but did enough to terrify anyone that was in his vicinity.

"So what are you into then?"

Brendan did not like the tone of this conversation.

"You're Irish, so what tickles your fancy? Rugby?"

Brendan let out a little sigh as he chuckled "can't say i'm much of a sports guy, Danny. Just a gambling man, as you know."

"Yeah, yeah. You are a gambling man aren't you?" Danny mused. He looked over at Tommo "Been to more casinos with this fella than had hot dinners, haven't i Brendan?"

Tommo said nothing.

"Yeah, you're no small roller yourself though eh? Can barely keep up most times" Brendan retorted

Danny chuckled, Brendan joined in politely, then the silence descended.

"I'll be honest Brady, this isn't purely a social call" Brendan raised his eyes in faux surprise "you see, i've discovered there's a bit of an issue, and it's really been niggling at me"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, becoming quite the headache really"

"Well anything I can do to help?"

"Seems that some moneys been going missing, the books aren't quite adding up"

"From here? the club?" Bendan asked in confusion, trying his best not to overdo his innocent act.

"In essence, yeah. Now whether it's the club takings, or the money from my other ventures when it's getting cleaned, I can't be sure." Danny fixed him with a steady gaze.

"Shit. you think somesones turned? Skimming?"

"You got another explanation? How over £40k has been shafted right under my nose"

"Jesus" it wasn't that much was it?! "I don't know what to say Danny, no one who works for you would be stupid enough to pull a stunt like that surely." he held eye contact, trying to remove any hint of guilt or fear from his actions.

Danny gave a small shrug and looked out of the window at the docks that were lit up by the moonlight.

"Well i can guarantee whoever it is, is going to wish he was never born" The cockney replied.

Brendan nodded, but stayed silent. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, he hoped to god his actions were not betraying him.

"What's your plan?"

Danny gave a small disconcerting smile.

"You'd tell me if you had any ideas wouldn't you? I can always count on you, right?"

Fuck. Danny knew. He had him bang to right. He was going to kill him right here right now. He still had to try and worm his way out of this, whatever slim chance he had. For his kids sake.

"Yeah! Course, I'll clean house. Find out what i can" Brendan replied solidly.

"Walk with me Brendan" he stood suddenly and gestured for the Irishman to do the same.

"Where?" he croaked out

"Back down stairs, i fancy seeing my missus" Danny laughed as he slapped Brendan several times on the arm, hard.

He saw his chance.

"Yeah good idea, wouldn't leave her alone for too long if i were you" Brendan replied casually, hoping his implication was as subtle as he intended it to be. He saw Danny's brow crease for a brief second before it disappeared just as quickly and his mask was back in place.

Danny walked out, Brendan followed suit, falling into step when Danny led him out the door and down the stairs back towards the VIP room, Tommo close on his heels.

As one of the doormen held the entrance open for them he clocked a sight at the table Danny and Roxy had been occupying before their meeting. Roxy sat, champagne glass in hand, in deep conversation with Cameron, who was far too close to her in the booth. If Brendan himself hadnt walked in on them fucking on his desk, he would have put this scenario down to innocent conversation in a crowded club. Cameron wouldn't be stupid enough to go sniffing after Danny Houston's girl, he didn't have a death wish. But Brendan did know better and it seemed Cameron indeed had a death wish, as did he apparently. He looked over at Danny's face which to the average person displayed indifference, but he knew Danny far better than that, behind those eyes was pure rage.

Present day

He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he merged off the slip road and onto the motorway, for a warm afternoon it felt decidedly chillier here in his car. He looked out of the corner of his eye at the giant man sitting in his passenger seat who was observing their surroundings casually. He swallowed the lump in his throat, Tommo wasn't a man you could relax when you were in the presence of and he'd been silent for far too long.

"So, you thought about what I said on the phone the other day?"

"Why else do you think i'm here Brady"

"And.."

The man looked over at Brendan with a smirk and then back to the road.

"I don't see how Cameron's nutty older brother coming after you, is my problem"

Brendan laughed incredulously.

"Did you not listen to what i told ye? Cameron called him, before, before what happened, told him about me, about Danny, about you. I might be the first target on his hit list but there's no way he's stopping with just me. We're both in this" he spat angrily, gulping when Tommo shot him a look of anger.

The bigger man held his tongue though, and looked back at the road in front of him.

Brendan might have been twisting the truth when he said Walker mentioned Tommo, but he needed the man to think Walker was gunning for him too. Danny was dead and out of this, and he needed help. Tommo was still in that world, he had connections and means that weren't available to Brendan anymore, so he needed the man to think he was also in walkers sights.

"He's not gone to the police with his theory, or if he did the filth laughed him out as they never questioned any of us. Just blame it on Danny"

"I tried that, he knows that we were involved. He's unhinged, what he's doing isn't normal, he's going after family, and now he's disappeared" he said exasperated.

Tommo seemed to think for a while, mulling over Brendan's words.

"I did some digging, he was in prison for GBH, so he's got a violent streak?"

"I wouldn't say that, he doesn't lose his temper. He's controlled, smart and plays the long game. That's why I liked him in the first place." Brendan mused

'Violent when he needs to be then" Tommo summarised.

"You could say that" Brendan's mind drifted to thoughts of Steven and what happened between them that night, how violent Walker might have been to him. He still didn't know details, just some parting shots from Walker's last phone call aimed to wound him.

"I'll do some asking around, if he's in the uk still, i'll find him eventually"

"And then?"

"And then he disappears just like his brother did, for good".

…..

Tonight hadn't quite gone to plan. He'd planned to attend this brewery event, engage in small talk with other bar owners, allow himself to be schmoozed by the suppliers, have a few drinks and then retire to his hotel room. He'd purposely booked a room in the hotel that the event was being held in so he could sneak off early and relax with some room service and TV in solitude and without distraction.

Tommo had instructed Brendan to drop him off at some club he had ties with in the city centre before he made his way to the hotel. The tense hour and a half car journey from Hollyoaks and the talk of Walker, Cameron and murder had put him on edge somewhat. So much so that he'd neglected to eat, After Tommo had kindly polished off his carter and hay lunch, and had started on the whiskey the moment he entered the event, 10 glasses later and it was time to call it a night.

Well that and the fact the vaguely attractive young waiter he'd been making eyes at all evening had just flirtingly patted the barmaid on the arse and whispered something in her ear when he thought no one was looking, causing the blonde to blush. Not gay then.

He slipped out of the event and made his way to elevators, stumbling along the corridors as he did. Once the elevator doors closed he leant against the mirrored wall and tipped his head back, the thing was starting to spin a bit, amateur. He wiped his mildly sweaty brow as the lift pinged to signal its arrival on the 11th floor, he'd specifically requested the highest floor possible when booking the room, it had become a habit of his. Steven loved the high floors, he would get swept up in the views and stare out of the windows for so long just watching the world go by, it was endearing really.

Once in his room he stripped off and jumped in the shower in an attempt to sober up, as the hot water cascaded down his body he tried to stave off thoughts of Steven that kept creeping into his head. He wondered what the boy was doing tonight in his flat with Amy and the kids, if it was just like old times, if the place now held bad memories, if he was thinking about Brendan at all. He abruptly switched off the water and exited the shower, stumbling as he walked back into the room, that shower hadn't helped his inebriation as he'd wanted.

He collapsed onto the bed and flicked the tv on channel hopping until he came across a film he'd seen before, a film Steven had made him watch once. He'd put it on under false pretences, said it was some cowboy movie, it was far from any cowboy western he'd ever seen before. He remembered how he'd grimaced when he realised what was going on between them and chastised Steven for putting a film about some queers on, Steven had persisted, it's romantic though, the boy had countered, ignoring Brendan's disgust. Turns out it was far from that, two guys in the 60's fall in love and have a secret affair that lasts over 15 years, living their miserable nuclear family lives in between, until one of them is beaten to death when someone finds out he's gay and the other has to live the rest of his days lonely and grieving the only person he truly loved. It was a fucking horror movie and had done nothing for Brendan's fear of being outed at the time. Of Course in Stevens naive optimistic head it had been beautiful.

Watching it now though he had a slightly altered view, maybe there was beauty in it. Jesus he was wasted. The film was coming up to the first sex scene, he remembered this bit, he probably didn't need to change the channel just yet. He watched as the movies stars, Jake something or other and the one from Batman shared a tent and he absent mindedly slipped a hand under his towel, stroking his length. He didnt know if it was the whiskey, the movie or the unplanned bout of celibacy he'd got himself in to, but he was fucking horney. He started to pump himself as he watched the two men on screen grapple with each other as they shared their first frantic encounter, spit and grunts and thrust consuming him. He closed his eyes and threw his head back onto the pillow allowing the waves of pleasure to build as he imagined sweaty tanned skin rubbing on his own.

Suddenly there was a hard knock on the hotel room door jolting him out of his fantasising and self pleasure. He jumped up and tightly re-wrapped his towel around his waist. He'd planned on ordering room service, had he done it already and forgotten? He stumbled towards the door and yanked it open without looking through the spy hole. His mouth went slack at the sight before him.

"Kevin?"

"Hi Boss" the lad said seductively

"What are you doing here? Has something happened at the club?" he asked in confusion

"No, all good there. It's my night off anyway"

He continued when Brendan remained silent and staring.

"When I was sorting your car for you this morning I saw the booking confirmation print off on the passenger seat. Thought you might want some company" Kevin leaned up against the door frame and lowered his eyes slowly, taking in Brendans semi naked form with glee.

Brendan was utterly baffled at how this situation had occurred, he dumped Kevin like a sack of potatoes weeks ago, ignoring him at every opportunity. Kevin had seemed to get over the humiliation and was moving on, with another guy he assumed. Yet here he was, 11pm on a friday night outside his hotel room offering himself up on a plate. His mind was screaming at him that this was a terrible idea, he should just shut the door in Kevin's face and go to sleep, this was a can of worms that didn't need opening. But Brendan was drunk, and horney, and lonely and he just needed a warm willing body with him for one night. So he stepped aside and allowed Kevin into the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

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