Katerina Diamond - The Angel

Adrian closed the door with a big smile on his face. He walked back into the house and as he passed the threshold of the lounge door his skin prickled. Without looking in, he knew someone else was there.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve just come for a chat.’

Adrian pushed open the lounge door to see Dominic sitting on his sofa, smack in the middle, arms either side of him as though he had sat there a million times and this was perfectly normal.

Anger surged through him. ‘You can’t just let yourself in here whenever you want.’

‘Obviously I can.’ He shrugged. The fact that Adrian was a police officer obviously didn’t scare Dominic, and that scared Adrian.

‘What do you want, Dominic?’

‘Just checking in, seeing what you were up to.’

Adrian glanced over to the dining table; the bag of paperwork he and Gary had been working from was tucked safely to the side of it, undisturbed. It was in a reusable carrier bag so he guessed it probably didn’t look all that important.

‘Why?’

‘I just wanted to make sure you were behaving yourself.’

‘Get out before I call for back-up.’

‘Come off it Adrian, you don’t frighten me and you know it.’ He smiled. ‘Actually, this visit is about Tom.’

‘What about Tom?’ Adrian felt sick whenever Dominic said his son’s name.

‘He’s not been very cooperative at home lately, I think maybe he needs a little stability at the moment, so you won’t be seeing him for a while.’

‘You can’t do that.’

‘According to the court, we need your signature to take Tom out of the country. He’s had a tough year, I think you’ll agree, and he needs a treat.’

‘What are you talking about? Take him where?’

‘Undecided at present, but he’s going to be missing some weekends with you, I’m afraid. I have discussed it with Andrea and we both agree that these visits with you are unsettling for him.’

‘I have a custody agreement.’

‘Of course, this is a courtesy. I am asking nicely.’

‘Well, I’m saying no nicely.’

‘You know, I could make sure you never see either of them again. I can make them disappear.’

There was a pause. Adrian wasn’t sure exactly what he was saying. Was he threatening to kill them? Knowing that he had contacts in human-trafficking added a certain gravitas to Dominic’s threats, it had to be said. Adrian didn’t have anything now, no concrete evidence to pull Dominic in. His instinct was telling him to kill him, but that wouldn’t help anyone.

‘Why are you doing this? Why are you fucking with me?’

‘I don’t like you.’

‘I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested in Andrea anymore, so what threat am I to you exactly?’

‘No threat at all.’ Dominic stood up and dusted his coat as though he had just fallen in mud. ‘But, Adrian?’

‘What?’

‘If I find out you have been sticking your nose where you shouldn’t, you’ll be sorry. You’ll never see your son again.’

Adrian tried to ignore the sound of his own heart pounding in anger; he mustn’t submit to it even though all he wanted to do was drive his fist through Dominic’s expensive porcelain smile. Instead he stood to the side, waiting for Dominic to pass. Dominic didn’t move for a few moments, just stared at Adrian. A cold stare, a stare that turned Adrian’s stomach, like the dead black eyes of a shark. The beginning of a smile adorned his face as he passed Adrian and walked to the front door. Adrian followed behind him, making sure he stepped onto the pavement. He didn’t turn to look back at all, just started walking away. Adrian closed the door behind him. He wanted to look out of the window and watch him leave properly, make sure he was gone, but that felt too much like succumbing to fear and he’d promised himself a long time ago that he wouldn’t be bullied. Instead he walked straight out of the lounge and into the hallway, punching the wall to release the fury that had built inside him.

How dare he? How dare he come into his house, how dare he mess with his family? Adrian felt powerless against this man, but he needed to find out more before he took any action. If he behaved rashly, he might put his son in danger and that wasn’t something he was prepared to do. Patience was not something that Adrian had an abundance of, but he needed to be smart here. He needed to play the long game to win rather than employing his usual reactionary tactics of hit first, ask questions later. He rubbed his throbbing knuckles and tried to calm down. He couldn’t let Dominic push his buttons, couldn’t let him win this time.

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