Dirty Break (18+)

In Which We Meet a Duchess

Lydia had always liked being in a car. She didn't drive herself because it wasn't really necessary in the middle of Manchester and she had little in the way of hand eye coordination, but the ease of being able to go wherever you wanted in your own time - well she could see the appeal. In this particular instance she was not going where she wanted and time seemed to be a non-entity. They had to have been driving for hours and not knowing where she was going definitely did not help. Leon was a quiet, powerful presence beside her, whilst the others seemed to be celebrating a job well done and laughing and joking among themselves.

When they finally pulled up outside a small B&B it was a three-fold relief; one, she needed the ladies room, two, she might get a chance to escape and three, she would finally get to peel herself away from Leon and the testosterone he was throwing out. She waited, meek as a mouse, to be gestured at to get out of the car, gestured forward through the pretty art-decor porch way into the elegant reception beyond. Before everyone could pile in or the bell be pressed a pretty, middle-aged woman bustled out of the door behind the desk and beamed at them. Jackpot. This lovely lady wouldn't let Lydia be taken, surely? Of course not - she burst forward, laying a hand on the woman's arm.

"Please - I've been kidnapped by these men. Can you ring the police and get them to come and get me, I ..."

She broke off when the woman burst out laughing, a weathered hand coming to rest on top of hers and squeezing slightly. The men, all gathered now, also laughed and they were joined by a middle-aged man, presumably the woman's husband, who asked what all the laughter was about.

"She reckons our lads have kidnapped her, this one."

Lydia's heart dropped. It made sense, of course that they had let her come in here if they knew the owners or managers. Otherwise they would have had no control over the situation and as evidenced by the events of the day, they were not the type of people to cede control unless absolutely necessary. Still, it was the icing on top of a shitty cake and she burst out crying enough to shock everyone else into stopping their laughter.

"Oh dear, I didn't meant to upset you, dear. Of course I realise if you've been with this lot that you'll have had a rough day of it but if you do what they tell you you won't come to any harm dear."

Oh of course, now she was reassured - now that Hannibal's mother had assured her that her son wasn't so bad once you got to know him.

"Come on, lets get you all settled in rooms and then I'm sure everything will look brighter. Just the one night did you say, Con?"

Con stepped forward to speak with her, accepting her motherly embrace with good grace.

"Mrs Kilkenny? Put Lydia in with me please."

Mrs Kilkenny looked surprised, and Conor turned to flash a grin but asides from that nobody batted an eyelid.

"What the fuck? No! I am not sharing a bedroom with you, Leon Valentine. I'd rather sleep outside."

"Well, as I'm trying to keep your fucking arse inside, I'm afraid that's not one of the options. You're my responsibility, so you'll stay with me."

That made her sound like such a burden, rather than the hapless bystander that got caught up in the prison break/dodgy cop scenario. She hadn't asked for this.

"Will I fuck. I don't give a fuck if you're up all night wondering if I've ran away to sell my story to the press. I am not fucking sleeping in a room with you!"

Leon remained so stoic in the face of her histrionics that it made her feel even more angry about the situation and she rushed forward at him, banging her fists repeatedly against his chest. His men stepped forwards but he motioned them back and let her keep hitting him until the feeling brought fresh tears to her eyes on every punch. When she stopped all the fight went out of her and she collapsed, caught like an afterthought by the man who had kidnapped her, his arm across the small of her back holding her against him.