Ruby by Heather Burnside (sight word books .TXT) 📕

smiled. As a Manchester lad he knew the name straightaway. ‘Oh yeah, I know it.’

‘I can send some lads round if you like but it’ll cost you more.’

‘No, it’s OK,’ said Gilly. ‘I want to sort this one out myself.’ He reached under his mattress and took out the cigarettes then passed them to Mal.

‘Cheers, mate. Anything else you want, just ask,’ he said. Then, as he was about to leave Gilly’s cell he stopped and asked, ‘Haven’t you got a few years to serve yet?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. I got a ten stretch and I’ve done three. I’ve kept my nose clean so I probably won’t do all that but it’ll still be a few years yet.’

‘Ah, you’ll have forgotten all about who grassed you up by then.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ said Gilly. ‘And thinking about how I’m gonna get my revenge on that vindictive bitch is all that’s keeping me going. After all, I’ve got fuck all else to keep me busy in this shithole so I’ve got all the time I need to decide how I’m gonna fix her.’

39

August 2008

Ruby was with a client when she heard the buzzer sound. It was only the second time it had happened in almost a year of running the club. As part of the refurb, Ruby had had buzzers fitted in all of the rooms, which were connected to both the reception desk and her own area, Ruby’s Dungeon She looked down at the black leather whip in her hand and quickly flicked her wrist till it swished through the air.

‘Stay there!’ she yelled at the man kneeling naked in front of her before she dashed from the room, confident that he would still be there when she returned. After all, he was one of her regulars and had been practising obedience for a while.

It didn’t take Ruby long to run down the stairs and into the reception area, still carrying the whip. There she saw one of the girls managing the reception desk and she knew straightaway that Tiffany had gone to sort out whatever problem had arisen.

‘Whose room is it?’ she demanded.

‘Pammy’s,’ said the girl.

Ruby dashed through the club in the direction of Pammy’s room. She arrived to find a man hurling abuse at Tiffany while Pammy stood back from them, wearing no more than a hurt expression, her hand cradling the right side of her face.

‘Just look at her, she’s fuckin’ fat!’ hollered the man, waving his arm in Pammy’s direction. ‘I’m not paying full price for that! I want a reduction or one of the other girls.’ He was standing there without his shirt on, but still wearing his trousers as though he’d had a change of heart mid-way through undressing.

‘I’ve told you, no one else is available and we can’t have you assaulting our girls so I want you to leave,’ said Tiffany.

On hearing Tiffany’s words and seeing Pammy’s hand on her face, Ruby guessed what had happened. ‘Has he hit you?’ she asked, incensed.

Before Pammy had chance to speak, the man said, ‘It was nothing. She shouldn’t have been giving me grief, shouting her mouth off, right up in my fuckin’ face.’

‘He called me a fat cow!’ shouted Pammy, the hurt evident in her tone of voice.

Ruby marched towards the man, pushing Tiffany out of the way and holding up the whip. ‘Don’t you fuckin’ dare assault one of my girls!’ she thundered. ‘I don’t give a shit what your problem is; you never hit one of my girls!’

‘Well look at the fuckin’ state of her,’ said the man but, despite his confrontational words, Ruby could tell that he had become wary at the sight of the whip. ‘You don’t expect me to pay full rate for that, do you?’ he asked almost beseechingly.

‘I’m not interested in your bullshit!’ yelled Ruby. ‘You knew what size she was when you booked her. You’re just fuckin’ trying it on. For your information, Pammy is one of our most popular girls and you’re lucky to spend any fuckin’ time with her.’

‘Pffft!’ hissed the man.

Suddenly Ruby lifted the whip high and sliced it through the air so that it gave out a mighty cracking sound. The man was visibly shocked, his eyes growing wide as he quickly stepped back.

‘Right, now are you gonna leave my premises like you’ve been told or do we have to fuckin’ force you out?’ she asked.

Despite his apparent concern at the sight of Ruby wielding the whip, the man must have thought he still had a strong argument and seemed to fancy his chances against a bunch of women. ‘I’m going nowhere till I get what I came for. What about her?’ he asked, nodding at Tiffany. ‘Isn’t she available?’

Without warning, Ruby brought the whip down swiftly on the man. It struck the top of his arm with several of the tail ends twisting round his body and biting into his back. The man yelled and gripped the top of his arm, instinctively advancing towards Ruby. Then he seemed to think better of it, and stopped where he was, his face a mix of pain and indignation.

Seeing his cowed reaction, Ruby bent to the ground and scooped up his shirt, throwing it at him while still clutching the whip in her other hand. ‘Right, now fuck off!’ she yelled. ‘Unless you want more of the same.’

The man grasped at his shirt and pushed his arms through the sleeves, then grabbed his jacket and ran from the room without even bothering to fasten his shirt buttons. Ruby turned and watched him leave, feeling gratified as she spotted the blood seeping through the back of his shirt.

‘And don’t fuckin’ bother coming back!’ she shouted after him before turning to Pammy who had started to put her clothes back on with trembling hands. When Ruby saw the look of shame on Pammy’s face it reminded her of how she’d felt as a child when people had looked down on her