I shake my head and smack his hands off me. “Stay the fuck away from me,” I scream at him. I need to get away. I need to get in the car and get away from both of them. He grabs me by the shoulders.
“Fucking listen to me,” he roars, but in a split second, he’s gone, yanked backward. I seize the opportunity and jump in the car as quickly as I can and tell the driver to get us to the airport. We drive away as I watch Cam and Jackson swinging punches at each other.
Chapter Fourteen
Tiger
A million thoughts rush through my head. I need to explain to her. I need to make her understand that it’s not like that. I don’t have a girlfriend. I’ve never had a girlfriend. I had a wife and then I had her, and then I had nothing, fuck all, and that’s what I’m gonna be left with again if I don’t sort this shit out and make myself clear.
Before I get a chance to say anymore, I’m yanked by my shoulder and spin around to face her cousin, the fucking Aussie prick, who if I didn’t know better, I would think wanted to get in her knickers.
“Get ya fucking hands off her.” Fucking idiot, does he think I would hurt her?
I push him away and turn back around to make sure Georgia’s not in the middle of this when the cheeky fucker lamps me one, right on the side of the jaw and it fucking hurts. I spin back to face him and land a perfect right hook on his chin that puts him straight on his arse. Turning back to Georgia, so I can jump in the car and get us out of here, I realise I’m too late and can only watch as she’s driven away into the early morning Sydney traffic.
“Fuck!” I shout while kicking the wheel of the taxi that’s parked outside the hotel. Then I’m grabbed again and the dickhead cousin is trying to get another shot at me. “Mate, seriously, fuck off before I hurt you,” I say as I push him away. The bloke’s so pissed he can hardly stand up, and if I crack him again, he’ll go down like a sack of shit and I’m worried he’ll hit his head. I’ve seen it happen too many times, drunken idiots, not knowing when to shut the fuck up and walk away, and here we have a prime example. He swings at me again. I barely have to dodge, but I push him away again anyway, and he goes back down on his arse. This time, I make sure he stays there by pushing on his chest with my foot and then put my foot on his throat. I don’t apply pressure. Well, not a lot, just enough to keep him down, but then I’ve got the two birds he’s with screaming in my earhole. Then they’re on me, fucking clawing and grabbing at my hair. What is it with birds? Why do they try and make themselves busy when blokes are having a punch up?
I don’t wanna get rough, but they’re pissing me off and the little one actually has quite a hard punch. I get them both off my back and grab them by the hair. I’ve still got matey pinned to the floor by my shoe and the two screeching women by the hair, one in each hand either side of me. When I look up, there’s three hotel security guard’s heading toward me.
“Do yourself a favour boys and don’t get involved. Take these three off my hands and I’ll walk away.”
“Let go of my fucking hair,” Jodie screams as she tries to kick me. I look down at her. Spiteful little bitch, she caused all of this. I let go of her hair and push her down on the floor.
“Hey mate, we’ve called the cops. They’re on their way,” one of the guards calls out. Fucking great, that’s all I need.
I look down at the three psychos and it suddenly strikes me how much they all look alike and how they all have the same blue eyes as Georgia and her mum. My stomach turns, my chest tightens and I let out a long breath. Just thinking about that fucking woman does that to me.
“I’m gonna walk away. I don’t want no more trouble. If you come at me again, I’ll break his fucking legs. You understand me?”
“Just get your foot off him,” Jodie says. I raise my eyebrows as I look at her.
“You started this, you vindictive little bitch. What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you feel the need to say all of that earlier?”
She shrugs. “Coz everything Georgia wants, Georgia always gets.”
“So she wanted a dead husband and baby, did she? Grow the fuck up. That poor girl has been through enough, and if you three are her family, then you should know that.” She looks away from me and down again at who I assume is her brother. I can hear sirens approaching so I take my foot off his throat and hold my hand out to help him up. He takes it and I help him stand, at the same time. I let go of the younger girl, who then smacks me hard around the face.
“That’s for hurting my family, but especially for hurting my cousin. You’re a cunt, now fuck off and find her and put what she said right.” She gestures with her defiant little chin at her sister. “If I find out you’ve broken what we’ve fixed while she’s been here, I’ll hunt you the fuck down and kill you in your sleep.”
I want to laugh, but she reminds me so much of George that I can’t. Instead, I jump into the taxi that’s still sitting at the side of the road and give the driver the name of my hotel. I pull out my phone and call Georgia; it goes to answer phone. I knew she wouldn’t answer. Fucking woman drives me mental.
“Georgia, I know you’re pissed off, but we need to talk. Nothing you heard tonight is how it seems. Please call me back.” I know she won’t call me. Fuck. I can’t believe how this has turned out. How the fuck did I not join the dots and work out that Georgia and Jodie were related? Jodie told me she had a cousin over from England who had recently lost her husband. Georgia told me she was staying with her family in Byron Bay. I remember Jodie saying she was from Byron. Why the fuck didn’t I work it out?
I pay the taxi driver, head straight to the hotel reception and ask them to call British Airways. I need to see if I can get on an earlier flight. I need to get back to England and sort this shit out. Fuck it, everything I said to George earlier has gone out the window. I wanted her to prove she wants to be with me. I wanted her to want me like I want her, but fuck all of that shit now. Now I just need her to know the truth. I hate the thought that she thinks I lied to her. I hate that I’ve caused her more fucking pain. Despite everything she’s been through, she’s not as fragile as she was when I first met her, but I’m still worried that what went on this morning could all have been too much for her. I know she likes me. I think she loves me, but my fucking ego got in the way and I wanted her to prove it, but now I’m worried that I might have pushed her over the edge.
I change sharpish, throw my clothes into my suitcase as quickly as I can and head back down to jump into a taxi for the airport. I’ve managed to get on a nine-thirty flight. I should be back in England by about lunchtime Monday, not too much after Georgia hopefully. I call her again from the back of the taxi as we drive to the airport and again the call goes straight to her answer phone, voicemail, message bank, whatever the fuck they call it nowadays. “Kitten, please, you know I’m gonna come find you. We need to talk and talk we will, so you either get in touch or I turn up at your door. You choose, but I will talk and you will listen. I… I miss you already. Have a safe flight.”
* * *
Because of the last minute change to my flight, I can check straight in and head immediately through to the bar in the first class lounge of the airline. It’s only seven thirty but I need a drink. This is what she does to me. It’s what she’s always done to me. Georgia fucking Layton, the only woman I’ve ever loved. I order a double and knock it back, enjoying the burn as it slides down my throat. I take a look around the lounge, feeling a little disappointed she’s not on this flight. My phone rings and I pull it out of the pocket of the jeans I changed into back at the hotel. I had no choice. I had the Aussie wanker’s blood on my suit trousers and shirt. He bled on my two grand suit trousers, cheeky bastard. I hope the call’s from Kitten, but I can see from the screen that it’s Tamara and I want to break something. I’ve learnt that ignoring her calls doesn’t work, and right now, until I work out if the baby she’s carrying is mine, I need to treat her with kid gloves.