Justice for the Damned Read Online Free PDF Page A

barely kept out the draught from the rotten, rattling window frame, and flopped on to the bed. She patted the duvet, indicating for Reece to lie down next to her.
    With a slight hesitancy, he did so. He didn’t reach to touch Staci. It wasn’t only the meanness of the room that dampened his desire, it was the photos pinned to the corkboard on the wall above the head of the bed. They were all of the same young girl. In some of them she was only two or three years old, in others she was maybe six or seven. She had strawberry-blond hair with a slight curl, sparkling blue eyes, chubby cheeks and an ever-present mischievous gap-toothed grin. In most of the photos she was alone, but in several a woman was squatted next to her, arms wrapped around her shoulders. The woman was unmistakably Staci, but her face was fuller, her eyes brighter, her figure more curvaceous. And she was smiling, a wide smile that showed her gums. Reece had seen her smile, but never like that.
    ‘Beautiful, isn’t she?’ said Staci, following Reece’s line of sight.
    ‘Yes. Like her mother. How long has it been since you saw her?’
    ‘One month and nine days,’ Staci answered without needing to think. ‘They placed her with a new foster family last week.’
    ‘That’s good. I mean, at least it’s better than her being in a home.’
    Creases of pain spread from the corners of Staci’s eyes. ‘I’m going to get her back. Once I’ve paid off Wayne and got on my feet again, I’m going to get my Amelia back and start being the mum she deserves.’
    Reece rested one of his hands across both of Staci’s. ‘I know you are. All you’ve got to do is stay clean.’
    Staci glanced at Reece, hope and doubt churning in her eyes. He squeezed her hands. ‘You can do it, Staci. I know you’ve done it before and relapsed. But that’s not going to happen this time, because I won’t let it. I promise.’
    Staci’s eyes searched Reece’s face as though she desperately wanted to believe him, to trust in him, but the life she’d led made it almost impossible to do so. And yet she had to trust someone. Bitter experience had taught her that she couldn’t do what needed to be done alone. The thought knotted her stomach. She lowered her eyes momentarily. And when she raised them it was as if a shutter had opened, only slightly, but it was open. Tentatively, almost cautiously, she leaned in to kiss Reece. Heat rose again in his heart and groin. But it was tempered by the feeling that the girl in the photos was watching him. He reached past Staci and turned the corkboard to face the wall. In an instant, the shutter clicked back shut.
    ‘Why did you do that?’ Staci snapped.
    ‘I’m sorry, Staci. I can’t do this with her looking at us. It doesn’t feel right somehow.’
    ‘It’s never bothered you before.’
    ‘Maybe that’s because I didn’t feel like I do now.’
    Staci’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how exactly do you feel?’
    ‘I’m not sure. It’s hard to put into words.’
    Staci made a contemptuous little noise in the back of her throat. ‘Don’t bullshit me, Reece. You’re scared. Scared I’ll actually pull this off and get Amelia back. You don’t want some kid getting in the way of your fun.’
    ‘That’s not it at all.’
    ‘Then what is it?’
    ‘I…’ Reece trailed off awkwardly. He’d never been particularly good at expressing his feelings. In the past, he hadn’t had much reason to do so. Sure, there’d been other women – casual flings, even one or two serious relationships. But nothing had prepared him for anything approaching what he felt for Staci.
    A sharp light came into her eyes. ‘Tell you what, Reece, just forget it. Fucking forget I’ve even got a daughter.’ With a practised, mechanical movement, she peeled off her vest top. ‘So what’s it going to be? A wank, a blowjob, the full monty?’
    Reece’s thick black eyebrows bunched together. ‘Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not a