Persuing Shadows- next chapter

Drew pressed the buzzer for flat sixty-two and waited while the intercom beeped. When their was no answer he jabbed the button repeatedly until he heard Rachel’s voice through the speaker.
“Hello?”
“It’s me”
He was given access and took the stairs up. Rachel had left the front door ajar for him and he went straight through to the living room.
Rachel’s flat looked as it always did on the few visits he had spent there. Everything was spotless, not a single thing out of place. The flat overall was small but appeared to be more spacious than it actually was because there wasn’t much stuff in the flat.
Rachel was sitting crossed-leg on the red carpet, a bottle of blue varnish in one hand and a small brush in the other. She only half glanced up when he entered and made no movement to get up.
“Tea? Coffee?” she wiggled her toes.
Drew moved so he could position himself in front of her.
“I’m not here for a social chat” he said coldly.
“Oh?” Rachel raised one eyebrow and continued to admire the contrast of blue on pink. “So what are you doing here, then?”
Her ignorance annoyed him and he felt the anger bubbling up inside him. If anyone knew how to test his temper, it was Rachel. He bent down so that he was in her face, his cold stare reminding her just what he was capable of when he was wound up.
“I’m here to tell you to stay the hell away from my son” He said it quietly, his eyes flashing, unblinking.
She simply stared back at him, her expression unreadable, but she pulled herself up from the floor. He rose when she did and they stood face to face, daggers flying between them.
“You don’t know he’s your son”
He took one step forwards and looked her straight in the eye. “I’m sorry that you can’t have kids, Rachel, really, I am… but I won’t let you take mine. You need to accept the facts”
She flinched as though he had hit her. He saw something stir in her.
“No, you’re the one who won’t accept the facts, Drew. Like how my sister was a fucking whore! There wasn’t one time when she wasn’t getting her leg over five at one time and you know it! Remember the delivery guy from those cheap magazine’s? Remember when-”
He held up one hand to silence her and she did. Rachel feared him and they both knew it. She feared the person he once was, feared the things he once did. But most of all, she feared what he could still become when pushed.
The icy stare alone was enough to make her bite her tongue no matter how much she wanted to hurl more at him.
“I’m not denying what she did, you’re missing the point. Jason is my son and over my dead body am I letting you take him from me!”
“You can’t prove he’s yours, the courts won’t buy it. As I remember, there was a probable ten guys who could qualify for the role of ‘father’’ at that point!”
“The court’s, you’re really taking this that far?” He stared at her incredulously.
“If needs be. Unless you back off, I’ll have no choice”
She saw frustration and disbelief darken his handsome features.
“I’m not joking around here, Drew, he’s my nephew and I’m not watching that bitch ruin his life the way she did hers”
“What do you want, a DNA test, for Christ’s sake?” He was so angry it was all he could do not to run his fist into the wall.
“Okay” she shrugged. “Get me prove you’re his biological father… but it won’t make any difference. I’ll still take this to court. Your name on a piece of paper doesn’t give you the right to call yourself ‘daddy’ to that boy”

She had him and she knew it. There was no way he could get a test done. The truth was, Jason wasn’t actually aware Andrew was his father. After everything that boy had been through lately, Drew knew he couldn’t afford to get history dragged through the courts.

He would give Rachel time to change her mind. And if that didn’t work, he would have to take things into his own hands. Over his dead body was he letting her take his son…

The phone in the hallway rang, once, twice, three times before Dianne answered it.
“Hello?”
“Dianne?”
“Renee?”
Oh Jesus. Her breath caught in her throat. Dianne checked to make sure her husband was still taking his afternoon kip on the sofa before lowering her voice into the mouth-piece.
“Why are you calling? Arthur will kill me if he knows you’re calling here”
“That’s why I didn’t come over, but… I need to talk, I didn‘t know who else to call”
She sounded desperate, Dianne thought. She bit her lip, worried.
Renee asked “Can you talk?”
“Sort of, what is it?”
“I don’t know what to do”
Dianne double-checked her husband was still snoring before turning her back on the living-room where he slept.
“It’s not, it’s not him, is it?” She whispered the words.
“No, it’s not him, it’s something else”
“Well what, for God’s sake, tell me”
“It’s Amy”
“Amy?”
“It, it wasn’t an accident”
“What wasn’t?”
“The fire. He knew she was in there, she was all alone, my baby was all alone”
“It was an accident, Renee, I’m sorry but nothing’s going to bring Amy back”
“You don’t believe me, I need you to believe me, please, oh God” she cried helplessly, speaking between sobs.
“I think… Dianne, I know my Amy was murdered!”
“Renee, listen to me-”
“He killed her”
“Who… Renee who killed her?”
No answer.
Beep. Beep.
She heard the dial tone and thought Renee must of hung up. Until she looked up into the eyes of her husband. Arthur stood next to her, his eyes blazing with fury, veins poking out of his forehead. His finger was still pushing down hard on the phone switch where he’d cut of the call.
He raised his hand. She screamed.

******