Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance by Jessica Ashe

rugby himself judging by his build. He wouldn’t be easy to intimidate or threaten.
    “This isn’t a big operation you’re running here, is it?” I asked, looking around the store that they no doubt used as a front.
    “We do all right for ourselves.”
    “Yes, but you’re operating outside of the law.”
    “Are we?” he said sarcastically. “Well, damn, I guess we had better shut the whole thing down.”
    His associates laughed along with their boss’ joke as good associates always did.
    “What I meant is that you have to take a risk and you’re not raking in the big bucks. No doubt, you have to keep bets modest so as not to arouse suspicion, and rugby is nowhere near as popular as football so the profit is smaller. You’re working hard for little gain.”
    “What do you propose, Mr. Cornish?”
    “Gary and I will give you ten percent of our income for a year.” That would keep me coming back here more often than I would like, but it would also buy us enough time to get the police involved. Perhaps we could set up a sting?
    “Interesting,” the boss said. “But that’s not enough. Let’s make it 30% and that goes on in perpetuity, not just for a year.”
    “20% for five years,” I replied. That was the rest of Gary’s career. Hopefully we would be able to put a stop to all this long before that.
    The boss sat there in silence, likely doing the maths in his head. I suspected this would be a slight loss for him overall, but it would also be a lot less risky for him. The temptation of easy money was strong.
    “I like the idea, in principal,” the boss said. “Get Gary involved and we have a deal.”
    “You agree to stay the hell away from his family?”
    “If he keeps up his end of the bargain then we won’t need to harm anyone.” I nodded my head and walked towards the exit. “The same goes for you, Mr. Cornish. Keep to your end of the deal, and we don’t harm anyone. If not, well, I do hope your mother’s new husband is capable of protecting her.”
    I walked out without rising to the bait. I didn’t have a kid like Gary, but Mum was finally happy with her new husband and I had to protect her. We weren’t close, but she was still my mum.
    Thankfully, I only had one person in my life to protect. I had no wife, girlfriend, or child. My selfish lifestyle at least had some advantages. If there was anyone else in my life, I might not be able to protect them. Thank God I was alone.

Chapter Fourteen
Michelle
    W e’d both had too much to drink, so we hailed a cab to take us to the police station. The traffic meant the journey took twenty minutes, which was just about enough time for me to calm down. If we’d have gotten there any earlier then I would have burst into whatever jail cell was holding Maisie and yelled at her until I was sore in the throat.
    How in the hell had she gotten herself arrested? We’d only been in the country a week. If the cops pressed charges then we might get kicked out and I’d have to explain to Mom why I let her daughter end up in jail.
    I’d also have to face up to the truth about my ability to look after her. Oliver had told me I was responsible for Maisie being the woman she was today. That was supposed to be a compliment, but now it sounded like I was responsible for raising a criminal.
    Oliver led the way to the front desk, but instead of asking to see Maisie, he asked if Chief Superintendent Hodgson was available. A few minutes later, a slightly overweight, but bubbly and confident woman approached and shook hands with Oliver. She didn’t wear a uniform, which presumably meant she spent most of her time behind a desk.
    “Michelle, this is Chief Superintendent Hodgson,” Oliver said, introducing us.
    “Nice to meet you,” I replied. “We’re looking for Maisie Portman.”
    “Yes, don’t worry. I saw her earlier and managed to intercept her before she was thrown in a cell. Thankfully, I got to her just before Superintendent Winston.”
    “Oh thank