Michael Ch. 01

This is the third book in the Michelle series.

Series Order

Book One -- Michelle

Book Two -- Raven

Finch Mini-series

Book Three -- Michael

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Amanda Ross sank to her haunches. She was sweaty, knackered and pissed off. Her team had just lost to a last-minute goal, and the opposition was rubbing it in.

Her teammate, Annie Jackson, pale and stocky as Amanda was dark and tall, joined her.

"Fucking ref was fucking useless!" grumbled Annie.

"Got that right, two goals disallowed for nothing, one of them was effing fantastic." Grievance dripped from Amanda's voice.

"Yeah, it was stunner all right, you left them for dead."

"Off-fucking-side? Fucking joke more like!"

The two girls trudged back to the dressing room, the team's mood sombre.

"Bad luck, girls," shouted coach Katie Masden as she handed out bottles of Boost energy drink. "No need to be down! We played well, that's what counts."

"Bollocks!" A voice yelled, and a balled-up sock hurled in Katie's direction cannoned off a locker.

Katie let the laughter settle down. "As long as no one is throwing their knickers at me, I'm fine!" she yelled back to catcalls and whistles. Katie was only a few years older than the girls of 19 and 20, who made up the team. They played to a good standard and were doing well in the league. Today was a setback but not a disaster.

"Coming down the pub?" Janice asked Amanda and Annie.

"I'll have a quick one," said Amanda, "meeting up with Mum in town, she wants to go shopping this afternoon and I said I would drive her to Brent Cross."

"Sounds fun," grinned Jill, the tall, lanky goalkeeper, her long brown hair held back with a headband.

"It won't, but I'm 20 next month so I'm doing the dutiful daughter bit to make sure I get birthday cash for my travel fund."

"Amanda does Europe. Isn't that a porn film?" More laughter as Katie approached.

"A word Amanda." The coach pulled her to one side.

"Problem?" Amanda knew what was coming.

"You were lucky you didn't get a red after that tackle. Told you before about letting your frustrations getting the better of you. We can't afford to lose you to suspension."

Amanda clamped her mouth shut and nodded. Annie gave her a look as Amanda pulled on her top.

"Don't say it, Annie. I need a drink."

Annie kept quiet.

****

Amanda was late. Megan wasn't impressed. "Sorry, mum." Dutifully, Amanda stooped down to kiss her mum on the cheek. Megan was in her late thirties, short, with a generous figure, long brown hair in a ponytail and minimal makeup.

"Nothing to do with staying for an after game drink with your teammates?" Megan's tone was sharp. For as long as Amanda could remember, her mother was prone to lecturing. It had created friction between them, but their relationship had improved since Amanda left home for Uni.

"Commiserating," Amanda said brusquely. She was still sore.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Did you score?"

"Disallowed."

Megan tutted in outrage. "Blind refs again? Terrible the state of officiating." Megan knew nothing about the game but enough to blame the right people.

Pleased at Megan's comments, Amanda hooked her arm through her mother's. No matter their differences, Megan had one rule that Amanda did appreciate. When it comes to siding with family or outsiders, you side with family no matter what. They chatted happily on the way to the car and set off for the Brent Cross Centre.

"Amy is fretting about her exams, she could do with some sisterly support."

"I'll talk to her." Amy was Amanda's younger sister by four years.

"Well, be positive and encouraging, don't say it will be easy and not to worry. Just because you breeze through everything doesn't mean everyone can."

"Okay, okay, I know how to handle Amy." Amanda ignored the sceptical sound from her mother.

It was during the first break from shopping for coffee that Amanda noticed her mother had gone quiet. From chatty to distracted, almost pensive.

"You okay?" asked Amanda.

"What? Oh, yes. Sorry. Just thinking about Amy."

Returning from the restroom, Amanda saw a man talking to Megan. He was in his forties, with a paunch and sandy hair. Amanda frowned and hurried over but relaxed as she saw her mother was at ease and smiling.

"Everything all right?" inquired Amanda; she was a tall girl and matched the man in height.

He jumped back and smiled. Amanda saw his clothes were expensive. "Yes, just catching up with Megan. It's been a while. Jane sends her love to you both. Until later." He gave a friendly wave and blended into the crowd.

Weird! Amanda sat down. "Another coffee?" She wasn't in the mood for more shopping.

To her surprise, her mother nodded.

"So who was he?" Amanda stirred her Americano.

"Stephen? Just an old friend."

"Old boyfriend?" Amanda sensed juicy gossip.

"Not quite." A half-smile played on Megan's lips.

Ooh, this could be good! "Illicit lovers? Torrid affair?" Then more sharply. "Did you cheat on Daddy?" Her father, Richard, was the sweetest, gentlest man she knew, even though he was not her real father. Nor Amy's, for that matter. Megan married Richard after they were born.

To her surprise, Megan laughed. "No dear I didn't cheat on your father. We have a strong, loving relationship and there is no cheating. I would never cheat on him." Her tone was emphatic.

Relieved, Amanda was free to enjoy the gossip. She also liked her mother's staunch declaration towards her father.

"Stephen is a dear friend from a time when I ran a bit more freely than I do now," continued Megan.

"You were a party girl?" Amanda had difficulty imagining Megan as a party girl, but then, didn't all daughters with their mothers?

"I had my moments, dear." Sometimes I was the party.

"Very enigmatic."

"A woman guards her secrets," smiled Megan, enjoying the teasing.

Sensing this was a good moment, Amanda decided to broach the subject that was preoccupying her. "Talking of enjoying yourself when you were young."

"I was?"

"Yes, well, sort of. Look, you know I want to travel, take a year off Uni. I'm thinking of Europe."

"That's a good idea, it will be a great experience. By yourself?"

"Yeah, I think so. Annie isn't too happy, but she isn't keen on travelling abroad."

"And you will have more fun on your own."

Whatever else Amanda thought about Megan, she wasn't a prude, nor seemly worried by Amanda's flitting between the sexes.

"Yeah. I think Annie is great but its not like I'm in love with her."

"Good. Too early to settle. You need to get out there and enjoy life."

"Absolutely!" Amanda charged towards the opening Megan had given her. "Thing is, I have around £2k saved, it's been hard what with Uni and everything, but you and Daddy have been great helping out, but I'm thinking if you could lend me a bit more, so you don't have to worry."

"You could get a job, or get a job out there. Bar work, that sort of thing."

"Well, obviously I'll get a job, that goes without saying--"

"I think it could do with some saying."

"Not this again!"

"Yes, this again! You coast, Amanda. Everything comes naturally and you think hard graft is beneath you."

"I do not! I help out at the shops."

"Dear, you turn up, do a bit and then message Richard who drops everything to rush over and do what you should be doing. Richard is the finance director, he shouldn't be cutting the end off flowers or filling out orders. He spoils you."

To her credit, Amanda didn't bother denying it. "Perhaps I should ask Daddy for the loan." It was a weak comeback.

"Yes, dear. You do that." Megan patted Amanda's hand. There was only one head of the household, and it wasn't Richard.

"So, you won't help out?"

"Me? No, dear. You can help yourself."

"Fuck's sake!"

"Don't swear and don't sulk."

Amanda glared at Megan. "Fine, I'll help myself. Any ideas? Camming? Get my boobs out for some pervs to gawp at?"

"At least you will be earning, dear." Megan started to laugh.

Despite herself, Amanda started laughing too. "Honestly, you are impossible, mum!"

"Sometimes. How much are you after?"

"Just another thousand or so. It will be additional comfort for you knowing I have security behind me, rather than dossing in doorways."

"Don't try and sell it, dear. I'm going to worry no matter what, even if I do think travelling is a good idea."

"Yeah, okay."

Megan eyed her daughter. The opening was there for her too. "You can have an emergency credit card. Use it when you need it."

"Really? That will work. I promise to only use it when necessary!"

"That promise won't last a morning in Paris." Megan fished out her purse and handed Amanda a card.

"What?" Amanda looked at the card in bafflement.

"It's a card, dear."

"It has my name on it."

"That's how it usually works."

Amanda flashed an annoyed glance. "I mean why do you have a card with my name on it and how long have you had it?" The card expired in less than 12 months.

"Honestly? Since your eighteenth birthday. It was automatically issued to you. And before you ask, no, it didn't come from her." Not directly, anyway.

That fleeting suspicion had crossed Amanda's mind. "So, not buying my affections, then?"

"Not as far as I am aware, no. I haven't seen or talked to her in years. and she hasn't attempted to contact me."

"Or me. And she would have been told exactly what I felt if she had. Don't say it!"

"I'm not. You know my feelings. You are a grown woman and you decide what you want to do with her. But there are aspects you are not aware of and this card is part of it."

"Like what?"

Megan hesitated. "You have a trust fund which you can access when you are 21, although you need my okay for withdrawals. 25 and it is all yours. This is partly why I wanted this time with you. Do some shopping and have a chat."

"A trust fund?" Amanda blinked. "How much?"

"No idea. It isn't my fund and I don't regard it as my business. This card was a condition of the fund. Issued to you on your eighteenth birthday."

"Which you kept from me?"

"Yes. We had finally gotten over the upset of you finding out the truth about your biological mother and to be blunt, having to work for some of your spending money was good for you. Now you can shout at me."

"Ah, the chat at crowded shopping mall now makes sense. Limits my ability to make scene."

" I know my daughter," smiled Megan.

Amanda didn't respond. The memory of that day was still raw.

****

It had been a long time in coming. Amanda vaguely remembered her mother and father, the latter more. A big jolly man, always scooping her up, being exciting. Her mother had been more aloof, as if she was watching over her, guarding her.

Then they were gone.

Amanda had been seven, nearly eight. She had been staying with her Aunt Megan, increasingly over the past year, so the sudden move to London with Megan didn't entirely concern her. Especially as her father had explained it was for her own good and that Megan would look after her and Amy. Her mother she hadn't seen. She couldn't remember the last time.

London had proven to be exciting. Amanda always made friends easily, and Megan was a comforting and familiar face, and a loving one. Richard came along shortly after the three of them moved, and he had been kind and caring. Amanda adored Richard.

As is the way with children, Amanda adapted quickly. She assumed her parents would return--her father had hinted they were doing important work. Perhaps they were spies or royalty. That one had been a favourite daydream of Amanda's for a long time.

The years passed, memories faded, and new ones were made. Then came her teens, increasingly clashing with Megan and the resentment that Megan might be Amy's real mum, but she wasn't Amanda's. So where was her mum? A question Megan avoided, deflected and finally refused point-blank to answer. Refused until Megan could avoid it no longer.

Amanda still remembered that afternoon. Another argument, Richard trying to broker a peace, and then unexpectedly, Megan said: "What do you want to know?"

Anxiety and anger surged through Amanda. "Everything! Where are they? What happened to them? Are they even alive?" This was a lurking dread. It had stopped her from pressing for the truth for fear of what it may bring.

"Your father, I don't know. He disappeared shortly after we moved here."

"And my mother?"

There was a pause, then Megan sighed and looked her daughter directly in the eye.

"Your mother is in prison," she replied calmly.

****

Amanda stayed at Annie's, tapping the credit card repeatedly against her hand. It was as if she was trying to summon answers. She smiled as Annie flopped beside her on the sofabed in her bedsit.

"So, this Trust Fund. Does this mean you are a rich woman, then?"

"Hmm? No idea, doubt it. I mean my parents are pretty well off but having an independent source of income is kind of cool." Although Megan would prevent her from going mad.

"If you are rich, I'm happy to put out, trade sex for cash." Annie nuzzled Amanda's neck.

"£5 do it?"

"Cheeky cow!"

"£5 and some loose change? Hang on."

"Don't bother, might as well let you bang me for free," Annie sniffed.

"I was kind of hoping!" Smiling, Amanda bent her head to Annie and kissed her.

"Kiss me again, like that and I may pay you to bang me," whispered Annie when they broke.

Amanda pulled off her t-shirt and yanked Annie's over her head. "Deal," she grinned. "Stand."

Annie scrambled to her feet, undoing her jeans and then hopping around as she tugged them off. Finally, she stood between Amanda's long legs, her plain white knickers half scrunched up her bottom, a bottom that Amanda clasped and slowly caressed.

This was a ritual that had developed, Annie half naked and waiting patiently as Amanda ran her hands over her before pressing her face into Annie's small pale breasts, trapping pink nipples between her teeth, inflicting tiny bites and nibbles. Annie held the head of the girl she had initially been besotted with before it faded into something more casual. She fought the urge to bury her face into Amanda's afro, drawn by the faint scent of oils, yet not daring to do so.

Lifting Amanda's face, Annie trailed soft kisses, moaning as Amanda's strong fingers drifted up between her legs, gently moistening her, teasing her pussy and then pinning her onto the bed with giggles and shrieks. Annie revelled in her lover's strength, the contrast in their complexions and body shapes, admiring Amanda's large, dark nipples atop firm breasts.

They entwined, neither leading, both enjoying the other; the tastes, the smells, the tautness of two young athletic bodies, unblemished by life or age, and Amanda, for perhaps the first time, seeing how lovemaking added layer upon layer, dimension upon dimension to the act of sex.

Neither moved, content to lie there in silence. It was Annie who broke it, catching the brooding darkness that cast a shadow over Amanda's face. She was used to Amanda's mercurial mood shifts; from light to dark, playful to intense.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Annie.

Amanda did, but her natural reticence and inclination for privacy were difficult to overcome. "Just things. Family."

Annie didn't push, letting it flow naturally or not at all.

"Its my mother." Amanda propped herself up on her elbow, her other hand idly circling Annie's nipple with her finger.

"That tickles," the redhead smiled.

"Good."

"I like your mum, she's cool."

"You don't know my mum," Amanda felt a sense of relief as she let this out.

"Oh."

"You must have wondered, parents are white, Amy and I are not."

"Kind of, but I knew Richard wasn't your biological dad, so I guessed Megan had a previous relationship."

"Yeah, she did. Megan wants me to see this lawyer, to discuss the fund and what it means."

"Makes sense. When you thinking of going?" Annie was also used to the quick subject changes.

"Day after tomorrow. Early. Ten. Some top guy, Mead, is flying in to brief me." Amanda paused. "Megan is my aunt. My mum's sister." The information was coming out in tiny spurts.

Annie ventured a question. "Your mum still around?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Oh." Silence. "You fancy a cup of tea?"

"Later, don't go." They gripped hands. Another long pause. "Mum is in prison, I only found out a few years ago."

"Fuck! Sorry."

Amanda laughed. "No, it's fine."

"Is it, you know, serious?"

"She's in prison, babe."

"Yeah, I know it's just sometimes things happen, women have to defend themselves."

"It's not like that, but thanks." Amanda turned over and buried her face in the pillow. "You want to come with me to see this lawyer?"

"Sure, if that's okay."

"Don't see why not."

Annie felt the tension in Amanda. She leant over and kissed down Amanda's spine, running her tongue in the crease of her bum, tasting the sweat from earlier, a slight musk adding to the mix of scents. Slowly, Amanda began to relax, her legs opening slightly, allowing a finger to massage her gently.

"You remember that documentary? About that woman who ran a crime syndicate down South? Titchester?" Amanda asked, her voice muffled.

"Yeah, She terrorised the place, drugs, killings, They called her Raven didn't they? Kind of hot."

Amanda turned her head as if trying to impart information before saying: "Yeah, she's my mum."

****

It was the name. Raven. Annie had mentioned it, and a small light went off in Amanda's head. The details Amanda had gleaned on first learning the truth had been deliberately sparse. Twelve years in prison. Fraud, money laundering, drugs, extortion. Allegations of murder and trafficking not proven. The woman, her mother, was a monster. 'The Most Evil Woman in Britain!' was one of the more lurid headlines. Amanda had stared at the photo the papers ran with. The black and white image she could still see in her mind, but the name, Raven, hadn't really registered with Amanda, and she hadn't wanted to know after that.

Raven. Megan had a tattoo of a raven on the top of her breast. Amanda had seen and admired it when they were on holiday. It made Megan seem cool.

Megan flashed a smile. They were waiting in reception at the Law Firm of Mead & Jones. Annie sat alongside Amanda, feeling a little out of place. Amanda's revelation had flustered Annie and even prompted her to do some research. The baleful stark stare of a woman in her thirties glared back at her. Annie abandoned her research, appreciating the mundane dysfunction of her own family.

Amanda continued pondering about Megan. The sudden appearance of a Trust Fund made her re-examine the simple background story she had been told. Megan ran a flower shop in Titchester and looked after her and Amy. Then her father sent them away. But was Megan just a flower shop girl? Suddenly, everything wasn't quite so certain.

"If you would like to follow me," A brunette in her forties smiled at them.

"Thanks, Jane," said Megan jumping up.

"My dear Amanda, so lovely to see you!"

Amanda stared at this gnomish figure coming towards her, all beaming smiles and bonhomie. "Mr Mead," she said politely.

"Selwyn please, I almost feel part of the family!" He ushered the three women into seats. "And you are?" This was directed at Annie.

"This is Annie, my girlfriend." Amanda answered for her.

"How lovely," beamed Mead. "Jane will sit in and take notes. I think we should do this formally."

"Agreed," said Megan, her voice cool.

"Quite. Harriet sends her regards, Mrs Ross. Now, where shall I begin?" Mead sat down behind his desk and surveyed them.

All eyes turned on Amanda. "I guess we start with this fund, where it came from, how much."

"Ah, straight to the point. If I may, and as much as I am happy for you and Annie, I do not advise that she sit in on a discussion about your financial affairs." Mead dropped the bonhomie.