Betrayal

And his unkindness may defeat my life,

But never taint my love.

Othello, William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

2010

‘Are you trying to fucking annoy me, Porrick?’

Everyone was laughing at Agnes and her pretend anger. Porrick was laughing harder than any of them; he knew that his sister was just joking with him. But, if he was honest, he could do without it. He hated being the centre of attention − he always had. But he loved his sister and liked to see her like this, relaxed and having fun. She was so serious most of the time.

‘Why would I bother to annoy you, Aggs? Tell me. I’m interested.’

Agnes hugged her brother quickly. ‘All I asked you to do was to pick up my friend Juliet, who I think you like!’

Porrick wasn’t laughing now but he wasn’t about to cause any kind of upset − her friend Juliet was as embarrassed as he was. Agnes was of the opinion that Porrick needed a kick-start, and she was determined to see that he got it.

Reeva was laughing with pleasure; she liked the girl, and she had been wondering for a long time when her youngest son was going to finally bag himself a decent bird. Eugene and Patsy were both smirking good-naturedly; they were both aware that Porrick was not going to be taking Juliet out on a regular basis.

As they walked out into the garden they both began to laugh loudly. Aiden came up behind them and, sticking his head between them, he said jovially, ‘If Juliet was called John, I could see the fucking attraction! I just can’t believe that our mum and Agnes still haven’t cottoned on!’

‘Come on, Ade, you know our Aggs. Religious Lil from Harold Hill! She doesn’t want to believe he’s gay. Nor does Mum, and that really shocks me. I mean, I thought she would be all over that one!’

They laughed together. Agnes had been given this house by Aiden as a birthday present a few years earlier, and it was a really fabulous property. A beautiful detached house, early Georgian, set within an acre of landscaped gardens. Agnes loved it, and she was so grateful to her brother because he was so very good to her and her son. He was like a surrogate father to her boy, and he had made sure that they had never wanted for anything.

The night her son had been brought into the world her brother had been there for both of them and he had been there ever since. Now it was her boy’s eighth birthday, and they were having a huge party to celebrate. Her son looked nothing like his father which had always saddened her − he was her double. As Porrick said, he looked like her in drag. He was dark haired, and dark skinned − he looked more Mediterranean than she did. It was ironic, really, considering all her mum could tell her about her father was that he was a Turk. And, as Jade had once pointed out to her, knowing Reeva like they did, that might not even be the truth. Men had always bullshitted poor Reeva and most of them had never stayed around long enough for her to actually get any kind of address or plausible story from them, so it was all a bit sketchy, to say the least. Jade had always believed that Agnes looked far more Kuwaiti than Turkish, and she had to admit herself that she was very dark, although Reeva had always insisted that her father was a handsome Turkish guy − with a great body and not much else going for him. That had always caused a big laugh but didn’t give her any kind of information that could help her to find him. But, as Aiden had once pointed out, none of them could ever point a finger at a father so what did it matter? They had each other and that should be enough.

She walked through to her kitchen and saw her mum and Jade in deep conversation. As the years had gone on they had just seemed to get closer and closer. Eugene said they were like a witches’ convention and sometimes Agnes could see his point. They were definitely in league somehow and, like her brothers, she had never been invited into their little world. Reeva held her arms out and said drunkenly, ‘Come and give me a fucking hug, Agnes. My only daughter!’

Agnes knew better than to refuse so she hugged her mum tightly, and she waited until Reeva let her go. When Reeva had a few drinks, it was much better to give her whatever she wanted. If she hugged you, then you made sure you waited till she pushed you away, otherwise it could cause upsets. Reeva was still as unpredictable as ever. And she still took offence easily when the drink was on her. Jade winked at Agnes, knowing exactly what was going down.

Aiden Junior came into the kitchen. He’d been outside with the other young men, and Agnes watched as he poured himself another drink. He had inherited the best of Aiden and Jade’s looks and he was a real head-turner. Well over six feet tall, he had thick black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was a big man, broad-shouldered with a natural grace. But what really set him apart was his personality: nobody could ever say they did not like him. He was such a terrific guy, really friendly and open, respectful of everyone he came into contact with. Funny, genuine and kind, he was a favourite of everyone in his orbit. Coupled with his intelligence, he was the real deal.

Jade was so proud of him, as was Aiden. Reeva adored him because he had spent so much time with her. He also adored Reeva; he never went one day without talking to her on the phone or visiting her. He was her boy, and always would be − Reeva and her grandson had a real bond. Aiden Junior had infinite patience with his grandmother, no matter how outrageous she might act, or how much trouble she might be the cause of. Smiling at them, he went back out into the garden to join his friends.

Agnes sat at the kitchen table with her mum and Jade and poured herself a large glass of wine. Taking a gulp of chilled Sauvignon, she looked around her, satisfied that she had done a good job. The house was looking fantastic, and she had filled it with wonderful food and friends and family. The atmosphere was great, and the DJ was playing music that suited every age group. Her son, Colin, was a nice lad. He was growing up fast and she knew that she could not stop that, even though she would love to. She would quite happily keep him a baby all his life. She could see him in the garden with his uncles and his cousin, being made a fuss of because it was his birthday, his party. He loved being a part of the men’s world, and they spoiled him. He was like the family mascot.

‘Look at my Colin, Mum. He is eight! I really can’t believe how fast the time has gone.’

Reeva laughed her loud, deep laugh, the very same laugh that told everyone who loved her that she was already as drunk as a fucking lord. Porrick always said his mum was like Stingray, and then he would say seriously in an American accent, ‘Anything can happen in the next half-hour!’ They always laughed, but it wasn’t really a joke. Where Reeva was concerned it was a true statement.

‘How the fucking hell do you think I feel, Agnes? You lot have grown up so quickly, darling. One minute you were my babies. Now you are all fucking adults. Take my advice and you enjoy your boy while you still can.’

Jade laughed with her. ‘She has a point, Aggs. Believe me, the time goes so fast.’

Agnes smiled, and drank her wine. She knew as well as Jade did that Jade’s son had spent most of his childhood with her and her mother. Not that she would say that, of course, but it was the truth nonetheless. Jade had always been a hard worker and Agnes would never say anything in the least detrimental about that, but she had to admit her nephew had spent more time with her than he ever had with his parents.

‘I think you are both right. But he is eight already!’

Reeva was already pouring them all more wine. ‘Well, believe me, Agnes, you have done a marvellous job. He is a credit to you, darling. A really nice lad.’

Agnes knew that was the truth; she had been there for him since the day he was born − she had made sure of that. He saw a lot of her mother but she wasn’t his surrogate parent like she had been with Aiden Junior.

Timmy Clark walked into the kitchen and Agnes jumped out of her chair to greet him. She was always pleased to see him.

‘Oh, Timmy, I was worried you wouldn’t make it!’

Timmy Clark smiled. He was a very handsome man, with an easy way about him. That he looked like Colin was also a big part of his attraction for Agnes, and he had always kept in close contact with her and her son.

‘Sit down, Agnes, and relax, darling. I’m just going outside to see our young Colin.’

He kissed Reeva hello and spoke a few pleasantries to Jade before he walked out into the garden to see his nephew. He knew that Aiden and his brothers were out there, and he was quite happy to touch base with them all. It was hard for him to even look at Aiden O’Hara but he knew that he had no choice in the matter. He would never get over what had happened, but he had to put it behind him so he could be a part of his nephew’s life, if for no other reason. The fact that Aiden acted like there was nothing amiss had been difficult at first but now Timmy knew to just play the game.

Aiden saw him and shouted happily, ‘Hello there, Timmy, me old mucker! Come over here and have a drink with us blokes.’

Timmy walked over to join them. He shook hands with everyone, and when his nephew ran to him and hugged him he said gently, ‘Happy birthday, Colin.’

Colin was thrilled to see his uncle and Timmy looked at his brother’s child wondering how Aiden could stand there year after year as if nothing had ever happened. That he loved this boy was blatantly obvious − Aiden had been a surrogate father to him from day one. But Timmy could not help but question Aiden’s motives. The child adored him, and he really did put himself out to see that this lad had everything that he needed, as he did for his sister. This house alone was proof enough of that. It had to be worth a million and that was a conservative estimate but, knowing Aiden, it was all in his name − another asset to liquidate should the need arise. He didn’t trust this fucker as far as he could have thrown him. Everything he did was part of his own fucking agenda.

Timmy Clark loathed Aiden O’Hara and would never forgive him for what he had made him do. He had had no choice − Aiden O’Hara had made sure of that − but to do what he had been asked just to save his own arse. How could he ever live with what he had done? Even worse was the fact that the circumstances had assured him of a notoriety that he had enjoyed for so many years, thanks to Aiden’s forward planning, of course. Timmy was revered because he had apparently murdered his own fucking brother in cold blood because he could not allow the death of such a wonderful man as Eric Palmer to go unchallenged. He hated that Aiden had been sure enough of him to know that he would do what was asked. It had been the hardest thing he would ever do but, as Aiden had pointed out, he had still done it. That was what Aiden was so good at: making people do what he wanted, and at the same time holding that over them. They were now in a devil’s alliance.

They worked together, and acted as if they were friends, but they were just playing a part. Over the years they had both managed to fool everyone around them. Timmy Clark had made sure that he would never give Aiden any reason to doubt him so he could stay in his nephew’s life and carry on with his businesses unhindered. The strange thing was, he could tell that Aiden actually did like him and he was willing to leave the past in the past. That was one of the kinks in that fucking nutter’s personality: he could just put what had happened out of his mind. He sent work his way, socialised with him. It was surreal. Timmy knew that as long as he never rocked the boat, Aiden was quite happy to deal with him as an equal in every way.

‘Our Colin is more like his mum, admittedly, but I have to say, there are times when he smiles and he looks just like his old man. Don’t you think so, Timmy?’

Timmy smiled easily. The scary thing was that Aiden was being absolutely sincere. ‘Occasionally, I have to admit he has a look of his dad. But I think he’s the spit of Agnes.’

He knew that was what Aiden liked to hear. And it was the truth; he didn’t have anything of his father in him really except his size. But then his uncles were mostly big men, except for Porrick, but he more than made up for his lack of inches with his psychotic personality. No one ever picked a fight with him twice. He was a legend in his own lunchtime for his uncontrollable temper. But young Colin walked like his father; he had the same gait as him. It could just be wishful thinking, of course. His nephew was the nearest thing Timmy had to family, and he felt an obligation to make sure that this boy had every chance available to him.

Porrick and Eugene were walking towards them with a tray of expensive beers and Patsy was already handing them out to everyone.

‘Come on, guys, let’s toast the latest deal with Marvin Hendry and his posse.’

Aiden Junior leaned over his uncle’s shoulder and, grabbing a beer, he said jovially, ‘I will drink to that! I had the best fucking time in Jamaica with him. It was amazing! It’s a really dangerous place, mind. Like Marvin said, it’s still like the Wild West! But he looked after me well.’

Timmy could see that the boy was embracing his introduction to the real business, and Aiden was clearly proud of him − and so he should be. He was a great kid. Unlike his father, Aiden Junior had an innate sense of fair play and that was obvious to anyone who had any dealings with him. Patsy was laughing with him; there was a real closeness between them that anyone could see. Aiden Junior and his uncles were a tight band. For all Reeva’s faults, she had instilled a loyalty in her kids that would be hard to infiltrate.

‘I heard that you were out there on the pull every night!’

Aiden Junior was grinning happily. He had told everyone that he had already met the love of his life. Marvin’s youngest daughter had really bowled him over. She was eighteen and absolutely gorgeous. But he was quite happy to play the game. He had already worked out that his dad wasn’t too enamoured of his choice of girlfriend. He couldn’t really understand why. After all, his own brothers were black − one was Jamaican and the other one was African − so it was a bit weird that his dad was against it. But he knew that he was still a young man as far as his dad was concerned, and he could only assume it was because of that. Patsy and Eugene were trying to smooth things over for him and he really did appreciate that; his uncles were so good to him.

He could feel his father watching him and, as always lately, his father’s scrutiny made him feel irritated. He knew that his dad was a hard fuck, but that didn’t mean he had the right to dictate everything in his life. He was an adult, and he could do what the fuck he wanted to. But he knew better than to say anything in public, so he kept his own counsel and waited for what he knew was going to be a big event in not just his life, but also his father’s.

A few minutes later he was pleased to see Marvin Hendry, with his closest kin and his stunning daughter, Loretta, arriving. He watched as his Aunt Agnes and his mum welcomed them with open arms. Marvin liked Reeva and always made a big fuss of her, which, of course, she loved. He was aware that everyone around him was suddenly speechless and waiting for his father’s reaction; he didn’t give a flying fuck what he thought.

Waving at Loretta and her father, he motioned them to join them in the garden.

He knew what he wanted and he was determined to get it. He looked at his father and he saw him settling his face into a mask of ambiguity; no one on the outside would know that his dad was not pleased with this turn of events. In fact, his father was the first one to greet the newcomers, which he did with the carefully manufactured excitement that Aiden Junior had witnessed many times in his life before. He acted as if he had been waiting all night for them to arrive so they could finally be together. It was a real learning curve to see at first hand just how easily his father could fake any emotion he felt was needed. Marvin and his crew really believed that they were welcome, that they were honoured guests − which they would have been, of course, except for the fact that his father had such a problem with Loretta.

Loretta came straight to him, and he automatically opened his arms. As she settled herself into his embrace he had no doubt that she was the girl for him. She was beautiful, of course, with coffee-coloured skin and her mother’s thick dark hair. Her eyes were almond shaped and a deep hazel colour. She was tiny, just five feet tall, and slim as a wand; she wasn’t voluptuous, she didn’t have huge breasts or a big booty. But Loretta was just perfect for him, and he loved that he was so much bigger than her, that she was so tiny and so feminine. She was so lady-like.

He kissed her quickly on her lips, and was relieved to see his mum and his grandmother come out to the garden to join them all. Reeva loved Loretta and so did his mum. Agnes followed them out and made a big fuss of getting them all drinks, and encouraging them to feel free to enjoy the buffet.

Marvin Hendry was happy to see his youngest daughter looking so enamoured of Aiden Junior. He liked the boy, and saw in him a real decency and goodness that he knew was more than just his demeanour. Marvin Hendry couldn’t ask for a better mate for his Loretta. She was never going to win any prizes, she wasn’t an academic. She had no interest in university like his elder kids, and she didn’t want to train for anything except being a beautician. She was a good-looking girl who needed to be looked after. He believed that Aiden Junior could take care of her. As young as they both were, Marvin really did believe that these two had a genuine connection. He hoped he was right, because he wanted more for his girl than wanting to be with a fucking Yardie, with his slick talk and the hope that his association with his daughter would guarantee the ponce a place in his world. That was his biggest worry − that his daughter would succumb to a plastic Rasta with a cheap gun, and dreams of the big time. He could only hope that he was right about this lad.

Aiden O’Hara watched as his son and Loretta enjoyed each other’s company. He was well aware that Jade wasn’t impressed with him or his opinion of young Loretta.

She couldn’t see it from his point of view. He didn’t want his only son to tie himself down at such an early age. He was twenty, for fuck’s sake. The girl was eighteen years old, and ripe to trap him. She had the personality of a fucking mannequin. She was pretty − he could not dispute that − but she wasn’t exactly a fucking news reader. She would be hard pushed to fill in a job application without help. Even Marvin had said as much − not that he would remind him of that.

Marvin Hendry still held all the cards, because it was his fucking contacts who were in Colombia and calling the shots. That was something Aiden could not change to his advantage. He needed Marvin Hendry, and Marvin knew that.

Although, in fairness to him, Marvin had never used that in any way that could be construed as disrespectful. He had always given Aiden his due. That was what made this situation so fucking awkward. Unlike Marvin, he didn’t see his son tying himself to Marvin’s daughter as a fucking result. He just couldn’t get his head around it. Why his only son, who had the world at his feet, would think that tying himself down at such a young age was even fucking remotely sensible, he didn’t know. She was a nice girl, but she was not what he wanted for his son. No, he saw his boy as marrying class. And he could − they had more than enough money to do that for him. His boy could have his pick; his grandchildren could be fucking part of the real moneyed class. That was what he had always envisaged for his son. Not a fucking half-caste girl from Jamaica whose only fucking asset was her father’s fucking relationship with Colombian drug barons. But he knew that he had to play along, and hope that he could talk his son into using his fucking brain, and not selling himself cheap.

Jade was watching Aiden; she knew exactly what was going through his head, and she actually felt a terrible sorrow for him. He never allowed for real life − it never occurred to him that his dreams could only ever be fulfilled if the people involved were as interested as he was. She liked Loretta, and she knew that her son was already on a love job. Unlike his father, her son didn’t see what was in his best interests. He didn’t plan every step of his life, wondering what would bring him the most money, or kudos. Her son just wanted to be happy. He had not inherited his father’s belief that everyone in the world was only there to be used by him. Her son was a nice guy, and she loved that about him. She loved that he was a nice person who didn’t have hardly any of his father in him except for his good looks. They were chalk and fucking cheese.

Marvin Hendry was holding court, which he did often and well. He could tell a story, and he could make people laugh. That was a big part of his attraction; he was a man who had the creds needed, but he didn’t feel the need to ram that knowledge down people’s throats. He was quite comfortable in his own skin, and he laughed at situations where people didn’t realise who he was at first. He was a man who didn’t need to be constantly feted.

He was also a man that Jade could not help admiring. He was handsome as fuck, but that was nothing unusual in her world. Handsome men were ten a penny; what she liked was Marvin’s outlook on life. He was a man to be reckoned with, in more ways than one. But what Jade liked about him was that he was an interesting and basically gentle man − at least where women were concerned. All his baby mothers were looked after and given the utmost respect. He had always taken responsibility for his children and made sure they were a big part of his life. So he was handsome and dependable.

That was a dangerous combination because she was attracted to him − she had been since they had first been introduced.

Reeva was drunk as a skunk and Tony, bless him, was trying to keep her in line. The music had been turned up, and the DJ was now playing old-school reggae. That was Reeva’s cue to dance and just forget that she was the mother of five children, and a grandmother to boot.

The garden was lit up with lanterns, and it looked really beautiful. The gardens were landscaped, and it bothered Agnes that she didn’t know anything about the plants, or the trees. Aiden had engaged a gardener who arrived three times a week and who she made tea for. That was her only involvement in the garden! Looking at it tonight, she was aware of how big it was, and how gorgeous it looked. The French windows were open, and everyone was outside. The DJ was very good; he had them all up dancing and, for the first time in years, she was sorry that she didn’t have a man of her own. Couples were dancing in the lamplight together. Her nephew, Aiden Junior, and his girl were hanging on to each other for dear life, just happy being there together. Her son was standing with his uncles. Porrick had given him a sneaky sip of lager and she knew that he didn’t like the taste, but he loved acting grown up with everyone. It was his night, his birthday party, and she wanted him to enjoy it and remember it all his life.

The DJ put on Desmond Dekker’s ‘Israelites’ and Agnes laughed as she saw her mother dragging poor Marvin over to dance with her. She got herself another glass of wine and walked over to her brothers and Aiden, putting his arm around her, hugged her to him tightly.

‘Look at your Colin, drinking his uncle’s beer. This is what life is all about, Aggs. Making new memories, and remembering the good old times.’

Agnes was watching her mum and Marvin Hendry when she felt a hand on her arm. It was Timmy and, pulling her away from her brother, he led her to the patio dance floor and she happily started to dance with him. Agnes was really feeling good for once. She still relied on the Church and she went to Mass at least once a day. It had always been her solace, the place where she felt she belonged. Her faith was very important to her. But tonight she had drunk a few glasses of wine, and she was feeling young and attractive. She knew she was a beautiful woman − men had always given her attention, from a very young age, often attention that she had not wanted to receive. Suddenly, tonight, she wanted to be young, to enjoy herself. Her mum was always telling her that she was a fool to spend the best years of her life mourning a man who could never come back to her. That she should be out there enjoying her life while she still could. But tonight, she didn’t know if it was the wine, or the moonlight, but for the first time in years she felt the urge to let herself go. In Timmy’s arms she felt safe and she also felt like she was young again; inside she had always felt so old, like she had to always be the adult. But that was because her mother had never quite mastered the grown-up bit for herself.

Timmy was pleased to see Agnes enjoying herself. He always felt conflicted around her because he was as much in love with her as ever but couldn’t forget that he had murdered her husband. But he couldn’t stay away from her.

‘You look beautiful, Agnes, do you know that?’

Agnes laughed delightedly and said quickly, ‘Well, Timmy, it is very dark!’

Timmy looked at her and said seriously, ‘Agnes, you are a very beautiful girl. My brother would have wanted you to build another life for yourself and for your son. Look at you, lady!’

Agnes was so embarrassed she turned her head away from Timmy’s gaze, and sighing heavily she said nervously, ‘Oh, stop it, Timmy. Please! You know I don’t know how to react to that kind of talk.’

Timmy could quite happily have shouted at her; she was such a fool. She was so determined to stay on her own, and honour the memory of his brother.

‘Listen to me, Agnes. You need to get a life of your own. All I am saying is, there is a big world out there. For fuck’s sake, go and join it before it’s too late.’

She didn’t answer him; she didn’t know what to say.

Reeva was still holding on to Marvin Hendry and he was quite happy to dance with her. He liked Reeva and he admired her. As Patsy pulled her away from him, and danced her over to Tony, they were all laughing good-naturedly. Tony was quite happy to dance with his Reeva. After all the years they had been together it was quite plain to see that he actually did love her.

Aiden and Jade were dancing to ‘Kingston Town’, the original version − it was their record in a way. And, as they danced, she saw him watching their son and his young girlfriend.

‘I think they are a lovely couple, Aiden. What’s your problem? They are young, and the chances are this won’t even last.’

Aiden snorted at her with complete disrespect and, shaking his head slowly, he said angrily, ‘I might have known you would think this was fucking love’s young dream! Are you stupid, Jade? I had you down as a lot of things, but not a fucking idiot. If he ties himself to her, it’s all over for him. Look at her, a fucking Jamaican drug dealer’s daughter!’

Jade pushed him away from her violently. She was furious at his complete disregard for his son’s feelings and his first foray into the world of relationships and love. How could he be such a hypocrite and still keep a straight face?

‘Who the fuck do you think you are, Aiden? Look around you. You think that you can just want something and it will happen. Well, it doesn’t work like that, mate. Our son is a grown man, and the sooner you fucking remember that the better it will be for all of us.’

Aiden was aware that their little contretemps had been noticed, and he was not happy about that. But he was more annoyed that Jade couldn’t see what he was trying to tell her. He had really believed that she would see where he was coming from. Surely she wanted the best for their son? That was all he wanted for him, all he had ever wanted for him. Unlike his mother, of course, who it seemed didn’t care if he threw his fucking life away at twenty. Women were cunts. His mother had been used by men all her life, from fourteen years old. His attraction to Jade had been because she had the nous to use the men − she wasn’t a fucking silly girl with dreams of fucking romance and weddings. Now it turned out that she was as fucking deranged as every other fucking idiot woman he had known. Why did everyone seem to think that he was the bad bastard because he wanted the best for his boy?

He looked around him as he walked back to his brothers, and seeing his sister still dancing with that fucking Timmy Clark did not do anything to help with his bad mood. But he plastered a smile on his face, and he played the part of the happy uncle.

But he wasn’t happy at all. In fact, he was fucking fuming.

Chapter One Hundred and Eleven

‘Jade, will you just stop for one moment and talk to me.’

Jade had no intention of talking to Aiden because she believed it was a complete waste of time. As she walked past him to leave their bedroom, he grabbed her arm roughly and threw her back on to the bed. Jade was shocked because, as threatening as she knew Aiden’s behaviour could be when thwarted, he had never once used violence against her. She jumped back up immediately − she wasn’t going to let him get away with this.

‘You would fucking dare to think that you could ever lay a hand on me? I don’t think so, Aiden. The man ain’t been fucking born yet who could get away with that.’

Aiden was trying his hardest to keep his cool but Jade was not making it easy for him and she was more than capable of giving him a run for his money if it came to a physical fight. He didn’t want to have to fight with her but she was really winding him up. He was surprised; she was generally sensible enough to know that the best way to deal with him when he was aggravated was not to fucking push her luck too far.

‘I am telling you again, Aiden − our son can do what he likes. You can’t fucking stop him caring about someone. You cannot even really believe that you have that much power over him, surely? He loves us, Aiden, but he loves Loretta too. She is a terrific girl. It might all fall out of bed next week, but that is up to them, not you! Who the fucking hell do you think you are?’

Aiden was on the verge of losing his temper big time. He couldn’t even breathe properly. He was so angry and disappointed with Jade’s stupidity.

‘He ain’t you, Aiden. He doesn’t see everything and everyone as a fucking opportunity. I have had to stand in for you and stop you physically harming the girls you were fucking. I have had to make sure that you didn’t get the poor mares murdered. Because you are more than capable of that kind of hatred, especially when they think they might be in with a chance. You are such a fucking lunatic, Aiden. You only ever see what you want to see. You just never let other people be, do you?’

She could see that she had really got his temper up and, for once, she didn’t care. Her days of pussyfooting round this fucker were over.

‘I am warning you, Aiden: don’t fucking push this. If you are not careful you will push that boy away. He’s a grown man and he doesn’t have to listen to you!’

Aiden could see that she was talking sense on one level, but he could not allow his son to throw himself away on a girl like Loretta. He could do so much better for himself − why couldn’t he see that? What really bothered him was the way that Aiden Junior looked at that girl; he was absolutely besotted with her.

Jade was watching him, she could see the different expressions on his face and she could read him like a book. Placing her hand gently on his arm, she said sadly, ‘Leave him be, Aiden. For Christ’s sake, just leave our boy alone. He won’t thank you for your interference.’

He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. When he held Jade like this it was the only time that he felt safe. Jade gave him a stability that he desperately needed. The fact that she still loved him, knowing him as she did, was something he would always be awed by. Because he knew that he wasn’t like other people; his take on the world wasn’t fucking perfect and he saw a lot of things from a very different perspective to most of the people around him. Well, that was why he was so successful, and why he had created a world for everyone he cared about.

He followed her down to the kitchen and watched her as she made them their morning coffee. She was still a very attractive woman; as old as she was, she could still give a lot of younger women a run for their money. He realised he was lucky to have her – if only he was capable of sitting back and enjoying the life he had built. But it wasn’t in his nature. He’d always had control of everything around him. It had been the bane of his life; from the time he was a young kid, he had always had to think about all the people in his life, from his mother, Reeva, to his brothers and his sister. That had just been his lot and he accepted that. He had been the man of the house − he had had to be, no one else was going to look out for them, were they? So he had done it. He had taken on that load and he didn’t regret a second of it.

But to see his handsome son tying himself to a girl whose only conversation was about fucking celebrities, and who spent more time looking at her social media accounts than she did actually talking to the people around her, distressed him. She was a fucking moron, a very pretty moron but a first-grade one, nevertheless. From her expensive shoes to her false nails, she was everything that he loathed. He employed girls like her in his houses and his clubs, but they were for no more than a dalliance. You didn’t fucking marry them.

Jade placed a mug of coffee in front of him, breaking his train of thought. ‘You really can’t see what you are doing wrong, can you, Aiden? It scares me that you can’t see what the real problem is here. Something so simple even your fucking mother could suss out while on one of her massive benders, is beyond your comprehension. Be honest, Aiden. It’s not Loretta you object to. Your fucking problem is that your son is striking out on his own, doing something that you had no hand in, something that you can’t control. Don’t try and bullshit yourself that this is about anything else − because we both know that it’s not.’

Aiden shrugged. She made a good argument − and she was absolutely right. But that didn’t change the fact that he still believed his son was making a big mistake.

Jade lit herself a cigarette. He clearly wasn’t going to admit anything so she tried another tack. ‘Is it because she’s black, Aiden?’

Shaking his head slowly, he looked into her eyes as he said, ‘In all honesty, Jade? I just don’t know. I really can’t answer that, darling.’

Jade looked at him for a long moment before saying sadly, ‘You never fucking cease to amaze me, Aiden.’

She was so disappointed in him, and he understood why she would feel like it.

‘I could have lied to you, Jade, but I didn’t, did I?’

She didn’t know what to say to him any more. They were a strange pair, but they had been through so much together. She knew everything about him − the good as well as the bad, and there was a lot of bad in him. He was ruthless and vicious and he could be very petty when the fancy took him. Yet somehow they worked together; they were both broken people. But she had been broken by circumstances − Aiden had been born broken.

‘Promise me one thing, Aiden. Please leave Aiden Junior alone. Let him follow his own road because there is a lot of you in our boy and he won’t take kindly to you interfering in his life.’

Aiden couldn’t deny she was right about that.

‘It’s his first real love job, Aiden, and that’s a big thing at his age. You remember how it felt, don’t you? I concede that she isn’t exactly a fucking bluestocking, but that doesn’t bother him. And Marvin − he thinks the sun shines out of our Aiden’s arse. You know what the real irony is? That Marvin isn’t bothered about his precious daughter with our son. Unlike you, he thinks that they are entitled to love whoever the fuck they want.’

She walked over to him and, slipping her arm around his shoulder, she sat on his lap. He immediately held her to him as she knew he would.

‘This is a good thing. It will cement our relationship with Marvin, and that alone will gain for us untold benefits. Marvin wants to take Aiden out to Colombia and, let’s face it, that is something he has never offered anyone else. Whether Aiden and Loretta stay together or not this is a good alliance for the boy. Surely even you can see that?’

The best thing to do with Aiden was to appeal to his logical side, to his business side. That was always the most important thing where he was concerned. He was smiling now, and she kissed him gently on his mouth.

‘You’re right, Jade. I can see where you are coming from. If Marvin does decide to take our Aiden into the actual supply chain as a buyer then that can only benefit us as a business, as a family.’

‘Exactly.’

She hugged him to her and hoped that she had talked him down, even though she knew that Aiden was as unpredictable as a menopausal Russian weightlifter.

Chapter One Hundred and Twelve

Marvin Hendry had recently purchased a building in Brixton; as it was being gentrified it was becoming a great place for investment opportunities. He had always felt at home in Brixton − he had even met one of his baby mothers at The Fridge many moons ago. She was a good-looking girl from Essex who had produced a son for him and, more to the point, had always understood the situation of being involved with him. She was a realist. She was married now to a nice guy who wasn’t short of a few quid and who his son really had a great relationship with. The boy had finished university and was training to be a doctor. He was interested in surgery, and Marvin was quite happy to bankroll his education. He planned to gift him one of the flats in this block that he had purchased and was now being renovated. Marvin liked to see his blood achieving. He had always partied away from home, and that would never change, but he also prided himself on never shirking his responsibilities. It grieved him that so many men in his world produced a child and would often abandon that child along with its mother. Marvin was a staunch believer in taking responsibility for your actions.

He was pleased that his adored daughter, his Loretta, and Aiden O’Hara Junior were so enamoured of each other. He really liked the boy and he was quite happy to bring him into the operational side of the business if he became family. Marvin was well aware that it bothered Aiden O’Hara that he had never been able to get a foot into the actual Colombian distribution. But as much as he liked and respected Aiden, Marvin could never allow him to become too involved in that side of it. He knew Aiden O’Hara too well; the man had a natural greed and that, coupled with a personality that would never let him be anything other than the top earner, automatically disqualified him from ever getting anywhere near the people concerned. This, along with the knowledge that Aiden would always try to infiltrate the organisation so he could further his own agenda, pretty much guaranteed that Marvin would never let the fucker get too close.

But his son was a different entity entirely. He was young and he was hungry, but the boy’s real talent was his ability to get along with everyone around him; in this particular game that was a real bonus.

Marvin’s connections were real Colombians. Fanatical Catholics, they were passionate about family. It was a given that the only people you could ever really trust were your own family − that was how they had survived in the world they inhabited for so long. Family also included the people who had married into the clan; unless they were deemed weak or fake they would be welcomed with open arms. Marvin believed that he could quite easily take Aiden Junior under his wing and teach him everything he needed to know. Marvin didn’t have any of his own children this high up in his business; the sons he had working for him were good boys but they would never have the brain capacity to do anything more than run whatever side businesses he provided for them. It broke his heart to admit their limitations, but in his world you couldn’t ever put the wrong people into positions of power. That was a mistake too many others had made, and he knew exactly how it tended to turn out − he was normally the person who had to go in and pick up the pieces.

Instead, he was quite happy to bring Aiden Junior into his business on a really good footing. The boy was an up-and-coming young Face, already talked about as a diamond geezer, as the cockneys would describe him. And then there was the fact that Loretta was pregnant; she had already confided in her mother, who had immediately confided in him. But he would wait for his daughter to tell him in her own time. He was also very interested to see how Aiden O’Hara Junior handled the situation. Marvin had worked out for himself that Aiden’s father wasn’t exactly a big fan of the youngsters’ relationship. That had irritated him. He really didn’t like to contemplate that a headcase like Aiden O’Hara could actually think that his daughter wasn’t good enough to align herself with his son. That was a real melon scratcher, all right. The plus was that Marvin had great hopes for Aiden Junior, and he believed that the boy would step up to the plate where his daughter was concerned. He liked the kid and he trusted him.

So Marvin was doing what he always did: keeping quiet about what he already knew and waiting. That was something he had learned at an early age: never let anyone know what you knew. The chances were that most people were very rarely scrupulously honest about the part they played in whatever drama you were suddenly involved with. He had learned to always find out everything he could about everyone around him, and that way he could never be surprised at what they might be capable of. That meant that he was already aware of how they were going to react before they even crossed his threshold. It was called covering your own arse, and he was the fucking king of it.

He looked around his new apartment, pleased with what he saw. It was very luxurious and it was also soundproofed. Marvin never left anything to fate.

That was why he was so successful.

Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen

‘I can’t believe it, can you, Aiden?’

Aiden Junior was still on cloud nine. He didn’t see Loretta’s condition as something to worry about. He was just excited to know that he was going to be a father. It wasn’t planned and she was only eighteen, but he would stand by her, of course.

‘I’m over the moon, Loretta, darling. But you are only young and if you don’t think this is the right time for you to have a baby, I would understand.’

Loretta appreciated that he was trying to be fair and how hard it had been for him to say that to her. That he would stand by her decision meant a lot to her.

‘What did your mum say again?’

Loretta snuggled into him. She loved everything about him − his smell and the feel of his body beside hers.

‘She said that it’s up to me. Well, us. That we had to decide what we thought was the right thing to do.’

Aiden kicked the covers off the bed and, as Loretta squealed at her nakedness, he started laughing. She was already trying to pull the blankets back over them and, grabbing her gently, he pinned her down on the bed.

‘You are beautiful, Loretta. I don’t understand why you are always so body-shy with me. You know I think you are fucking amazing. I adore you, darling. I fucking love you.’

He kissed her hungrily and she responded as he knew she would. He pulled away from her and stared into her eyes; he could look into her eyes all day and all night long. She was such a revelation to him. From the moment he had clapped eyes on her he had been smitten. It had never happened to him before. He had had his fair share of girls, but they had been no more than conquests. Working at his family’s business, the one thing he had always had access to was females, and willing females at that. But it wasn’t until he had seen Loretta standing there in that nightclub in Ocho Rios in Jamaica, with her wide smile and her trim little figure, that he had ever felt such a strong attraction to anyone before. She had walked over to Marvin and he had kissed her and hugged her and, when Marvin had finally introduced her to him as his daughter, Aiden had felt such a rush of relief as he had never felt before in his life. They had been inseparable ever since. That she had been a virgin when they had eventually come together had only added to her appeal. She was everything that he had ever wanted and dreamed of.

‘If you want this baby, Loretta, I’m willing to stand by you. We can get married, darling. I would marry you with or without this child. But I don’t want you to feel that you have to have it. I would understand if you didn’t think you were ready or old enough for something this important.’

Loretta had tears in her eyes. He was such a lovely man − so tender and so caring, and she knew that he was being truthful with her. That must be why she felt so emotional; it didn’t occur to her that it might have anything to do with her being pregnant.

‘I want this baby, Aiden. I want our baby. I know it wasn’t planned, but it has happened and we made it together. I conceived in Jamaica and, going by the dates, I think that it was probably the first night we spent together.’

Aiden remembered that they had not used any contraception that first time. Both full of alcohol and grass, they had walked along the beach together and talked for hours under the stars. They had eventually gone back to his suite and, as his Nanny Reeva would say, nature had taken its course. Well, now they had to face the consequences of their actions.

‘I am glad you don’t want to get rid of it, Loretta. I don’t think I would have really been as easy about it as I let on. But I would have respected your decision − after all, you are the one who has got to have it.’

Loretta finally pulled the blankets back over them both, laughing as they tried to tidy the bed around them. She was so happy to be with this man, who she had fallen in love with the second that she had laid eyes on him. The fact that he said he had felt the same thing was something she would always remember and cherish, especially as the night they had met, her friend Leona had been beside her, and there was no way anyone could compete with her. She was the whole package: tall, high-breasted, firm booty and she looked like a movie star. But Aiden had not even given Leona a second glance, it was like fate − they were meant to be together.

‘What do you think your dad will say about it, Loretta?’

She snuggled into him, enjoying the smell of him and the softness of his skin against hers. She looked up at him and kissed him gently on his lips.

‘He already knows, Aiden.’

She saw the incredulity on his face and, giggling, she pulled away from him and lay on her back as he leaned on his elbow and gazed down at her in consternation as she said flippantly, ‘I told my mum, as you know, and she tells my dad everything. The truth is, Aiden, if you had not wanted to be a part of this, I would have let you walk away. I already knew that I was going to have the baby anyway. I don’t think I could actually have an abortion. You know, I think that once I knew that there was a child inside me I felt that I would have to keep it, but I didn’t want you to think that I had trapped you.’

Aiden kissed her deeply. Then, jumping out of bed, he started to pull his clothes on.

‘Where are you going?’

He sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in his.

‘I am going to buy an engagement ring and then I am going to see your dad and explain the situation properly. I owe him that much, Loretta. He has always been good to me and I want to assure him that, even though this baby wasn’t planned, we are both happy with the situation. I’ll tell him that we will be marrying sooner than we had anticipated, but that it isn’t a problem, because we had already discussed our future together. I will also assure him that I will look after you and my child to the best of my ability.’

Loretta knew why she had been so attracted to this man; he was such a good person. He was by no means a pushover − she knew that from listening to her father and his cronies. On the contrary, Aiden was a rising star, as her father had referred to him on more than one occasion. She loved that he wanted to do the right thing by everyone, not just by her and the baby, but also by her father, who she knew he liked and also respected.

‘My dad thinks you are a great guy, Aiden.’

He grinned cheekily, but she could tell that he was already sorting everything out in his head. That was one of things she admired about him − he thought things through, and tried to ensure that he did the best for everyone concerned. She knew that she wasn’t as intelligent as he was, but he didn’t mind that about her. She was confident that her dad would not be averse to their predicament − she just wished she could be as sure of his father’s reaction. Because, although she had never said it to Aiden, she could tell that his dad didn’t really like her at all. The comfort was, of course, that she also knew that her father wasn’t a man that people crossed if they had an ounce of common sense.

Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen

Aiden O’Hara was looking at his son as if he had suddenly grown a set of antlers and a long, grey beard. He saw Reeva jump out of her seat and scream with excitement, and saw his brothers smiling and shaking his son’s hand as they offered their congratulations. And he saw his sister sitting there with her hand covering her mouth and trying not to cry at the wonderful news. Yet all he wanted to do was fell that stupid fucker of a son of his to the floor. Just take him down with a huge punch to try and knock some fucking sense into him.

His son had really used his loaf; he had made sure that they were all at Reeva’s house before he dropped this fucking bombshell. She had been in on it, of course, and she had cooked them an excellent meal and provided plenty of alcohol. Jade was clearly also in on the big news − she and his mother were closer than a nun’s fart these days. He had to keep calm and pretend that he was on board with everything. But as Aiden Junior’s father, he was surely entitled to say a few words of caution as well. That was the fatherly thing to do, after all. He plastered a smile on his face and, standing up, he went to his only son and after shaking his hand he pulled him into a manly embrace.

Aiden Junior held on to his father for a long moment. He was so pleased that he had finally told everyone the good news. He had taken his mother’s advice and waited till the whole family was there before letting his father know what had happened. Reeva had agreed with his mother, and he had done as they had advised and tried to sweeten the pill for his father as best as he could. This wasn’t something his father was going to embrace and Aiden Junior wasn’t happy about that. After all, his father had no real say in his life now − he was a grown man. He earned his own wage and he had proved himself more than capable in his chosen profession. It was his dad who had introduced him to this business, and he had embraced it as his father had desired.

He would love his father to, just once in his life, accept his decision about what he wanted to do, especially as this was such a momentous occasion for him. He was going to be married, and he was going to become a father. There was nothing that his dad could do to stop any of it, no matter what he might think.

‘So, Ade, I assume that you have already spoken to Marvin?’

Aiden stepped away from his son and, as he walked back to his seat at the table, he was aware of the atmosphere that he had caused. Everyone in the room was suddenly struck dumb. That should have told his boy what was really going on. Aiden was pleased with the effect his words had had on the merrymakers in the room. He watched as his son sat back in his seat, and picked up his glass of wine.

‘Of course Marvin knows, Dad. Loretta told her parents as soon as she found out she was pregnant.’ He smiled at his mum as he said, ‘I think that is a daughter thing, don’t you?’

Jade nodded. ‘I think you are right, mate. It’s natural, really. Girls are more inclined to tell their mum first, I suppose.’

Porrick stood up and started to pour more wine into everyone’s glasses. He was determined to make sure that his nephew had a good night, no matter what his brother might want. He couldn’t understand how his oldest brother could try and ruin his own boy’s day. He could cope with the fact that Aiden often really pissed him off, but he was fucked if he was going to sit back and see him piss all over his lad’s dreams. What was wrong with the man? It was like he deliberately set out to destroy his own son’s future happiness.

‘I think this calls for a toast! What wonderful news, Aiden. Congratulations.’ Porrick stood up then and, as he held his glass up in the air, he snapped, ‘Hello, people, it’s a fucking toast!’

Reeva and Jade stood up and Agnes watched as her brothers rose too. Then she looked at her brother Aiden and saw his scowling face. She wondered how this lovely day had suddenly become so frightening. She saw Patsy and Eugene raise their glasses, along with her mum and Jade, and she knew that she had to get up and join them, even though she really didn’t like that she always had to take someone’s side. She just wanted to keep out of it. But when Tony stood up and shouted loudly, ‘Congratulations, mate! I wish you both all the best,’ she stood up and toasted Aiden Junior along with everyone else. By doing so she was going against her eldest brother, which made her nervous because she depended on Aiden for everything these days − from the roof over her head to the food she cooked, which he provided.

Reeva and Jade were congratulating Aiden Junior, and the boys were all asking him questions. He was standing there, thrilled to bits, and there was her oldest brother just sitting at the table as if his son’s news meant nothing to him.

Aiden Junior went over to his father and, looking into his eyes, he said earnestly, ‘Come on, Dad. Tell me you are happy for us. This is one of the best days of my life. I love Loretta, and I know that we will have a good life together.’

Aiden saw the naked longing in his son’s eyes. Getting up from his seat, he opened his arms out in a gesture of supplication, as he said brokenly, ‘Of course I am pleased for you, son. I want you to be happy, of course I do. But you are both so young to be having a baby.’

Reeva snorted in annoyance as she shouted, ‘Oi, mister. I was only fucking fourteen when I had you, remember! And you were only twenty-one when you got Jade pregnant. Of course, as we all know, Jade was well over the age of consent.’

Jade was laughing as she cried, ‘That’s right, Reeva, rub it in, why don’t you!’

Everyone joined in the laughter, and Aiden knew that he had lost the opportunity to say what he had wanted to say to his son.

‘Marvin was all right then, Ade?’

They had sat back down around the table, and the atmosphere was light again. Aiden looked at his Aunt Agnes and he smiled as he answered her question.

‘Marvin has been amazing considering it’s his daughter, but he knows that we are serious about each other. I even asked him for her hand in marriage. He was quite chuffed, I think. He’s talking about me going out to Colombia to learn the business from the supply end. He thinks that I have the temperament to deal with people, and also the acumen to work out the figures in my head. As we know, nothing is ever written down − there’s never a paper trail of any kind.’

Patsy was well impressed and he said as much. ‘Fucking hell, Ade! That’s a real fucking compliment to you, mate. None of us lot has ever got within a donkey’s roar of any of the main people involved.’

Eugene and Porrick were thrilled for him − they both got up and shook his hand with delight.

Patsy looked at his nephew with genuine respect as he added, ‘You have fallen on your feet there, boy! Marvin Hendry is a good fucking bloke to have on your side. He will look after you. I know he has always liked you, but who wouldn’t like you, eh? You were always a likeable kid, even when you were getting on our nerves!’

They were laughing and joking again, and Reeva motioned to Tony to open more wine. Aiden watched his son as he chatted with his uncles, and he couldn’t help but wonder at why his boy, a young man, was suddenly being given the opportunity to go to Colombia to learn the supply business, when he had never once been invited out there for even a meeting.

Jade came and sat beside him and, as she sipped her wine, she said quietly, ‘You all right?’ When he didn’t bother to answer her she leaned towards him and, putting her lips close to his ear, she whispered, ‘You ruin this for our son and I swear to God that I will never forgive you.’

Agnes couldn’t hear what had been said but she knew from her brother Aiden’s face that, whatever it was, it wasn’t anything good. She listened to the talk and the banter around the table for the rest of the evening, but her eldest brother’s silence frightened her.

Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen

‘There’s definitely something not right, Jade. I’m sorry, darling, but he needs to get a fucking reality check.’

Jade knew that Reeva was as aware as she was of what was really ailing Aiden, but she was too shrewd to say it out loud. No one was willing to say it out loud, that was the trouble. Aiden was like the Antichrist because his son, who he should be pleased for, had been given a serious in with Marvin. Aiden couldn’t see that it was something that would benefit them all. He could really be so fucking stupid at times. Any other man in their world would be over the moon to think that his son was being given such a lucrative and important position. But not her Aiden − he took it as a personal insult. To make matters worse, Jade knew that her son’s refusal to listen to his father’s advice was now being seen by Aiden as a declaration of war. He believed that his only son was being poisoned by Marvin Hendry and was turning into the enemy.

Usually Aiden took against people that she didn’t care about enough to even bother interfering. But this time it was different − this was their son. And this was the one time that she couldn’t help him to justify his mind-set. She knew she was guilty of making Aiden feel better about his actions when it suited her. She feigned agreement with his more suspect decisions. Take the time he’d nailed poor Peter Gunn to a door, all because he thought he had been disrespectful to him, when the lad had only been making a joke in his usual way. Turned out it was the last joke he would ever make.

That had been a really low point. With the help of Eric Palmer she had eventually straightened it out. Aiden had recognised, in the aftermath, that it wasn’t exactly his finest hour, and he had been grateful for her interference. If only she had been straight with him at the time. But she hadn’t called him out on his actions because, as usual, she was trying to protect him from himself, from his own anger and lunacy. She still felt sick when she remembered seeing the boy nailed to the door. After over twelve hours of hanging there he had still been alive − barely − and she had been forced to oversee not only his removal from a lock-up in Canning Town, but also his burial on the salt marshes in Essex when he died shortly after they had found him. As hard as she could be, Jade had never really got over that. His only crime had been to make one fucking joke at Aiden’s expense. From what Patsy had told her, it had been a really funny joke, and on any other day Aiden would have laughed. But obviously he had not found anything even remotely amusing on that particular day. Aiden’s weakness was his quick temper and his need to prove himself when that wasn’t even really necessary. He harmed certain people because he wanted to hurt them: the men were either too good-looking, or he perceived them as some kind of a threat − if not at that particular moment in time, then he would argue that they would be dangerous in the future. Her Aiden could justify anything that pertained to his bad behaviour and she was guilty of making sure that he was proved to be right. She had always cleaned up behind him; along with Patsy and his brothers she had always been the one they called when Aiden lost his cool and fucked up.

But this time it was about their son. That Aiden could believe for one minute that his boy would ever even think of doing anything detrimental to his own father was fucking mental. He adored his father but, for the first time in his life, he was not doing what his father wanted him to do. She was pleased that he was taking the initiative for once. This was exactly what Aiden Junior needed. He was being given the opportunity to make his own way and make his own mark. Why his own father couldn’t see that this was a fabulous opportunity was beyond her.

‘Look, Reeva, I am sorting it, all right? So can we just drop the subject please?’

Reeva was annoyed but she chose not to take the conversation any further. All she had really wanted was for Jade to know that her son Aiden was on his own as far as she was concerned. He was being a prize fool and everyone in the family was aware of that. But, as usual, they were depending on Jade to sort it out. Reeva was confident that Jade would not let Aiden harm their son; at least that was what she was counting on because she was more than aware of what her eldest son was capable of. That was why she was so worried.

Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen

Eugene and Porrick were waiting for Patsy in a spieler that Patsy had purchased a few years earlier. The previous owner had owed Patsy a big favour, and he had happily signed the place over. In all honesty he had been glad to get shot of it as he was finding it harder and harder to police the fucking place. A particularly audacious murder on the premises − a bloody shooting late one night over a game of fucking cards − had been the final straw.

Patsy had hushed it up, and the man had given over the ownership without a backward glance. It was a different world these days, and he knew that he was too old to be arsed with any of it. It was an illegal drinking club in Romford and, even though the powers-that-be were aware of its existence, they knew better than to cause any aggravation. It was a lucrative little earner and, since Patsy had taken over the ownership, the clientele had suddenly found their manners.

But today, in the early afternoon, it was empty except for a barmaid and the manager. The manager was a young black guy from Mile End who was quick with figures and even quicker with his fists. Garry Coleman was a much-respected man, married to his childhood sweetheart, and the father of three young sons under five. Not exactly a conversationalist but, as Patsy always pointed out, you couldn’t have everything. He did what was required, and he did it with the minimum of fuss. Even when he ejected people, he always did it in such a way that they could come back after a proper apology and the gift of a drink to soothe his anger.

The barmaid was a transsexual called Martine. She looked better than most page-three girls when in full drag − and could take down a drunken rugby player with one punch, as had been proved on more than one occasion. No one with an ounce of intelligence would ever deliberately set out to upset her; even in high heels, she was still more agile than her more masculine opponents. Basically the fucker could fight and, if pushed, fought to the death.

Porrick and Martine got on like the proverbial house on fire as they often saw each other socially. Eugene liked everyone because that was his nature so, as they sat together having a drink while they waited for Patsy, the talk was about local gossip. Martine, as always, was full of mirth; she had a seriously funny sense of humour and, as she regaled them with the story of the previous night’s excitement, they were laughing so much that they didn’t notice Aiden walk inside the bar area.

The doorman was an old bruiser who had really had his day but, as a daytime doorman, he was more than sufficient. He was a big lump with what Reeva always referred to as six hairs and a nit − meaning he was almost bald − and a smile like a mouthful of dog ends. He had never managed the oral-hygiene thing; it was always best when discussing anything with him to stand downwind. But he had his creds and Patsy was quite happy to let the man get himself an earn and also a bit of respect. He deserved it; he had been a bare-knuckle boxer in his youth and he had acquitted himself well, but his serious fighting days were long over.

‘Something fucking funny, I assume?’

Aiden looked and sounded menacing. This was Aiden on a bad day. Looking around him at the tattered old club, Aiden wondered if they’d still bring in any punters if it wasn’t for the fact that it was safe place to do a deal and lay low. And, of course, if you got drunk there was always someone to help you get home.

Martine shrugged and, standing up, said in her high voice, which she knew annoyed the likes of Aiden, ‘Can I get you a drink, darling? Your usual Scotch and water?’

Aiden nodded and took a seat beside his brothers. ‘This is a fucking shithole during the daytime. It needs a fucking makeover. A roof on a skip would look better!’

Eugene shook his head in denial. ‘That’s part of the charm. Not everyone wants a fucking state-of-the-art drinking hole, Aiden, with inflated prices for a fucking show-off clientele. I think Patsy was right to keep this as it is.’

Aiden knew that somewhere in that sentence he had just been put in his place. He decided to overlook the insult. He needed everyone onside at this moment in time. There was definite skulduggery afoot, and he wanted it all sorted quick sharp.

Garry excused himself politely and made himself busy stocking up the bar, all the while keeping a beady eye on the proceedings going on at the table. He had never entirely trusted Aiden O’Hara − not that he would ever say that, of course. He wasn’t about to cause himself any unnecessary aggravation. But he had observed him over the years and he had come to the conclusion that he was more than a few fucking cakes short of a birthday party. He was a nutbag, and Garry didn’t care how hard or how clever he might be, he didn’t trust him and he never would. He was never rude, but he made a point of avoiding him if possible. Aiden O’Hara had too short a fuse for his liking.

Porrick had to admire Martine, she was a feisty fucker. Martine placed a large drink in front of Aiden and said, as camp as possible, ‘Your drink, Aiden, just as you like it!’

Aiden looked at Martine, who was consequently fluttering her eyelashes, and he actually did laugh at the humour. He took a deep draught of his whisky and nodded happily as he said, ‘You might be a poof, Martine, but you do pour a decent drink, love.’

Martine took that as her cue to leave and she smiled as she went behind the bar and automatically started to help get it ready for the evening’s punters. Like Garry, she had no interest in being in Aiden O’Hara’s company.

Aiden O’Hara might be respected, revered even in some circles. He was a hard man and he earned a great deal not just for himself but for everyone on his payroll − no one would ever dispute that. But the one thing that Aiden had never been and never would be was liked. He was tolerated by most people as a necessary evil and he wasn’t a man that the majority of people would cross without a fucking army of some kind behind them. He was a violent fucker, who didn’t need that much encouragement to find fault or take umbrage when the mood was on him.

From his position behind the bar, Garry could see that Porrick and Eugene were both uncomfortable, and he wondered at a family who were so close, and yet so far apart.

Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen

Marvin Hendry was in a serious quandary. He was in a position that he would not wish on his worst enemy − it was a fucking problem for him and the people close to him. He had been left with one final chance to try and make everything right − not just for his daughter but for everyone else concerned in this fucking stupidity.

Clearly Aiden O’Hara was not thrilled about his son’s upcoming nuptials. Well, that was too fucking bad. Marvin could swallow that, though he would never forget the insult. Where business was concerned, it wasn’t unusual to have to deal with people that you would not necessarily choose as your bosom buddies. Business was a different thing altogether. You might socialise with these people as part of the process when making a deal, but that was part of the game. The business they were involved in meant that you often had to accept some very strange bedfellows. It was the nature of that particular beast. What Marvin could not overlook was the fact that Aiden O’Hara, who he had always had such a good relationship with, could be so fucking cold at a time like this. He had known that Aiden O’Hara was not the most stable-minded person on the planet but that he actually had the nerve to voice his disapproval of his only son’s relationship with his daughter, Loretta, well, it just confounded him. The man had to know that, if push ever came to shove, he didn’t stand a fucking chance against Marvin. He might think he had London by the balls, but he wasn’t dealing with London Faces now. He was now dealing with people who were known to terrify the American judicial system, who lived in a country that was devoid of anything even resembling laws if you didn’t choose to obey them. He would be dealing with Colombians, as well as Jamaicans. No one could oppose them if they didn’t want them to.

Loretta was his favourite child out of all his offspring; as the only girl, she needed his protection far more than his sons ever would. She was a loving and trusting girl who he had adored from the moment he had looked into her eyes. His fear had always been that she would be swept off her feet by a Bob Marley lookalike. But she had impressed him with her choice of mate; Aiden Junior was shrewd and he was respectful − and nothing like the fucking psychopath that had sired him. He was ready to learn and, unlike his father, would happily admit his failings and ask the relevant questions needed so he could learn the business properly, thereby ensuring that he would eventually go into said business with a good working knowledge behind him. It was what any intelligent man would do − he would make sure that he learned from the best so he could deliver his best when the time came. Marvin would trust the O’Hara boy with his Loretta. The man was exemplary in every way that mattered. He had only ever heard good things about him, and he had never had cause to question the boy’s intentions where his girl was concerned.

Yet now he was hearing from all different sources that the boy’s father, Aiden, the fucking strangest Face in London, was against the match and had given his boy an ultimatum. How could he dare to even insinuate that his daughter wasn’t good enough for his son? It couldn’t be her colour, surely, as his own brothers were black: one was Jamaican and one was an African. It was like the man had lost his mind or, as he had been told this day, it was because he didn’t like his son getting the offer of being a part of the Colombian cartel. Because that is what his new son-in-law would become, of course: a valued member of that cartel, treated as an important member of the family. If what Marvin had been told was true, then Aiden’s father’s real problem was with the fact that his only son would eventually become far more powerful than him. Knowing the man as he did, Marvin realised that it would be Aiden’s greatest fear, something he would never allow to happen. And Marvin suspected if there wasn’t a plan in play already, Aiden would soon be up to skulduggery. Marvin had to think long and hard about his next steps. Whatever happened, though, he would only do what he believed was in the best interests of everybody concerned, please or offend as the case may be.

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

Patsy knew there was no chance his nephew was going to give her up. He wondered how he could sweeten the pill for his older brother, even though there was no way he could make this sound any fucking easier than it was.

Aiden was drunk. They were still in Patsy’s bar in Romford and he had made sure that none of the usual punters gained access. Porrick and Eugene were on standby to disabuse any who felt the urge to be vocal about not being given admittance. The whole family were coming in support of Aiden Junior, well aware of the choice Aiden had given his son to leave Loretta and his unborn child.

Aiden Junior turned up early with his mum. He sat down beside his father and it was clear he knew that his dad was over the moon he was there with him, believing his decision made. Aiden was grabbing his son by his neck, and roughhousing with him, ostensibly play fighting even though everyone watching could see that he was deliberately using his strength against his son, and was physically hurting him. It was a warning and everyone, including Aiden Junior, was aware of that.

‘I’ve always believed, my son, that when it comes down to it, you choose your family. You are one of us and don’t you ever fucking forget that.’

Aiden was acting like his boy’s appearance in the bar at tonight’s family gathering was enough to prove to everyone that his boy would never dare to go against his wishes. That his only son would always follow his father’s advice and his opinions, no matter what he might think himself.

Aiden Junior had turned up in the hope he could reason with his father and prove to him that marrying Loretta and working with Marvin was not a betrayal of his own family. If anything, he was doing it to make things better for them all – just as his father had done for so many years. It hurt more than he thought possible that his father didn’t know him at all. How could his father believe that he would be willing to desert the mother of his child without a thought?

He had always been aware that his parents were not like his friends’ parents, but he had never really cared because he had spent the greatest part of his childhood with his Nanny Reeva and his Aunt Agnes. He had worked out from a young age that his mum, as much as she loved him, needed to spend most of her time looking after his dad. He had never resented it because he had been in a house full of people who cared about him and, as he had grown up, he had preferred being with his uncles and his nanny to being with his parents. Things were so complicated and there was always drama around them when they were together. He loved them, but his mother had always made it clear that his dad was number one in the household. He had understood the importance of that all his life. His dad was a loose cannon − he had seen his father when he had one of his fucking tantrums on many occasions, and watched as his mother had talked him down. There was drama at Reeva’s house too but it was a different kind of drama − and after it was over, Reeva would always feel remorse. His father, on the other hand, could never admit that he was wrong.

Now, as he listened to him pontificating to everyone around him, Aiden Junior wondered how his own father could expect him to just roll over. He was never going to do that, and the fact that his dad thought that he might really did offend him. His father seemed convinced he was betraying the family. Well, Aiden Junior felt exactly the same about his father’s actions. And he didn’t know how much more he could take.

Patsy made sure that there was another round of drinks delivered to the table. He squeezed his mum’s shoulder and Reeva put her hand over his and squeezed it back. Porrick and Eugene were both on edge, Jade was doing her best to talk everyone down, especially Aiden, who was not only drunk but also happened to have a good bit of Charlie up his nose into the bargain, and Reeva and Tony were both trying to keep the mood light. Everyone around the table was doing the very best that they could to help them.

Even through his drunken and drugged haze, it dawned on Aiden that his son was trying to tell him that he didn’t want to walk away from that fucking leech Loretta who had deliberately set out to fucking trap him. He wasn’t unsympathetic; he knew that love could hurt so much more than a fucking good hiding, but he had been confident that his boy was intelligent enough to see the error of his ways. He couldn’t be expected to just stand back and watch his son being fucking manipulated by a fucking half chat, with nothing of any real value to offer him. She was about as fucking useful as a nun at a bikers’ gang bang.

Jade was quiet, watching what was going on, and she appreciated that the boys were making sure that the atmosphere in the club was good. Aiden stood up unsteadily and Jade immediately jumped up to help him. She motioned to Patsy, who reluctantly got up to join her, and together they held him upright. He was slurring his words and his eyes were like piss holes in the snow. Aiden was completely out of his nut, but he was absolutely determined to make his son do what he expected − what he demanded of him.

‘I want to make a toast to my handsome son, my namesake, who tonight is making an important decision about his life, as you all know. And I am pleased to report that he will make the right one.’

Porrick stood up and walked away from the table with Eugene close behind him. Reeva looked at Tony and he shrugged; lighting a joint, he passed it to her quickly. Patsy grabbed his older brother by the arm and, with Jade’s help, they dragged him through to the small office behind the kitchen.

Aiden sat down in the chair offered to him with relief. He knew that he was not the full ten bob tonight. But he had every reason to celebrate: his son had seen the logic of his argument. His son had seen that he was right − that family was what really mattered. Your real family.

He looked at Jade and Patsy and felt anger bubbling inside him. Who the fuck did these two think they were? They were both looking down on him for some reason, like they thought that he was a fucking cunt of some sort.

‘Jade, is there a reason you’ve brought me in here? Am I about to be fucking given a line of good cocaine, or are you two just trying to annoy me?’

Jade knelt in front of him and, taking his hands in hers, she said brokenly, ‘Listen to me, Aiden. You have to listen to me, my darling. You can’t really believe that our boy would ever walk away from his girl. We brought him up better than that. He loves her and they have a baby on the way. If you don’t try to get your head around this, if you don’t even pretend that you can somehow accept what is going to happen, I can’t help you any more. I can’t make this go away, Aiden. Not this time. Marvin Hendry is not a mug. He won’t sit back and let you get away with it like anyone else would. This is about more than money or business. This is about his daughter and our son. Why the fuck can’t you see that? What is wrong with you, Aiden? How can you be jealous of your own fucking child?’

Aiden was having none of it. He understood now that they were all in league with his son. That they were all against him. ‘I cannot believe that you and my brother could have the fucking front to treat me like a complete cunt, Jade. You think that I should bow my knee to Marvin fucking Hendry? That fucker should be bowing to me! He has poisoned my own son against me. And none of you can see it, can you?’

Patsy wondered how his brother got through the day; he could convince himself of literally anything, believe his own bollocks and then he would pass it on to them. He couldn’t stay silent any longer.

‘Have you never once ever listened to the people around you, Aiden? Do you really think that we are all so fucking stupid that we just believe every word that you tell us? Well, I have a big shock for you. We sussed you out years ago, mate. We know everything about you − the good and the bad, you mad bastard. Christ knows you have really pushed the fucking line at times. You are our brother and we never forget that you looked after us. But we have paid you back one hundredfold. You treat everyone around you like shit. You never once think about how the people in your life might feel about your fucking actions. You have deliberately treated every one of us like we never meant nothing to you. You made us feel that we had to prove ourselves, and we have.’

Aiden looked at Jade and his brother and all he could see was that they were trying to put him down. They were trying to make him feel that his son’s defection to Marvin Hendry and his family was something that he should just allow − and be pleased about. He was the head of this fucking family and he always had been, and he was not going to allow any of them to make him feel that he was doing something wrong. He had been taking care of everyone in his family since he was a fucking kid − how could they act like he was the enemy? He had tried to explain that he didn’t trust Marvin Hendry and that should have been enough for them. He had been the only person that had made sure they were safe and looked after. They should trust his instincts and not question his motives. But now, here he was being treated like a fucking complete moron by the two people he trusted more than anybody else.

‘Do you think I could really give a flying fuck about what you lot think of me? And that includes you too, Jade. I know that you would rather sit back on your fat fucking arse and watch our son throw his life away. I always knew that I would have to deal with people who didn’t have the fucking brains they were born with, but I was quite happy to look after my family, and I fucking did, Patsy − don’t you ever forget that. While you are all busy sucking Marvin’s cock you remember that I was the only one there for you from day one. I think that I deserve some kind of fucking respect for doing that, don’t you? A bit of fucking loyalty wouldn’t go amiss.’

Patsy poured himself a large whisky. He was going to need it − his brother was evidently determined to make his point.

‘This isn’t about loyalty, Aiden, and you know that. This is about your only son and his first fucking chance of happiness. Why can’t you admit that you are jealous of him? That your biggest problem is that your son is man enough to follow his own star. Any other man would be so fucking proud of him, but not you. That says more about you, Aiden, than it will ever say about your son. He has tried his hardest to bring you on board, to make you a part of his life. He was depending on you looking after him and standing beside him. We have all been witness to your fucking juvenile pettiness and we are disgusted with you. There are no other children, are there? Just your Aiden and Colin Junior. We all feel that they deserve the fucking best that we can offer them and, if that means we have to go against you and your fucking lunacy, then that is exactly what we will do, Aiden. You need a fucking wake-up call. We know that you murdered Colin Clark, and that you made sure that his brother did your dirty work for you. Believe me when I say, Aiden, that no one holds that against him. You are the bad bastard. But you are also our brother, so we were willing to overlook your fucking mentalness. But not any more. If push comes to shove, we will all be behind your son. Remember that.’

Jade could see that Aiden was able to take in the enormity of what he was being told even though he was out of his head on drink and cocaine. He would never have believed that his own family would ever go against him and, until all of this had happened, she wouldn’t have either. But tonight changed everything.

Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen

Jade couldn’t sleep. Aiden’s showdown with Patsy was playing over and over in her head. There was a chance that there would be a fight of some description and she was determined to avoid that at all costs. She had immediately made the arrangements to bring Aiden home and he had not even attempted to stop her. That alone had told her that, paranoid as he was from the drink and the drugs, he had understood that his brothers were not willing to stand behind him this time. For so long, like her, they had made a point of pretending that they believed that his latest fucking argument was valid and that he was absolutely in the right, even when Aiden had just taken umbrage for no real reason and decided to pick a fight with someone because he felt like it.

Aiden was a bully and a fucking Looney Tunes. Jade knew that she should not be trying to protect him because he was quite willing to harm their son. It was clear now that he saw his boy as a fucking threat to him, as someone who could never again be trusted. She should not be trying to defend him. He deserved everything that was coming to him. But he was the only man that she had ever loved. She still held out hope that if she could just talk to him when he was sober and explain to him that his only son was all that they would ever have, she could make him see sense. There was still enough time for them to make sure that they were a part of his life and the life of their grandchild. If Aiden could only see that his actions were going to push him away from his closest family.

She couldn’t come to terms with the way that Aiden had turned on their son − it was something she really couldn’t fathom. What’s more, if he went up against Marvin, as she feared he would, it would jeopardise everything they had worked for all these years. But it was their boy who was the most important thing in their lives. How could Aiden turn against their only child overnight? He had always had a really strange take on the world, but she had never believed that he would use that against his only son. It broke her heart to think that her Aiden had done this. It was an unforgivable betrayal of their family.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty

Reeva was upset − having her sons at odds with each other was something she found difficult to cope with. The usual arguments she could deal with − that was an everyday thing with four boys who would always have their spats. But this time it was really serious.

Agnes made a pot of tea and, as she poured them both a cup, Reeva worried about what was going to happen with the family. There had been a few bust-ups over the years but never anything on this scale. It seemed the whole family were against Aiden, and that was never going to end well. She looked at her daughter and she could see the concern mirrored in her eyes. Everyone was on edge. It was like they were all waiting for the axe to drop. But just what the outcome of all this angst was going to be none of them was sure.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One

Aiden O’Hara was in a phone box in South London. Like his brothers, he never made work calls from a mobile. He believed that those phones were too intrusive for their kind of conversations. They kept times, numbers, dates – everything people in their position could well do without. Far too many of their ilk had been stitched up through what Aiden saw as complete stupidity. He didn’t even trust the burner cells as he knew that if the Filth could trace it back to where it was purchased, the chances were there was CCTV. That was the problem with the modern world − everyone was being fucking monitored without even realising it. He saw himself as much shrewder than that. He was old school and he prided himself on that. He had never once sent even a text that pertained to his earn, and he was not about to start now. He made a call, and walked back to his car.

Porrick was driving him and Aiden wasn’t too happy about being in the company of any of his brothers at the moment. He couldn’t believe that he was getting so much fucking grief from everyone about his son’s foolishness. But the call that he had just made would prove him right, and it would ensure that they all saw it from his point of view even at this late date. Oh, he had his fucking sources, and he was pulling in more than a few favours. Once he had arranged this meeting he would show his brothers just what the fuck they had to deal with. They were the ones who needed the fucking wake-up call, and he was going to make sure that they got just that.

Grinning pleasantly, he said to Porrick cheerily, ‘Get everyone rounded up. We have a meet with an old mucker of mine, Johnny Denton. He has a story to tell that I think everyone might be interested in. We’re meeting at his licensed premises in New Cross. It will be open just for us lot. Tell them I want everyone there as soon as.’

Porrick didn’t answer his brother; he just did what was asked. He had been expecting something like this. They all had.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two

Loretta was very upset, although she was trying her hardest to pretend otherwise. Aiden was being put into an impossible situation because of her and, knowing how much he thought of his dad, she could understand that the situation was really difficult for him and his family. But she was having his child, and she just couldn’t understand why his dad was so against them being together. Her father was thrilled at the prospect, while Aiden’s father thought it was a terrible situation.

For the first time in her life she had come up against somebody who did not like her. Even though she could see why his father might think they were far too young to be starting a family, she had not expected such harsh criticism. And, even though her Aiden had assured her that his father’s opinion meant nothing to him, she still could not help being sad that she was the reason for them to be at odds. She could never remember a time in her life when she had been on the receiving end of someone else’s utter dislike. This kind of reaction had really knocked her confidence. She had never before felt unwanted or not good enough.

Of course her dad wasn’t happy about Aiden O’Hara’s behaviour and, knowing what she did about her father, she was frightened of how he might react. She was well aware of her father’s reputation; she always had been. Her father wasn’t a man who suffered fools gladly; he was dangerous even by Jamaican standards − and that meant he was capable of real fucking bastardy. That was her mother’s description of her father, not hers, though she knew now that her mother had just been trying to prepare her for the day when she would find out the truth about her family. Most people were terrified of him − of his temper along with his refusal to ever accept what he saw as an insult, which was something that he seemed to have in common with Aiden’s father. Loretta knew exactly what her father was capable of but it suited them both if she pretended that she had no real idea of his businesses. She was grateful that he liked her Aiden, and she trusted him to do whatever was needed to see that they would stay together. He was ruthless and, even though she wasn’t as savvy or as clever as everyone else in her family, she was shrewd enough to know that much. What’s more, she didn’t care what happened to Aiden’s dad. There was a part of her that was as ruthless as her father. The strangest thing of all was she had not really known that until now.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three

‘I wish you weren’t so fucking hard-headed, Aiden. That Loretta is lovely, and Aiden Junior is crazy about her. All the family are against you on this. Doesn’t that tell you anything?’

Aiden sighed heavily. His brother was really pissing him off because while there was a big part of him that knew he was being unreasonable, he couldn’t backtrack now after everything he had said. It was too late. Anyway, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to see his only son tie himself to that little fucking Jamaican booty. Because that was all she was − he didn’t care what anyone said. She wasn’t good enough for his lad.

‘Fuck off, Porrick. You will not understand my problem until it’s your son tying himself to a fucking leech like her.’

Porrick started laughing then. ‘Oh, Aiden! Listen to yourself for five minutes. That girl will be the making of him. She’s a really nice lass. What is going on in your fucking brain? Please, tell me. You are supposed to be the clever bastard, remember?’

Aiden was fuming. Wasn’t it enough that he had voiced his disapproval already? What did they want? A fucking government White Paper on it?

‘Look, Porrick, just shut the fuck up. I guarantee that after tonight you will understand my logic. Until then, give me a fucking break.’

Porrick pulled the car off the road and braked quickly. Then, turning to his oldest brother, he looked at him for a long moment. Aiden knew that his little brother was trying to talk to him sensibly, but it was too late for that. He was sad that his brothers could not see that he was just doing what he had always done − looking out for his family. To think that they were willing to turn against him was something he would never have believed possible. But that is exactly what had happened.

‘You can still make this right, mate. Honestly, bruv, just remember that your son is the father of Loretta’s baby. He is fucking mental on her, and she is mental about him. Why can’t you see that this is a good thing? Why are you so determined to cause murders when there is no logical reason to do so? It’s like you are on a fucking death wish. Like you are so out of touch with everyone around you that you can’t see what is really going on. Please, Aiden, listen to me. Noone wants this situation − least of all your boy, your own son. He is in fucking bits. All he wants is for you to respect his choice of partner.’

Aiden O’Hara was looking at his youngest brother with scepticism and anger. Who the fuck did they all think they were? It was like everything that he had ever done for them had been forgotten overnight. Like he was suddenly this bad bastard, when all he wanted was the best for his boy − that was all he had ever wanted.

‘I know that you all think that I have a problem with Marvin, and I do. Because he has never once offered any of us an in on the Colombian end of our deals. I was always suspicious about that. Now it seems that he suddenly wants to groom my boy. Suddenly he thinks that there is a place for my son to become a part of it. Well, I have good reason not to buy that and we’re going to do something about it.’

Porrick was shaking his head in abject consternation. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was like his older brother, who he had revered all his life, had feet of clay. He knew that his brother had to know on some level that there was no way in the world anyone was going to even give this shite houseroom.

‘Again, Aiden, can you fucking hear yourself? You sound just like one of our dealers trying to talk their way out of trouble. No one is buying your bullshit. This is all about you having a problem with your only son getting a big push into the upper echelons of the Colombian cartel. He is a clever lad, Ade, he deserves everything that he gets. Think about this: do you honestly think that someone like Marvin would bother to push him forward if he didn’t think that he could be an asset? Marvin has sons that he has never bothered to bring into his businesses. He knows their limitations. Marvin Hendry would not even dream about bringing our Aiden into the fold if he didn’t think that he could acquit himself well. That stands to reason, Aiden. Your son is being given a fucking golden opportunity. And into the bargain he is going to get the love of his life, the girl of his dreams, and what have you done for him? You have made his fucking life a misery, because no matter how you try to dress it up everyone knows that you just can’t hack your boy achieving more than you. It’s fucking laughable, Aiden. None of us could believe that you could actually be so fucking petty, and so fucking childish.’

‘Why don’t you just shut the fuck up, and drive us to our destination, eh? I am going to overlook your fucking stupidity because you are my baby brother.’

Aiden was so furious he was having trouble controlling himself but he was trying to keep a lid on his anger until his brothers had listened to what Johnny Denton had to say. He was completely confident that, once they had heard his story, they would understand exactly what he needed to do. That fucker Marvin deserved everything that was coming to him. He was looking forward to it and hearing everyone’s apologies for ever questioning Aiden O’Hara.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four

Jade and Agnes were sitting with Reeva in the local pub. It was busy and Reeva was on top form, ordering drinks and keeping them entertained with jokes and outlandish stories. It never ceased to amaze Agnes how many of the local people actually did like her mum, considering some of her outrageous escapades. She couldn’t help being impressed with how easily her mother managed to slip back into people’s good books. But that was her mum’s forte. She could be having a stand-up fight with someone on the Monday and swearing undying friendship to them by the Wednesday.

Agnes knew that people’s willingness to forgive had a lot to do with her mum’s sense of fair play. On more than one occasion her mother had helped other women out financially, even if she was not talking to them at that particular moment in time. Her mum had always had a soft spot for women like herself − women alone and trying to bring up families without a man behind them. Even if Reeva had engaged in an all-out punch-up with another woman − and that wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence − if she heard that the same woman needed help she would be the first one to go around to her house and offer them whatever they might need. There were more than a few women on the estate who could thank Reeva for making sure that they didn’t lose their homes, get their electric cut off or that their kids didn’t go hungry. The funny thing was, she was quite happy to be seen as the bad bastard, the argumentative fuck, but she could never handle when she was being offered thanks or gratitude. As Agnes has pointed out, that was a good thing because it proved that Reeva was doing her good turns for the right reasons. Reeva had never forgotten where she came from – she refused to leave the house she had brought up her kids in, even though Aiden could have bought her a mansion. It wasn’t her style, she said.

Jade was drinking her wine steadily, and that wasn’t like her. Agnes sensed that there was something going on − there was a reason that her mum was drawing so much attention to them all. Agnes was frightened, but she wasn’t sure what she was frightened of.

She saw Timmy Clark walk into the pub with her son, and she felt a sudden relief inside her chest. She stood up quickly and beckoned them both over. Colin Junior ran to her side and she hugged him tightly to her.

‘Did you have a lovely time, Col?’

He pulled away from her and said loudly, ‘Yes, Mum! Come on, Uncle Timmy. Show Mummy what you bought me.’

Jade stood up and hugged Timmy hello, and he squeezed her tightly. Then he bent down and pecked Reeva on her cheek. They were both making sure that people remembered them, though Reeva and Agnes didn’t realise any of that yet. Timmy could feel Jade’s body trembling, and his heart went out to her. But, unlike her, he wasn’t upset about what was happening tonight.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five

‘I need a piss, Aiden.’

Porrick had pulled into a lay-by and shut off the engine. It was a quiet lane and, without the headlights on, it was dark and menacing.

‘Well, fucking hurry up, Porrick. I ain’t got all night.’

Porrick quickly lit a joint and, taking a couple of deep tokes, he handed it over to his brother, saying jokily, ‘Take a fucking chill pill, will you! Honestly, Aiden, it’s like you deliberately get up in the mornings determined to fucking irritate everyone around you. Jesus wept. I just need a piss. Relax, will you?’

Aiden took a deep puff on the joint and, grabbing his brother by the arm, he stopped him from exiting the car. ‘Look, Porrick, I know you are all fucked off with me over this business with Marvin and my boy. But, honestly, I can’t in all conscience allow my boy to get himself involved with that cunt. He is deliberately trying to row me out. I can tell what’s going on. Marvin sees this situation as an opportunity to not only take my fucking son away from me but also to turn all of my own brothers against me. But you lot just don’t see it.’

Porrick sighed heavily. ‘We don’t see it though, Aiden, because it’s a load of old fucking fanny. You really can’t tell that all you have done with your usual determination is make us turn against you?’

Aiden O’Hara looked at his youngest brother. Porrick would always be the baby boy, the smallest of them all. But his size had never mattered, because Porrick could have a fucking fight, a real punch-up.

‘Do you remember, Porrick, when I had to go up the school about you, that first time? You had hammered the fuck out of a kid twice your size and two years older. I remember taking you home and thinking that you would be all right. I knew that you could look after yourself. It was a weight off my mind, if I’m honest.’

Porrick laughed his deep, husky laugh. ‘I remember that, of course I do. Dafydd Jones, a Welsh bastard who thought that he was the dog’s fucking gonads.’

They were both laughing together now. Porrick got out of the car and Aiden could hear him pissing into the bushes.

‘Here, Aiden, come and look at this, mate.’

Aiden got out of the car and stretched lazily. He walked to his brother’s side saying, ‘This is a lovely puff, Porrick. I am feeling very mellow! What am I supposed to be looking at, bruv?’

Porrick zipped up his flies slowly and, smiling genially, he turned to his older brother and, shaking his head sadly, he said, ‘I’m so sorry, Aiden. But it is better this way, mate.’

Aiden O’Hara felt the sharp pain as his little brother stabbed him in his groin and watched in shock as he felt Porrick drag the knife up through his stomach and up to his heart. His brother, his youngest brother who he loved, had just gutted him like a fish. He had taught him well. That was all he could think of. He had taught the fucker well.

He dropped on to his knees and Porrick held him gently as he laid him on to the grass verge. As Porrick removed the knife, Aiden felt the pain as his insides tumbled out of his belly and on to the dirt. He tried to hold them in with his hands, but it was already far too late.

Porrick knelt down beside Aiden and pulled his brother’s head on to his lap. He held him in his arms and waited patiently for him to bleed out. He had tears running down his face as he said brokenly, ‘You just couldn’t listen to fucking reason, could you?’

Aiden was unable to talk, he could feel his throat filling up with blood. There was so much blood. Porrick was cradling him still, and Aiden could see the devastation in his eyes. He could feel all the love that his brother had for him.

‘I’m so sorry, Aiden. But this is for the best, mate. Believe me, this is the lesser of two evils. You always had to push everything to the limit. Well, this time you really did push everyone too far – especially Aiden Junior. I couldn’t let your son do this to you. I promised Jade that I wouldn’t let that happen. You were never going to leave Johnny Denton’s alive. You had to have known that. So I decided to sort this out by myself. I owed you that much, Aiden.’

Aiden O’Hara passed away in his youngest brother’s arms quietly and without saying a word. Porrick held him tightly and prayed for the repose of his brother’s soul. He had a feeling that Aiden O’Hara was going to need as many prayers as he could get.

Getting up, he went to the car, opened the boot and took out a can of petrol. He soaked his brother’s body, and the surrounding area, then he set fire to him.

He drove away slowly, knowing that he had done the best thing for everyone concerned. He had promised Jade that he would personally make sure that his brother died with dignity and he felt that he had, at least, kept his side of the bargain. He had been determined to ensure that his nephew would not have to live with the knowledge that he had murdered his own father, even though Aiden Junior had been more than willing to do that and had been angry enough to do what he thought was right. Porrick could see the boy’s logic but he couldn’t in all conscience allow that lad to do something he would have to live with for the rest of his days. Jade felt the same way and that was why she had asked him to be the go-between. And why he had promised her that he would make sure that her Aiden would not die surrounded by hatred.

He drove to the meet covered in his brother’s blood, but certain that he had done the right thing. He put the radio on and the record playing at that moment was The Hollies, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’. Porrick O’Hara felt that it was a fitting tribute to the man that he had just left behind him burning into the dirt and completely unrecognisable. He was a man none of them would ever forget, but who none of them would ever really mourn, either.

Aiden had forced his family to make a choice, and that is exactly what they had done. There was an old Irish saying of his nan’s that used to make them laugh when they were kids: ‘May God forgive you, because I won’t.’ Porrick could not help but think it was more than apt this night.