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  Laden down with bags, she made her way back to her car. Slamming down the boot, she glanced across to a wine bar situated just feet away from where she’d parked. What she saw, made her stop dead in her tracks. That was her Adam, draping himself over some dark haired tart.

  Fuming, Hayley stormed into the bar. She stood with her hands on her hips.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” she yelled, her Dagenham roots were pushed to the fore. Gone was the classy image she worked so hard to maintain.

  Startled, Adam inwardly groaned. This was all he needed. “She’s no one. She’s crazy,” he said to the petite brunette sat beside him.

  Alarmed, Rosita clung onto Adam’s arm, making Hayley even more furious.

  “Get the fuck away from my man,” she screeched, tugging at Rosita’s dark hair.

  Before Hayley knew it, the police had been called. As she was arrested for assault and led out of the restaurant in handcuffs, Hayley’s heart was in her mouth. How on earth was she going to explain this one away to Terry?

  * * *

  George Christos was furious. He’d spent the past thirty minutes screaming and shouting at his nephew.

  “How could you be so stupid?” he roared. When Adam remained silent, George stabbed his finger toward him. “Do you even realise or care, for that matter, that we have now lost the only person who can give us information, and for what? Some stupid whore you’ve taken a fancy to?”

  “She’s not a stupid whore. I love her, and I’m going to marry her.”

  “Love! Love? You don’t even know the meaning of the word,” George screamed, as he lashed out at his nephew.

  Adam bristled with resentment. He knew what love was. He’d secretly been dating Rosita for over two years. It was only his family’s attitude that had stopped him from introducing them to her.

  “You will get on the phone now, to this Hayley woman, and apologise for your stupidity. If we are lucky, we can salvage this.” It was the only hope George had.

  “No.”

  “I gave you an order.” George was visibly shocked. How dare Adam disobey him like this. He was the head of the Christos family, and as such, he deserved his nephew’s respect.

  “I said, no, I’m not doing it. I love Rosita.”

  “You’ve no loyalty, Adam. Your father would have been ashamed of you.”

  Adam shrugged his shoulders. “My father never even knew me, and I didn’t know him,” he said, beginning to walk away.

  “If you walk away, then we will never accept that woman into our family,” George roared.

  “Her family has accepted me. That’s all I need.”

  Stunned, George watched his nephew walk away from him. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Quickly, he popped one of his anxiety pills out of its silver foiled packet. Damn that boy. His attitude was going to bring on one of his panic attacks.

  * * *

  Despite his stern expression, Terry had to stop himself from chuckling out loud. His Hayley was a girl, all right. “What the fuck happened?” he asked, as he led her out of Brentwood Police Station.

  “I couldn’t help it, babe. I saw red. I thought she’d said something snidey about me.”

  “Come here, baby,” he said, pulling Hayley into his arms, as she began to sob.

  Heartbroken, Hayley let the tears fall freely from her eyes. Her Adam had meant the world to her, and he’d cheated on her with that little dark haired bitch. She wasn’t even that beautiful. Certainly, not as beautiful as she was.

  “Come on, let’s get you home.”

  Hayley sniffed back her tears. What would she do now, without Adam? She’d even risked her marriage for him. She began to sob again, as she realised she would risk everything she had, even her beautiful house, for just five more minutes with him. Life was so unfair.

  * * *

  Now that he’d gotten over the initial shock, Steve was actually feeling a lot more hopeful at the prospect of becoming a father. The only fly in the ointment was Danny McKay. He was terrified of what the man was going to say, when he found out he’d knocked up his wife.

  “He’s going to go mental. I’m a dead man walking,” he complained to his mate, Karl. “He’d gone mad when I was just stood next to her. So what’s he going to be like now?”

  “Serves you right for shagging his missus then, doesn’t it?” Karl said, between mouthfuls of French fries.

  “You’re not exactly helping, mate.”

  “I’m being honest, and you know I’m right. What on earth possessed you to get involved with his wife? If it’d been me, I’d have run a mile in the opposite direction, and not looked back,” Karl said, as he screwed up his fries carton and tossed it into a waste bin.

  “I don’t know, I’m obviously stupid, but you should see her, mate. She’s stunning, and I couldn’t refuse.”

  “You think too much with your dick, that’s your problem. Are you going to eat those?”

  Steve handed over his carton of fries. He couldn’t eat anything. His stomach was tied up in knots.

  “I’m gonna have to talk to her. Maybe she could speak to McKay, and smooth everything over. Maybe she’s already told him, and he’s on the war path looking for me.” Steve was worried, so many different scenarios began racing through his mind. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, half expecting Danny McKay to spring out of nowhere and attack him.

  “Was nice knowing you, Steve,” Karl laughed, clapping his mate on the back.

  Glaring at Karl, Steve bit back a retort. He should have been more careful, that’s what he should have been. He bit down on his lip, before glancing over his shoulder for a second time. He was turning into a nervous wreck. The rate he was going, he would be in no fit state to bring up a child.

  “Quick hide, there’s Danny McKay.”

  The look on Steve’s face had Karl on the floor in stitches. It was obviously a wind up, but it had scared Steve shitless, all the same. In all truth, though, it was no laughing matter. Steve was skating on thin ice, and it was only a matter of time, until Danny McKay really did catch up with him.

  * * *

  Freddie had been getting it in the neck to arrange another one of his parties. They were starting to become a bit too frequent for his liking. In the past, he’d been more than happy to put them on. He’d needed to keep his friends in high places happy. Only it wasn’t them taking the majority of the risk. It was him, who had to deal with everything. They even used his house.

  Over the years, his friends had come in useful for some things, though. The fact that he’d never had his collar felt, was proof of that. In fact, he was surprised no one had ever questioned why he’d had such a lack of police interest in him before. He had a feeling McKay had guessed, though. He had a nose like a copper. The constant questioning of his use of Matty was proof of that. Yes, McKay definitely suspected something wasn’t right.

  The truth was, the swerve he was given came from the very top, and obviously, that was something he didn’t want to give up. Hosting his parties, meant more than one blind eye had been turned over the years, and he wanted to keep it that way.

  “Matty, I’ve got a job for you,” he growled into the phone. He could hear the boy’s reluctance, and screamed into the mouthpiece. “Get your lazy fucking arse over to that estate, now.”

  This boy and his attitude was starting to take its toll on him. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to get rid of him, after all. He pondered it over. It wasn’t as though anyone would miss him, other than his old gran, and she was a senile old bat, as it was.

  No, Matty’s days were numbered. He’d had enough, what with him and Lee wearing him down, he needed to take action, and fast, before he ended up losing the plot.

  Little was he to know, this was the beginning of the end for them all.

  Chapter 16

  Moray had never seen Danny laugh so hard before. At one point, he’d been doubled over in stitches.

  Callum was a funny fucker and you could alwa
ys count on him to cheer everyone up. More often than not, he had a funny tale or two to tell. Whether they were real or a figment of his imagination, was anyone’s guess.

  “And so this fella is refusing to pay for the upkeep of the greyhound I was training for him. And I thought to myself, ‘Well, bollocks, I’ve had enough now.’ So, I drive up to the South of Dublin, a proper posh area like, and on the drive there, I’m feeding this dog as much as it can eat. Now, this dog is getting through cans of dog food like you wouldn’t believe. I pull up outside the house, get the dog out of the car, and knock on the fella’s door. This posh woman opens the door. ‘Can I help you?’ she says, looking down her nose at me. You know the type … proper hoity toity. Anyways, there they are, having this fancy dinner party, and so I let the dog off the lead. The dog’s jumping all over her, and she’s screaming. Her husband comes running out to see what’s going on. Well, he starts coughing and spluttering. ‘I’ll pay the money, just take it away, take it away,’ he says. And I say to her, his wife, ‘It’s all fecking yours, darlin’, and by the way, the dog needs to take a shit.’ And as if on fecking cue, the dog squats and shits in their hallway on the Axminister rug, of all places, and what with the amount of food it’s eaten, this dog is shitting for Ireland. Was proper funny, I can tell yer. I lost money, but it was worth it, just to see the look on their faces.”

  Doubled up with laughter once again, the men were cracking up.

  “You’re a funny fucker,” Danny said, laughing.

  “All true, Danny. On my life.”

  Once they had all calmed down, Moray clapped his hands together. “Come on, lads, let’s get back to work.” He watched them leave, then grinned at Danny. “He’s a character, eh?”

  “He’s definitely funny. I needed that. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in ages.”

  Moray smiled. “Right, I’m gonna shoot off. Make sure you ring me if anything happens on the doors.”

  “I will do. Now, go on, piss off and enjoy your date, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Moray grinned. “That’s not going to leave me much I can’t do, then is it?”

  “Oi, sod off,” Danny laughed. “I’m not that bad,” he shouted out to Moray’s retreating back.

  “If you say so, Danny, if you say so,” Moray shouted back.

  With a smile across his face, Danny shook his head. He was hoping tonight was a quiet one. There had been more than enough drama over the past few weeks.

  * * *

  “Dad’s gonna kill us,” Colm Garner said to his older brother, Aaron.

  “What dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and if we keep this schtum and between us, then he’s not even gonna find out, is he?”

  Peering down into a plastic carrier bag full of white pills, Colm was hesitant. “You know what he’s like with drugs. He’s gonna go fucking mental. Where did you even get them from?”

  “Some geezer, down The Spotted Dog. Lee something or other, and these little pills, Colm, are gonna make us a fortune. We can pop ‘em out for two quid a pill. You do the math. That’s a lot of fucking cash in this bag, bruv.”

  Colm narrowed his eyes. “Where did you get the money from to buy this lot. You didn’t pinch it from dad, did you?”

  “Course I fucking didn’t. I haven’t paid for them yet. They’re on tic. Once we’ve sold them, then we give the geezer the money.”

  “Sounds dodgy to me. Why would some random bloke in a pub give you a bag of pills?”

  “You worry too much, little brother,” Aaron said, slinging his arm across his brother’s shoulders. “Trust me, we’re gonna be raking it in.”

  Colm Garner couldn’t help but worry. Their dad was going to kill them stone dead, if he ever found out they were dishing out pills in the clubs.

  * * *

  Sophie Nolan was fast on her way to falling in love. She slipped her hand into Moray’s, as they made their way inside the little French restaurant where they’d had their first date. The restaurant was fast becoming one of their favourite places to eat out. Sophie smiled up at Moray, as they were shown to a table.

  Once seated, she reached over and clasped his hand, her thumb softly caressing his palm.

  “I was thinking … maybe you could come down to the club one night. I want you to meet my boys. They’re going to love you.”

  “I would love that.” Thrilled, Sophie smiled widely. She couldn’t wait to meet Moray’s sons. He spoke so highly of them, and she knew he was proud of his two boys. She could tell by the way his eyes twinkled, whenever they came up in conversation.

  “Not forgetting, you can meet Danny, properly. Him laid out on a hospital bed doesn’t really count, does it?”

  “No, not really,” Sophie laughed. “Just don’t mention, I had to give him a bed bath. I wouldn’t want to see him blushing.”

  “Ah no, that’s the best bit. I have to tell him that.”

  Playfully, Sophie slapped Moray’s hand. “No, don’t you dare. Save me from blushing, instead then, and keep quiet about it.”

  “Ah, go on then. You’ve convinced me. I don’t want to see my girl blush.”

  “Your girl?” Sophie arched her eyebrows. There was a twinkle in her blue eyes.

  “Well, that’s what you are, aren’t you?” he asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

  Sophie nodded her head. A wide smile was spread across her face. “Of course I am,” she said gently. She could feel her stomach do a little somersault. It was too late … she’d already fallen in love.

  * * *

  Tracey Underwood, snatched the money out of Matty’s hand. There was enough there to feed her kids for a month, not that they would see a penny of it. The whole lot would be gone within days. The majority of it spent on crack cocaine, the rest, on cheap cider, cannabis and cigarettes.

  “This is the third time this month you’ve took ‘em. Looks like you’ve taken a shine to my kids.”

  “I don’t touch them. I’m not like that. No one touches them, they just come to London with me.” Matty could feel the shame rise up inside of him, and he quickly swallowed the accusation down. He was telling the truth. All the boys did, was go to the train stations and the public toilets, or cottages, as they were more commonly known with him, so he could scout for runaways. Freddie wasn’t stupid. He didn’t touch kids. The only reason he was forced to take the two little boys with him, was to gain the trust of the older lads.

  Narrowing her eyes, Tracey squinted at the lad in front of her. “So, what do you take them for?”

  “It doesn’t matter why I take them, and if you had any sense, you wouldn’t ask that question.”

  “Okay, keep your bleedin’ hair on. I was only asking, making conversation, like.” Tracey tilted her head to the side and pointed her finger toward him. “You’re Dave’s boy, aren’t you? I thought I recognised you from the off.”

  Matty’s cheeks blushed at the mere mention of his father’s name. He hated his old man, almost as much as he hated Freddie. “No, I’m not. Are the kids ready yet? I need to get going.”

  “Hmm, I could have sworn you were. I knew you when you were a little nipper. Don’t you remember me? I used to come up to your dad’s flat and have a smoke with him.”

  “I’ve already told you, I’m not Dave’s kid, and I really need to go now.” If he was late, Freddie would have his guts for garters, and that was the last thing he needed.

  Tracey shrugged her shoulders. “Ah well, you look like Dave’s boy, my mistake.” She gave a high pitched cackle, her open mouth showing what was left of her decaying, nicotine stained teeth. “I bet a lot of people around here say that to you, don’t they?”

  “No, not really.” Matty was getting fed up. “Look, either get the kids now, or I want the money back.”

  The thought of the money being taken from her, spurred Tracey into action, and she ran into the bathroom to hurry the boys along.

  Pushing his hands into his jeans pockets, Matty leant agains
t the wall, whilst he waited. She’d unnerved him by mentioning his dad. He hadn’t seen the man in years, but he could still feel his hands on him.

  He bit down hard on his lip. He used to do the same thing when he was a little boy, to stop himself from crying out loud, whenever his dad took his belt to him. He’d learnt from an early age to focus on biting his lip, rather than make any noise. He hadn’t wanted to give his dad a reason to become even more angry with him, or to give him any more of an excuse to hurt him. Matty could taste the blood inside his mouth, and he wiped the back of his hand across his lips.

  “All ready,” Tracey smiled, dragging two solemn little boys behind her. “Don’t forget to have them back by twelve, otherwise, the little bastards won’t get up for school.”

  Matty looked down at their sad little faces. They reminded him of himself, when he was the same age. He’d had the same solemn expression. He took their tiny hands in his, and gave them a little squeeze. He always did that. He’d told them that he did it, because he understood how they were feeling, and he really did. He was them once.

  “You make sure you behave yourselves, otherwise, I’ll bloody well slap the skin off of your arses,” Tracey called out after them, before slamming the front door shut. Instantly, her two little boys were gone from her mind. Her only thoughts were on where she could score. The money was already burning a hole in her pocket.

  Walking across the landing toward the lift, Matty’s heart was breaking. He didn’t want to take them to London. Every single ounce of his being wanted to scream out at how wrong it was. They should be tucked up in bed, not traipsing around the cottages with him. It was far too dangerous.