by Caz Finlay
‘Is that so?’ Ged replied with a sneer. ‘So, you think everyone can be bought then, do you, Brad?’
Bradley turned in his seat to glare at his brother. ‘I just said so, didn’t I?’
‘That include you?’ Ged replied.
‘What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?’ Bradley snarled.
Ged shrugged and sat back in his seat with a grin on his face. He loved to push his brother’s buttons. ‘You said it. I was just wondering what your price is, that’s all?’
‘Shut the fuck up, Ged,’ Craig said. ‘Can we just celebrate for five minutes without you acting like a knob?’
‘Yeah. We’re supposed to be fucking celebrating,’ Bradley chipped in.
‘We’re going to rule the fucking Pool soon, lads,’ Craig said with a grin.
Chapter Forty-Six
Scott Johnson held on tightly to the baseball bat in his hand as he sat in the back of the Peugeot Boxer van with three of his older brothers. He listened to their excited chattering and their boasts of what they were about to do, but all Scott wanted to do was throw up, and then after that he’d like to jump out of the van and run as far away from his crazy brothers as he possibly could. If he was honest, he wouldn’t miss any of them except Billy, who was the only one of them who even tried to understand him.
Scott was nothing like any of them and they seemed to resent him for it. It wasn’t his fault that he’d been born so long after they had and had been their mum’s favourite. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the cool metal of the van. Suddenly he felt a hand giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Opening his eyes, he saw it was Billy.
‘You’ll be all right, kid. We won’t let anything happen to you,’ he said with a grin.
Scott tried his best to return the smile.
Bradley Johnson watched as his four brothers jumped out of the back of the van armed with baseball bats and machetes. He climbed out of the driver’s seat, putting the handgun he’d brought with him safely inside his coat pocket, and followed them into the Lady Muck beauty salon. The salon was in the process of being renovated, ready for its grand reopening, so there were no customers – not that the Johnson brothers were there to purchase any services themselves.
‘We’re not open for a few weeks,’ the young woman inside said, barely looking up from the catalogue she was flicking through.
‘That’s all right, love,’ Ged said with a laugh. ‘I’m not after a back, sack and crack today.’
She looked up and, noticing the five men armed with an array of weapons, began to scream. ‘Jay! Alan!’
Jay Marshall and Alan Kelly ran out of the back room and into the front of the shop wearing paint-covered overalls and brandishing large wooden mallets.
‘What the fuck?’ Jay shouted.
‘Hello, lads,’ Bradley said. ‘No need for any aggro, especially not in front of the lady. We just came to talk.’
‘Doesn’t look like it,’ Alan added, nodding towards the five heavily armed men.
‘Just insurance, boys,’ Bradley said with a grin. ‘To make you more amenable to our offer.’
‘Sandy, why don’t you go home, babe,’ Alan said to the now trembling woman.
‘I don’t think so,’ Bradley said. ‘She can stay right here, can’t you, love?’
Sandy stared at the men in horror and Alan walked towards her. ‘Whatever you want to discuss has nothing to do with her,’ he said. ‘Let her go home and we can talk.’
‘Or she can sit her fat arse right there,’ Bradley said as he took a baseball bat from Craig and pointed it towards one of the salon chairs.
‘Now!’ Bradley barked when Sandy didn’t move quickly enough.
‘It’s okay, babe. Just do as he says,’ Alan said through gritted teeth as he put an arm around Sandy and guided her to the chair.
‘Great. Now that you’re all paying attention,’ Bradley started, ‘let’s talk some business, shall we?’
‘Go on,’ Jay growled.
‘We hear you and your Uncle Jimmy have got yourselves quite a lucrative business on the go, and we’d like to become your new suppliers, lads, that’s all.’
Alan shook his head and Jay started to laugh. ‘Are you serious? You do know who our suppliers are, don’t you?’
Bradley nodded. ‘Of course, but I hear they’re having a bit of trouble at the moment. So, we thought we’d kindly step in and fill the gap, didn’t we, lads?’
Bradley’s brothers affirmed their agreement.
‘There’s no way Paul and Connor will let you do this,’ Jay said.
‘Well, it’s not really up to them, is it? If you two agree to supply our gear instead of theirs, there wouldn’t be very much they could do about it, would there?’
Alan stared at him as though he’d grown an extra head. ‘Are you for fucking real, mate? You have met the Carter twins, haven’t you? There’s a lot they can fucking do.’
‘Such as pulling our teeth out with some pliers, or detaching our limbs from our bodies,’ Alan added.
Bradley shook his head. ‘I think the Carter twins are going to have their hands full for a while. They’re too busy fighting with Jake Conlon to worry about you pair of wankers and your old fart of an uncle. Trust me.’
Alan and Jay both shook their heads at the same time. ‘Thanks for the offer, mate. But we’ll stick with the Carters.’
‘You must have misunderstood me. This isn’t a request. You will start selling our gear from now on.’
Alan and Jay walked towards them. ‘It’s not happening,’ Jay snapped.
Bradley shrugged. ‘Let’s show them we mean business, lads.’
Craig, Ged and Billy lunged for the two men while Bradley and Scott began trashing the shop. Breaking every mirror and piece of furniture they could see, amidst Sandy’s screams.
Alan and Jay were putting up a good fight, and poor Billy in particular had taken a bit of a kicking. Bradley watched the carnage unfolding around him and decided enough was enough. Taking the handgun from his pocket, he pulled Sandy to him and held it to her head.
‘Stop,’ he shouted.
He could feel Sandy trembling beside him and smiled when he noticed the trickle of pale yellow liquid pooling beneath her feet.
‘Do we have a deal?’ Bradley said.
Alan and Jay stared at him. Bloody and breathless.
‘Yes,’ Alan said finally. ‘Just let her go.’
‘Good. That wasn’t so hard, was it?’ he said as he pushed Sandy into Alan’s arms. ‘We’ll be in touch in the next day or two to organise a drop.’
Jay and Alan nodded while Sandy sobbed quietly.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Bradley Johnson signalled to his brothers Ged and Craig as they walked into The Grapes. They sauntered over to him and sat down. He’d bought the first round while his brothers had taken the van home.
‘Why didn’t Scott and Billy come?’ he asked.
‘Billy wanted to go home and get stoned, and Scott went to see his mates,’ Craig replied with a shrug.
Bradley lifted his pint. ‘Ah, well. Sod ’em. Cheers, lads,’ he said with a smile.
The three men lifted their pints and toasted the success of their earlier confrontation at the Lady Muck salon.
‘Did you see the look on Alan and Jay’s faces when you pulled that gun out?’ Ged said with a grin. ‘I thought they were going to shit their pants.’
Bradley laughed. ‘I know. Pair of tarts.’
‘I wouldn’t write them off completely, Brad,’ Craig warned. ‘They didn’t have much choice but to back down today, did they? Don’t take for granted that they’ll stay down.’
‘What are they gonna do? Run crying to Jake and the Carters? They can’t fucking stand each other any more. Remember? Too busy fighting amongst themselves.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ Craig replied.
‘I fucking enjoyed myself today, lads. I haven’t had a scrap like that for years,’ Ged said with a smile on hi
s face.
‘You were scrapping almost every day inside, if I remember correctly?’ Craig reminded him.
‘Yeah, but that was different. Today was full-on carnage. Just how I like it.’
Craig shook his head. ‘You’re a fucking nutter, Ged. Do you know he spent most of his time in seg when we were inside, Brad?’
Bradley nodded. ‘I’m not surprised. You’ve never played well with others, have you, Ged?’
Ged frowned at his older brother, obviously sensing his observation as a dig. ‘I’d like to see how you’d have handled yourself in prison,’ he spat. ‘You’ve never done a day in your life though. How is that?’
Bradley tapped the side of his temple. ‘Because I’m too fucking smart, that’s why.’
Ged snorted. ‘Is that so?’
‘Lucky, more like,’ Craig said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. He was used to the constant tension between his two older brothers.
‘Hmm, very lucky,’ Ged replied before taking a swig of his pint.
‘What the fuck are you getting at, Ged?’ Bradley snapped at him.
‘Yeah, just fucking leave it, Ged,’ Craig added. ‘We’re supposed to be fucking celebrating.
‘I was only asking a fucking question,’ Ged snarled. ‘A perfectly reasonable question. Why is it that our dearest big brother has never had his collar felt, when he’s always been as up to his neck in shit as we have?’
Bradley slammed his pint glass down on the table. ‘I’ve fucking had enough of this. I’m getting off,’ he said as he stood up.
‘Brad, just sit down and I’ll get us another round in,’ Craig pleaded. ‘Ged will keep his gob shut now, won’t you?’
Ged shrugged and continued to drink his pint.
‘Nah. Fuck this. I’m off,’ Bradley said as he zipped up his favourite Hugo Boss tracksuit top. ‘I’ll phone you later, Craig.’
Craig watched his oldest brother leaving the pub and shook his head. ‘Why do you always have to pick a fight with him?’ he snapped at Ged.
Ged smiled at him. ‘I can’t help it, he’s so fucking easy to wind up.’
‘You don’t really think there’s anything dodgy going on though, do you? Like Bradley said, he’s just lucky.’
Ged started to laugh. ‘Whatever you say, little brother.’
‘Oh, fuck off. I’m going the bar,’ Craig said as he eyed up the blonde barmaid who’d been staring in his direction since he walked in.
‘Get us another one then, will ya?’ Ged said with a belch.
‘Get one your fucking self,’ Craig replied. ‘I think my luck’s in.’
Craig sauntered over to the bar. ‘Another pint of Stella, please, gorgeous,’ he said with a wink.
‘Coming right up,’ she replied with a smile as she took a pint glass from behind the bar and began to pour.
Craig watched her and thought about Bradley and Ged’s most recent row. Although he was used to their constant needling of each other, things seemed to be ramping up lately. Ged took the piss out of everyone, it was a given, but he wouldn’t let go of this thing about Bradley never being arrested. Now Craig was starting to wonder too. Was his brother just an incredibly lucky bastard, or was there something else going on?
Chapter Forty-Eight
Grace was home alone when she heard the sound of the doorbell ringing. She made her way to answer it and saw the unmistakeable outline of one of the twins through the glass. It was difficult to tell which one when she couldn’t see their features. It had been over a week since the whole Isla bombshell had been dropped, and despite it being proved that Jake was Isla’s biological father, there had been no improvement in family relations. She could still barely stand to look at Michael, who had taken Belle and Oscar to his dad’s for the afternoon. While she’d seen Jake, Connor and Siobhan during that time, it suddenly dawned on her that she hadn’t seen Paul at all.
Opening the door, Grace suppressed a smile when she saw it was Paul standing there. As angry as she still was with everyone, him included, it was good to see he was okay. It made her remember how much she missed having the three boys around. ‘I was just thinking about you,’ she said.
‘Oh fuck!’ he replied with a grin. ‘Am I in trouble?’
‘You are trouble,’ she replied. ‘Come through.’
He followed her into the kitchen. ‘Can I grab a drink?’ he said as he walked towards the fridge.
‘Of course you can. You know you don’t have to ask.’
‘Well, I feel like I haven’t been here for ages,’ he said as he took out a bottle of mineral water.
‘That’s because you haven’t.’
‘Well, it hasn’t exactly been business as usual, has it? I wasn’t even sure if I’d be welcome.’
‘Whatever’s gone on, Paul, this is still your home.’
‘So, where is everyone?’ Paul asked as he sat at the breakfast bar.
‘Your dad’s taken the kids to see your grandad and Sue for the afternoon.’
‘Getting under your feet, was he?’
‘Yeah, something like that. Did you want to see him?’ she asked as she sat down opposite.
‘Yeah and no. I came to see you really.’
‘Okay.’
‘I wanted to say sorry for everything that’s gone on, Grace,’ he started.
‘I appreciate your apology, Paul. And I won’t pretend I’m not bloody furious at you all for lying to me. But, having said that, I understand why you of all people felt like you had to keep Connor’s secret for him.’
‘And Jake’s?’ Paul added with a sigh.
‘Yeah, well, I won’t say that wasn’t a shock,’ Grace replied with a shake of her head. ‘I feel like I’m only just getting my head around it now. You and him?’
Paul nodded. ‘We weren’t just fucking about, you know, Grace? It means something. Or at least it did. He won’t give me the fucking time of day at the minute.’
‘Well, he’s not really giving anyone the time of day right now, Paul,’ Grace replied with a sigh of her own. ‘I wish I knew what to do to snap him out of it.’
‘And will he? Snap out of it, I mean?’
‘God, I bloody hope so. Because this is torturous. Everyone walking around on eggshells and no one really speaking to each other. I can’t bear much more of it.’
‘Me neither,’ Paul said and took a swig of his water.
‘Is there something else on your mind?’ Grace asked.
‘You and my dad. I know it’s none of my business, Grace, but I could kill Connor for putting him in that position.’
‘Well, your dad’s a grown man—’
‘I know. And I know what goes on between the two of you is between you and him alone, but he loves you, Grace. I have never seen him as happy as he’s been these past few years. It would kill him if he lost you.’
‘No pressure then?’ Grace said.
‘I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But remember when those nutters took you a couple of years ago, my dad told me that he wasn’t sure he could live without you, Grace, and I think he meant it. And a few days afterwards, when I came to see you, and you made me watch that fucking awful film with you—’
‘You mean Dirty Dancing?’ she interrupted. ‘That is a classic film. Jake used to watch that with me all the time.’
‘Is it any wonder he turned out gay then, being forced to sit through that shit?’ he said with a laugh. ‘Anyway, forget the shite film. You told me that life was too short not to forgive the people you love. So I just hope the two of you work something out. Because, to be honest, you look pretty fucking miserable too,’ he finished with a grin.
Grace gave him a playful shove. ‘You always were a cheeky sod, Paul. But I can see why my son loves you so much.’ Grace remembered their conversation well, and she had meant every word of it. So why couldn’t she apply that principle now? Why couldn’t she forgive Michael?
Paul looked down at the breakfast bar. Grace heard him sniff and sensed he was trying t
o hold back his emotions. She stood up and put an arm around him, kissing the top of his head.
‘He’ll come round, you know. I promise.’
‘You think?’ Paul said quietly.
‘Yep. It’ll be all be all right in the end.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Paul said.
Grace made Paul a cup of tea and they talked for a further half hour before she noticed the time. ‘I’m really sorry, I’ve got a meeting at two, Paul,’ she said as she drained her mug.
‘No worries, Grace,’ he replied. ‘I need to go and see Connor anyway. I’d better get off.’
‘It was good to see you,’ Grace said as she gave him a final hug. ‘Don’t stay away for so long again. The kids really miss you. And that goes for Connor too.’
‘I’ll tell him,’ Paul said. ‘Maybe we could pop round for scouse tomorrow?’
‘Yeah, okay. I’ll ask your dad to put a pan on tonight when he gets home. It’s always better the next day.’
‘Sound,’ Paul replied. ‘We’ll see you both tomorrow then?’
Grace nodded and watched as Paul let himself out. It would be good for them all to sit down together and have a meal. It had been weeks since they’d done so. It would be good for all of the kids, the little ones and the grown-ups – if only she could convince Jake to come too. Grace smiled as she picked up her handbag from the kitchen table. It would be good for her and Michael too. Perhaps Paul was right, and it was time for her to start forgiving the people she loved. Why was it always the ones we loved the most that were the hardest to forgive?
Chapter Forty-Nine
Paul scrolled through his mobile phone as he sat at the kitchen table of Connor’s flat looking for any sign that Jake had been on social media in the past few days.
‘Are you listening to me?’ Connor said to him.
Paul’s head snapped up. ‘Yes! As much as I’m trying not to. You’ve been looking at a place. So what?’
