by Martina Cole
Reeva had struggled to understand her for a long time. But as the years passed she had swallowed her dismay and she had finally seen the advantage in her daughter’s behaviour. Unlike Reeva, her girl wasn’t eager to grow up and experience life at a very young age; her Agnes wasn’t afraid that life would somehow pass her by.
That had always been Reeva’s worry as a girl, that she was missing out on everything when, truth be told, she had missed out on so much because she had given birth to her first child at fourteen. She had never really given herself a chance. Her daughter wanted to wait until she was ready before she went out into the world. She wanted to finish her education and make something of her life. Her Agnes had her fucking head screwed on!
Now, as Eugene and Agnes walked into the kitchen, Reeva, who had only had a couple of drinks because Aiden Junior was coming over for tea, said loudly, ‘What were you two laughing at? I could hear you coming up the road.’
Eugene grabbed his mum and hugged her tightly to him, kissing her on her forehead. ‘Never you mind. What’s for dinner? I’m starving.’
Agnes was already putting the kettle on to make them all tea. She loved it when it was like this, when everyone was happy and there wasn’t any conflict.
‘I made a chicken and mushroom pie, and for afters we have a lemon cheesecake. All you lot ever bleeding think about is your stomachs.’
Agnes laughed happily. ‘That’s your own fault, Mum. You fed these boys too well. God knows how their wives will cope!’
Reeva was thrilled at hearing her daughter say out loud what she secretly believed was the truth. She knew that, food-wise, she would be a hard act to follow. It didn’t occur to her that Agnes might just be telling her what she wanted to hear.
‘Aiden is dropping the little man off soon and, once he’s settled, I will be dishing up. Patsy is working late and Porrick is with him. I don’t know, it’s like a fucking transport café here these days.’
‘Is Tony here for dinner, Mum?’
Reeva shrugged. ‘He’s got a bit of work today. Shouldn’t be too long. Pour that tea out, Aggs, it will be stronger than a docker’s piss if you leave it much longer.’
Eugene rolled his eyes with disgust. ‘Oh, Mum, you silver-tongued bastard.’
Reeva laughed with her son and didn’t comment when her only daughter picked up her tea and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. It hurt Reeva that her girl didn’t seem to want to spend too much time in her company; she knew that it was because she had had a few drinks. Agnes didn’t like her drinking during the day and, even though she never said as much, the fact that she escaped to her room at the earliest opportunity hurt Reeva’s feelings. She felt that she had somehow failed her daughter and, even though she had no intention of ever changing her lifestyle, her disapproval still bothered her. Eugene was sitting at the table and, picking up his mug of tea, he sipped it loudly before saying seriously, ‘You know what she’s like, Mum. Miss Goody Two-Shoes. But, seriously, she has a point. You do look a bit pissed, and our Aiden will be here soon with the son and heir. And you know him, he never holds back on an opinion, does he?’
Reeva didn’t answer. All her boys were Aiden’s acolytes and accepted him as the main man in their lives. Generally that was something she was pleased about. Yet as much as she loved Aiden it irritated her that he was treated like the dog’s gonads every time he graced them with his presence.
She knew she was being unfair, because she was already half pissed. That was why they rarely took any notice of what she said; they knew that she would rather have a drink than bring attention to herself. But it didn’t mean she didn’t love them all. Because she did.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Jade was not in the best of moods. She had experienced what she would call an absolutely shit day. First of all, she had been expected to clear up a mess in one of the houses. A very wealthy punter had got as drunk as a skunk and decided he wanted a fight with one of the security guys. Unfortunately, he had picked the fight with a large and very aggressive Jamaican who had no intention of letting anyone mug him off. Especially not a fucking Hooray Henry who thought he was the dog’s danglers.
Those were the Jamaican’s words, not hers.
The man in question had eventually been given the hammering of a lifetime, but only after he had pushed and pushed for a fight. He had not been protected, so he had been the recipient of a seriously good fucking hiding. Without fear or favour he had been smashed into the ground. Fists and feet had been used without a thought. For the first time in his life he had learned that sometimes a big trap could really get you in trouble, could get a body hurt.
The Jamaican in question was new to the job, and he had not been told that, when a situation like that occurred, he was expected to just defuse the situation and walk away − under no circumstances was he to raise a fist. The people they dealt with paid so much money they were basically given a free pass, no matter what happened. Obviously that had not been explained properly. Unfortunately, the man who had sought out the fight had a history of throwing punches while spouting racist shite. So he had finally been given exactly what he had inadvertently asked for and never expected in a million years. The bully had been given a hiding. He had been on the end of a fist that he had never believed would ever come his way. The man had a history of picking fights with the security staff and, until now, he had been allowed to get away with it. The men he abused had walked away quite happily, knowing they would be well compensated. Plus they were sensible enough to know that, in the environment they worked in, a lot of the men were liable to act the big man, to try and make themselves look like they were macho men. They wished, the complete fucking wankers!
Jade believed it was because they had to pay for the women they slept with and, because of that, they felt the urge to make themselves look masculine in front of the women that they were paying good money for. But this time it had backfired and the man who had always been given a swerve was now in hospital and looking at serious money to replace his missing teeth plus plastic surgery to put his eye back in its original position.
In all honesty, Jade was glad he had been given his comeuppance – he was a fucking pain in the arse who thought that his name and his money gave him the right to treat everyone around him like shit. The girls he paid for were not big fans of him either. That told her everything she needed to know. There were punters you might not find attractive but they treated you well. These were the punters you liked, who you could have fun with. These were nice men, really − men you trusted because you knew there were no ulterior motives. Normally she would have given the man in question a real talking-to, explained that although his huge fee allowed for this kind of abuse that still didn’t mean it was right. That maybe he should have a quick rethink about the girls he requested. But today she really couldn’t be arsed. She was glad the moron had finally been taken down a few pegs.
They disgusted her, the men like him who really believed they had some kind of God-given fucking right to treat everyone around them like shit because they had a few quid. Truth be told, she could buy and sell the majority of the fuckers these days. They were only countenanced because of who they were related to, and because of how much money they spent. They were only really useful to her when things started to fall out of bed. Then they were worth her time.
Jade sighed in frustration. She had the hump.
Today had been a particularly trying day in her calendar, for more than one reason. She had been contacted by another trollop who thought that all she needed to do to get what she wanted out of life was tell her about how Aiden spent all his time with her. It was bad enough that the girl worked for them in one of the strip clubs, but that she actually believed she could ring Jade’s personal number was what really angered her. That a trollop, who she had paid wages to, had the nerve to think that she could actually contact her personally was beyond the fucking pale! Jade knew that Aiden was never going to be a wilting virgin, but the fact that he seemed to pick
his paramours from their workforce really did bother her. He had no fucking imagination, apparently.
He loved her and always would − of that she had no doubt. But that he would fuck a hole in a fence was something she was also more than aware of. It was why she still refused to marry him. She resented him when he put her in this kind of position. It humiliated her, and she deserved much better. But when Aiden was chasing his cock, his sensible head was not in attendance. That the girl had seen him enough times to think she had some kind of claim on him told her all she needed to know. Why did he feel the need to romance them? She already knew that the girl in question, Destiny, was a beautiful young girl. They always were. But she had rung Jade and told her that she was in love with Aiden, and he was in love with her − that was something Jade could not shrug off. It was the certainty in the girl’s voice that had really communicated itself to her. It was obvious that Aiden had been romancing her. And the silly bitch believed him.
She wasn’t sure she could do it any more. She didn’t want to go through all this again. It hurt her far more than she would ever allow herself to admit. But this time she had to step in because, if she didn’t, who knew what the fuck would happen? That was the real fear for her. She couldn’t ever trust Aiden when he was caught out, not just by her but by the whore he was shagging.
She cried in her anger and pain.
Chapter Sixty
‘Jade, come on. You know that my Aiden absolutely adores you.’
Jade laughed half-heartedly. She wasn’t in the mood for any real discussions, especially not with Reeva. If one of her kids murdered every one of her neighbours she would still argue the toss, say they were in the right, that they had been goaded!
‘Tell Destiny that, Reeva, will you? I can’t be arsed any more. It’s too much like hard fucking work.’
Reeva felt genuinely upset because, over the years, she had realised that this woman was the best thing that could ever have happened to her son. It wasn’t only about her grandson, because she believed that Jade would never stop her seeing him. She knew that Jade actually did like her. They had bonded over the years, and she was as angry as Jade was at Aiden’s latest stupidity. She knew that Jade was not jealous − she didn’t lose any sleep over her son’s bits on the side. Reeva admired Jade because she didn’t turn a drama into a fucking crisis, but she could understand why Jade saw his behaviour as insulting. She saw it that way herself. Aiden was her son, and God knew she loved him, but if she was Jade she would have taken him out a long time ago. ‘I know what you are feeling, Jade. But he has too much of me in him, I think. I could never be faithful in my younger days . . .’
Jade hugged the woman who could aggravate the life out of her with a few words, but who she could not help growing to love as the years had gone on. ‘Look, Reeva, you were a great mum, in your own way. Don’t you dare fucking try and make excuses for him. Just do me a big favour, please? Let me leave Aiden Junior here for a few days while I sort everything out? Can you do that for me?’
Reeva found herself nodding in agreement even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. She felt like she could tear her eldest son a new one without a second thought.
‘You have fucked off much better-looking girls than this whore, Jade.’
‘I know, Reeva. But this girl worked for me − she’s someone I have had to deal with. That is far too fucking close this time. I’ve swallowed my pride more than once. But I think that this girl is the end of it for me, this time.’
Reeva could see the hurt and the humiliation and she could really understand how Jade must be feeling. She knew that Jade wouldn’t accept being treated so badly and so publicly. This time Aiden had really queered his fucking pitch. Jade was at the end of her patience where Aiden was concerned.
‘I know the girls talk. But they have to respect me, Reeva. If they don’t then I ain’t doing my job. He is undermining me! This whore of his actually had the fucking nerve to ring me, Reeva, to lay down the law! That tells me that she thinks she has some kind of hold over him. Better I walk away now with my dignity because I have told him time and time again, do what you like but don’t rub my face in it.’
Reeva felt like crying. Jade was a very proud woman and, no matter what she might have done in the past, there had never been even a hint of impropriety where Jade was concerned since she had been with her boy. Reeva had been on the woman’s case since day one. She had investigated her like a fucking Old Bill. She had made a point of enquiring of anyone and everyone about Jade’s life, made it her mission to find out all she could. And she couldn’t fault her.
But she couldn’t say the same about Aiden, fucker that he was. Why did he have to always pick those girls who thought they were in with a chance? Like he would ever put one of them over his Jade! She would give him an earful when she saw him, she was determined about that much. Who the fuck did he think he was?
When Jade left the house, Reeva poured herself another large drink, telling herself it was because she was so upset about her son’s behaviour. But she knew that she would have poured the drink anyway, because that was what she liked to do. She liked a drink. Why was that such a big fucking deal? It wasn’t like they didn’t know her, was it? That they didn’t know that she enjoyed an alcoholic beverage on a regular basis. That she had enjoyed drinking since she had been a young girl. If she had not liked drinking so much, the chances were, none of her kids would have seen the light of day. When Tony got in he listened to her going on incoherently about how Aiden had finally fucked up and, as always, he agreed with her and poured her into bed. He guessed there was something occurring, but he would keep his counsel until he knew exactly what was what.
When he checked on Agnes he saw that Aiden Junior was beside her in the bed and he sussed out what had probably been the cause of Reeva’s drunken ramblings. After all, it wasn’t a big secret any more. Destiny Smith, stupid whore that she was, had made sure about that. Did these females never learn? The best they could hope for was an old Face with a few quid and a chequered past, and giving these men kids younger than their grandchildren. The girls should be sensible enough to know that, if they used their loaves and sat it out, they would be left with a house and a few quid. They weren’t the first wife; they weren’t really seen as deserving of anything. These girls were the man in question’s last fucking hurrah. They were the ones who were willing to sell themselves that short. They deserved all they got.
Chapter Sixty-One
Aiden O’Hara was feeling good about himself. He believed the time was at hand when Eric Palmer would step away from the businesses and pass the reins over to him and Jade. It was what he had been waiting for – patiently waiting for – because he had always thought the world of Eric Palmer.
Aiden had made it his mission in the past four years to get himself back on track to be Eric’s successor after his monumental fuck-up with the IRA. It still haunted him. But he was more determined than ever to show he had what it took. So he’d looked for his next money-making scam like the fucking calculator he was. Aiden had seen the potential of the earn in the drug trade. He had even weighed out forty grand for a pill press so they could make the merchandise themselves. They now had presses and chemists all over the UK so that they could control certain areas. Eric was over the moon. He thought Aiden was just like him in his heyday. Aiden kept his ear to the ground and he made sure that he was told everything that was occurring in their world, whether it was in the clubs, or on the pavements. Knowledge was power, as Aiden was so fond of saying. He was very careful to never act without Eric’s express say-so, to never try to do anything without his knowledge, giving him the respect he was due. But Aiden could see Eric was losing the edge. Putting his legitimate money to work had become his main interest thanks to Aiden’s persuasion. It was common knowledge that legal businesses were the golden ticket in his game. And now, if the Filth ever came knocking, he would always be in a position to explain how he paid his bills and bought his properties. Or, in his
case, loads of fucking properties.
Aiden’s mantra was easy and sensible: always be able to explain how you manage to drive your prestige car, pay for your big fucking house, and fund every part of your lifestyle. You needed to pay all the taxes you are required to, because the taxman − or, more to the point, the VAT man − is the only cunt who can enter your home without a fucking search warrant. Rape and murder kids, and the Filth still have to make sure they have a good reason to come into your home – a rapist has fucking rights. But owe a bit of tax and those fuckers could be in your drum without a by-your-leave. It was absolutely disgraceful. Rapists and paedophiles were never seen as being as important as tax evaders − that was what really annoyed villains.
It was a different world, and Aiden had explained all that to Eric. How it was important to be able to tell the taxman to take a flying fuck, but also to ensure that every shit he had ever passed could be proved in triplicate. That was Aiden’s forte. He had explained the importance of being seen as legitimate, how only a complete mug would be stupid enough to take on the tax people. He had finally convinced Eric of his opinion, and Eric had been impressed by his acumen. He had finally realised just how important it was to look as if you were as honest as the proverbial day was long. Aiden felt he had proven his worth to Eric over and over again.
Now everything he had ever wanted was within his grasp and he couldn’t be happier. As he sipped a large brandy at his desk, he looked around him with satisfaction. This is what he had been working towards, this was what he deserved.
