Betrayal

by Martina Cole

  But Agnes didn’t agree with Aiden’s reasoning. Here she was – a married woman who didn’t even live here any more and she was still expected to come over and sort it out. Reeva was a grandmother, and soon she would have another grandchild. The one thing Agnes was sure of was that she would never leave her child in Reeva’s care.

  ‘You are one mardy fucking mare, Aggs. Do you even realise that? A word of advice, lady: you have lumbered yourself with Colin Clark and, believe me, you will get the shock of your fucking life, I can guarantee that. Because, as fucking good as he is being now, it won’t last, sweetheart. You should take a leaf out of Jade’s book and deliberately look the other way. Because, darling, you have tied yourself to a man who couldn’t be fucking faithful if his life depended on it. The only reason he is being so good now is because he knows that if Aiden heard even a whisper that he was doing the dirty on you he would kill that fucker stone dead.’

  Agnes knew that her mother was speaking the truth and that was why it hurt so much. She wasn’t a complete fool, no matter what everyone else might think. Trust Reeva to tell her everything she really didn’t want to hear. But that was her mum all over, especially when she had had a few drinks. As Porrick had once proclaimed, if you can’t hack the truth, keep as far away from Reeva as humanly possible. It didn’t mean though that it was right to just allow her to say whatever she wanted to.

  ‘Thanks a lot, Mum. I’m pregnant and you tell me that my baby’s dad is a fucking womaniser.’

  Reeva was too drunk to hear the hurt in her daughter’s voice, and far too drunk to care. Reeva was at the stage where all she was interested in was saying her piece, which she was now even more determined to do. After all, as she reasoned with herself, if she didn’t, then who would? That’s what she’d like to know.

  She liked Colin Clark, but her daughter needed a fucking wake-up call. Colin Clark was a man who didn’t have a fucking loyal bone in his body. It was a truth, and one she felt that her girl deserved to know, sooner rather than later. Her daughter was a fool − a romantic who couldn’t see that the fucker had played her. She could write the fucking script.

  Suddenly she was all apologies. ‘Look, Agnes, I would not hurt you for the world − you are my daughter, my fucking baby. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Colin Clark is a handsome fuck but he will never be faithful. He is not capable of being with one woman. I’m not saying that he won’t love you dearly, but he will always chase a bit of strange. Why do you think Aiden hates him being with you so fucking much? Because he knows that they are so fucking similar. A pair of fucking male slags. I’m telling you, darling, the sooner you accept that, the better off you will be.’

  While Agnes accepted the truth of her mother’s words she knew that her mum would never have said a fucking thing if she wasn’t so drunk. Reeva would probably have no memory of this conversation after tonight. But Agnes would never ever forget. How could she? This was something that would stay with her all her life.

  The real hurt was that her mother couldn’t have said all this to her when she was sober. That would have carried more weight with her because she would have listened to her mother and what she had to say for herself.

  Agnes had accepted that she couldn’t ever trust her husband and she felt guilty that her relationship with him had destroyed his with Aiden. Colin was terrified of Aiden and how he would react in the future and that was something she knew he was right to worry about. Aiden saw her as his little sister and also as his responsibility. She didn’t think he would ever come to terms with the fact that she had let him down by getting pregnant.

  The sad thing was that she really loved Colin but she had begun to see him for what he really was even before they got married.

  She suddenly understood just how strong her mum had been when it had really mattered; she had kept all her children and loved them in her own way. It was only now, young and pregnant and finally understanding the enormity of what carrying a child really meant, that Agnes could finally appreciate her mother’s determination to have her kids without any kind of help whatsoever.

  She remembered once, on Aiden’s birthday, Reeva had made him a wonderful cake. It had been a real work of art. And after they had all sung ‘Happy Birthday’, and he had blown out the candles, she remembered Aiden hugging a crying Reeva tightly and saying earnestly, so sadly, ‘Come on, Mum. Stop fucking beating yourself up. You were only fourteen, Mum, and you fought to keep me, remember? And I love you for that. Mad fucking cow that you are, you always did your best for us all.’

  And that was the truth; it was why they always forgave her when she caused murders. She would fight to the death for any of her kids.

  As Agnes watched her mother lying on the sofa, ready to fall asleep, she wondered if she could ever be as strong as her. She was young, and she was nervous about what the future would bring. But, the strange thing was, she knew deep inside that, no matter what did happen, she could always depend on her mum and her brothers − and Tony, of course. She still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing − only time would tell.

  She knew that Aiden wasn’t enamoured of Colin any more and that was because of her − Aiden and her other brothers had lost a lot of respect for him. He had taken her without the permission of any of them, and that would always be a fucking problem because it was something they saw as underhand and sneaky. Which, of course, had been the real excitement for her. The sneaking around and the stolen moments together were like nothing she had ever experienced before in her life. It had never occurred to her until it was too late that there might be consequences to her actions. But now they were married and she had to make the best of it. She covered her mum up with a blanket and, as she tucked it in, Reeva opened her eyes and, smiling gently, she whispered, ‘You will always be my beautiful girl, Agnes. Never forget that, my darling.’

  Agnes kissed her mother softly on the forehead and she left her to sleep.

  Chapter One Hundred and Four

  Jade liked Marvin Hendry and the feeling was mutual. Now that the meeting was over, and the business was sorted, the bar was packed out with men from both sides. She was pleased that she was the only woman there, because she knew that Aiden had arranged it to be so, understanding that she could always hold her own, and that she could be trusted to make him look good. She sat between him and Marvin as requested, and made sure that the conversation was serious but also witty. She could feel Marvin’s interest in her; she could tell that he admired her. Her reputation always preceded her, but the days of caring about that were long gone. The one thing she had learned many moons ago was that there was nothing that anyone could do about gossip; the best thing was to embrace it and make it work in your favour.

  Aiden was giving her his undivided attention, and Marvin was impressed about that. She looked amazing, but then she knew how to dress to impress.

  Looking around the bar, she watched as Patsy and his brothers made sure that the men who were with Marvin were being looked after. The music was loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that it intruded on private conversations. The bar staff had been handpicked and were all males and, although not subservient, they were very discreet and they made sure that no one’s glass was empty for any length of time. Jade had also arranged for Marvin and his posse to have exclusive use of the VIP room if they wanted it. She had a feeling that Marvin might offer it to his workforce but she sensed that he would not avail himself of it. He was a man who didn’t need to pay for a woman, that much was obvious to her. He wouldn’t take one for free either; as he smiled at her, she knew that the only woman he wanted was her. She understood that it wasn’t because she was Aiden’s woman − it was because he liked grown-ups.

  She could sense immediately that Marvin had no interest in the club at all. Most men spent their time asking about the girls, how old they were, how much they had to spend to get them interested. It was embarrassing, really, just how fucking scummy most men were, if given the opportunity. It didn’t matter how
many fucking laws were brought in, there would always be certain men who would want to pay for women they didn’t have to be nice to. If they paid enough, they could conveniently forget that they were someone else’s daughter or niece, or some kind of female relative. That was why the girls could make so much money and that was why prostitution was the oldest profession in the world.

  Aiden was smiling at her; he was as aware of Marvin’s interest in her as she was, and just took it as a compliment. He never ceased to amaze her. He was either up for committing murder, or delighted that someone else saw her as he saw her. There was never a happy medium with him; everything depended on how he felt at the time. She continued to play the game, exactly as was expected of her. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off, she just didn’t know what that might be. She knew she wasn’t the only person to feel that there was something wrong. Until Aiden saw fit to tell them what was occurring, they had no choice except to wait and see.

  Chapter One Hundred and Five

  Colin Clark and his brother, Timmy, were quiet. Colin was well aware that his brother was very annoyed with him, and he couldn’t blame him. As Timmy had pointed out frequently during the course of the day, he had been the cause of all this fucking upset. Colin couldn’t deny it − Timmy was absolutely fucking spot on. Talk about stating the fucking obvious! But, by the same token, what could he do about it now? This was his only chance to make some kind of sense out of what had happened.

  ‘Do you know what really fucks me off, Colin? That you honestly couldn’t see something like this coming. Did you really think that Aiden was just going to let you walk away without a fucking mark on you? Are you really that big a fool?’

  Colin Clark pulled into the parking space and switched off the engine. Turning in his seat he looked at his brother and, taking a deep breath, he said, ‘Do you really think I need you to keep reminding me of what I have done? Do you not think that I already know what a complete fuck-up I have made? It’s hardly like I haven’t worked it out for myself.’

  Timmy Clark could see that his brother was regretting his actions and trying his hardest to make amends. But it just didn’t make him feel any better. Colin had ruined everything they had worked for. Even his brother’s relationship with Aiden, and that had been a true friendship, was now in tatters. There was no way he could claw his way back into his good books. Timmy Clark thought that Colin had gone too far and he was his own brother, so where did that leave Aiden?

  ‘Look, Timmy, I get it, all right? I fucking did a serious wrong one. But it doesn’t matter how many times you point that out to me, it won’t change anything, will it?’

  Colin got out of the car and took a few deep breaths. Timmy watched his brother sadly, broken-hearted because he had basically ruined them overnight. He couldn’t let him off easily; he had to make him understand just how badly he had fucked up.

  Timmy stepped out of the car. ‘You just fucking didn’t take the time to think of what your actions might cause, Colin. Now look where we are! Look what we have to do to try and make everything all right again. And this is all because of you!’

  Colin Clark didn’t answer because he honestly didn’t know how to apologise to his brother. He had really put them in a terrible position. And now Aiden had given them this ‘errand’, as he insisted on calling it, for tonight. Neither of them wanted anything to do with it − but they had no choice.

  Timmy looked at his brother for a long moment. ‘Come on, let’s get this done and dusted, eh?’

  Colin laughed with relief and, hugging his brother tightly, he said happily, ‘Finally, bruv, you are seeing it from my point of view! Now me and Agnes are married it will settle down. Aiden knows that I will look after her and I will. I promised her that.’

  Timmy smiled sadly. ‘I hope so, Colin, I really do, mate.’

  They walked to the house together. Timmy rang the doorbell; he was still so annoyed because he hated that it had come to this because of Colin and his fucking rank stupidity. Eric Palmer answered the door and ushered them inside. They followed him into his kitchen where he poured them large whiskies.

  ‘Aiden said you would be coming by. Sit down, lads. I have everything you need here. I think you’ll find everything in order.’

  He was smiling at them happily, the books they were to pick up placed neatly on the table next to him.

  ‘Sit down, for fuck’s sake!’

  Timmy looked around him at Eric’s home. It was luxurious, if a bit old-fashioned. But that was to be expected − he was not a young man and his surroundings were not of great interest to him any more. He already had his credentials and he didn’t feel the need to prove himself to anyone. Eric Palmer was respected by everyone who knew him, and especially by those who had ever had dealings with him. He had never felt the need to trade his wife in for a younger model who would insist on everything being as expensive as humanly possible and all put into her name. Eric Palmer was the last of the old school; a one-off these days. He was a dinosaur who had still managed to keep himself in the frame, thanks to his association with Aiden O’Hara, of course.

  Eric was suddenly aware that there was something amiss. There was a bad feeling rising up inside him. Colin and Timmy Clark were both just standing in his kitchen, staring at him. He realised in a flash what the score was going to be tonight, but he didn’t want to admit it. There was a part of him that had expected something like this − he was nothing if not a realist, after all. He knew Aiden O’Hara better than anyone else. He had given that boy everything he could give him, loved him like a son. He had just not wanted to believe this day would ever come.

  As Colin removed the gun from the back of his trousers and walked towards him, Eric Palmer knew exactly what was going to happen − he would have done the same if it had been his call. He had gone soft in his old age; there was a time when he would have pre-empted this and struck first. Sometimes you had to speculate to accumulate, how many times had he said that same thing to Aiden? Sometimes you had to do things that were not always easy, but that might be the only option open to a person. It was about saving your own life, making sure that you got what you wanted − and sometimes that meant sacrificing people in your life who you cared about.

  There was a bit of Eric that was impressed at Aiden’s acumen; he had really thought this through. He was as great a man as Eric had always believed him to be, and this had only proved to him that he had been right about Aiden all along. This was such a fucking audacious move. He had taught the fucker well. Probably too well, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that now. He smiled at Colin and said easily, ‘Tell Aiden, Timmy, that I would have done exactly the same.’

  The first shot hit Eric in the chest, and he dropped to his knees. The second shot hit him in the groin. He was writhing around on the floor in agony, and the third shot Colin put through his head. There was blood everywhere; it had sprayed all over the kitchen cupboards and the ceiling, and now it was making a huge, red stain on the black-and-white tiles on the kitchen floor.

  Colin Clark turned and looked at his brother; he was devastated at what he had been forced to do. ‘Oh, Christ, Timmy. What the fuck have we done?’

  Timmy Clark took the gun off him, and sat his brother down at the kitchen table. He gave him his whisky. ‘Drink that up, mate, it will do you good.’

  Colin Clark downed the drink in one swallow, and then he coughed heartily because it was far too strong for him.

  Behind him, Timmy Clark quickly put one bullet into the back of his brother’s head.

  As Colin dropped forward and slid on to the floor, Timmy wondered at a world where this could be classed as even remotely normal. But what choice did he have? Aiden O’Hara had made it very plain that this was exactly what he had to do if he wanted to live for any length of time. It was either one dead or both of them gone, for ever.

  But, as a result of his choice, Aiden’s sister had lost the father of her child, Timmy had lost a brother, and it wou
ld look like Colin was the bad bastard, caught out while trying to kill Eric Palmer. The worst of it all was that Timmy would be seen as a hero, as a man who had murdered his own flesh rather than stand by a man who would take out someone like Eric Palmer in cold blood. Aiden had even made sure that he was given some of Eric’s businesses to run, and that would give the truth to the lie. It was a lie Timmy would have to live with till the day he died. There was no way Aiden was ever going to let Colin get away with sleeping with his sister and getting her pregnant. Colin should have worked that much out for himself and just once in his life thought about what the fuck he was doing. But that was a moot point now. It was over, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

  Timmy looked at his brother’s body and then, picking up the ledgers, he walked away from the carnage. As angry as he was with Aiden, he knew in his heart of hearts that he couldn’t fault the fucker’s logic. Tonight Aiden had taken out two people and no one would ever suspect that he had a hand in any of it.

  Chapter One Hundred and Six

  Aiden O’Hara was holding his sister to him as tightly as possible. She was crying so loudly and shrieking as if she was in such pain that the police were more than willing to leave him to it. She was frightening them.

  Aiden had already been on the blower and arranged things to his satisfaction. He’d made sure that the police involved were more than compensated for their troubles, and that his sister would be left in peace long enough for him to work his magic.

  Reeva had sobered up in no time, and Tony and the boys had made sure that Agnes was not allowed within two feet of anyone outside of the family.