by Martina Cole
The VIP room was larger than the other private rooms, and it had mirrored walls and subdued lighting. It also had a bar, as well as two huge black leather sofas. There were three poles for the girls to use, and small glass tables that were placed strategically to hold not only the punters’ drinks but also baby oils, KY Jelly and assorted condoms.
Milandra was dancing closer to Angus Junior, and when he beckoned her over to him, she was happy to oblige, and she was smiling as she lowered herself on to his lap.
When Julie came into the room, she looked absolutely amazing. Both the younger girls knew she was the star turn. There wasn’t anything they could do to compete with her. Abad’s eyes lit up when he saw her. Julie was a fucking one-off. He pulled himself up from his seat and, taking her hand, he kissed it and bowed like a gentleman. Julie smiled graciously and began to dance, slowly and provocatively.
Angus knew the score and he went over to the bar and poured them all fresh drinks, including a glass of sparkling wine in a champagne flute for Julie. She had earned her special treatment. Julie was pulled on to Abad’s lap gently. She happily complied, and then she accepted the glass of wine from Angus, smiling her thanks. It was an old routine now.
Angus Junior was watching the dance with disdain. He had drunk a lot of vodka and he had also had a few lines of cocaine. He knew better than to let his father know that, of course, even though he was a cokehead extraordinaire. His father was funny about that; he would let his son drink himself stupid but he frowned on him taking drugs. It was such fucking hypocrisy, and that annoyed him. He wasn’t a child, he was being introduced to the business, so why did his father treat him like one?
He was watching Julie and Abad closely. They were kissing like lovers. The music had been changed at some point, from dance music to soul classics. The whole atmosphere of the room was suddenly different and, as Freddie Jackson was singing ‘Rock Me Tonight’, Angus Junior got up from his seat, leaving Milandra. Flopping down heavily on to the other sofa beside Abad and Julie, he tried to slip his hand between Julie’s legs.
It took a few moments before his father realised what was going on. As Abad grabbed his son’s arm and threw him angrily across the room, Angus knew that he had to do something – and quickly. It had all happened so fast, he couldn’t believe it. When Abad gripped his boy by his shirt and dragged him up off the floor, he knew that he had to stop it. Abad could kill on a whim.
He knew that whatever had happened had to be his boy’s fault. Abad wouldn’t disrespect him like this without good reason.
‘You little fucker, who the hell do you think you are?’
Angus Junior was frightened, and that was more than obvious to everyone in the room. He had crossed a line, and his father wasn’t rushing to his defence. That alone told him all he needed to know.
Angus pulled his son away roughly and threw him on to the nearest sofa. ‘Hey, Abad, what happened?’
Abad looked at his old friend and, pointing his finger at Angus Junior, he said angrily, ‘He put his filthy hands on Julie. He put his hand between her legs. What kind of an animal thinks that is acceptable? What the fuck would make him think that I would not be offended by such disgusting behaviour?’
Angus looked at his son and he could see that, even though he was scared and knew that he had done something really wrong, he was still expecting his father to make it right for him. He still believed that he was untouchable. He could see the insolence in his son’s eyes and he knew that he had to nip it in the bud. His boy needed to learn that he had to abide by certain rules, like everyone else, or he wouldn’t last five fucking minutes in their world.
Angus held his hands up in a gesture of supplication, and he said to Abad apologetically, ‘He’s drunk, mate. He needs a lesson in etiquette – and believe me, he is going to get one.’
Angus Junior sat back on the black leather sofa and grinned arrogantly. Then, holding his arms out, he said mockingly, ‘Come on, guys, it was a fucking joke. It’s not like that’s the first time a strange hand has slipped between her legs, is it?’
Abad looked at Angus and, before he could say a word, Angus was pulling his son up by his hair. Grasping him around the throat, he said menacingly, ‘Do you know something, son? You just made a novice mistake, because you just talked yourself into serious fucking trouble.’
The beating he gave his son was long, brutal and painful.
It was something that neither of them would ever forget.
But it was also something that his son would never forgive.
Chapter One Hundred and Two
‘Look, Lorna, before you start, he asked for everything he got. He is lucky he got off this lightly because – I tell you now – if he wasn’t my son, he would be a dead man. If he had been anyone else, Abad would have fucking murdered him. And he would have been well within his rights, because that boy of ours completely disrespected him. It was like watching a fucking car crash when you know you can’t do anything about it.’
Lorna looked at her son lying unconscious in the hospital bed, and she didn’t say anything. In reality, she couldn’t criticise her husband, because their son had committed such a monumental fuck-up.
How could anyone think that a man like Abad would countenance such abominable behaviour? Especially not her son, who had known that man all his life. Abad was not only a close friend, but he was also privy to everything of importance concerning any business they conducted. Angus and Abad used each other as foils, so that if anything should ever happen to either of them, the other would know what had gone down and how best to deal with it.
They were each other’s insurance, and that was because of a true friendship where they trusted each other implicitly. Both knew that they needed someone on the outside – someone they could trust to look after their interests, should the worst happen. Because in their world, you never knew what might occur when you least expected it.
Roy had filled her in on the circumstances, and she couldn’t really say anything in her son’s defence. He should have known better, because she prided herself that she had not raised any fucking fools. Seems she had not been as clever as she had believed. But she had warned her husband about bringing Angus Junior into the business at such a young age, and giving him access to everything before he had earned that right. He was a clever dick, because he had been privately educated, and he thought he was the dog’s knob. He had never once had to do a day’s collar, or earn his keep for real.
She had made sure that, when her children were small, they didn’t get away with anything. She had kept them close, and she had been hard on them. But now that his father had taken over from Diana, it seemed that he had not been able to keep the boy on the straight and narrow. She had told Angus that their son needed a firm hand and that he needed to understand that he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted. He should have listened to her, and she said as much.
‘I told you he was still a baby, for all his bravado. You brought him in against my advice – and your mother’s, I might add. Even Diana said to ease him in gently.
‘He is seventeen and he has no real knowledge of the world you inhabit, only what he has read in the papers. He thinks he’s a film star, that he’s famous. He thinks that he can get away with anything, because no one has ever told him any different. Except me. And I have no say over anything where he is concerned any more, as you know full well. So if you don’t mind, Angus, when he’s back on his feet, I hope you remember that.’
Angus had honestly believed that his son would have been far more on the ball, would have known instinctively that what he had done was not acceptable to anyone around him. He knew that the papers had glamorised him and his clubs, but that had been all part of the game. His real businesses were conducted with the minimum of fuss and without any fanfare whatsoever. His clubs and his properties and his restaurants were all a front for the real earn. That his son had thought that was all there was to his world really grieved him, because his son had to know that wasn�
�t true.
His Angus wasn’t a stupid lad. He had really thought that the boy was much like him. His Angus wasn’t one of the sheep; he didn’t live by the usual standards. He had hoped that his boy had inherited some of his natural aptitude for skulduggery. He had never thought for one second that the boy would turn out to be a fucking liability.
Angus put his arms around his wife, and she settled into his arms. Squeezing her into his chest, he said quietly, ‘He was out of order, Lorna.’
Lorna nodded sadly. ‘I know. But he was always a loose cannon, and you should have known that. He was a know-all – even as a little kid, he would argue the toss over anything. Remember the drama about the hamster and how it had died? We both knew he had killed it in a temper, but he wouldn’t admit it. He argued that it had bitten him, and that was why he had thrown it against the wall.’
Lorna honestly couldn’t feel any real sympathy for her son. He had been asking for this for a long while. She had lost her hold over him and so she had thought that his father could keep him in order, but she had been wrong.
Once children reached a certain age, there wasn’t anything you could do for them if they didn’t want your input. That had been a hard lesson for her.
She had warned Angus Junior enough times that his attitude would one day lead him to his downfall. She had been proved right. Hopefully, he would listen to her in the future.
She knew, better than anyone, that in their world the sooner you learned the harsh realities of life, the better off you would be.
Book Five
2008
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.
Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth,
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
Chapter One Hundred and Three
Gabriel and Diana were both laughing their heads off until they saw Lorna pulling up in the drive. Her presence seemed to suck the fun out of the atmosphere within seconds. Lorna had a knack of bringing a pall of overwhelming depression with her wherever she went. They looked at each other in exasperation and sighed simultaneously.
Diana opened the door with a huge smile plastered on her face. Not that it fooled either of them, but it was a game they had played for so long, neither knew how to put an end to the pretence.
Lorna had always been the barrier between Diana and her grandchildren, and thankfully that was all over. Now Lorna couldn’t dictate if and when her children could see their grandmother any more, because they were all old enough to decide for themselves who they wanted to see, and when they wanted to see them. Diana knew that had to hurt Lorna, and she could find it in her heart to feel sorry for her, because Lorna had lost out in more ways than one.
Oh, it was a difficult road they all had to travel these days, but they did it with a smile – and the hope that Lorna wouldn’t feel the need to point out where everyone was going wrong.
Lorna looked good and Diana told her so because, in fairness, even with everything she had endured she had looked after herself and it had paid off. ‘Lorna, lovely, you look fantastic. Where did you get that outfit?’
Lorna walked into the house smiling genially as she said, ‘It’s only from Karen Millen but I love the cut of her clothes, and the materials are always such excellent quality.’
Diana smiled her agreement and followed her daughter-in-law into her kitchen. She automatically opened the fridge and poured out two glasses of white wine. She handed one to Lorna, who sat at the breakfast bar and nodded her thanks.
Sitting opposite her, Diana sipped her drink and said quickly, ‘So to what do I owe this pleasure?’
It was friendly and to the point, and it meant they didn’t have to dance around each other for ages, because she really wasn’t in the mood.
Lorna was still smiling amiably. ‘I just wondered if you know where my boys are? Only I can’t get them on the phone – or Angus, come to that – and it’s been a few days.’
Lorna was acting as if she wasn’t worried in the least, and this was just a friendly visit. But Diana knew exactly what it had taken for Lorna to come to her like this and ask her outright if she knew where her sons were. Lorna had so much pride, too much pride really, more than was good for her. It saddened Diana that Lorna was being treated so badly, even though she understood the logic behind it. As much as Lorna had grieved her over the years, she still believed that she was owed enough respect from her children for them at least to let her know where they were.
Gabriel came into the kitchen and, kissing Lorna on the cheek, he said jovially, ‘How are you? You’re looking well.’
Diana smiled again and said pointedly, ‘Lorna was just asking after the boys.’
Gabriel immediately understood the situation and, shaking his head ruefully, he said, ‘Oh, Lorna, that’s my fault. I told the boys I would ring you, but it’s been such a bloody mad time. They went to Spain with Angus. There’s a new DJ at the club in Banús – that Lifer Pete – and they were mad to go. He’s really making a name for himself, and they were determined to see him. There is also Rowetta from the Happy Mondays doing a set with Bez, so you can imagine that was just too good to miss.’
Lorna listened to Gabriel talking without any kind of expression on her face. Diana could see the distress in Gabriel’s eyes, and she loved him all the more for his kindness. He knew that Lorna loathed him, even more than she loathed her mother-in-law. She needed Diana at times, and Diana made sure that she was always there for her. It had never been an easy relationship, but though she had regained her grandchildren she also still carried the guilt that Lorna engendered in her.
Lorna sipped her wine. She had always been very feminine and very elegant; she could wear an old rag and still look like she had stepped off a catwalk.
‘Oh, I see. Thank you, Gabriel, for letting me know. It was just . . . I was a bit worried, as I hadn’t heard from them. But I suppose they are too busy having a good time.’
The implication that he had deliberately kept this knowledge from her was more than evident to anyone within a five-mile radius. Once more, Diana was reminded how much she loved this man because he had taken the onus off her. Gabriel always ignored Lorna and her hysterics, they were water off a duck’s back to him. She bored him, and she always had done, and Lorna was more than aware of that fact.
‘So! I’m glad we got all that sorted out.’ He walked out of the kitchen and shut the door behind him.
Lorna smiled once more and Diana refilled her wine glass, saying carefully, ‘I know how you feel, Lorna, it’s so fucking rude. That’s kids for you. But in fairness, they aren’t children any more, are they? So they don’t think to tell you their movements. I used to want to string my Angus up! But, believe me, you do get used to it.’
Lorna just smiled vacantly, and Diana knew that she was wasting her time trying to soften the blow. Lorna knew, as well as she did, that her kids had not bothered to tell her what they were doing because they couldn’t be arsed. They avoided Lorna like the fucking plague, because she still tried to control everything that they did.
She had driven her children away with her constant interference. Lorna had pushed them all to the limits of their patience, and even Angus couldn’t talk them into making allowances for her any more. Especially where Eilish was concerned.
It was as if her daughter didn’t exist. It was strange really. Lorna had longed so much for a girl and when she arrived she had barely given that child the time of day. It had always been about the boys – and mainly Angus Junior, because he had been the surrogate for her husband and his total neglect of her for weeks at a time. As a result, it had been Diana that Eilish had turned to for any kind of maternal comfort – when Diana was allowed to be around, of course. But the seeds were sown and, now that they were free to be a part of each other’s lives, grandmother and granddaughter were thick as thieves. Eilish had a steeliness to her that Diana recognised and, she reckoned, more nous th
an her brothers put together. Though she kept that to herself.
Now the kids just dismissed their mother and treated her like a distant relative; there was no real closeness or affection there. Sean and Eilish both still lived at home, but they acted like it was a lodging house, while Angus Junior had his own place.
Lorna had no standing with her kids any more. They were each happy living their own life, preferably without her in it.
It was sad but it was the truth.
Chapter One Hundred and Four
Eilish Davis was a good-looking woman. She also knew that, in comparison to the lap dancers that worked for her family, she could be seen by some as lacking.
But Eilish had what those girls would never have: she had confidence, she had her mother’s natural dress sense, and her grandmother’s sharp brain. Furthermore, she had the added bonus of being their boss. She liked the girls and they liked her because she was fair-minded and she always made sure that they were treated with respect. They were in awe of the way she carried herself, and how she could hold her own with any man she came into contact with. True, that she was Angus Davis’s daughter was well known, but that didn’t matter because the girls knew that she could more than fight her own corner.
Even her father had finally accepted that, and he was proud that she could take care of herself. She knew that if she wasn’t up to scratch, he would have no problem replacing her. After what had happened with her brother and Abad, she knew that none of them were in for an easy ride. That was what appealed to her; she didn’t want to achieve simply because she was a Davis, she wanted to achieve because she was good at what she did.
