Back in the Game
CAZ FINLAY

One More Chapter

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London SE1 9GF

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Copyright © Caz Finlay 2020

Cover design by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Caz Finlay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008340704

Ebook Edition © 2020 ISBN: 9780008340698

Version: 2020-05-21

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Also by Caz Finlay

About the Author

About the Publisher

For my wonderful Mum, whose love of reading inspired my own. And my equally wonderful dad, John.

And as always, for Finlay, Jude and James.

Prologue

The large man’s brow furrowed. ‘Fucking bastards!’ he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he ended the call, slamming his smartphone onto the desk in front of him.

Liam McGuinness jumped, spilling his cup of coffee onto his new jeans. ‘For fuck’s sake, boss,’ he snapped as he leaped out of his chair. ‘These cost me three hundred quid.’

His boss glared at him in response.

Liam placed his cup onto the desk. ‘What’s up?’ he asked, realising the cost of his designer jeans was inconsequential to the raging man in front of him.

‘Our container has gone missing. That’s what’s fucking up,’ he growled.

Liam’s mouth dropped open. ‘What? That’s the second one this month.’

‘I know, soft-shite.’

‘You know who’s behind it, don’t you?’

His boss nodded furiously. ‘Cheeky little fucker. Who the hell does he think he is?’

Liam snorted. ‘He’s an arrogant little prick. He’d be no one without Mummy and Daddy’s name behind him. It’s about time someone taught him what happens to little boys who think they’re big men.’

The boss slammed his large fist onto the desk, sending Liam’s coffee cup tumbling to the floor. ‘He’s cost me near on six hundred grand. I don’t care what his name is, he’s a fucking dead man walking,’ he snarled.

Liam smiled. It was about time they stood up to this little prick. If they were going to be the top dogs, then they had to have the balls to take out their main competition, no matter who they were. There was no room in Liverpool for all of them. When that arrogant little shit had walked onto the scene, his name alone had sent shockwaves through the Liverpool underworld. People had automatically fallen in line, as though he was the heir to the fucking throne.

But Liam knew what he really was. A spoiled little boy who was still tied to his mummy’s apron strings and who would never be half the gangster his father was. Now that his parents were out of the way, it was the perfect time to make a move.

Liam’s boss wasn’t from Liverpool, but he knew of the family by reputation. Between them, Grace Sumner and Nathan Conlon had practically ruled Liverpool for years. There was a time when people dared not take a shit without the okay from one of them. And now their son, Jake, had taken up their mantle, although he didn’t quite have the same clout as his parents, and in Liam’s opinion he never would. Despite Liam’s best efforts to persuade him otherwise, his boss had been too cautious to take Jake on. Liam didn’t understand why. It wasn’t as though he was against getting his hands dirty. The first job he’d taken Liam on had been to get information from a dealer who’d been involved in trying to rip him off. The lad had given up his co-conspirators before they’d laid a finger on him, but his boss had tortured him to death just for the hell of it. It sent a message. That was how he operated.

Liam smiled as he watched his employer taking out the knuckledusters and corkscrew from his desk drawer – it meant their evening was about to get a whole lot more interesting. The boss was pissed off and some poor sod was about to feel his wrath.

‘What are we gonna do then?’ Liam asked.

The big man stared at him. ‘Tonight we’re going to pay the McHughs a visit. They’re a day late paying me and my patience has worn incredibly thin. As for our other problem, all in good time, lad. But mark my words, Jake Conlon will rue the fucking day he ever tried to mess with me.’

Chapter 1

Grace Sumner smiled at her sleeping daughter as she laid her down in her cot. Belle’s dark curls sprawled around her head like a halo. She looked so peaceful. Eight months old and the image of her father. So much so, that sometimes looking at her daughter’s face made Grace’s stomach contract.

The sound of Grace’s mobile phone ringing in the next room snapped her from her quiet reflection. Hurrying out of Belle’s bedroom and into her own, she snatched the offending item from her bedside table. In her eagerness to prevent the noise from waking Belle, she’d already swiped right on the screen to answer when she noticed it was a withheld number. Probably another bloody arsehole asking about the car accident I haven’t had!

‘Hello?’ she snapped.

‘Hello, Grace.’

She recognised the thick Mancunian drawl immediately. Her insides lurched and she contemplated hanging up without speaking another word.

‘Sol,’ she said instead. ‘How the hell did you get this number? And what do you want?’

She heard his throaty laugh before he responded. ‘I’ve always loved your fire, Gracie. It’s such a shame we never got together, don’t you think?’

No, she thought but didn’t say. Solomon Shepherd was a former business associate of hers from Manchester. He dealt in drugs and weapons mostly, which Grace had supplied him with on many occasions. She got on well enough with him, but he had an ego the size of Saturn. ‘What do you want, Sol?’ she sighed.

‘Look, Grace, we’ve always got on well. We do good business. That’s why I’m doing you the courtesy of phoning you about this …’

‘About what? Just get to the point, will you?’ She was not in the mood for his dramatics.

‘Okay, don’t get your fucking knickers in a twist,’ he barked. ‘Things have gone tits up since you pissed off. You need to get back home and get your fucking house in order.’

‘What?’

‘You heard me. I don’t know what the fuck is going on over there in la-la-land, but it’s causing me no end of aggro. So, fucking sort it.’

‘Look, Sol. You know I’m out of that game now. It’s Michael you need to be speaking to.’

‘I know you’re out of it. That’s my fucking point. Michael Carter is too fucking stupid to know when he’s onto a good thing. He’s let everything go to shit. Someone else has taken over. I don’t know him, but from what I can gather, he’s a fucking weapon who doesn’t know his arse from his elbow. He’s losing merchandise left, right and centre, and it’s disrupting my supply chains.’

Grace frowned. Michael Carter had once been her right-hand man. She had left her considerable empire in his capable hands. He was as hard as they came. So why had he let someone else take over? Shaking her head, she remembered that she was well out of it all now. ‘I still don’t get what any of this has to do with me, Sol.’

‘Oh, yeah, that. Well, that kid of yours is involved somehow as well.’

‘Jake?’ Grace said as she felt a sudden sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

‘Yeah. Playing at being a gangster. Stepped right into Daddy’s shoes. Trouble is, Daddy’s shoes are far too big for him. I’ve had the filth sniffing round me because of his fucking incompetence. Because he’s your son, I’ve let it go. But I will not do that again, Grace.’

‘What are you on about Sol? Jake’s not running that kind of business.’

Sol laughed. ‘Are you kidding me? You really are out of touch, aren’t you? You’re living in cloud cuckoo land, Grace, and you need to get your head back in the game before that lad of yours ends up with a bullet in his.’

Grace felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. ‘But Jake—’ She swallowed, struggling to talk and breathe at the same time.

‘But fucking nothing. He’s in way over his head. Not a fucking clue what he’s doing. There’s more to this game than running about sticking guns in people’s faces – as you well know. Look, I’m only telling you this because we’ve got history and I thought you deserved to know. Rein him in, Grace, before someone else does.’

Grace’s head spun. What the hell was Sol on about? What the hell was Jake involved in, and why hadn’t he mentioned anything when she’d spoken to him that morning? Or any other morning? She needed answers, and fast.

‘Thanks for the heads up, Sol.’ She hung up the phone.

Grace’s legs buckled beneath her. She landed on her bed in a seated position. Dear God! Jake! Her poor, sweet baby boy. What had she left him to?

The murder of Nathan Conlon, her ex-husband and Jake’s father, had been a shock to the Liverpool underworld, throwing the cat amongst the proverbial pigeons and causing some unrest while the various factions jockeyed for position in the new world order. For Grace, it had signalled the perfect time to get away. So, that’s exactly what she’d done – moving to the sleepy village of Harewood, where the most exciting thing that ever happened was a heated debate at a parish council meeting. She’d been convinced that it would be enough to protect Jake and keep him away from the life she and his father had chosen. She’d been furious with him when he’d declared he was dropping out of university to run his father’s seedy little nightclub, The Blue Rooms. But, full of the arrogance and naiveté of a twenty-year-old boy, he’d refused to listen to a word she said. ‘Why do a business degree when I can run my own business, Mum?’ he’d said with that lovable, lopsided grin on his face.

She’d refused to return to Liverpool with him. She couldn’t. There was Belle to think of. But she’d been a fool to believe that Jake wouldn’t get sucked into that world. After all, she and Nathan were his parents. She’d stupidly believed him when he’d promised to make The Blue Rooms into a legitimate business to be proud of. God, she’d been so bloody blind.

So, now what?

She had to go back, of course.

Feeling the bile rising in her throat, she swallowed it down. How would she keep her little secret now? She couldn’t, could she? It was impossible. And when it all came out, well, all hell would break loose.

Chapter 2

Lifting Belle from her car seat, Grace looked up at the second-floor window of the three-storey house in Canning Street to see Marcus Holden waving at her, a smile plastered across his face. He motioned his hand to indicate he was buzzing her in.

After carrying Belle up the two flights of stairs to Marcus’s flat, Grace placed her sleeping charge on Marcus’s large sofa, surrounded by pillows.

‘I’ve missed you,’ Marcus said, his eyes brimming with tears as he embraced her. ‘I’m so glad you’re back.’

‘I’ve missed you too,’ Grace said as she hugged him. ‘Although I’m not so happy to be here,’ she said as she untangled herself from his embrace.

‘Well, no, I suppose not.’ He shook his head. ‘Not in the circumstances. You look shattered. How about a brew before you fill me in on everything?’

‘That would be great.’

‘You take a load off then,’ he said indicating his plush sofa. ‘And I’ll stick the kettle on.’

Sighing, Grace took a seat near Belle. A traffic jam on the M62 meant she’d been driving for over four hours. She’d been hoping to have Belle home and tucked up in bed by eight, but instead it was after nine and she was only just arriving at Marcus’s flat to pick up the keys to her house.

Marcus Holden was Grace’s oldest and closest friend. He’d been the manager of her pub, The Rose and Crown, before it had been burned to the ground. He was one of the few people who even knew where she lived in Harewood, and he’d visited her and Belle there at least a dozen times. He’d been looking after her house in Formby for her and had been acting as a property manager for the tenants Grace had found. How fortunate it was that they’d moved on a few weeks earlier, or Grace would have had to rent a new place herself.

A few minutes later, Marcus came back into his living room carrying two mugs of tea.

‘Thanks,’ Grace said as she took the drink from him.

‘So, how are you, Grace?’ Marcus asked. ‘Apart from tired, that is?’

Grace shook her head. ‘I don’t know, to be honest. Annoyed. Angry. Terrified.’

She hadn’t told Marcus the full extent of Jake’s troubles, partly because she didn’t know yet herself, but also because Marcus had always stayed away from that side of her business and had no place in that world as far as Grace was concerned. It was one of the reasons she’d allowed him to visit her, that and the fact she adored him and missed him like crazy.

Marcus shook his head too. ‘So what are you going to do?’

‘The first thing I need to do is to find out what’s been going on while I’ve been away. And then I need to speak to that lad of mine and find out what the hell he’s playing at.’

‘Hmm.’ Marcus sipped his tea.

‘On that note. Could you do me a favour?’

‘Anything.’

‘Would you mind staying with me for a while and looking after Belle while I sort some stuff out?’

‘Hmm.’ Marcus tilted his head as though considering her offer. ‘Stay in your gorgeous five-bedroomed house with a home cinema and look after the most incredible little girl in the world? Of course, I will.’ He laughed. ‘I’ll just drink this and then I’ll pack a bag.’

‘Thanks. You’re a legend,’ Grace smiled. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.

Grace felt Marcus staring at her and knew what he was thinking. Apart from Jake, it was all she’d thought about too.

‘So what about your other little problem?’ he finally asked.

Grace sighed. ‘I have no idea. It’s bound to come out, isn’t it?’

‘Not necessarily,’ he said.

Grace raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Don’t try and make me feel better. How the hell can I keep up the pretence now? It was different while I was in Harewood. But now that I’m back here …’

‘It will be difficult, but we’ll think of something,’ he said softly.

Grace shook her head. ‘He’s going to find out, Marcus. And then the shit will really hit the fan. It’s going to be fucking awful.’

Marcus didn’t respond. Probably because he knew she was right.

Chapter 3

The tyres of Grace’s car crunched on the gravel as she pulled into the driveway of the expensive detached house. She’d settled Belle into her new room and left Marcus babysitting and deciding which bedroom to stake his claim on. It was after midnight and the streets of Mossley Hill were deserted. Only a few amber streetlights buzzed and flickered overhead. Walking up the ornate stone steps, she knocked on the large wooden door and, a few moments later, listened to the sound of the heavy bolts being drawn back. Then the door opened barely an inch and a beady blue eye peered through the crack above the safety chain.

‘Jesus Christ, Ivan,’ Grace said with a laugh. ‘You know it’s me. I just bloody phoned you. Is there any need for the Fort Knox level security? Now let me in, it’s frigging freezing out here.’

The door opened to reveal Ivan Golding’s smiling face. ‘You can never be too careful, Grace,’ he said. ‘You of all people should know that.’

‘Who on earth would try and take you on, you daft old sod?’ She grinned as she stepped inside his lavish hallway and pulled him into a hug.

Ivan Golding had been Grace’s accountant for years and was one of the few people she considered a good friend. She’d kept in limited phone contact with him since she’d left Liverpool, but seeing his round, pleasant face, his grey hair perched jauntily on top, she realised just how much she’d missed him.

‘It’s so good to see you, Grace,’ he said. ‘It’s been too long.’

‘You too, Ivan.’ She smiled at him as she took a step back. ‘Now how about a cuppa and you can fill me in on all that’s been going on since I left?’

‘It’ll take more than a cuppa, love,’ he said with a flash of his eyebrows. ‘It’ll take a whole bleeding urn!’

Grace followed him down his thickly carpeted hallway into his kitchen. Ivan always did have a flair for drama, but he was a shrewd businessman who had his ear to the ground and knew the ins and outs of almost everyone’s business in Liverpool. And if he didn’t know, he had the means to find out. As soon as she’d recovered her senses after her phone call from Sol, Grace had phoned him and asked him to start making some enquiries. She was sure, if anyone could fill her in on what had been going on with Jake, then Ivan could.

***

Sipping her fourth mug of tea since her arrival in Liverpool a few hours earlier, Grace listened as Ivan started to fill her in on some of the comings and goings of the Liverpool underworld over the last eighteen months.

‘So Michael’s not running my old operations anymore then?’ Grace asked.

Ivan shook his head. ‘Doesn’t have that much to do with the drugs scene now.’

‘But why?’ Grace didn’t understand it. She had left a well-oiled machine in Michael Carter’s very capable hands. He’d been onto a great earner. Why would he give it all up?

Ivan took a sip of his tea. ‘He’s branched out into security instead. Him and his two lads. They seem to be doing well for themselves too. Doing the doors for most of Liverpool now.’

‘But still …’

‘You know Michael, Grace. He’s all muscle and aggro.’

‘But he’s not stupid. I’d never have left him in charge if he was.’

‘No.’ Ivan shook his head. ‘I never said he was stupid, but he’s just not cut out for running the show. He prefers being in the thick of it, doesn’t he? He can do that with the security.’

‘I suppose so. So, who is running my old operations?’ she asked.

‘Some newcomer called Bobby White has taken over part of it. The rest, well …’

‘Jake.’ Grace sighed. ‘So, Michael let Jake take over my old business? My son? The fucking bastard. He knew how I felt about Jake getting caught up in all that.’ Grace shook her head. She could happily wring Michael Carter’s neck for allowing her son to get sucked into the world she had fought so hard to keep him away from. Despite everything that had happened between them, she had trusted Michael to have her back. More fool her.

Ivan shook his head frantically. ‘No, no. That’s not how it happened. Michael walked away, and it left a vacuum. You know how it works. And Jake had the means to step into it, at least a part of it anyway.’

‘But how? He’s a kid, for God’s sake!’ Grace felt her pulse starting to race. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The thought of Jake in trouble – and not just any kind of trouble, but the type that could put him in serious danger – made her want to throw up. She could hardly think straight for the thoughts racing around her head.

‘He’s also your son, Grace. And Nathan’s,’ Ivan said, snapping her back to the present. ‘His name alone ensured there was a place at the table if he wanted it. And he didn’t just inherit Nathan’s club, he inherited his workforce too. You know as well as I do that most of those lunatics couldn’t wait to get back into the game.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ Grace put her head in her hands. ‘I threw him to the lions, didn’t I? He’s not even twenty-one yet and I let him come back here on his own.’

Ivan placed his hand on hers. ‘Don’t say that, Grace. You have your own life to lead. He didn’t have to get involved. He wanted to.’

‘But now he’s in some sort of trouble?’ Grace asked.

‘From what I could gather, someone is sabotaging his shipments and trying to muscle him out of the game altogether. He was supplying to some people in Manchester – I assume some of Sol’s men – but that deal went south when the police raided a warehouse he was using. It seems the plod had a tip-off, but thankfully there was nothing to link the drugs to Jake or any of his firm. But instead of keeping his head down, Jake seems to be doing the opposite. He’s declared war on anyone who wants to cross him. And he’s not shy about sending a message either,’ Ivan sucked air through his teeth and shook his head disapprovingly. ‘I think he takes after his father in that respect.’

‘The stupid little bastard,’ Grace snapped. ‘After everything I did to keep him away from that life.’

‘What will you do now?’ Ivan asked.

‘I’m not sure yet. But I can’t go in there all guns blazing or he’ll just shut me out. As much as I love him, he’s developed an ego like his father too. He won’t admit he’s in any trouble, and even if he did, he wouldn’t want his mum stepping in to help him out.’

It seems you’re in a pickle then,’ Ivan said as he sat back in his chair.

‘A pickle? I’m in the eye of a fucking shitstorm, Ivan.’

Grace closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of Ivan’s leather sofa. She was so bloody tired. Her head was pounding and her limbs ached. She’d been back in Liverpool for less than five hours and already she felt like she was being sucked back into the darkness she’d tried so hard to escape. And if that wasn’t enough to contend with, she had to walk around wondering when her cover would be blown and her dirty laundry would be out in the open for all the world to see.

She knew it was only a matter of time.

Chapter 4

Liam McGuinness crossed the tarmac and ducked behind a shipping container, sticking to the shadows in case one of the security cameras picked him up. If they did, they’d see a man of average build wearing a dark hoodie, which could fit the description of half the people in Liverpool. He waited in the darkness until he saw the unmistakeable form of Nudge Richards walking out of the security office towards him.

‘You been waiting long?’ Nudge asked as he approached.

Liam shook his head. ‘Only a few minutes.’

‘Had to square things with my buddies in there first,’ Nudge said. ‘They’ll leave us in peace.’

‘Great,’ Liam said.

‘So what have you got for me?’ Nudge asked, indicating the container Liam was standing in front of.

‘Fifty kilos of coke. Six Baikals and two machine guns.’

Nudge gave a low whistle. ‘Heavy-duty stuff. That’s not so easy to shift, lad. If you give me some time, I can get you top whack for them, otherwise you’ll have to take what I can find. And my cut will be the same, regardless of how much you get.’

‘I understand that. But like I said, I need them gone fast.’

‘Which nutter did you nick ’em off then?’ Nudge said with a grin.

‘None of your fucking business,’ Liam growled. ‘Not backing out, are you?’

Nudge shook his head and laughed. ‘Nope. Let’s get this moved before your boss finds out, eh?’

Liam frowned. Did Nudge know more than he was letting on? ‘I can count on you keeping your mouth shut, can’t I, Nudge?’

Nudge, whose demeanour up until that point had been friendly, squared up to Liam. Having almost a foot on him, Nudge had to bend his head to bring his face close to the younger man’s. ‘Don’t you fucking question my integrity, you little shit,’ Nudge spat. ‘I’ve been doing this job longer than you’ve been alive, and if I was a betting man, which I am, I’d put my life’s earnings on the fact I’ll still be doing it when you’re six feet under.’

Liam nodded and took a step back. ‘Just making sure we’re on the same page.’

Satisfied with his response, Nudge backed off. ‘Let’s get this loaded into my van then,’ he said.

‘Anything you say,’ Liam replied, now desperate to get out of the dockyard and away from the stolen merchandise. He was going to end up selling it for a fraction of its worth, he knew that, but it wasn’t about the money; it was about his boss finally doing something about Jake fucking Conlon. Liam just wanted the stuff gone as quickly as possible, before his boss got even the slightest sniff of what had really happened to his lost shipment. Nudge Richards was the best fence in Liverpool. He could get anything for anyone, and get rid of anything too. Because of that, he was untouchable. There were few people who hadn’t had cause to use Nudge’s services at one time or another. Not that Nudge would admit that. He was the embodiment of discretion, and that was why he was so bloody good at his job.

***

Nudge Richards drove his old transit van through the quiet streets of Liverpool with his newly acquired stash safely tucked away in the false bottom in the back, should he be stopped for any reason. He had to get rid of it as soon as. That shit was so hot it might burn a hole through the floor if he didn’t move it soon. He knew Liam had nicked it off his own boss, but he had no idea why. It wasn’t like he was going to make a life-changing sum of money from it. Nudge had made it clear that moving merchandise like that in a matter of days limited his buying pool and he’d have to sell it at rock-bottom prices. But Nudge didn’t care. He didn’t ask questions. What was it to him if these gangsters insisted on ripping each other off? What he did know was that Liam’s boss was a vicious fucker, and if he ever found out, the lad would wish he’d never been born.

Nudge shook his head. He sometimes wondered why he still did this shit. He was getting on for sixty. He should be thinking about retiring. If only he could stop gambling his money away at the bookies, or paying for women, he might have built himself a little nest egg. Instead he was facing a few more years being the go-between of every gangster in Merseyside, and sometimes beyond. He had no affiliation or loyalty to any of them. It was his number one rule and one which had kept him alive and in business for this long. Well, all except for Grace Sumner – but she was different. She wasn’t like those narcissistic egomaniacs, running around waving their dicks at each other to see whose was the biggest. She was a businesswoman, pure and simple. She was a stunner too. Besides, he owed Grace. Years earlier she had saved him from losing absolutely everything and he had never forgotten it.

As he turned the corner into his scrapyard, Nudge was already lining up potential buyers in his head. He had some contacts in Cheshire who would bite his hand off for some cheap, clean guns, and there was a bloke in Fazakerley trying to make a name for himself who’d take the coke and wouldn’t care where it came from. He’d have it all moved within two days and earn a decent wedge in the process.

Chapter 5

Pushing open the double glass doors of The Blue Rooms, Grace suppressed a shudder. The last time she’d been in this place had been to see her ex-husband, Nathan. It had changed a lot since then. Jake had spruced the place up, with new tiled floors and a professional paint job. Taking advantage of the regeneration of the Dock Road area, The Blue Rooms was no longer a seedy lap-dancing club but an up-and-coming nightclub which booked some of the best DJs in the country. Despite all that, the place still felt the same in so many ways. The smell. The neon lighting. The way Grace’s skin prickled as soon as she walked through the doors.

Grace’s heels clicked along the tiled floor as she made her way through to the manager’s office – now Jake’s office. She wondered if he had any idea of the things that had happened in there. The great Tommy McNulty had been murdered in that very room. She shivered at the thought of her last few visits there, when Nathan had pawed at her clothes and she’d had to allow him to touch her, to kiss her. She shook her head in annoyance. Nathan was gone. He’d been dead for eighteen months. Six feet under with a hole in his chest. When would she stop allowing him to have a hold over her?

The office door was open and Grace could see Jake as she approached, talking to someone on the phone. No doubt one of his employees, judging by the tone of his voice.

‘Just fucking sort it, Vinnie,’ he snapped before ending the call.

God, he looked so much like his father it made her stomach churn.

‘Mum,’ he said as he looked up, unable to hide the shock on his face. Then, remembering his manners, he stood up and walked towards her, pulling her into a warm hug. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I missed you. Thought I’d pay you a visit. I’m getting bored in that big old house in the middle of nowhere.’

‘Really? I thought you loved that place?’ He raised an eyebrow at her.

‘I do. But it can get a bit boring when the only company you have is an eight-month-old baby whose solitary word is bloody Dada.’ She laughed.

Stepping back, Jake eyed her suspiciously. ‘Why the sudden visit though? I only spoke to you yesterday and you never mentioned you were coming.’

‘It was a last-minute decision. I wanted to surprise you. Now, aren’t you going to offer your old mum a drink?’

Jake laughed. ‘Sorry, Mum. Remy do you?’ he asked as he took the bottle from the cabinet near his desk.

Grace watched him pour them both a generous measure of brandy. At least he didn’t drink whisky like his father. Just the smell of that still made her nauseous.

‘So are you down for a few days, Mum? And where’s Belle? I can’t wait to see her. Do you need me to get Siobhan to sort out the spare room for you both?’

Grace sat in the chair opposite Jake’s desk, thankful that he’d changed the furniture in here too, and sipped her drink. Her boy was a bit wet behind the ears but he wasn’t stupid; she had to think of a convincing reason for being there. ‘I’ll be staying at the house. I’m planning on sticking around for a few months,’ she said casually. ‘I’m thinking of getting back into the restaurant business so I’m looking for the right premises. Ivan’s going to help me. You remember him, don’t you?’

‘Yeah, but I thought you were done with the restaurants too?’ he said as he sat down, unbuttoning his jacket as he did so, another habit he’d inherited from his father.

‘I thought I was, but like I said, I was getting bored,’ she lied. ‘I need something to keep me busy, Jake. I always enjoyed the planning and the bustle of setting up a business. So, I’m hoping to get one up and running, and then I’ll go back to my quiet little life in Harewood. Until I get restless again, anyway.’

‘What about the horses and chickens?’

‘Those two girls from the village, Lol and Beth, are going to look after them for me.’

Jake rolled his eyes. Lol and Beth were two sixteen-year-old girls who loved horses and were always happy to help Grace mucking out her stables in exchange for some riding time. However, whenever Jake visited, they found as many excuses as possible to call at the house. Then they spent most of their time following him around, giggling and bombarding him with questions. Jake’s girlfriend, Siobhan, found it all amusing, but it annoyed Jake no end.

‘Oh, right,’ he said as he continued to eye her suspiciously.

She wondered if he believed her. It was a plausible lie. At least she thought so. Why wouldn’t someone like Grace, who had always been in the thick of it, not get fed up living in the arse end of nowhere? But now came the more difficult part. Convincing him that he needed her in his club. ‘But that won’t keep me too busy, so I was hoping you might have a use here for me?’ She smiled at him.

‘Me? Why?’ Jake snapped, and then, remembering who he was talking to, said more softly, ‘Why would you want to work here, Mum? You hate the place.’

She shook her head. ‘I used to hate the place, when it was your father’s. But now that it’s yours, well, I’d love to help you make a success of it. I did run a pub for twenty years, in case you’ve forgotten about that?’

‘I know. It’s just … I’m not sure what you’d do, to be honest.’

‘Well, how about the books? Knowing you, they’re probably your least favourite job, and I bet they’re nowhere near up to date,’ she said.

The way Jake averted her gaze and fiddled with his collar confirmed her suspicions. ‘I know you’re busy with other stuff,’ she said pointedly. ‘Let me sort out the books and some of the admin in this place for you. Leave you more time to focus on your other, more pressing, business?’

‘I don’t know, Mum.’

‘Look, Jake. Have I taught you nothing? I know you’ve taken on more of your dad’s businesses than just this club. If you’re involved in anything like he was, like I was, then one of the most important things you need to do is to keep your legitimate front appearing legitimate. Even your dad knew that. He kept dodgy books, but he kept books.’

Jake blinked at her. He acted the big tough guy, but in a lot of ways he was still a little boy learning the ropes, and there was no doubt in her mind that he knew it too.

‘Okay, Mum,’ he sighed. ‘But just the books.’

‘Just the books,’ she agreed.

‘And maybe the staff rotas?’ he added. ‘The bar manager, Martin, has been doing them, but he’s causing murder by giving his mates the best shifts.’

‘Anything I can do to help, son.’ She smiled.

Before long, she’d know exactly what he was up to.

Chapter 6

Grace walked into The Blue Rooms for her first day of work. After almost eighteen months of wearing maternity clothes or her go-to mum uniform of jeans and a T-shirt, it had felt strange putting on smart clothes again. Smoothing her skirt over her hips she walked through the club and into the manager’s office at the back, leaving her handbag and coat on Jake’s chair when she saw he wasn’t in.

It didn’t take long for Grace to get back into the swing of things. She’d run her own pub for over twenty years and it was second nature to her. She was going through the previous week’s stock order when Jake came bursting through the door.

‘Mum?’ he said. ‘What are you doing here?’

Grace frowned at him. ‘I’m working here. We discussed it yesterday.’

‘Oh yeah, right. I just didn’t realise you’d be here today – and in my office.’

Grace looked at him. She hadn’t even considered that this was his office and she really had no right being in there without him. ‘I assumed it would be okay. There isn’t really anywhere else for me to work.’

He shook his head and stared at her. ‘But you can’t be in here. This is my office.’

Grace stared at him in surprise as she waited for the sting of his response to lessen. Suddenly she realised that she was working for her son. It hadn’t crossed her mind until now that he was technically her boss, and she wasn’t used to having to answer to anyone – not anymore. Now here was her son, the person she had taught to read, how to use a bloody spoon, telling her that she wasn’t welcome in his space. He was treating her like a spare part – or, worse, a nuisance. It saddened and infuriated her at the same time. If only he knew the real reason she was there. With that in mind she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll find myself somewhere else.’ She forced a smile as she picked up her handbag. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. This was his place, not hers. It couldn’t be easy for him allowing her into his domain, not given who she was – who she had been.

Grace hadn’t considered that it wouldn’t be easy for her either. Coming back to Liverpool and not knowing where she fitted in the new order of things. She had been on top for so long, it felt like the place she most belonged.

‘I’ll catch up with you later, Mum,’ Jake said as she walked out of his office.

‘Yeah, okay,’ she said, as she wondered where on earth in this club she could find somewhere she could call her own.

Grace felt the tension building in her shoulders and creeping up her neck as she walked down the tiled hallway. No doubt Jake was sitting in his office feeling as annoyed as she was. He was probably contemplating his empire, with no idea of the trouble he was actually in. With no clue that she had been drafted back in to save his skin. It irritated her that he thought he was helping her out by giving her something to keep her busy. If she wasn’t so worried about him, it would be bloody infuriating.

But, as she rubbed her neck with her free hand, she reminded herself that he was her son, and just like she always had, she would do anything for him – even if it meant stepping back into a world she’d tried so hard to leave behind.

Chapter 7

Grace placed the ledger back in the safe. With Jake’s agreement, she’d turned one of the old unused rooms into an office for herself. It had been used for a similar purpose in an old life and although it had no windows, she’d brightened it up with a good clean and some antique furniture from an old acquaintance of hers.

With Ivan’s help, it had taken her almost a week to put Jake’s accounts in order. They’d been in such a state she’d hardly been able to make sense of them and it seemed he’d barely touched them since he’d taken over the running of the place a year earlier. Last year’s tax return had been filed, but that was about the extent of the accounts upkeep.

Of course, she’d been preoccupied with her real reason for being there – to find out just how much trouble her son was in, who was trying to take over his business, and, more importantly, how she could fix it – all without Jake’s knowledge, if she could help it. Getting information about her son’s extracurricular activities was proving a much simpler task.

It was quite clear that Bobby White was the man trying to take over Jake’s business. He was the obvious candidate seeing as he was the one who was in direct competition with him. Grace didn’t know Bobby; in fact, nobody seemed to know very much about him at all. Ivan had mentioned he was a newcomer and Grace was sure she’d find out who he was before the week was out. She’d spoken to all of Jake’s employees at The Blue Rooms, all under the pretence that she was interviewing them about their shift patterns and preferences, in preparation for taking over the staff rotas. She was good at getting information from people without them even realising. It was laughable how much people trusted her simply because she was a woman. Despite being brunette, she knew how to act like the proverbial dumb blonde when required, and when she did, most men were happy to give her the benefit of their wisdom and expertise.

Although she was Grace Sumner, who’d once run one of the biggest drug operations this side of the Mersey, one of them had even explained the various drugs terminology to her. She’d sat, nodding at him and pretending to be enthralled by his dazzling insight, while desperately trying to keep a straight face.

In a few days, Grace had learned that few people employed at The Blue Rooms were loyal to Jake, and very soon she’d be giving most of them their marching orders. A few choice words in their ears about Jake not knowing what he was doing had most of them willing to throw their boss under the bus for the promise of more or better shifts.

What was clear was that Jake had no idea how to run a business – at least not a legitimate business. It seemed he was faring better, if only slightly, in his criminal activities – but due to sheer brute force, stubbornness, and stupidity rather than anything else. He had the brass neck to front anyone, and he wasn’t shy of using extreme violence when the occasion called for it. All of which was earning him a reputation to rival his father’s back in the day. No doubt the ghost of Nathan had played a part too, as well as the fact that many of Nathan’s former minions were now happy to serve Jake instead.

If the stories Grace had heard were to be believed, Nathan Conlon’s son was turning out to be as ruthless as he was. It made her feel sick to think that everything she’d done to keep her son away from this life had been for nothing. He was like his father in so many ways, it was alarming.

Grace sighed as she sat down in the chair in her office. As much as Jake was like Nathan, he was like her too. She had to hold onto that. Now, if only he could learn to use his brain along with his muscle, she had no doubt that he’d be running Liverpool before long. It was her worst fear, but now she knew it was a path she’d never be able to deter him from. It was in his blood.

So, until then, while he was still learning the ropes, she would have to lend a helping hand – and try to make sure he didn’t get himself killed.

Chapter 8

John Brennan’s large frame almost filled the doorway of Grace’s office. She hadn’t seen him since before Nathan’s murder but he hadn’t changed a bit. Unsure of the reception she’d get from him, she had been anxious about inviting him in. But as soon as she saw his face, she knew she’d made the right decision. John had one of those smiles that was infectious. Nathan had always called him the Smiling Assassin and Grace had to admit it suited him. John might look like a gentle giant, but he was a vicious bastard when he needed to be. He was one of the few people who’d worked for Nathan who hadn’t continued working for Jake too. Grace had heard he was doing well on his own. Nothing too major, dodgy fags and booze mostly, along with a bit of weed, but he was still a man with a fearsome reputation and few would be stupid enough to try and cross him.

‘Hiya, Grace,’ he said, beaming, as he walked into the room. ‘Long time no see.’

‘Hi, John.’ She returned his smile as she stood up to be hugged. But a hug from John felt like a hug from a grizzly and she was eager to escape. ‘Can I get you a drink?’ she asked him.

‘I wouldn’t say no,’ he replied as he released her.

Grace poured him a glass of her best brandy and sat on the desk beside him.

‘So what brings you back to these parts?’ John asked as he sipped his drink.

‘Jake.’

‘Of course.’ He’d known Jake and Grace for years through his connection with Nathan. Grace often wondered if, in another life, she and John could have been friends. Whatever they were, they had a healthy respect for each other.

‘I thought you wouldn’t be too pleased about his new career choice,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Stupid kid. After everything you did for him. He should have stayed in uni and made something of himself.’

‘I couldn’t agree more, John. But it is what it is. He’s made his choice and nothing I, or anyone else, can say will persuade him otherwise.’

John nodded in agreement.

They both sat in silence for a moment until John spoke again. ‘Although it’s nice to see you, Grace, I’m sure you didn’t just invite me here for small talk …?’

‘Of course. I know you must be busy, so I’ll get straight to it. I want you to come and work for me.’

John laughed. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Deadly.’

‘Are you back then? To be honest, I’d hoped you were when I heard you were home. There are a lot of people out there who would be very happy about your return, Grace.’

Grace laughed. ‘And some not so much.’

John took a sip of his brandy. ‘Not many. It was definitely much calmer when you were in charge.’

‘Well, that may be. But, no, I’m not back. Not in the way you’d hoped anyway.’

‘So why do you need me to work for you?’ He frowned.

‘Well, you’d be working for Jake really, I suppose.’

John laughed again. ‘So what you really want me to do is to spy on your son?’

‘No,’ Grace snapped, before realising that John had a point. ‘It’s just that you’d be so good for him, John. I wish you’d stayed on with him. I know you’ve got your own thing going on, but …’

‘But?’

‘It’s not exactly playing to your strengths, is it? Smuggling booze and ciggies?’

‘It’s good money. I’m my own boss. It’s less hassle.’

‘You’re wasted, John. I think you should consider working for Jake. If we say you’re working for me he won’t be able to question it. Then when I move back to Leeds, it would make sense for you to stay on. I’ll speak to Jake.’

John sighed. ‘You make it all sound so easy, Grace.’

‘Isn’t it?’

John shook his head. ‘I don’t work for Jake because he didn’t want me to.’

‘What? He told me you left of your own accord to go it on your own.’

‘I did. But only because he made it impossible for me to stay.’

Grace shook her head. What the hell was Jake playing at, letting one of his biggest assets go?

‘Look, Grace. He’s a young kid. He’s got big boots to fill. He wants to do things his own way, make his own mark. Not have his dad’s old buddies telling him what he’s doing wrong.’

‘I’m sorry, John. I didn’t know. It looks like I’ve wasted your time.’

John downed the last of his brandy and shook his head. ‘Not at all. It was good to see you.’ He stood up to leave. ‘And if you ever do decide to get your head back in the game, let me know. I’ll come and work for you any time.’

Grace stood up to show him out. ‘Thanks, John,’ she said as she gave him a parting hug. ‘That means a lot.’

‘It’s true.’ He smiled. ‘And I’m not the only one.’

Chapter 9

Picking up the invoice from the brewery, Grace walked into the bar area of The Blue Rooms.

‘Hi, Grace,’ Jake’s girlfriend, Siobhan Davies, said, her large smile lighting up her pale, freckled face.

‘Hiya, Siobhan,’ Grace replied, pulling the younger woman into a hug as she reached her. Jake adored Siobhan, and Grace liked her too. She’d been over the moon when she and Jake had finally got together. He’d pined over the girl throughout the last few years of school and then through college too. Siobhan was smart, funny, and kind and she always had a smile on her face and rarely a bad word to say about anybody. Because of that, people trusted her, and sometimes took her for a fool. But she was far from it. Grace knew Siobhan was as savvy as the best of them. She was an asset, but Jake didn’t seem to be able to see her true value and had her pottering about behind the bar instead. Grace intended to utilise her considerable talent and business acumen as soon as possible, so that when she returned to Harewood, the management of The Blue Rooms could be left in Siobhan’s capable hands.

‘It’s so nice to have you back. Jake has really missed you, and Belle.’

‘I know, I miss him too. I’m glad he has you to keep him company though. I hear the two of you have bought a flat on the waterfront?’

‘It’s absolutely gorgeous, Grace. You and Belle should come visit us. How about Sunday? I do a mean roast dinner.’

‘Sounds good to me. It’s not very often someone cooks for me these days. I seem to live on cereal and toast,’ she said, laughing.

‘It’s a date then. I’ll pick up a leg of lamb from that butcher’s on the high street.’

Grace pulled Siobhan to one side. ‘Who orders the stock around here?’

Siobhan pulled a face. ‘Martin is supposed to do it, when he remembers. But most of the time it’s Olly.’

‘Well, neither of them appears to be any good at it. I can see we’ve run out of bottles of Bud already, and it’s only Saturday.’

Siobhan shook her head. ‘They’re a pair of idiots if you ask me.’

‘I couldn’t agree more.’ Grace had only met the pair of them on a handful of occasions. They were supposed to be the bar managers, but they seemed more interested in pulling women and shagging on their break.

‘What about you? Why hasn’t Jake got you doing this stuff?’

Siobhan sighed. ‘Don’t ask me. He says he doesn’t want me having to work all hours in this place. He only lets me do shifts when he knows he’ll be here too. I think he has some old-fashioned ideas about looking after me and needing to be the breadwinner.’ She raised her eyebrows in amusement.

Grace shook her head in despair. It didn’t surprise her. His father had been a misogynistic prick who’d treated women like dirt. She had hoped she’d raised Jake to be the opposite of that, and he probably believed that he was. She had no doubt that her son thought it was enough that he treated Siobhan like a princess. But what he obviously didn’t realise was that his own thinking was simply oppression in a different guise. A gilded cage was still a cage.

‘I’ll have a word with him. Between you and me, I’ll be letting those pair of lazy bastards go in the next few weeks. I think you should take over the stock ordering from this week. I can walk you through it, but I think you’ll pick it up no problem.’

‘I couldn’t be any worse than that pair, could I?’

Grace laughed. She liked Siobhan’s confidence. She’d make a club manager out of her in no time.

Chapter 10

Liam McGuinness sat at the bar nursing his pint and watching the redhead walking around the place with a clipboard and pen. She was pretty, but she had that annoying holier-than-thou thing going on. He’d bet she thought she was too good to talk to the likes of him. The other bar staff were friendly enough and he’d spent the past few Monday nights enjoying a drink at The Blue Rooms.

It soon became clear why the redhead had such a stick up her arse when Jake Conlon walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist and she spun around and kissed him.

Liam frowned as he watched Jake Conlon talking and laughing with her. It was Jake he was there to see, or at least to observe. He wanted to find out as much as he could about his competition. He hated that pretentious, privileged little shit so much it made his head hurt.

Liam had been twenty-one when he’d first met Jake’s dad, Nathan Conlon in Frankland prison. He’d been serving six years for wounding and couldn’t believe he’d been lucky enough to share a wing with the great man himself. Liam already had a growing reputation of his own and he’d made it his business to ingratiate himself with the man who could help him make it to the top. It had taken months of careful preparation and planning. Always being there at the right time. Taking the rap for an assault on a screw that Nathan would have got a few extra months for. Being there when he was jumped by a group of Manchester lads. Both situations planned and carefully executed by Liam to ensure he became an asset to the man who had become his hero.

Before long, he and Nathan were padded up in the same cell together and they remained that way for another two years. Nathan had promised him a long and illustrious career in his firm. He’d said he’d make him one of the most feared and respected enforcers in Merseyside. Nathan had told Liam he was like a son to him, which to Liam, whose own father was a useless waste of oxygen who’d overdosed when Liam was just a toddler, had been powerful stuff. When Liam got out, he’d done various jobs for Nathan while he was still inside, and was quietly and methodically cementing his place in Nathan’s firm. It had all been going well – until this snot-nosed little wank-stain had turned up.

Liam clenched his jaw as he remembered the day it happened. Nathan had just got out and Liam was supposed to meet him for a drink. Liam had just done a big job for him and he knew it was the day Nathan was going to bring him into the fold – into his inner circle. They’d spoken on the phone and Nathan had been happy with the way Liam had handled himself. He said he’d made him proud and that had made Liam happier than he’d ever felt in his life. Then, ten minutes before they were supposed to meet, Nathan had called to say he was going to meet up with his son instead. But to add insult to injury, he’d sounded so fucking excited about it. As though Liam was his second choice, to be discarded whenever someone better came along. As if it was Jake who had been the one seeing to his every fucking need for the past few years. Liam had voiced his displeasure about the whole thing and that was it. Nathan had told him to grow up and stop being such a ponce, and Liam never heard from him again. All because of Jake fucking Conlon.

‘Can I get you anything else, love?’ The blonde barmaid smiled at him.

‘Another pint, gorgeous.’ He winked at her.

‘Coming right up,’ she said with a giggle.

Liam put a note on the bar and continued watching Jake Conlon out of the corner of his eye. The blonde placed his pint in front of him and took the money. ‘Keep the change, babe.’ He grinned at her and she smiled back at him while fluttering her eyelashes. He’d take her home later and give her a good seeing to. That always made him feel a bit better. She looked a bit like his Leanne too so that was a bonus. He wondered briefly what she was doing tonight. Probably being fucked up the arse by Bobby White, he thought bitterly, which only served to further his bad mood.

Chapter 11

Grace looked up from her paperwork as she heard her office door open. Although her heart started thumping in her ears at the sight of them, she couldn’t help but smile at her two visitors. She’d been back in Liverpool for over a week and had wondered how long it would be before they’d make an appearance.

‘Hello, stranger,’ they chorused.

‘Hello, you two,’ she replied. Smiling, she stood up as Patrick and Sean Carter walked towards her.

Patrick looked so much older than she remembered. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the two missing digits on his left hand and she felt a pang of guilt. He walked with a stick now too. Both lasting reminders of a beating from Nathan which had landed him in intensive care and almost killed him. Patrick had been the man responsible for her rise to the top of the Liverpool underworld. He’d seen something in her that no one else had before. He’d worked for her for a long time and, along with his youngest son, Michael, had been her most trusted confidante.

Patrick’s eldest son, Sean, hadn’t aged a day, still cutting a handsome figure in his suit and tie. He and Grace had opened a string of successful Italian restaurants in Liverpool which he still owned and ran, although Grace had left them behind too and sold her shares to the rest of the Carter family.

Grace embraced each of them in turn.

‘So this is where you’re hiding yourself away then?’ Sean asked.

‘Between this place and Belle, I’m kept pretty busy.’

‘We heard you’d had a baby girl,’ Patrick said. ‘Congratulations. How old is she now?’

‘Nine and a half months,’ Grace lied. ‘How are you both?’ she asked, trying to change the subject.

‘Not bad, considering,’ Patrick said as he indicated his stick.

‘Enough of the small talk, eh?’ Sean said. ‘We could ask you why you never bothered your arse to speak to any of us since you buggered off to live in the country. We could complain that it fucking hurt when you dropped us all like a tonne of bricks. But what we really came to say is it’s good to have you back, Grace. We all missed you.’

Grace smiled. She knew she’d hurt them all, but it had been the only way for her to move on. ‘I’ve missed you all too,’ she said and she meant it.

‘Look, it’s Nicola’s birthday party on Sunday. You do remember my daughter, don’t you? I assume you’ll be coming now you’re home. Bring Belle too. Everyone is dying to meet her.’

‘I don’t know, Sean—’ she started.

‘Look, Grace,’ he said. ‘We heard nothing from you for almost eighteen months. Complete radio silence. We had to rely on Marcus to hear how you were doing, and even then it was like pulling teeth. We understand why you wanted to move on and put everything behind you, but you’re back now. It’s all water under the bridge, isn’t it? We’re family. You’re my daughter’s godmother, for fuck’s sake. We’ll see you at our place at one,’ he said.

‘Come on, love,’ Patrick said. ‘Everyone would love to see you.’

Grace had to admit she would love to see all of them too. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed being in their company. Although taking Belle was out of the question.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll be there.’

‘Good,’ Sean and Patrick chorused. ‘See you Sunday.’

‘Shall I bring anything?’

‘Just yourself and that daughter of yours,’ Sean said. ‘We’d better let you get on. Come on, Dad. I’ll treat you to a pint.’

As the two men got up to leave, Grace felt a lump in her throat. She’d missed them more than she’d care to admit.

It felt good to be home.

Chapter 12

Grace shifted from one foot to the other as she knocked on the familiar door of Sean Carter’s house on Sunday. She could hear the laughter and conversation from the partygoers outside.

‘Grace!’ Sean’s wife, Sophia, shrieked as she answered the door before pulling her into a warm hug.

‘Aunty Grace,’ Nicola and Beth chimed behind their mother.

‘Hey, you two,’ she said, crouching down to hug them both. ‘I’ve missed you guys.’ The girls, aged eight and six now, had shot up in height since Grace had last seen them. They looked just like their mother, unlike their older sister, Steph, who was the double of her father, Sean.

Grace gave Nicola her birthday present and both girls skipped off to open it. Sean placed a glass of champagne in Grace’s hand and led her into the dining room where most of the guests were.

‘Where’s Belle?’ Sophia asked. ‘I’ve been dying to meet her.’

‘Oh, she’s not feeling well,’ Grace said. ‘Jake and Siobhan are looking after her.’

‘Oh no, poor thing,’ Sophia said as she made a sad face.

‘It’s just a cold and a bit of a temperature. She’ll be fine in a few days.’

Grace made her way through the room, passing a stream of familiar faces, all of whom seemed happy to see her, hugging and kissing her as she passed. Finally, she reached her intended target: Patrick Carter. Her old friend and confidante. God, she’d missed him. She hadn’t realised just how much until he’d come strolling into her office the other day.

‘Hello, love. I’m so glad you came,’ Patrick said as she approached, giving her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Have you met Sue?’ He introduced the elegant-looking lady with the grey hair standing next to him.

‘No, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,’ Grace said as Sue held out her hand, showing off the giant rock on her ring finger. Grace had barely managed to congratulate them on their recent engagement, when she was accosted by Sean’s daughter Steph, who hugged her as though she’d just returned from a decade-long expedition to Everest, enveloping her in a cloud of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume.

‘Grace,’ Steph squealed. ‘It’s so good to see you.’

‘You too,’ Grace said with a smile.

‘I’ve been dying to come visit, but Jake and Marcus are so bloody secretive with your new address.’

‘I know. I’m sorry about that, they’re so protective,’ she lied. She had made them swear that they wouldn’t reveal her new address to anyone, not even Steph, whom she loved like a little sister. ‘Anyway, tell me how the love life is going. Is Steve still in the picture?’

Steph shook her head. ‘Oh God, no. He was another one who turned out to be a complete bell-end.’

Grace laughed. Steph’s dating history was more colourful than Joseph’s infamous coat. ‘But I thought he was the one?’

Steph rolled her eyes. ‘So did I. Anyway, I’m seeing Chris now.’ She smiled. ‘He’s lovely. He’s a barrister.’

‘Really?’ Grace raised her eyebrows in surprise. Any barrister in his right mind would be crazy to get involved with one of the Carter family, but she kept that thought to herself.

‘Steph, can you give me a hand?’ her mother, Sophia, shouted from across the room.

Steph waved to signal she was coming, then turned to Grace. ‘We need a proper catch-up. I’ve got so much to tell you about. How about I cook you lunch tomorrow? At Antonelli’s?’

Antonelli’s had been her and Sean’s flagship restaurant. It would be good to see the place again, and Steph was an incredible chef. ‘I have a meeting at one. But I could get there about two?’

‘It’s a date.’ Steph smiled and then headed over to her mother.

***

Grace was standing near the kitchen sink talking to an old friend when she saw Michael Carter and his wife, Hannah, walk into the room. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and her pulse began to race as she remembered the last time she and Michael had spoken. It was a painful memory and she had to take a second to compose herself. Michael had been her right-hand man back in the day, and one of her closest friends – but not anymore. Grace held her head high. She wouldn’t let him know his presence had any effect on her.

It was Hannah who made her way over first. ‘Hello, Grace,’ she said brusquely. ‘What brings you back here?’

‘Hello, Hannah. I’m just here to help my son out for a while. I’ll be going back to Leeds in a few months, I expect.’

‘Oh, that’s nice,’ she said dismissively.

‘Grace.’ Michael nodded at her before following his wife out of the kitchen.

Patrick sidled over to her. ‘He can’t half pick ’em,’ he chuckled in Grace’s ear. ‘Another stuck-up cow who hates us all.’

Grace laughed. ‘She’s all right really. You should be nicer to her, Pat.’

‘Ha. If she gave me the time of day, maybe I would.’

***

After three hours at the party, Grace made her excuses to leave. She didn’t like to leave Belle for too long and Siobhan was making a lamb roast for dinner. It took her almost half an hour to get out of the place, with the need to say goodbye and exchange hugs with everyone, and promise that she would see them all again soon.

She was just about to open her car when she saw Michael walking back towards the house. She’d hardly seen him all afternoon and wasn’t aware he’d left the party.

‘Hey.’ He smiled.

‘Hey,’ she replied. ‘Where’s Hannah?’

‘She had to go to work. I’ve just dropped her off.’

‘Oh. Well, enjoy the rest of the party,’ she said as she opened her car door.

‘Grace,’ he said, taking hold of her arm.

‘What, Michael?’

He swallowed. ‘It’s good to see you.’

‘Yeah, you too,’ she said before climbing into her car.

Glancing in her rear-view mirror she saw him standing in the driveway, hands in his pockets, watching as she drove away.

Chapter 13

Michael Carter watched as Grace’s car drove down Calderstones Avenue, and sighed. Their first meeting had been as awkward as he’d expected. It wasn’t so long ago that he and Grace had been the best of mates. Always comfortable in each other’s company. She could, and often did, make him laugh in even the most inappropriate of situations. He smiled as he remembered the time she’d had him in stitches in a funeral parlour. They’d been there to pay their respects to an old friend of his dad’s. He couldn’t even remember what the joke was now, but he could recall the pair of them holding on to each other with tears rolling down their cheeks and Grace proclaiming loudly that she was going to pee herself.

They had thought there was no one else in there at the time, but unbeknownst to them, his dad had turned up too. He’d given him a right bollocking afterwards. He hadn’t said a word to Grace about it though. She could walk on water as far as his dad was concerned.

Michael was about to rejoin the party when his mobile phone rang. He saw the name of one of his bouncers, John King, flashing on the screen.

‘Yeah, John?’ he answered.

‘There’s been some trouble in town today, boss.’

‘What?’

‘Cody, that new kid you took on, he’s been stabbed in the neck.’

Michael sucked air through his teeth. ‘Fucking hell. Is he okay?’

‘He’s on his way to the Royal. They blue-lighted him.’

‘Shit. What happened?’

‘The usual. Bunch of wannabes turned up and started kicking off and one of them had a knife. He came straight at Cody. None of us saw it coming.’

‘And what happened to the wannabes?’ he snapped.

‘Don’t worry. They’re all dealt with, boss.’

‘Good. I’ll get down to the hospital and see how he is.’

‘Maybe wait until tomorrow. The plods were crawling all over the place.’

Michael sighed. ‘Does his mum know?’

‘Police will be telling her, I imagine.’

‘Okay, well, make sure she’s looked after, John. Anything she needs, okay?’

‘Will do.’

Michael hung up the phone. ‘Fucking cunts,’ he muttered under his breath. He’d started up his security firm six months ago when there’d been a gap in the market. He’d wanted out of the drugs business and security seemed a much better fit for him. He’d been hoping it would be a bit less hassle too, but he’d been wrong on that score. He’d needed something of his own though. The business Grace had walked away from and left him in charge of just wasn’t the same without her. She’d left a gaping hole in his life in more ways than one, and now she was back, he wondered if things could ever be the same between them. He hoped so at least.

Chapter 14

Grace looked up as the young man walked through the door of her office.

‘Hello, Grace,’ he said with a smile.

‘Eddie Redman,’ she replied. The last time she’d seen Eddie he’d been a pimply-faced teenager. He’d shot up about two feet since then. Eddie was Nathan’s other biological son, not that he knew that, of course. She and Eddie’s mother, Sandra, had agreed that they would keep that secret a long time ago. When he was a chubby-faced child, his resemblance to Nathan had been clear, but now he bore no likeness at all to the man who’d fathered him.

Grace had been surprised to receive a phone call from Eddie the previous day, asking if he could meet with her. He’d told her it was urgent, claiming that she’d want to hear what he had to say. Assuming it had something to do with his mother, Grace agreed. She and Sandra had been close friends at one time, but, as with everyone else in Grace’s life, they had drifted apart since Grace had moved to Harewood.

‘Take a seat,’ Grace said, indicating the chair on the opposite side of her desk.

Eddie took the proffered seat and, to Grace’s annoyance, helped himself to one of the boiled sweets from the open bag on her desk. Not that she begrudged him a sweet – they were Siobhan’s anyway – but it was good manners to ask first.

‘What can I do for you, Eddie? What do you have to tell me that’s so urgent?’ she asked.

Leaning back in his chair, Eddie grinned at her, revealing a row of perfectly straight, if slightly yellowed, teeth. ‘I know what really happened the night of the fire,’ he said.

‘What?’ she snapped, at first having no idea what he was on about.

‘I know what really happened to the Rose and Crown. You pretended to be the innocent victim, but you did it. You torched the place yourself, and you tried to burn Nathan Conlon with it.’

Grace felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach. The Rose and Crown had been her father’s pub, and then hers. She’d lived at the place almost her whole life and it had nearly killed her to see the place razed to the ground. But at the time she’d seen it as the only way to finally be rid of her psychopathic ex-husband. She’d worked hard to store the memory of that night away in the darkest recesses of her mind, and here was Eddie talking about it like he’d been there. How could he possibly know? She studied his face. The cocky grin now seemed permanently etched onto his face. Suddenly, he looked just like his father after all, and that only made Grace dislike him even more.

It was then that it hit her. There could only be one reason for him knowing the truth. He had been there. On that awful night when she had burned down her own pub in an attempt to kill her ex-husband once and for all. Except it had gone spectacularly wrong. Nathan had survived and Ben McKinley had died instead. Grace had always wondered who had saved Nathan and hit Ben over the head, leaving him for dead. Well, now she knew. It was Eddie. It must have been. It was the only way he could have known. She had to stop herself from jumping up and throttling the life out of him. She had loved Ben, and Eddie had left him to die like an animal. She fought to steady her breathing and remain calm. ‘And what?’ she shrugged.

‘And what? I want some compensation for my silence. It’s ate me up inside, it has.’ He feigned a sad face. ‘It’s been so hard to keep it all to myself.’

‘You’re a no one, Eddie. Who would believe you anyway?’

‘I could go to the police. I’m sure they’d be very interested to know what really happened.’

She laughed. ‘I’m sure they would. And will you tell them you murdered the poor bastard they found dead in there instead? Do you even know who that was?’

‘Nathan’s mate, Ben McKinley.’ He shrugged, as though Ben’s life meant nothing. ‘So, I can’t go to the police. I’m not a grass anyway. But I could tell everyone else. What would people think if they knew the truth, Grace? I’m sure your precious Jakey wouldn’t be happy that you tried to burn his dad to a crisp while he was still alive, would he?’

He glared at her, no doubt expecting her to break down and beg him to keep quiet, asking him how much money would buy his silence.

Instead Grace started to laugh. ‘You really haven’t thought this through, have you?’

Eddie frowned at her, deep furrows lining his young forehead. ‘Don’t fucking laugh at me,’ he snarled. ‘I’m not messing about.’

Grace stopped laughing and glared at him. ‘You know who I am, Eddie. You know who my friends are. You also know that I killed Nathan Conlon, one of the biggest gangsters Liverpool has ever seen, not to mention my husband. And I tried to burn him alive, and when that didn’t work, I shot him. Yet you think that you, some little no-mark who couldn’t drop his own pants, can come into my son’s club and threaten me! You really are as thick as you look, sunshine. Now fuck off out of my office, and if I see you in here again, I’ll kick your arse myself.’

Eddie glared at Grace as he stood, his fists clenched by his side. Grace had always kept tabs on Eddie – just in case he ever found out who his father really was and started to cause a problem for Jake. It was obvious he wasn’t used to being spoken to with so little respect. In his local neighbourhood, he was a small-time pot dealer and a massive bully, and no doubt enjoyed a bit of kudos because of it. But in Grace’s world, he was nothing more than shark-bait.

Without another word, Eddie stormed out of her office, slamming the door behind him as he went. Grace leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Memories of Ben came flooding back to her. The way he smelled. His smile. How his arms felt when he held her. She missed him so much. Fighting back tears, she thought about Eddie. His threatening her was laughable, and she wasn’t overly concerned about that, but she couldn’t let him get away with murdering Ben. He obviously didn’t realise who Ben had been to her, or he never would have revealed, even inadvertently, that he was responsible for his death.

Pouring herself a glass of the good brandy she kept in her office drawer for visitors, Grace wondered what to do about him. He deserved to die as painful a death as Ben had. But what about Sandra? Eddie was her son and she loved him just as much as Grace loved Jake. The thought of anything happening to Jake made Grace’s heart fall through her stomach. How could she do that to Sandra, a woman who had always been there when she needed her? Besides, Grace was trying to be a better person now. A better role model for Belle. There would be no more deaths on her hands.

No. Eddie would live. But one day soon he’d know terror like he’d never imagined. Grace would make sure of that.

Chapter 15

Setting down her fork, Grace pushed the half-eaten plate of pasta away from her.

‘That was incredible, Steph,’ she said. ‘But I’m fit to burst.’

‘You’d never make an Italian.’ Steph laughed good-naturedly. ‘You barely eat.’

‘What? I’ve tasted half of your menu,’ Grace replied. ‘All of it delicious, by the way.’

‘I do try,’ Steph said as she picked at a stray olive from Grace’s plate.

Steph had invited Grace to Antonelli’s for lunch and she’d jumped at the chance to see the place where she’d once been co-owner. It was one of three restaurants Grace had opened with Steph’s father, Sean, but Antonelli’s had always been her favourite. Sean had called it their flagship. They’d planned on opening half a dozen more across the country, but after Grace had left Liverpool, that dream seemed to have stalled. Steph was now co-owner and she was doing her best to keep the place as current and trendy as it had been the day it had opened.

‘Speaking of trying’—Steph bent her head towards the door as her cousins, Connor and Paul Carter, sauntered through the restaurant, full of swagger and confidence—‘I’d better get back to the kitchen and make a start on dessert anyway.’ She gave them a brief wave before disappearing through the crowded room.

Dressed smartly in suits, the Carter twins looked the part, and drew the attention of most of the females in the busy restaurant. Paul and Connor Carter had once worked for Grace and now worked for their father, Michael, as well as having a lucrative sideline cleaning up other people’s messes, if the rumours Grace had heard were true.

‘Hey, Grace.’ Paul smiled as he approached her table.

‘Long time, no see, boss,’ Connor piped up from behind him.

‘Hey, boys,’ Grace said. ‘What brings you two here?’

‘Steph mentioned she was trying out some new recipes on you. We missed you at the party yesterday. You’d left by the time we got there, so we thought we’d drop by and see if the rumours were true or whether everyone was having us on,’ Connor said as he and his brother took a seat each at Grace’s table.

‘What rumours?’ Grace asked.

‘The ones about the boss lady being back in the Pool.’ Connor laughed. ‘We had to see you for ourselves.’

‘Well, as you can see, I’m here,’ Grace said. ‘But I’m not the boss lady. Not anymore.’

‘You’ll always be the boss lady, Grace,’ the twins chorused before signalling the waitress for two beers.

Grace laughed. She had a soft spot for the twins, always had. They’d caused her no end of grief when they’d worked for her, but they seemed to have matured in the eighteen months she’d been away. Now they were a couple of men to be reckoned with. From what she’d heard, it seemed their brains had finally caught up to their brawn.

‘Anything you need doing, Grace, just ask. Isn’t that right, Paul?’ Connor said as his brother nodded.

‘Actually boys, there is something you could help me with,’ Grace said, as she was struck by an idea. ‘Can I count on your discretion?’

They nodded in response.

‘Great. I could use your help sorting out a little problem. Can you come to my office tomorrow afternoon? About twelve, before anyone else gets in, would be ideal.’

The twins grinned at her and she was reminded of their youth. ‘Is it the kind of problem we enjoy sorting?’ Paul asked.

‘Yes. Your favourite kind.’

‘Nice one.’ They laughed just as the waitress arrived with their drinks.

Connor raised his bottle in a toast. ‘To the Boss Lady. It’s good to have you back.’

‘I’ll drink to that,’ Paul said as he lifted his bottle to Connor’s.

Grace raised her wine glass to join their toast and smiled.

It was good to be back.

Chapter 16

The twins arrived at midday the following afternoon as requested. Grace let them in through the side door and they followed her through to her office.

‘What’s this job you’ve got for us then?’ Connor asked once they were all seated, his eyes twinkling. Grace remembered how the pair of them were always up for getting their hands dirty. Always eager to get stuck in and bang some heads together. In their youth and stupidity, they’d once tried to take out her ex-husband and had failed miserably, causing a shitstorm for Grace to clean up after them. She’d wanted to murder them herself at the time, but in hindsight, it had probably been the best thing that could have happened to them, teaching them a salutary lesson. The twins were no longer as eager to go off half-cocked as they used to be. Grace was willing to give them another shot to see whether they could be trusted.

‘Yeah, we’re dying to know,’ Paul piped up, reminding Grace they were waiting for her to speak.

‘There’s a little no-mark I need dealing with. His name’s Eddie Redman. Have you heard of him?’

The twins shook their heads. ‘Nah, doesn’t ring a bell,’ Connor said as he sat forward in his chair.

‘That doesn’t surprise me. As I said, he’s a no-mark. But he needs to be taught a lesson, boys. Namely that he cannot walk in here and threaten me.’

The twins nodded enthusiastically. ‘Want him to disappear?’ Paul asked.

Grace sighed. She’d gone over and over this question herself and still wasn’t confident she’d made the right decision. ‘No, not disappear. At least, not yet. Don’t do too much damage. But let’s make sure he has enough reasons to regret his decision to try and cross me, and that I don’t live to regret mine.’

‘Consider it done, boss,’ Connor said and Paul nodded in agreement.

‘Thanks, boys. You’ll find him hanging around The King’s Arms in Bootle. It’s a shit-hole pub off the Dock Road. He deals out of there. Can I ask you to keep this to yourselves? I’d rather no one knows I’ve had anything to do with the little prick.’

‘Of course,’ they said. They didn’t ask any questions, as Grace knew they wouldn’t. They trusted that she’d tell them if they needed to know.

‘Great. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how about a drink?’ she said as she took the bottle of Remy Martin XO out of her office drawer.

‘Sounds good to me,’ Paul said, grinning as Connor took three crystal tumblers from the tray on Grace’s desk.

Pouring them a generous measure each before handing the twins their glasses, Grace thanked them again.

‘No problem at all,’ Connor said.

‘Anything for you, boss,’ Paul said before downing his drink in one.

Grace smiled as Connor did the same, the pair of them wincing as the expensive cognac burned their throats. She should have given them the cheap stuff she kept on her desk instead. They would never have tasted the difference. They might dress in expensive Armani suits, but the twins had a lot to learn about appreciating the finer things in life.

Chapter 17

Connor Carter pushed open the doors of The King’s Arms and walked inside, with his brother Paul close behind him. Together they walked over to the corner of the room and approached the man who fitted Eddie’s description.

‘Eddie Redman?’ Connor asked him

He looked up and scowled at the pair of them. ‘Who’s asking?’

Connor couldn’t blame him for his reaction. Eddie couldn’t afford to lose face in his local boozer, where he no doubt thrived on the regulars being scared of him.

‘I’d say this is him, wouldn’t you, Paul?’ Connor asked.

‘Fits the description. But we’d better check. Just in case.’

Paul lifted Eddie from his seat by the neck of his T-shirt. Despite Eddie struggling and attempting to free himself from Paul’s grasp, Paul dragged him towards the exit.

‘Fuck off. Get off me,’ Eddie snarled, but his protests fell on deaf ears.

‘Next round’s on me if anyone can give me the name of this dickhead,’ Connor shouted as he walked behind his brother.

‘Eddie Redman,’ a couple of voices from the other side of the pub shouted.

‘Much obliged, gents,’ Connor said as he held up five £20 notes and then placed them on a nearby table.

Paul laughed as he dragged Eddie out of the doors. ‘See how easily they gave you up, lad.’

Two minutes later, Eddie was bundled into the back of the twins’ old van, with Paul for company while Connor drove.

Eddie was already bleeding and pleading for his life by the time Connor pulled up at their destination.

‘Get out,’ Paul shouted as Connor dragged Eddie out of the back of the van.

‘Fucking hell, what were you two doing back there?’ Connor laughed as he saw that Eddie’s nose, eye and lip were already bleeding.

‘Eddie here decided to get a little bit mouthy during our trip,’ Paul grinned.

Connor shook his head and grabbed Eddie by the arm. ‘I really wouldn’t wind my brother up, Edward,’ he whispered in his ear. ‘He’s a bit of an animal.’

Eddie looked up at him, his eyes wide with fear, and Connor laughed. No doubt, during their twenty-minute journey, Paul had convinced Eddie he was a sadistic psychopath.

Paul held open the doors of the old garage and Connor dragged Eddie inside. He sat him on the single chair that was positioned in the centre of the room. Eddie sat with his head hanging low.

‘Look up, Eddie,’ Connor taunted him. ‘We have something we’d like you to see.’

Paul stood behind him and lifted Eddie’s head. ‘Look,’ he snapped.

Eddie opened his eyes, blinking a few times to acclimatise to the dim light. Connor smiled as Eddie’s eyes widened in fear. The sight of two giant meat hooks hanging from the ceiling would be enough to make any man tremble with the fear of what might happen next. Eddie started to shake his head violently and tried to scramble from the chair but Paul held him firm with his powerful arms.

Paul started to laugh. ‘Calm down, lad,’ he said. ‘You haven’t seen the best stuff yet.’

Connor walked over to him and placed a large parcel at his feet. Unfurling it, he revealed a wide array of medical instruments and tools. Scalpels, hammers and pliers of various sizes were laid out before Eddie’s feet.

‘No. No,’ Eddie screamed.

Connor knelt down so he could look Eddie directly in the eyes. ‘You have seen a rare glimpse into my brother’s little playroom here today, Eddie,’ he said quietly. ‘Should you ever threaten Grace Sumner again, we will bring you back here and you will never see the light of another day. Do you understand me?’

Eddie nodded furiously.

‘Good,’ Connor smiled. Then he hit Eddie on the temple, knocking him unconscious.

***

‘Did you see his face?’ Paul laughed as Connor drove the three of them back towards Bootle, an unconscious Eddie now alone in the back of the van.

Connor laughed too. ‘I thought he was going to have a heart attack for a minute.’

‘You went over and above with your little toolkit there, bro,’ Paul snorted. ‘Where did you get it all from?’

‘An old friend of ours. Anyway, never mind me. What the hell did you say to him when you were back there with him? He was as white as a sheet when I pulled him out of there.’

Paul shrugged. ‘I hardly touched him. But I told him what I liked to do to people who threatened my friends, and I embellished a little.’

Connor smiled at him. ‘Mission accomplished then?’

‘I think our little show will make him think twice before he even thinks of Grace’s name again.’

‘Good. Now where are we dropping him off? I need a drink.’

‘There’s a pub up the road. We can drop him off outside there. It’s quiet, but someone will find him soon enough. Or he’ll come round and he can get himself a pint.’ Paul grinned.

Chapter 18

Jake watched Siobhan from behind the bar as she tied her long red hair up into a ponytail. She saw him watching and grinned at him. He winked in response, remembering the incredible blowjob she’d just given him in his office. It was one of the many perks of being the boss, he thought, smiling to himself as she disappeared into the back room to help Libby with the stocktaking.

He was still smiling when his mobile phone rang. Fishing it from his pocket, he looked at the screen to see it was Vinnie Black calling. Jake had inherited him along with the club. He was loyal, but he was also as thick as rhino shite.

‘All right, mate?’ Jake said as he answered the phone.

‘Jake,’ Vinnie started, and Jake already knew by the tone of Vinnie’s voice that his good mood was about to disappear faster than a rat up a drainpipe.

‘What?’ Jake sighed.

‘Someone has tampered with the container again,’ Vinnie said.

‘What?’ Jake shouted, barely able to believe what he was hearing. He started to walk to his office where he could have a private conversation.

‘We opened the container, and it’s not in there. It’s all gone,’ Vinnie stuttered.

‘But it came into the docks, didn’t it?’ Jake snapped.

‘Yeah.’

‘So, somewhere between Liverpool and Glasgow, you’ve managed to lose fifty kilos of coke and four handguns? Are you fucking shitting me, Vinnie?’

‘I know, boss. Maybe someone switched them? Or they put the wrong container on the lorry,’ he mumbled.

‘What?’ Jake shouted. ‘Didn’t you watch them putting it on? Are you fucking stupid or something? What were you doing while my money was being nicked? Who was watching the lorry?’

‘I was chatting to Blind Macca, boss.’

‘Chatting! Fucking chatting! Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve fucking warned you about Blind Macca. He’s a scumbag who would sell his own granny down the river if he thought he’d get a bung out of it.’

‘I’ll talk to him …’

‘You’d better do more than talk to him, lad.’

‘I will, boss. And I’ll get the stuff back, I swear.’

‘You better fucking had, Vinnie. Don’t come back here until you have,’ Jake snapped before throwing his mobile phone at the wall and watching it break into pieces.

Jake shook his head. This was the fourth shipment in two months that had either been nicked or almost nicked. No doubt he would never see his missing drugs again. They’d be cut up and sold off before Vinnie remembered what day it was. He had a good idea who’d taken them, and he would wring Bobby White’s neck once he got his hands on him, but that bastard was as slippery as a stripper covered in baby oil.

Vinnie was a fucking liability who couldn’t find his own arse with both hands, let alone Jake’s drugs. Instead, he’d turn up with his tail between his legs, begging for forgiveness. But he had fucked up one too many times and Jake had run out of patience with him. Vinnie would repay the debt he now owed, one way or another.

Jake needed someone working with him who had brains as well as balls. He almost regretted letting John Brennan go. Almost. He’d always had the distinct feeling that John was looking over his shoulder, waiting for him to fuck up, or to remind him that his dear old dad would never do things that way. Jake sometimes hated being Nathan Conlon’s son. There was always someone willing to tell him either what a legend or what a massive cunt his dad was. Either way, they were big shoes to fill.

There was a lot about his father that Jake admired – his head for business and his ability to get anything he wanted from anyone he wanted. People said he was a lot like him and Jake supposed he was. They certainly looked alike. Jake had seen enough photographs of his dad in his twenties to know that they were dead ringers. He sometimes wondered if that was hard on his mum – having to look at the same face as the man who’d caused her so much pain and misery. If it did, she never showed it. She thought the sun shone out of Jake’s arse and would do anything for him. And though he was a grown man, and he would never admit it to anyone, somehow that knowledge made him feel invincible. His mum was a Liverpool legend. The queen of the underworld – until she’d given it all up to move to the sticks and have his baby sister. But he’d never felt the need to fill her shoes in the same way he did his dad’s.

The one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to do things better than his dad had. Nathan Conlon had been known as a ruthless fucker and when he’d been at the top of his game, no one had dared to challenge him. But he had too many weaknesses – women, drugs and booze. Jake was never going to go down that road. He’d never had any interest in drugs – not in taking them at least – and although he liked the odd drink, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d been completely wasted. But most importantly, he loved Siobhan. She was his soulmate. Women threw themselves at him all the time. Barely a day went by when he wasn’t propositioned by someone offering it to him on a plate. He knew it was all about the power. Some people were just drawn to it like a smackhead to their next fix. But he would never do anything to hurt Siobhan. She was the only woman he’d ever loved.

Chapter 19

Grace looked up from her desk and was surprised to see Michael Carter strolling through the door of her office.

‘Hello, stranger,’ she said. ‘What are you doing here?’ Last time they’d met, he hadn’t exactly given her a warm welcome.

‘Thought I owed you a visit.’

‘You don’t owe me anything, Michael,’ she said as she closed her laptop with a snap and rested her hands on top of it.

‘I think maybe I do,’ he said before closing the door and sitting on the chair opposite her.

She looked at him. He looked good, dressed in a suit as usual, his shirt open at the collar. They had once been so close but now it felt like they were strangers. There was an awkwardness between them that made Grace feel almost vulnerable around him. Although perhaps it was all in her imagination?

‘Drink?’ she asked him.

He shook his head. ‘I’m driving.’

‘Well, why is it you think you owe me a visit then?’

He sighed. ‘I wanted to explain about Jake. I had no idea he was in so deep until it was too late. I would have warned you but I had no way of contacting you. I should have looked out for him, Grace. Made sure he stayed away from Nathan’s old followers. When I found out what he was into, I came to see him.’

‘Did you?’

‘Of course I did. I know you didn’t want this life for him. I tried to help him out a bit. You know, give him some advice.’

‘Ha.’ Grace laughed. ‘I bet that went down like a lead balloon.’

Michael smiled. ‘You know lads his age. They think they know everything.’

‘So he told you to sod off then?’

‘Well, he wasn’t quite so blunt. He gave me some bollocks about wanting to stand on his own two feet.’

‘Well, I appreciate you trying anyway.’

‘I know you’d do the same for me,’ he replied.

‘So what happened with you then? I hear you’ve left our old business behind and branched into security instead?’

‘It wasn’t the same after you left. You know I can’t stand all that arse-kissing and ego stroking that goes on when you’re negotiating with the Sol Shepherds of the world. And I was fed up looking over my shoulder all the time, to be honest. I felt like a quiet life for a while. As you can see, I ain’t no young man anymore.’

‘Behave yourself,’ she said, laughing. ‘You’re only forty-four.’

He laughed too. ‘Yeah, but sometimes I feel seventy-four. I’ve been in this game for almost thirty years, Grace.’

‘So the security business is nice and relaxing, is it? A quiet life?’ she asked sarcastically.

‘Nope. But it’s a hell of a lot more straightforward.’

Michael’s phone started to ring and Grace watched him as he took it from his inside pocket and looked at the name on the screen before returning it, unanswered.

‘Wasn’t that important?’ Grace asked, suspecting it had been his wife, Hannah.

‘It can wait.’

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Of course. Always.’ He sat forward in his chair.

‘I’m going to fire the bouncers here as soon as I’ve got a new security firm in place.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep. I was going to ask the twins to speak to you about taking over. But now you’re here, I can ask you myself.’

‘You weren’t going to ask me yourself anyway?’ he asked, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

‘Well, we didn’t part on the best terms, did we?’

‘Grace.’ He swallowed. ‘About that.’

Grace waved her hand in dismissal, pretending she no longer cared. ‘Never mind. It doesn’t matter now. Will you take over the doors here then, or what?’

‘Of course. But what about Jake? Does he need to approve this?’

‘Leave Jake to me. He’s left me in charge of the staffing, and bouncers are staff, so it’s my decision.’

‘You’ve only been back a couple of weeks and now I’m working for you again?’ He laughed. ‘How did that just happen?’

She shook her head. ‘You’re not working for me. I won’t be sticking around for long anyway. I’ll feel better knowing that you’re around, to be honest. Jake could use your expertise. Even if he would never admit it.’

‘How long are you staying then?’

‘A couple of months, and then I’m off back to Leeds.’

‘Oh, right.’ He stood up. ‘I’d better get going. Let me know when you want my boys to start.’

‘Why not tomorrow? I’m meeting with Karl Morgan in a few hours. I’ll let him know that he and his shower of piss-takers are no longer needed back here after tonight.’

‘Fucking hell, Grace. You don’t hang around, do you? That’ll cause murder, you know that?’

‘Your boys can handle it, can’t they?’

‘Of course they can. I’ll tell them to start tonight instead. Once you tell the other lot to sling their hook, there’s no way they’ll be hanging around here protecting your club. They’re more likely to come back armed to the teeth and try and do the place over.’

‘Tonight it is then.’

‘Stay away for the night then, eh?’ he said as he was walking out of the door.

‘Don’t be daft.’ She laughed at him. ‘I’m a big girl, Michael.’

‘Yeah, I know you are. But can you just stay away for one night. Please? I’d rather not have to worry about you getting caught in the crossfire.’

She sighed. ‘Okay then.’ The truth was she preferred staying home with Belle in the evenings anyway.

‘Thanks.’ He disappeared through the door.

Grace leaned back in her chair. Michael Carter working in the club was a good thing for Jake. A good thing for The Blue Rooms. But it was a potential minefield for her. One she would have to navigate very carefully.

Chapter 20

Grace laughed as Libby Baxter told her about the drunken antics of some of the customers on a hen do the night before. Grace had recently promoted Libby to be the new assistant bar manager after realising she was bright, loyal and knew when to keep her mouth shut. She’d let the previous occupier of the position go for being a complete balloon who didn’t have a clue what he was doing, or have an ounce of loyalty in his body. Libby was someone Grace already considered a friend. They had a similar sense of humour too and Grace enjoyed spending time in her company. When the time came for Grace to move back to Harewood, Libby would be the perfect assistant for Siobhan. The pair of them would be a force to be reckoned with and would make sure The Blue Rooms thrived.

Grace and Libby were going over the rotas when Grace saw Karl Morgan stroll into The Blue Rooms like he owned the place, half an hour early for the meeting she’d arranged with him. Karl was the owner of Trident Securities, who managed the doors of the club, but he was such an arrogant prick Grace wondered how Jake had ever agreed to do business with him. He grinned as he sauntered over to where Grace and Libby were standing at the bar.

‘All right, girls?’ he said with a wink.

‘We’re no girls, son,’ Libby snapped. ‘I’ll finish up, Grace,’ she said before walking away.

Karl shrugged as he watched Libby’s retreating rear. She was probably just his type, Grace thought – blonde, tanned skin, long legs and a tiny waist. Unfortunately for Karl, Libby was happily engaged to her fiancée, Maria, and Karl’s charm was entirely wasted on her.

‘You wanted to see me, Grace?’ he said, turning his full attention to her instead.

‘Yes. You’re early. Come through to my office.’

‘Anything you say, darling.’

Closing the door to her office, Grace was hit by the pungent smell of Karl’s aftershave, which he’d obviously applied with a bucket. She contemplated opening the door again, but thought the privacy was worth the price of having to breathe through her mouth for the next five minutes. She didn’t need the rest of the staff hearing her business.

Karl sat on Grace’s desk rather than the chair she offered. She sat down herself and for a few seconds she just watched him as he looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts for much longer than could be considered polite. Karl considered himself a hit with the ladies. Stocky, with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes, he had a certain appeal, she supposed, but she found him creepy. He’d been flirting with her for weeks, making vulgar comments and crude innuendoes. He thought all he had to do was smile at a woman and she’d drop her knickers. Well, not Grace. She hadn’t invited him to her office for a social visit.

‘So, what can I do for you, darling?’ he said, grinning at her suggestively.

‘I asked you here out of courtesy to you, Karl. I wanted to tell you to your face that I’m letting you go,’ she said matter-of-factly. She watched him shake his head as though he couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly.

‘What?’

‘You heard me. I’m letting you go. As of today, The Blue Rooms will no longer require the services of Trident Security. You can tell your boys not to bother turning up for their shifts tonight. They’ll be paid for the rest of the week.’

Grace watched as the whole of Karl’s face changed in an instant. Gone was the seemingly permanent grin and the twinkling blue eyes. His face twisted in anger as his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed. He rose from the desk and stood over her.

‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ he shouted, so close to Grace’s face she could feel the spittle flying from his mouth. ‘You’re letting me go? You cheeky fucking bitch. Who do you think would look after this place as well as me?’ he snarled.

Grace stood, and although he was almost twice the size of her, she brought her face close to his. ‘A fucking monkey could protect this place better than you, you useless piece of shit. Where were your boys when Martin Mitchell put a bar stool though the mirror behind the bar and threatened Libby with a knife?’

Karl glared at her, his whole body shaking with anger. She knew he wanted to lamp her one. But she also knew he wouldn’t dare. She was Grace Sumner, after all.

‘You had that coming,’ he snapped. ‘You sacked half the fucking bar staff. If you go around giving people the boot for no good reason, you’re bound to get some comeback. Martin Mitchell is connected, or didn’t you know that? And now you’ve fired your security too? You’re a fucking nutcase.’

Grace smiled at him. ‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘Now get your shit and go.’

‘You’ll fucking regret this,’ he growled as he stormed out of her office.

Sitting in her chair, Grace leaned back against the headrest. That hadn’t gone as badly as she’d expected. She could act as cool as an ice cube in a snow storm in those situations, but her insides were shaking. She hoped Karl and his boys didn’t cause too much trouble when they inevitably came back to show their displeasure at her decision. In time, Karl would realise that it was just business. Hotheads like him always calmed down eventually.

Grace thought about Martin Mitchell. He’d been the bar manager until she’d fired him the week before. He was useless. But connected? That was a laugh. He was the nephew of Kevin Mitchell. Kevin had been a well-known face a few years earlier, until he’d been left eating through a straw for the rest of his days. Kevin had been a pain in Grace’s arse, and if he hadn’t become too greedy and started to have ideas above his station, then he’d still have full use of all of his faculties.

Chapter 21

‘So you’re okay with Michael’s firm taking over the security then, Jake?’ Grace asked him.

‘Yeah, Mum. Whatever,’ he said distractedly.

She shook her head as she walked out of his office. Sometimes that boy was a complete mystery. If she did something as simple as adding to the list of lagers they sold, he accused her of meddling in his business, but firing the security team and replacing them with Carter’s firm was no big deal? Something was obviously on his mind, but whatever it was, she was getting an easy life for the time being and she could roll with that.

‘Hey, boss,’ Grace heard from behind her.

Turning around she saw Connor and Paul Carter. ‘Hello, boys, what are you two doing here?’

‘Come to make sure everything’s set up for tonight.’ Paul said.

‘Shouldn’t you be going?’ Connor asked.

‘I’m leaving in ten minutes,’ she sighed. ‘Is that why you’re really here? To make sure I’ve gone?’

‘No,’ Connor protested. ‘But we were instructed to make sure you were off the premises by six o’clock at the latest.’

‘Your father is a control freak,’ she said.

‘He controls because he cares.’ Connor grinned at her. ‘Is there somewhere we could use as a base? We’ve got some paperwork and stuff we could do with leaving here.’

‘Bring them to my office,’ she said. ‘It’s too big for just me anyway. It would be nice to have some occasional company. There’s a spare desk in there too.’

‘Brilliant,’ said Paul. ‘Dad will be made up he’s finally got a proper desk.’

Of course, Grace thought to herself. The twins didn’t do paperwork, Michael did. And now she’d just given him his own desk in her office. Hopefully he would hardly be there during the day anyway, and she rarely worked nights, preferring to be at home with Belle. She would just have to avoid him as much as she could.

‘Hey, Jake,’ Paul called as he noticed him in his office.

‘All right lads. Fancy a drink?’ Jake called back.

The twins looked at each other, then at Grace, then at the briefcase Connor was holding.

‘I’ll take that for you,’ Grace said. ‘Go and have a drink with Jake. He can show you where my office is later.’

‘Because you’ll be gone in ten minutes, won’t you?’ Connor asked looking at his watch.

‘Yes,’ she sighed.

Connor handed her the briefcase and she watched the pair of them stroll into Jake’s office and close the door.

***

Jake smiled as the Carter twins closed the door to his office.

‘How’s it going, Jake? What’s it like being the head man?’ Paul laughed.

Jake shook his head. ‘Don’t fucking ask, lads. That cunt Bobby White is crawling up my arse every time I turn around.’

‘He’s a cocksucker if ever I met one,’ Connor said as he sat down. ‘Greasy little fucker. Wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.’

‘To be fair, I bet you could throw him pretty far though, mate,’ Jake said and the three of them started to laugh.

‘How’s things with you then, lads?’ Jake asked as he poured them all a drink. ‘I see your firm’s taking over the security at the club. Will that mean you two are around here more often?’

‘We’re here tonight because we’re expecting a bit of a kick-off. But we won’t be involved much after that,’ Connor answered.

‘We prefer to keep busy in other ways,’ Paul said with a smile. Jake nodded. He knew the twins did freelance work for some of the most powerful gangsters across the whole of England and Scotland. They were colloquially known as ‘the cleaners’ because they were brought in to clear up other people’s messes, and they were good at it too.

‘The security business is a bit too tame for us, isn’t it, Con?’ Paul said.

Connor nodded.

‘I hear you get to travel a lot though?’ Jake said, grinning.

‘Yeah, but we’re looking to set up something a bit closer to home though, aren’t we, Paul?’ Connor replied.

‘Well, if I hear of anything, I’ll let you know,’ Jake said.

‘Sound,’ Paul said as the three of them finished their drinks.

‘Will you be about tonight, Jake?’ Paul asked. ‘It should be a good kick-off.’

‘Wouldn’t miss it, lads.’

Jake watched as the twins left his office. He wondered what exactly they’d meant by setting up closer to home. He liked the twins; they were a pair of vicious bastards, but they also had a code that they stuck to. They never hurt women or children. They had a solid reputation because they kept their mouths shut about what they did and who they did it for. And they kept their word, which was rare in their game. Apart from his mum and Siobhan, Jake could count on one finger the people who worked for him that he trusted.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. She probably didn’t know it, but his mum had done him a massive favour getting Michael to take over the security at the club.

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