The Good Life Read online

  About the book

  THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE NEVER FREE.

  Cain Moran wanted Jenny Riley more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before in his life. But loving Jenny Riley was the easy part; it was telling his wife he wanted a divorce that was going to be the killer . . .

  Jenny is not just any girl. She cares nothing for Cain’s hard-man reputation – she just wants to be with him.

  But Cain is not a free man. And he’s about to find out that when his wife Caroline said ’til death us do part, she meant it.

  When Cain is sentenced to life in prison it seems that Caroline might have got her wish. All Cain and Jenny know is that if their love can survive such separation, then one day they will have a chance at the Good Life together again.

  But there are greater trials ahead than either can foresee. They’re about to learn the hardest lesson of all:

  LIVE THE GOOD LIFE. PAY THE PRICE.

  About Martina Cole

  Martina Cole is the acknowledged queen of crime drama. Her most recent novel, Revenge, was a No. 1 bestseller in hardback and paperback and is one in a long line of No. 1 bestselling and phenomenally successful novels she has to her name.

  Several of Martina’s novels have been adapted for the screen, most recently The Take and The Runaway which were shown on Sky 1 to remarkable reviews. In addition, Two Women and The Graft have been adapted for the stage; both were highly acclaimed when performed at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, which also staged Dangerous Lady in 2012, celebrating twenty years since Martina’s debut novel was published.

  Martina Cole is a phenomenon. She continues to smash sales records with each of her books, which have sold in excess of thirteen million copies in total. In 2011 Martina surpassed the £50 million sales mark since records began and was the first British female novelist for adult audiences to achieve this.

  Martina’s hard-hitting, uncompromising and haunting writing is in a genre all its own – no one writes like Martina.

  Praise for Martina Cole:

  ‘A blinding good read’ Ray Winstone

  ‘Intensely readable’ Guardian

  ‘An extraordinarily powerful piece of family drama’ Daily Mirror

  ‘Gritty novel from an author who knows intimately the world she writes about’ Express

  ‘Her gripping plots pack a mean emotional punch’ Mail on Sunday

  ‘Cole has the amazing talent of making characters appear larger than life’ Sun

  Copyright © 2014 Martina Cole

  The right of Martina Cole to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  ‘The Good Life’

  Music: Sacha Distel

  French lyrics: Jean Brousolle

  English lyrics: Jack Reardon

  With the authorization of Prosadis

  This Ebook edition was first published by Headline Publishing Group in 2014

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

  eISBN: 978 1 4722 0098 3

  Cover credit © Bernd Vogel/Corbis

  HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  An Hachette UK Company

  338 Euston Road

  London NW1 3BH

  www.headline.co.uk

  www.hachette.co.uk

  Contents

  Title page

  About the book

  About Martina Cole

  Praise

  Copyright page

  Also by Martina Cole

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Book One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Book Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Book Three

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Chapter Seventy

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Chapter Seventy-Six

  Chapter Seventy-Seven

  Chapter Seventy-Eight

  Chapter Seventy-Nine

  Chapter Eighty

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Chapter Eighty-Three

  Chapter Eighty-Four

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Chapter Eighty-Six

  Chapter Eighty-Seven

  Chapter Eighty-Eight

  Chapter Eighty-Nine

  Chapter Ninety

  Chapter Ninety-One

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  Chapter Ninety-Three

  Chapter Ninety-Four

  Chapter Ninety-Five

  Chapter Ninety-Six

  Chapter Ninety-Seven

  Chapter Ninety-Eight

  Chapter Ninety-Nine

  Chapter One Hundred

  Chapter One Hundred and One

  Chapter One Hundred and Two

  Chapter One Hundred and Three

  Chapter One Hundred and Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Five

  Chapter One Hundred and Six

  Chapter One Hundred and Seven

  Chapter One Hundred and Eight
r />   Chapter One Hundred and Nine

  Chapter One Hundred and Ten

  Chapter One Hundred and Eleven

  Chapter One Hundred and Twelve

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen

  Book Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-One

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Six

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Seven

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Eight

  Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Three

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Five

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Six

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Seven

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Two

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Three

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Four

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Five

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Six

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight

  Epilogue

  By Martina Cole and available from Headline

  Dangerous Lady

  The Ladykiller

  Goodnight Lady

  The Jump

  The Runaway

  Two Women

  Broken

  Faceless

  Maura’s Game

  The Know

  The Graft

  The Take

  Close

  Faces

  The Business

  Hard Girls

  The Family

  The Faithless

  The Life

  Revenge

  The Good Life

  For my beautiful granddaughter Natalia Noonie Whiteside,

  her nanny’s little Maget!

  Thanks to Yvonne and Osman – you were absolute stars.

  PS It should have been me.

  No cravats please!

  For Canim Boo.

  Prologue

  There is love of course. And then there’s life, its enemy.

  Jean Anouilh

  Jenny woke up early. She lay in her bed for long moments, savouring the warmth before suddenly remembering why she was so anxious. Today was the day she had been waiting for for a long time. Now it had finally arrived, she wasn’t sure how it was going to go, what to expect and whether, at the end of it, she would regret the choices she had made all those years ago. She felt physically sick, wondering if she had made the right ones. Truth be told, she was terrified − terrified but also excited.

  She stroked her body, feeling the softness of her skin, cupping her breasts which were still full even without the firmness of youth. The last time he had held her felt like a dream. She had always been so in love with him she had felt it was like a mania. Cain Moran had been everything she had ever wanted. He still was − but would he feel the same after so many years away from her, away from the real world? Would he still carry the guilt over the brutal death of their boy, his namesake? Would it always be there between them?

  She missed her boy every day; it was like a vicious wound that never completely healed. A song, a word, an image, brought the pain back in seconds, each time bigger and more heart-breaking than before. She knew it had to be discussed, finally be put to bed, but it wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to. In the prison it had been too difficult to talk openly about it, and at the funeral there had not been time to discuss it properly. They were both so full of grief, so full of heartache. Even though they had spent one precious night together, and he had done murder for her that day, part of her had held a grudge for what he had cost her. Would they get past it? Could they really take up their lives again after all this time?

  Well, tonight she would know the answers. She got out of her bed and went through to her kitchen. As she put the kettle on she looked out of the window; dawn was breaking and lighting up the sky. How different her view was now from when she was a girl growing up on an East London council estate. In those days, there was no escape from looking into other people’s homes and lives, as they had looked into hers. She had watched so many petty dramas play out: fights, arguments, police raids, lovemaking and, of course, children of all ages playing and living their lives as best they could − as she had herself. A drunken mother and a father she had never once clapped eyes on didn’t make for the greatest of upbringings.

  But then she met Cain Moran and everything had started to make sense to her. She had fallen for him in such a big way, and he had been her life ever since, even though he had not been an actual part of it for many years.

  She had lost so much − her only child, her youth − but while she had Cain – or the promise of him − she had been able to cope. Now, faced with the reality that he was finally being released, the fear had set in. Would he find her old? Would he feel the need for a woman with less baggage and tighter skin, who still had the freshness of youth on her side? Because he could easily find one. Men like Cain Moran were magnets to certain women − she knew that better than anyone. Twenty-five years was a long time to be apart, but it had passed. That was the thing − eventually the time did pass and, now it had, Jenny prayed that Cain would still want her as she wanted him. Because, God, how she wanted him.

  Caroline Moran was tall, heavy breasted and dangerously fat. She loved her food and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it − she was always eating something. People seeing her now for the first time in years would be amazed at the change. As a young woman she had been magnificent − long dark hair, hazel eyes and a slender body with curves in all the right places. She had been a head turner in every way.

  Now, as she sat in her transport café, eating a huge fried breakfast, shovelling the food into her mouth, her son Michael watched her with distaste. She was colossal but no one had the guts to mention it any more; it was pointless anyway − she just lost her rag. Food was Caroline’s only pleasure, and she wouldn’t listen to any kind of criticism or warning about her health. As far as she was concerned she was fine; Michael had learned long ago not to rock that particular boat. The strange thing was, she still looked after her skin and her hair. Her make-up was always perfect, her nails manicured, and painted her signature red. If she dropped the weight, no doubt she would still be the beautiful woman she once was.

  Caroline finished chewing her food before saying aggressively, ‘So, God Almighty is coming home today, is he?’

  Michael nodded. Taller than average, with thick dark hair and deep blue eyes, he had the handsome, Irish look about him just like his father. He couldn’t disguise their similarity in looks which he knew must be hard for his mother. She loathed his f
ather, a man who had dumped them without a backward glance when he had found something better.

  ‘Are you going to be OK, Mum?’

  Caroline snorted. ‘Fuck him! He means nothing to me, the two-faced filthy rat. He made his choice − for all the luck she brought him! I told him that God pays back debts without money, and look what happened. It all went wrong for him when he met her.’

  The venom in her voice wasn’t lost on her son; he knew that no matter what she said, deep down, she still loved the man. It was the weakness of women. There had never been another man for her and at first it had not been for want of suitors. They had come thick and fast. She had had a lot to offer − not just in looks, but because she was also very well set up. A good businesswoman, she had revamped this café, turning it into an American-themed diner, even down to the red leather booths and iconic Wurlitzer. The place was always packed − not just with the usual lorry drivers, but also with families who came there to drink in the atmosphere and enjoy the excellent food. And the food was top notch − Caroline made sure of that.

  Caroline buttered more toast and spread it thickly with jam. Taking a large bite, she chewed it thoughtfully for a few seconds, before saying seriously, ‘I bet you he comes to see me. I bet you he can’t help himself and, when he does, I am going to tell him a few home truths.’ She sounded almost pleased at the prospect, and Michael Moran simply sighed, resigned to her delusions.

  David Hannan had been up since the dawn, and he sat nursing a pot of coffee until it was time for him to leave. He was thrilled to be the one chosen to pick up Cain Moran − the man was a legend! He had been banged up for years, but before that he had been one of the hardest men in the Smoke, amassing a fortune that no one seemed able to find. He was David’s idol growing up, and his father had told him many a story of the man’s heroic exploits.

  In honour of the occasion his suit was freshly cleaned, and his shirt and tie were brand new. He knew he looked good − a keen body builder, he took care of himself in every way. The birth of his first child – a little girl called Mae − had given him an added impetus to do well for himself. Today he’d be in receipt of a big wedge for a few hours’ work. Even so, he was nervous. After all, a man changed after years behind the door. It was only natural, David supposed. Away from family and friends, living in a vacuum, it must have been hard. Even in the poke, Cain Moran’s legend had still grown. The man had thwarted two attempts on his life, and each time he had come out on top. Not an easy thing in such a controlled environment, especially one ruled, more often than not, by the people incarcerated there in the first place.