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  Jack was pulled from his reverie by Ray’s words and he said quickly, ‘Say that again, Ray.’

  Ray Donovan flashed one of his blinding smiles that made him look very handsome and very easy-going – women loved that smile.

  ‘I said, both the Carlton brothers will be gone by tomorrow. They are committing suicide, apparently.’

  Ray watched carefully for Jack’s reaction; he had taken this on himself for no other reason than he wanted it over. Jack was getting on his nerves with his dithering.

  Jack swallowed down his whisky and forced a smile on to his face as he said blandly, ‘Well, that certainly will put the proverbial cat among the pigeons.’

  Ray grinned easily as he said, ‘I’ve also sent out warnings to the extended family. We won’t have any trouble there.’

  ‘Seems like you have thought of everything.’

  Ray shrugged and changed the subject. He had made his point. But this had rattled Jack Johnson more than he would ever admit. It was tantamount to fucking mutiny, and that was something he would never countenance. The atmosphere in the office was charged and Ray was watching Jack Johnson every bit as closely as Jack was watching him. The gauntlet had been thrown down. It was time this firm had a revamp and Ray knew that, if he wanted to get on, this was necessary. They were at the top and, if they wanted to stay up there, they had to move with the times. Jack Johnson, he was sure, would eventually bow down to his way of thinking. And if he didn’t, then that was his lookout.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-One

  The demise of the Carlton brothers was a nine-day wonder, and no one except the prison service believed their deaths were suicides. Somehow it was rumoured that Ray Donovan was behind it all, ergo, that meant Jack Johnson had ordered the brothers to be removed. Reggie Dornan didn’t comment either way. No one commented, in fact. Ray had presented them with a fait accompli and there had been no stopping that. But Reggie could tell that Jack Johnson wasn’t a happy man, and that he no longer trusted Ray Donovan as he once had. These were trying times, especially for Reggie whose allegiance obviously lay with Jack Johnson, his mentor. In truth, Reggie could see things from Ray’s point of view as well. They had to fucking get with the times and that meant great changes. Thanks to Ray, they were now undisputed kings. People asked their permission before they did certain things, and even the northern Faces were offering allegiance.

  Reggie’s other worry was that young Elton seemed to be joined to Ray at the hip. Ray was obviously grooming him for a top job. That in itself wasn’t a problem, but it should have been discussed, especially as everyone – including Elton Mills himself – knew that Jack Johnson didn’t like him. Elton was very like Ray – there was something off about him even though he came across as a nice guy and was always very respectful to everyone. He was lucky in that he had never even had a caution from the Filth, so he was still able to travel to prisons all over to talk face to face with men they needed to contact for whatever nefarious reason.

  It wasn’t good to overlook Jack Johnson though, and that is what Ray was doing. He was readying himself to take over and everyone, including Jack Johnson, realised that. But by the same token, that wasn’t a bad thing. Jack was getting on, and he didn’t understand a lot of the new villainy. He didn’t know that you could rob people with a fucking computer and that massive deals could be done online with overseas partners so that no flights were involved. It was a new world and people like Jack Johnson were rapidly becoming dinosaurs.

  Reggie watched as Elton and Ray stood chatting for a few moments before coming into the offices. Jack wasn’t there yet, so Reggie put the kettle on for their early morning tea. One good thing about Elton Mills was that he made a blinding cup of char.

  Reggie was meeting Sharon and his sister Gerry later to talk over the wedding plans. It was going to be held in a few days and, though it was small, it would be very tasteful – all handmade suits and expensive hats. He was pleased to be so included in the plans as it proved to him that Sharon had finally come to terms with his relationship with Lenny. She was moving on, which, for him, was a good thing. Once she married Ray she would be a Donovan, and that, as they say, would be the end of it. Lenny Scott, who he had loved deeply, would finally be forgotten. His wife and sons had gradually airbrushed him from their lives. The only way Lenny would live on was through Reggie and his memories.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Two

  Little Kathy was nearly six months old and a real beauty. With her huge blue eyes and jet-black hair she caused a stir wherever she went. She could crawl at an Olympic pace so she kept everyone on their toes.

  Lenny and Liam were locked in their respective bedrooms and so Sharon had an unaccustomed quiet few hours ahead of her. Kathy was ensconced in her lobster-pot playpen with her toys and a drink of juice and Sharon poured herself a nice cold glass of Chablis and sat down gratefully to drink it. She looked around and felt the pleasure her surroundings always brought to her. Why wouldn’t they? She had an exceptionally beautiful home that looked like something from a Sunday supplement. Ray gave her carte blanche when it came to the house, the boys or his new daughter. He never baulked at the prices she paid for anything. He was good to her and she knew that he loved her above all else.

  So why was she feeling so nervous about the upcoming wedding? She sipped at her drink, and watched her new daughter playing with her toys and talking baby talk to herself. She had everything any woman could want and she could not understand why she was questioning it. She felt like this periodically and she put it down to the fear of losing what she had again. When Lenny had been brutally murdered it had left its mark on her, and that was to be expected. Even though she had had to confront his other life, she had still been left a widow with two young, fatherless children. It had been so hard to pick up the pieces, and then she had met Ray. More to the point, Ray had entered her life and he had been at her side from the moment she had met him.

  Making love with Ray was a completely different experience to Lenny; how could she have known that the sex they’d had was always more about him than her? She realised now that Lenny had been scratching an itch – she could have been anyone. He had been possessed of a high sex drive and he had basically fucked her. No one had ever made love to her until Ray Donovan, and the change had been amazing. He made her feel treasured, loved and desired. He adored her and the kids and they never really had a cross word. The nerves about this wedding were a melon scratcher all right, there was no doubt about that! There was a niggling little voice telling her not to go through with it.

  The gates were buzzing and she heard Gerry’s voice through the intercom. Opening the gates, she waited patiently at the front door to welcome her friend. The worst thing was she couldn’t tell anyone her fears because they sounded so silly and were not really grounded in any specific reasoning. Ray had never put a foot wrong, and she realised that was what was bothering her. That, and his habit of seeming to be somewhere else at times, especially after he had been away on one of his business meetings. It was like he was in his own world, a place where she could never go, and where she felt she couldn’t reach him.

  She shook the thoughts from her mind. She was being silly and she knew it. This was just the pre-wedding nerves that all brides experienced, no more than that. Her sons were excited by the idea of the wedding, and were talking about getting their names changed so they would all be Donovans. She knew that thrilled Ray, but there was a part of her that didn’t think they should lose the name Scott. They were, when all was said and done, Lenny Scott’s flesh and blood.

  Gerry looked amazing as always and, as she walked in the house, Sharon said brightly, ‘How did the blind date go last night?’

  Gerry was laughing and said loudly, ‘Oh, pour me wine, please. He looked like he had fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every fucking branch on the way down!’

  Sharon was laughing with her; this was exactly what she needed – some light relief and some easy fun. She had to stop th
ese dark thoughts before they took over her life.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Three

  Ray looked good and he knew it as he stood with his stepsons, waiting for his wife-to-be to arrive. They were outside the local church where they took Communion and worshipped regularly; it was a beautiful old building decorated with huge bunches of white roses and white orchids. There were not that many guests – only close family and friends. The reception later on would have more people but, for the actual ceremony, Sharon had wanted it small and intimate. She had got her wish.

  When Sharon arrived in a black Bentley, Ray was so proud of her. She looked fantastic. Her dress was like a cocktail dress, cut just above the knee, and it fitted her perfectly. Her thick, blond hair was swept up and she wore a short veil. She looked like something from Vogue and he felt the pull of her as she smiled at him tentatively.

  ‘You look absolutely stunning, darling.’ His northern accent was always more pronounced when he felt emotional.

  He entered the church to go and wait by the altar and, greeting all their friends and family, he felt like the happiest man on the planet.

  Walking down the aisle with her proud father to the opening bars of Joan Armatrading’s ‘Love and Affection’, Sharon looked about her and felt that maybe, just maybe, she was doing the right thing. Her sons were smiling at her, her mum looked like she would burst with happiness and Annie was already in tears. Little Kathy was dressed in salmon pink and she was grinning widely as Gerry held her in her arms. Reggie Dornan winked at her as she passed him and it made her smile. Then the priest was marrying them and Sharon wondered at how different this wedding was to her first one.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Four

  Jack Johnson was drinking his usual Scotch and, as Sharon walked by him, she stopped and kissed him on the cheek. She had always liked Jack and she knew that he had always had her best interests at heart.

  ‘Well, girl, the dirty deed has been done! I hope you will be very happy, darling.’

  She smiled at him, but she felt there was an underlying question in his voice.

  ‘I think we will be happy, Jack. Don’t you?’

  He grinned his usual easy grin as he said nonchalantly, ‘Only you know what’s in your heart, girl.’

  She hugged him suddenly and he hugged her back, amazed at the emotions she was causing him to feel.

  ‘I will be all right, Jack. He is a good man.’

  Jack smiled, but he was wondering to himself, who was she trying to convince – him or herself?

  Ray came up and placed a proprietary arm around her waist and smiled, his big, handsome face looking pleased and proud, as he said happily, ‘Mrs Donovan, eh, Jack! Sounds good, yes?’

  Jack laughed at the man’s obvious delight and he found himself looking deep into Ray’s eyes. He was relieved to see he seemed genuine. As they moved off on to the dance floor together Jack felt a terrible urge to weep. Shaking his head to clear it, he wondered if he was going senile in his old age. Then, seeing Reggie and his sister, he went over to them for a chat.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Five

  Ivy and Del Conway were over the moon at the way the wedding had gone off. Ivy had never seen her daughter looking so beautiful. They were in a nightclub on Southend seafront that they had taken over for the night, and the food and drink was outrageously good. They had champagne on tap – anything anyone wanted was on tap. It must have cost Ray a fortune, and Ivy was pleased that her daughter had got herself a man who was so good to her. Those boys were well behaved these days, and they obviously loved Ray as much as he loved them. It did her heart good to see them all happy. Little Kathy was going to be a heartbreaker with that black hair and those blue eyes. The place was packed and, as she watched her own husband getting steadily pissed at the bar, she smiled to herself ruefully. Her Del would never change, but even she could see that he was pleased for his daughter, and so he should be.

  Annie made her way over to Ivy, and the two women, who were very friendly with each other, chatted happily together. This was a wonderful day, and they were both pleased with how it was turning out. In fact, they were both of a mind. They saw that the children they had produced had finally found the soulmate that eluded so many other people. They were rightly pleased with the day and saw nothing in the future except happiness for these two who were so much in love.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Six

  Gerry and Reggie were both half-drunk and sitting together in one of the small booths that dotted the nightclub.

  ‘Strange venue for a wedding, Reggie, don’t you think?’

  Reggie grinned and she was aware of how painfully handsome her brother was. Of course, she knew he was gay – and that it was still something to be kept as quiet as possible. Even now that was a no-no in the criminal underworld.

  ‘He’s just bought it. Well, the word “acquired” is probably more apt.’

  Reggie knew that he was talking out of school but at this moment he didn’t really give a shit. He had felt it was wrong what Ray had done and he had said as much to him.

  Jack Johnson agreed with him but, as Jack said, what could they do? It was over with, finished and done. Maybe if they had known about it beforehand they could have intervened, but Ray had a habit of working on his own and that was always going to cause friction. His attitude had been: this is a personal matter, why would I involve anyone else? He had a point, but it was the principle. Young Elton was in on it, of course, and that was another bugbear. Elton Mills was in on everything these days.

  Gerry didn’t know what to say but she could sense her brother’s discontent and she hoped that it would not blow out of proportion. She knew how easily that could happen in their world, and how brutal it could be.

  ‘Well, you do have separate businesses, Reg.’ She was striving to be fair.

  Reggie sighed and said honestly, ‘And I mention them before, during and after the transactions. I don’t just fucking spring them on everyone.’

  Gerry’s smile lit up her beautiful face. ‘Well, he is a Northerner. They do things differently up there!’

  She was trying to lighten the mood; Reggie just shrugged and changed the subject. ‘Saw you eyeing up that Barton earlier and him eyeing you back. I don’t think his wife noticed.’

  Gerry looked suitably ashamed as she whispered, ‘I’ve been seeing him for a little while, Reg. I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help it.’

  Reggie sighed heavily. ‘You are hardly in the first flush of youth, Gerry! Why don’t you look for a proper bloke? One who hasn’t got more baggage than fucking Heathrow Airport.’

  His words stung and, in a rare act of retaliation at her brother, she said snidely, ‘I might say the fucking same to you, bruv.’

  But Reggie just smiled as he said benignly, ‘That is different and you know it. Though I have got the Italian-looking waiter’s number!’

  They were friends again and she hugged him quickly as she said in a whisper, ‘You like them big and manly, just like I do. Must be a family trait, eh?’

  They watched as Ray led Sharon on to the dance floor and, as he pulled her into his arms, Reggie saw that she wasn’t as happy as she was making out. He knew her better than she realised and he hoped against hope that life had not thrown her another fucking curveball. She had had more than enough to contend with over the years, and she deserved a slice of happiness. Whether she would find it with Ray Donovan remained to be seen.

  Reggie clapped with everyone else and watched the pair dance in silence.

  He hoped Sharon would be happy; he could never look at her without the guilt almost choking him. He had loved her husband very much and, the saddest part of it all was, so had she.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven

  Sharon had danced with her new husband, both her sons, her father and Jack Johnson. Now she was dancing with Barton, aware of the huge strength he possessed as he held her to him tightly.

  ‘He is one lucky man.’
r />   Sharon felt herself blush and laughed to hide her embarrassment. He really sounded like he meant what he said to her. But he was a womaniser and he looked on all of the female sex as potential mates. Although he was already married to her friend, she knew that, as much as he loved Jamella, he would always need a bit of strange. It was the nature of the beast.

  ‘Your eyes look sad, Sharon. Sparkly, but still there’s a sadness behind them.’

  ‘Hark at you!’

  He looked down at her face and he said seriously, ‘You thinking about your first wedding to Lenny?’

  She nodded almost imperceptibly and then she said honestly, ‘I can’t help it. I feel terrible but I suppose it was inevitable, really.’

  He nodded but continued to look into her face and she wished the Stylistics record would end so she would be free of his scrutiny. Barton was a shrewd man and that was not just her opinion – it was the opinion of anyone who came into contact with him.

  ‘Human nature, Sharon. I would be surprised if you didn’t think about it. You had a prosperous union by most standards. Two lovely boys. And then him being taken so viciously. Bound to have an effect, darling.’