“Sooner or later, those contacts will run dry,” I warned him.

“You have no idea how far my reach goes. By the time I retire from that piece of shit job, Emily and I will be set for life.”

“You weaselly little fucker. What scam have you and your dirty copper friends got going then?” Kieran asked him.

“It doesn’t matter, Kier,” I told him standing up. “This guy’s done. Whoever he’s working with ain’t got no fucking loyalty if they can be bought. They’ll sell out sooner or later, and when that day comes, Frank, you’re history,” I told him.

“You have no idea what loyalty is. Your own family sold you out for peanuts.” The smug smirk on his fuck-ugly, bloodied face made me want to smack the piece of shit again but I held back, letting him say his piece. My family was solid. There’s not a single one of my brothers who could be bought. I didn’t have to ask him what he was talking about before Kieran muttered “Sylvia” to himself.

“So the penny drops,” Frank said sarcastically. “Took me all of five minutes to realize how useful she could be. I walked into the arena the night I came for Emily and offered her fifty quid to separate dipshit over here from her. Fifty quid and she was all alone. So don’t preach to me. There isn’t a drop of blood in that filthy, inked-up body of yours that’s faithful. All the more reason she belongs with me. Twelve years I’ve been waiting for her. That’s devotion.”

I waited for the stab of pain that came with Ma’s betrayal but there was none. There wasn’t even fucking surprise. “Sylvia ain’t family,” I told him.

“I give this knife to Kieran and ask him to gut you, tell him this is what our family needs—he’d do it. Just like I would for him. There’s no blood or money between any of us. There’s just loyalty. That’s what makes us family. And our family is a fucking army. You ain’t getting to a single one of us without the whole fucker army following. You think about that next time you decide to pay us a visit.”

I handed the knife to Kieran. “Find something to clean the prints off this and stick it in the second drawer down in the kitchen. Best wipe the prints off the drawer handles too.”

“Your prints are all over this place,” he told me.

“I can explain away all the prints except the knife and the drawer.” Kieran nodded and went off to do as I asked.

“This isn’t over,” Frank told me with a sneer.

“The fuck it ain’t,” I told him. “You come after Em or any other member of my family, and I’ll be waiting.” Just for good measure, I threw him a right jab to the face and knocked the fucker back out.

“We done here?” Kier asked me.

“We’re done,” I answered. As we walked to the front door, Em’s mum hovered in the doorway of one of the rooms, sporting a killer black eye.

“Did you kill him?” she asked me quietly, her head bent low. I waited until she looked me in the eyes.

“No, I didn’t. But let me tell you this. You’ve fucked me and my wife over for the last time. You betrayed her, and there ain’t nothing worse than being betrayed by someone you love. You tore a hole in her heart that can’t ever be fixed. Now you need to leave her alone so I can try.” She nodded her head solemnly.

There was nothing more to say. Kieran walked through the front door, and I followed, closing it behind me. The rain hammered down harder than I’d ever seen it. In seconds, we were soaked, but I stood there taking a moment to let it cleanse me of Frank’s stench. As the rain washed away the shit of my past, I felt redemption.

“Not that I want to interrupt, because I can see you’re having a moment there, but can we go home, please? ’Cause I’m freezing my feckin’ arse off out here, and by my reckoning, you’ve got a fair amount of making up to do with your woman,” Kieran informed me.

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “Don’t get your knickers in a knot. God forbid you’d have to ride home in wet underwear.” He rolled his eyes and jogged over to the truck.

“Kier, thanks for having my back,” I said to him, and he gave me his usual happy smile.

“Anytime, fuck nuts. Now come on. I really am freezing my bollocks off.”

We climbed into the truck and brought Liam and Tommy up to speed about what went down as we put Wales in the rearview mirror. I didn’t look back once. The past was behind me, and all I cared about now was the future.

Chapter 21

The block of flats was in darkness when Liam dropped me off. He idled by the curb with the engine running, and I looked at him funny wondering why he hadn’t driven away.

“There’s no way one of the boys isn’t sitting with her. After what happened tonight, Danny wouldn’t let her go home alone. Might as well give the poor bugger a lift rather than let him walk home in the rain for his trouble,” he explained.

“You’re a good man, Liam,” I said, and meaning it, as I reached into the window the window to shake his hand. With a nod of thanks to the other guys, I left them with Kieran, who was still bitching about his wet clothes and walked up to our place. Twisting my key gently in the lock so’s not to wake Em if she was sleeping, I walked in to find Earnshaw sitting in the chair reading one of Em’s books. She was curled up in the middle of the bed wearing one of my hoodies, her hair fanned out in a golden halo behind her.

“How’s she been?” I asked him.

“Not good,” he replied. “She stayed at the gym for a few hours but eventually Danny wanted to lock up and I offered to walk her home. She’s barely said two words all night,” he told me. I nodded my head, acknowledging that I’d fucked up much worse than I thought by leaving her.

“Liam’s downstairs. He’s gonna give you a lift home, and thanks for staying with her. I appreciate that,” I said.

“No problem,” he said as he put on his jacket.

“So do I still have a job or have you killed Frank?” he asked me.

“Unfortunately he’s alive and well, so it’s back to work tomorrow.”

“Not that I have anything but disgust for the fucker, but I’m glad to hear it.”

“See you tomorrow then,” I said.

“I’ll be there,” he replied. Looking briefly in Em’s direction, he added, “I hope she’s okay.”