About the Book
Playing grown-ups, the future is theirs for the taking.
Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart. Sharon doesn’t question Lenny’s business dealings and it isn’t long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.
It leaves a stain on her heart for ever.
But one night Lenny doesn’t come home. It isn’t the first time he has gone AWOL. But it is his last. He is found murdered – beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police. And Sharon never knows why.
Old wounds will surface.
Now, twenty years later, Sharon has found out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue. The time has come to . . . GET EVEN.
About Martina Cole
Martina Cole is the acknowledged queen of crime drama. Her most recent novel, THE GOOD LIFE, was a No. 1 bestseller in hardback 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 One 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 fourteen 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 © 2015 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.
This Ebook edition was first published by Headline Publishing Group in 2015
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 0102 7
© Symphonie/Getty Images
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
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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-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
Book Two
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
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
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
Book 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
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
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
Book Four
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
Book Five
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-One
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Three
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Four
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Five
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-One
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Three
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Four
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Six
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Seven
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Eight
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Nine
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
Get Even
For the Fredster and baby Chris,
my beautiful daughter and grandson.
And for my Clarkie boy!
My big grandson and Nanny’s boy.
Prologue
God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:13
Sharon was drinking a glass of wine and wondering how her wonderful, charmed life had been reduced to this. She had once been the envy of all her friends. But the reality could not have been more different to the illusion.
She closed her eyes and pictured her first husband, Lenny Scott, in her mind’s eye. She had started going out with him at thirteen and married him at seventeen, much to her parents’ chagrin. But they had been so happy together – they had had two sons and that had cemented their relationship.
Then he had been brutally murdered, found tortured and battered to death one night – and that was it.
That same night she had also uncovered his secret – the secret he had kept from her and everyone around him for so many years. A secret that would have caused untold aggravation and upset in the world of Faces, affecting her boys’ lives into the bargain, if it had ever been revealed.
But what good had keeping the secret done them really? Today she had visited her sons in prison, and they had acted like being there was just a game. They had killed someone and they thought it was funny. How had she allowed that to happen? How had she not realised that they were broken and turning into fucking thugs? Because that was all they were. They weren’t even true Faces; they had just beaten a man to death for no reason. She couldn’t believe that her two boys, who she had had such hopes for, could have turned out so wrong.
She swallowed down her tears, because tears were useless. Life was shite, really. No matter how great you thought it was, it could always creep up and bite you on the arse when you least expected it. Well, fuck it! She had never known the reason behind her Lenny’s death. She had lived all these years in ignorance – until tonight the one man left in her life that she trusted had told her the truth. And now there was no going back.
She gulped at her glass of wine. She needed the alcohol to get through this. Tonight she was going to right some wrongs. No matter what danger it might bring to her door, there was no stopping what was about to happen.
Young Lenny Scott and his little brother, Liam, were laughing raucously together. They were a handful, as the POs would say – protected, not just by their father’s name, but by the man who had become their stepfather; the boys knew this as well as the POs did. They more or less had a free pass – it was galling, but it was the truth. Being on remand for the first time was an adventure, but one of the older prison officers, Eric Marks, could tell from experience that they were not as hard as they thought they were.
The younger one was not taking to prison life quite as easily as his older brother. Liam Scott was not cut out for the regime prison insisted on: slopping out, eating at set times, early fucking nights. Unlike his older brother, Lenny, he appeared to be losing interest in this ‘adventure’ on an hourly basis. The fact that their mother had cunted them into the ground in front of everyone on a visit earlier that day had not helped matters either. Now they were being laughed at – just not to their faces. They might be in for murder, but they had clout and that could guarantee them a short sentence. It was such a waste, because they were clever, handsome, well-educated lads, and with a few quid behind them. Shame they didn’t think about that – and their mother who had buried their father after he had been killed. Eric would lay money that that horror had left its mark on her, and probably on those lads as well.
He sighed heavily. Twenty years in this job and he was still continually disappointed in Mother Nature. Murderers, he had decided early on in his career, were a breed apart. Some of them had good reason, or were provoked, but he still saw so many lives ruined thanks to a drunken fight or a drugged confrontation that had got out of hand. And then there were the young Lennys and Liams of the world who simply thought it was all a joke.
One thing Eric would give their mother – she, at least, knew that what they had done was wrong and she had told them as much that afternoon in the visiting room. Maybe, just maybe, there w
as hope for these lads yet. Not that he would hold his breath, of course.
Sharon’s daughter, Kathy, was frightened and ashamed. Everything had blown up in her face, and she finally realised the seriousness of what she had done – and what she had caused.
She felt the tears coming again, hot and wet. She had always been a good crier, and normally that was enough to make her dad give her what she wanted. But not tonight. Tonight she had known what it was to go too far; her mum and dad were not going to make it all right again as they normally did when she fucked up. This time her actions could cause actual murder. Worst of all, her father would never look at her in the same way again. She had let him down badly, and her mum. Her dad had always given in to her – it had been her mum who had been the bad bastard, telling her a big resounding ‘no’ when she didn’t think she deserved or had earned whatever it was Kathy decided she wanted. Now she saw that all these years her mum had been trying to look out for her; Kathy had hated her for that when Sharon had simply been trying to help her daughter to help herself.
Kathy picked up her mobile and tried the number again, but there was no answer. She threw the phone at the wall in frustration. It was so unfair. Well, fuck him! He was always ignoring her calls so let him deal with her father himself. After all, that’s what she’d had to do.
Reggie Dornan was so angry he felt that he could take on Man Mountain Dean with one hand tied behind his back and come out on top. He had been mugged off, betrayed in the worst possible way, and there was no chance he was taking this lying down. Tonight was the end. And please God in His heaven it all worked out because that would finally make him feel that he had seen through his promise to look after Lenny Scott’s family. He owed Sharon because he had broken her heart once. Oh, he owed her fucking big time. He would do everything in his power to make sure that Lenny Scott would be remembered. And Reggie Dornan always paid his debts.
Sharon held Kathy in her arms but she was still furious with her; her daughter was a spoiled brat and that needed to be addressed.
‘I am so sorry, Mummy. Please believe me. I am so very sorry.’
Sharon looked down at her beautiful face. Kathy was just like her father: what she wanted she took, no matter who got hurt or who might have to pay the price for her enjoyment.
‘You’re not really sorry, Kath! You are just sorry it all fell out of bed.’
She pushed her daughter away from her and left her crying bitter tears. It amazed Sharon how dispassionate she could feel at her daughter’s obvious distress. But, then, was it really surprising after what she had heard this night? Her daughter’s predicament was nothing to her right now. Maybe tomorrow, if it all worked out, she would have the time and energy to try and help her out of the corner Kathy had finally painted herself into. But now she had other things on her mind.