About the Book
Survival.
It’s all down to who you trust.
Aiden O’Hara has been head of the family since he was kid, and he’s going to keep it that way.
Jade Dixon is the one who watches his back. Mother of his son. The one who makes him invincible.
But Jade’s been in the game a lot longer than Aiden. She knows no one’s indestructible.
And when you’re at the top, that’s when you’ve got to watch the hardest.
Especially the ones closest to you . . .
About Martina Cole
Martina Cole was just 18 when she got pregnant with her son. Living in a council flat with no TV and no money to go out, she started writing to entertain herself.
It would be ten years before she did anything with what she wrote.
She chose her agent for his name – Darley Anderson – and sent him the manuscript, thinking he was a woman. That was on a Friday. Monday night, she was doing the vacuuming when she took the call: a man’s voice said ‘Martina Cole, you are going to be a big star’.
The rest is history: Dangerous Lady caused a sensation when it was published, and launched one of the bestselling fiction writers of her generation. Martina has gone on to have more No. 1 original fiction bestsellers than any other author.
She won the British Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year with The Take, which then went on to be a hit TV series for Sky 1. Four of her novels have made it to the screen, with more in production, and three have been adapted as stage plays.
She is proud to be an Ambassador for charities including Reading Ahead and Gingerbread, the council for one-parent families. In 2013, she was inducted to the Crime Writer’s Association Hall of Fame, and in 2014 received a Variety Legends of Industry Award.
Her son is a grown man now, and she lives in Kent with her daughter – except when she chases the sun to Cyprus, where she has two bookshops.
Her unique, powerful storytelling is acclaimed for its hard-hitting, true-to-life style – there is no one else who writes like Martina Cole.
THIS IS WHAT THEY SAY
ABOUT MARTINA COLE . . .
‘The stuff of legend. It’s vicious, nasty . . . and utterly compelling’
Mirror on FACELESS
‘Her gripping plots pack a mean emotional punch’
Mail on Sunday on THE RUNAWAY
‘A blinding good read’
Ray Winstone on THE KNOW
‘Intensely readable’
Guardian on FACELESS
‘Right from the start, she has enjoyed unqualified approval for her distinctive and powerfully written fiction’
The Times on BROKEN
‘An extraordinarily powerful piece of family drama’
Daily Mirror on THE BUSINESS
‘The acknowledged mistress of the insanely readable gangster thriller, Cole has delivered another addictive tale of men of violence and the women who love them . . . brutally compelling’
Sunday Mirror on GET EVEN
‘We always get excited when a Martina Cole novel drops on our desk, and she continues to maintain her reputation as one of the best fiction authors around with this gritty and unforgettable story of a family immersed in a world of violence and revenge. Spectacular’ 5*
Closer on THE LIFE
‘Martina tells it like it really is and her unique, honest and compassionate style shines through’
Sun on THE TAKE
‘The queen of crime’
Woman & Home on HARD GIRLS
‘Dark and dangerous’
Sunday Mirror
‘Thrilling, shocking and exceptionally written, you’ll get lost in this gritty novel, which proves there really is only one Martina Cole’
Closer on REVENGE
‘The undisputed queen of British crime thrillers’
Heat on GET EVEN
Copyright © 2016 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 2016
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
Mother Courage and Her Children © Bertolt Brecht, 1939
eISBN: 978 1 4722 0106 5
Cover photography © Larry Rostant
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.headline.co.uk
www.hachette.co.uk
Contents
Title Page
About the Book
About Martina Cole
Praise
Also by Martina Cole
Dedication
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
Book Two
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
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Book Three
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
Book Four
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
Chapter One Hundred and Nine
Book Five
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
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five
Epilogue
Martina Cole’s 22 bestsellers (so far) – in order of publication. All available from Headline.
Dangerous Lady (1992)
The Ladykiller: DI Kate Burrows 1 (1993)
Goodnight Lady (1994)
The Jump (1995)
The Runaway (1997)
Two Women (1999)
Broken: DI Kate Burrows 2 (2000)
Faceless (2001)*
Maura’s Game: Dangerous Lady 2 (2002)*
The Know (2003)*
The Graft (2004)*
The Take (2005)*
Close (2006)*
Faces (2007)*
The Business (2008)*
Hard Girls: DI Kate Burrows 3 (2009)*
The Family (2010)*
The Faithless (2011)*
The Life (2012)*
Revenge (2013)*
The Good Life (2014)*
Get Even (2015)
On Screen:
Dangerous Lady (ITV 1995)
The Jump (ITV 1998)
Martina Cole’s Lady Killers (ITV3 documentary 2003)
The Take (Sky 1 2009)
Martina Cole’s Girl Gangs (Sky Factual documentary 2009)
The Runaway (Sky 1 2011)
*Martina Cole’s No. 1 bestsellers – at time of press she has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other author
For Freddie Mary and Lewis Clark
Still my kahuna burgers, even all growed up!
And for Debbie in the Karakum shop!
You’re a lifesaver!
Book One
Behold my mother and my brethren!
Matthew 12:49
When lovely woman stoops to folly
And finds too late that men betray,
What charm can soothe her melancholy,
What art can wash her guilt away?
The Vicar of Wakefield, Oliver Goldsmith (1728–74)
Chapter One
1981
Reeva O’Hara’s voice was loud and harsh as it always was when she had what she considered to be an audience. Even at 8.15 a.m. in her local Co-op, Reeva never failed to entertain. Her saving grace was she could be very funny when the fancy took her.
‘So I said, “Go and find your fucking fathers and get some sweet money off them!”’ She screeched with laughter at her own wit and a few of the other mothers in the busy shop joined in.
Reeva’s ever-present cigarette was dangling from her red-stained lips and her distended belly told anyone who cared to look that she was nearly on her time.
Jack Walters, the manager of the Co-op, liked Reeva. She wasn’t a bad girl really – she had just been badly used in her time by the many men she seemed to attract. She attracted him. She was a good-looking young woman with a warm and generous personality and clearly a healthy attitude towards sex – unlike his wife, Doris, who thought it should take place in the pitch dark and as fast as humanly possible. Jack kept that gem of wisdom to himself though; Doris was as narrow-minded as she was skinny. It was like shagging a skeleton.
Doris Walters was looking at Reeva with barely disguised contempt. Reeva was everything she thought was wrong with the modern world.
‘Can I help you, Reeva?’ Doris’s voice said it all and no one was in any doubt that Reeva understood the tone completely.
Reeva smiled a big encompassing smile that completely transformed her face and said loudly, ‘Whatever happened to service with a smile? You’ve got a boatrace on you that could stop a fucking clock!’ Reeva leaned forwards as if they were alone before she bellowed, ‘Caught him with his cock out again, have you?’
Jack Walters closed his eyes in distress as the shop erupted into gales of good-natured laughter.
‘Don’t worry, Doris, it happens to the best of us, mate!’ someone shouted from the queue behind.
Doris looked at the young woman who she loathed with all her being. Hearing the laughter around her, she turned and walked into the back of the shop, as Reeva screamed out once more, ‘I’ll take that as a yes, then, shall I!’
She turned to Jack Walters and said kindly, mimicking his wife’s voice, ‘One will have ten No. 10, my good man!’
The laughter started up again. Jack served her silently, but everyone could see that he was trying hard not to laugh with her.
That was Reeva O’Hara; she was like Marmite – you either loved or hated her.
Chapter Two
Doris Walters felt sick with humiliation. Trust the whore to bring that up in front of the other customers.
Her eyes were burning with unshed tears. She had to swallow the urge to go back out front, pick up a piece of wood and fell that painted trollop to the floor. That’s exactly what she was with all those bloody kids! All different colours, all with different fathers! Yet Reeva O’Hara walked around like she was someone. Hair done, make-up on, attracting attention – Doris saw her own husband looking at her – even though she was ready to drop another bastard on the Welfare State.
But that was it these days: have kids and let everyone else pay for them – honest, hard-working people like herself. They got a council house and furniture provided. It was disgraceful the way these young girls carried on. Whereas people like Doris, who had finished her education, worked, and done it right, were left childless, having to watch as the Reevas of the world dropped chavvies like it was nothing. Which it was to her, obviously. What was this one? Doris screwed up her eyes in concentration for a few seconds. It would be Reeva’s fifth child in twelve years. She had had the first one when she was fourteen years old! Brazen as you like, she’d been – belly on display like she had done something good. She had given birth to four handsome sons, one after the other – and even Doris had to admit in her more charitable moments they were always clean and well turned out. They were polite too which was amazing considering what they had to listen to on a daily basis; that girl had a mouth like a city doc
ker.