Jack was heart-sorry for the woman, but she seemed devoid of emotion and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with shock. Clearly there was a large part of her that resented her daughter-in-law and the way she managed to keep those boys away from their grandparents. Lesley, being the woman she was, didn’t think that it might have had something to do with her husband.

She was already formulating a scenario where this was Sharon’s fault. The girl had not waited long before taking up with another man, after all. That it had, in truth, been a couple of years, Lesley conveniently overlooked. Oh, she knew whose door to lay the blame at and it wasn’t her poor husband who would have been caught up in that whore’s web of lies.

Lesley was gulping more brandy now, trying to convince herself that she was right in her assumptions. But, even in her drink-fuddled mind, she still couldn’t quite manage it. That, she knew, would take time.

Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen

Ray Donovan was like a man possessed. To think his Sharon should have to put up with that, even after Big Lenny had been warned off, was unbelievable. Well, as far as he was concerned, it ended now. He was in a small lock-up garage in West Malling in Kent, waiting patiently for Reggie and Barton to bring the guilty party to him. There was no one living close enough to hear anything, which is why he had chosen this exact spot.

He opened a bottle of Chivas Regal whisky and poured himself a stiff shot. He was almost excited at the prospect of what he was going to do. He had thought this was all over for him, but now that he had to avenge the woman he loved, he was pleased to bring this part of his life back to the fore. He had been good at what he did – an artist at it really. He glanced at the workbench with the array of tools laid out and he smiled nastily to himself. Big Lenny ‘the fucking Big I Am’ Scott was going to regret his actions for the rest of his days, or his name wasn’t Ray Donovan. This was personal now and Big Lenny Scott was going to find out that some urges were best left unexplored. Trying to fuck your dead son’s wife was one of them. Ray was as disgusted as he was angry. Poor Sharon had not asked for any of this. She’d had her fair share of heartbreak and, if it was in his power, she would not be getting any more.