He liked the idea of faceless retribution; it appealed to his sense of honour, and Micky, as mad as he could be, was an honourable man. He had treated George Thomas with the utmost respect and that cunt had walked all over him. People needed a lesson in social graces every now and then, and this would send out the word that George had crossed a line and that line had been his downfall. It wouldn’t take a blind dog long to sniff out that Micky was probably in on it, but as long as no one could prove it, he was basically home and dry.

This was definitely money well spent. It had solved the age-old problem of ‘me or them’ – and that was what the world they lived in could often be about. He felt good – his only regret being that he had had to forfeit the bragging rights.

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Eight

Ray slipped into his house at just after midnight. He had decided that coming home earlier than Sharon had expected would please her. She was still up watching Beaches with her mother. He liked Bette Midler but there were only so many times he could sit through that shit. He popped his head around the front-room door, and when he saw the genuine relief on his Sharon’s face he felt almost as if he could cry with happiness. He could be a very emotional man, and sometimes he felt that the great love he bore for this woman and her boys was a weakness. He accepted that it was his nature to be sentimental – he was the same with his old mum; watching her sometimes brought tears close to the surface. She had looked out for him his whole life, and she was a decent woman and an exemplary mother.

‘I managed to get away, darling.’

She was straight into his arms and Ivy looked on happily. This was a real love job and she was so pleased for her girl. She said her goodnights and left them alone.

Sharon was thrilled to have him back a day early and she knew then that he had come home just to be with her – just to stop her worrying – and she felt bad about her thoughts. Ray loved her and he loved her boys. She was blessed with this man, and she would put her fears out of her mind in the future.

Ray was happy to see the relief and pleasure on Sharon’s face. He knew that he had done the right thing and, as he held her to him lovingly, he wondered absently how George Thomas was getting on at the hospital. Then he put the matter completely out of his head. The one thing a man should never do was take his work home with him.