Jack Johnson poured out his eighteen-year-old Scotch and he was amused to see that young Elton was apparently not much of a drinker. Well, he would soon learn to enjoy life while you had it. In their game, it could be over before it had even really started. He had seen that happen time and time again. Youth, as Oscar Wilde had once said, was wasted on the young! If only they knew that it was just a hop and a skip to a life tariff. But he kept his thoughts to himself. Why fuck with the lad’s head? But the truth was, he had now irritated Jack with his youthful arrogance and that did not augur well for the future. Jack would happily have him on the payroll, but that did not mean he had to like him. Now, though, he would feel honour-bound to watch him, which was a different thing altogether. Jack had the final word, and the sooner this little fucker realised that, the better off he would be.

Ray understood the situation immediately; he would lose no time in explaining all that to young Elton Mills, who he liked, but would never really trust one hundred per cent – not until he had proved himself anyway.

Young Elton realised that he had somehow made a faux pas. He would use that knowledge to make sure that this never happened to him again. He was ready to follow Ray Donovan as far as he wanted him to. Elton also knew that Jack Johnson was not as enamoured of him as he would have liked him to be. But he understood that this was something that he could not control. His best shot was with Ray Donovan and he was pleased about that. He knew he was still very young and that he had an inflated opinion of himself. He had read all the books on psychology and psychopathy – he knew better than anyone did what he really was. He also knew that he had to feign humility and he was willing to do that if the circumstances needed it.

He remembered being in care as a young lad, and learning early on that no one was going to look out for you – you had to look out for yourself. And that was exactly what he was determined to do. He would rise above the shit he had been born into. He had killed for the right reason and for the wrong reason. Now he would do whatever it took to make his mark on the world and give himself a life that he had only ever dreamed of.

Reggie watched the changing expressions on the boy’s face and had a feeling that, once he was permanently allied with Ray Donovan, there would be no stopping them. For some reason that knowledge bothered him.

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Six