She pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, and ran a brush through her hair. She was still in good shape even after three kids; if anything, Ray desired her more now than he had before little Kathy’s birth. It had seemed to bring them closer than ever. She shook herself mentally and left the bedroom. She would go down and have a cup of tea and a chat with Annie. She needed to rid herself of these feelings, because they were without any real foundation. She ran lightly down the stairs and wondered if she was suffering from some kind of postnatal depression.

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight

Elton Mills had tried his best. Ray believed the lad had done all that was asked of him, and he knew in his heart that it would not have mattered who had gone to see the Carlton brothers – the outcome would have been the same. Henry fucking Kissinger could not have made a dent, and that was that.

Now it seemed Jack Johnson had what he really wanted: a reason to hold a grudge and therefore to take the businesses without a second thought. Ray personally didn’t give a fuck either way, but one thing he was sure of was that one of the Carlton brothers needed to be taken out. All that was left to them now was years of waiting out their lives in a series of different cells. Ray had done nine years and that had not been easy, but time inevitably passed even though it might seem to be crawling.

Ray had become addicted to Radio 4 in the nick. He had used the gym to wear himself out physically, and the radio to educate his mind. It had still been a fucking hard old road, because it was the boredom that often caused the worst lows. Depression was rife in prison environments, and the taking of life – either your own or someone else’s – was always a possibility. Petty arguments could quickly become massive feuds, as everything was heightened. Coping in prison was all about a mindset, and he wasn’t sure that Teddy Carlton had the balls for what he was about to endure. Bobby, on the other hand, would probably fare better. He was, at least, a realist, whereas Teddy Carlton didn’t have the savvy to see what the future actually held for him.