Lenny nodded. He wasn’t really looking forward to it if he was honest. He wasn’t happy about leaving Sharon and his newborn son. But then she had her mum who was never off the doorstep and if Jack wanted to give him a birthday night out with the men, he couldn’t refuse it. Plus, Jack was right – the lads deserved a night out occasionally, and this would cement his place as head of the firm, after Jack. His quick mind combined with his sheer size was something only a few of the men possessed. His accuracy with mathematics and fractions was something most of the workforce now depended on him for. He knew how lucky he was, and he was not going to nause it up.

He would have a great night; after all, it was his birthday.

They busied themselves sorting out the money paid, and the problem payers who might need a bit of an incentive. They sent round different men for different problems. But there was one family that was starting to get on Jack’s tits, and he wanted young Lenny to pay them a call personally. He had had enough shilly-shallying; they were taking the fucking piss now. Lenny assured him he would sort it on his way home. Jack smiled happily. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Dornans were one of those families that seemed never-ending. There were Dornans all over the show; they were numerous, and they were troublesome – especially the ones who still lived with their mother.

Jane Dornan was a big, blowsy blonde, with a constant cigarette hanging from her mouth and the manners of an Irish navvy. No one really liked her on the estate, but everyone was wary of her and her extended brood of children. Janey, as she was known, kept a filthy home that was jam-packed with all the latest gadgets, and her children were dressed in designer clothes, all obtained thanks to thievery and loans. Janey’s children were what the police called a ‘one family crime wave’. If the older ones weren’t drug dealing or on the rob, it was the younger ones terrorising people and generally wrecking anything they came into contact with.