As he stepped out of the shadows, he noticed another car pull into the car park. It was the type of car Eddie always noticed. A sleek black Audi with tinted windows. The pub staff had all left; Eddie had watched them leave. Only Nathan and Grace were in there. So, who was this? He watched as a large man stepped out of the car and let himself into the back door of the pub; the entry that only people who were expected or who had a key to the place could use. Even in the darkness, Eddie recognized the man as Ben McKinley, Nathan’s long-time friend and ally.

He waited there in the shadows. A few minutes later he watched as Grace emerged from the same door Ben had just used. She looked around, scanning the streets for any sign of life. As she opened her car door, she glanced around her again, before climbing in and driving off.

Something didn’t feel right. The tiny hairs on the back of Eddie’s neck stood to attention. He’d developed a sixth sense when it came to trouble. Deciding he didn’t want to hang around outside any longer, he jogged over the road to the rear of the pub, sure that something was going on. And whatever it was, he was certain he could use the situation to his advantage. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. His chance to impress Nathan Conlon and prove to him that he was the just the type of man he needed by his side.

Nathan had been Eddie’s hero since he was a teenager. Growing up on a rough housing estate, he’d been in awe of the men who worked for Mr Conlon, as he was known around those parts. He’d even done a bit of running for some of them. They always seemed to have an abundance of money, women, and fast cars. They reigned in Eddie’s neighbourhood, and no one dared to mess with them, because Nathan Conlon wouldn’t allow it. He looked after his lads. He made sure they were treated like kings.

Eddie would have done anything to be one of those lads, and it was becoming so close he could almost taste it. He’d been trying to infiltrate Nathan’s inner circle for months. He’d even thought his mum’s friendship with Grace could be a way in, but his mum had told him that Grace hated Nathan and there was no way she’d help him. Eddie didn’t believe that. If it was true, then Grace spent a lot of time with a man she apparently hated, but Eddie kept his own counsel on that. He had learned that his mouth could get him into all kinds of trouble, but his ears never would. He held onto pieces of information like they were poker chips, ready to be used at the most appropriate opportunity.