Grace watched Sean as he tucked into his carbonara. She knew she only had to say the word and he would deal with Nathan for her. Make him disappear and guarantee the body would never be found. In fact, any of the Carters would. All she had to do was ask. It made her chest hurt to think that one day she might have to. The knowledge that she held the balance of so many lives in her hands sometimes made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. She felt like one of the clowns at the travelling circus her dad used to take her to, frantically running around trying to keep all of her plates spinning in the air. One false move could bring everything crashing down around them all.

She had to find out what Nathan was up to, and figure out a way to deal with him that wouldn’t put anyone she cared about in danger, least of all Jake. Because if Nathan won, they would all lose.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nathan sat in the expensive leather chair in his office and poured himself a glass of his favourite fifty-year-old malt. Leaning back, the old leather creaking under the weight of his body, he put his feet on the desk. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He’d been out of prison for over four months and things still weren’t working out as he’d hoped. Apart from buying The Blue Rooms from his former boss’s widow, Sharon McNulty, he’d struggled to get any of his business plans off the ground.

He still had his main business and was a key player in the supply of drugs across vast parts of Merseyside, but he’d had his sights set on much bigger and more lucrative endeavours. Yet someone seemed to be one step ahead of him all the time. What was even more infuriating was that he couldn’t find out who the hell it was. His lads had put feelers out across Liverpool but had been unable to come up with a name. How was he supposed to take down his biggest rival if he didn’t know who they were?

Taking a large swig of his whisky, Nathan heard the knock at his office door.

‘Come in,’ he barked, hoping it was the man he’d been waiting for.

The door opened, and Nathan was pleased to see Eric ‘the Echo’ Evans. As his nickname suggested, there was little that went on in Liverpool that Eric didn’t know about. At first, even Eric hadn’t had any information on Nathan’s competition. But motivated by a very generous reward, Eric promised to use all of his considerable contacts and resources to find some.

‘Anything for me?’ Nathan asked as Eric took a seat in the chair opposite him.