Chapters (48)
- Cover
- THEFEUD
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
Waiting for Raymond to return was the longest wait of Eddie’s life. Ronny hadn’t helped with his stupid comments and jokes. Willing the kid to come through for him, Eddie smiled as he saw him running towards the van.
‘Drive, quick, go,’ Raymond said, as he leaped into the back.
Paulie and Ronny were stunned to see splashes of blood on Ray’s suit. He didn’t have a mark on him, so it couldn’t be his.
‘Are you OK? What happened?’ Eddie asked nervously.
Raymond was aware of his arms shaking as he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out bundles of £20 notes wrapped up in elastic bands. ‘There’s ten bundles there. I should imagine there’s a grand in each,’he managed to stutter.
Ronny couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘What the fuck? What did you do? Whose blood is it?’
Raymond put his head in his hands. ‘I had to kill him, I had no choice.’
Uncle Reg nearly took the van straight up the kerb. He’d seen some newcomers over the years, but none like this kid. ‘Don’t worry, son. We’ll get rid of the knife and your clothes and clean you up round mine.’
Seeing the shocked expression on the faces of his brothers, Eddie burst out laughing. ‘I think Raymond’s passed his little task, don’t you boys?’ he asked sarcastically.
Paulie immediately held his hand out to Raymond. ‘Well done, mate. Welcome to the family.’
Ronny had no choice other than to do the same. ‘I can’t believe you killed the cunt. How did it happen?’ he asked in awe.
Having by now composed himself a bit, Raymond repeated what had happened in full. ‘I knew he was dead immediately. Remember, I know by the eyes, I used to chop up dead animals, didn’t I?’
Thrilled by the way Raymond had come through for him, Eddie grabbed him in a playful headlock. ‘Well you certainly chopped up a big animal back there, didn’t you, eh?’
Uncle Reg lived in Bow, and within the hour, Raymond was as good as new. A bath had scrubbed the blood away, the knife was long gone and all his clothes, including his socks, pants and shoes, had been burnt to cinders. As he sat on the armchair wearing Uncle Reg’s clothes, Raymond was enjoying being the centre of attention.
‘You can’t go out like that. You look like fucking Alf Garnett,’ Paulie chuckled, as he handed the hero a large Scotch.
‘Thank God you moved into your new flat. Can you imagine your mother’s and father’s faces if you came home from work looking like that?’ Eddie said, ruffling his hair.