‘I’m glad to hear it, sis, because this time it’s for real. I love her.’

Liam laughed at his sister’s expression. She was fantastic, his Imelda, but she had no idea how his mind worked. He didn’t give a toss what his bird did for a living – he thought she was the proverbial dog’s knob, and that was enough as far as he was concerned.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Daniel looked at Tommy Barker with genuine interest. He had picked up on the fact that his mother really did like him and, from what he could see, he liked her. He had done his homework, and it seemed that Tommy was a straight arrow. He had murdered someone, granted, but it seemed he was well within his rights, and he had done his time – and a serious fucking lump at that. He had come out, was still on licence, he had a bit of an earn – a good earn in fact – and he had more or less kept his nose clean. He was well respected by his peers, and it looked as if he genuinely liked his mother’s company.

His mum was notorious for outing her paramours within a few weeks; she had always had her diversions, but she had never brought a man into her sons’ lives. Both Peter and Daniel had appreciated that. Ironically, at this late stage, it now seemed to be a distinct possibility.

Daniel was surprised that he didn’t really care either way. Years before, he knew that if she had brought a man into their home, he would have felt honour-bound to see that he was removed, would have seen his presence as a fucking insult. As a rival almost, he supposed, shocked at the thought. Now, though, he didn’t really care. She was old and he was a grown man with his own family. She still looked out for him – as today had proved – but she was entitled to her own life now. He wondered briefly if that was a good thing, and found he couldn’t answer that question.

Lena seemed wary of the old fucker, but Tania had taken to him straight off. She seemed to like him, and they said that kids had a built-in radar. This Tommy Barker was a big old lump. In his day he would have been someone to respect, he would have been – in fact, from what Daniel had heard, had been – a man who people were wary of, who had a decent reputation. Even now, as old as he was, he still had a certain air about him; you could see he had been a serious fucking handful in his day.

Daniel stood up. ‘What can I get you, Tommy? The drinks are on me.’

Tommy Barker had his arm around Theresa. He inclined his head. ‘I’ll have a large Scotch, Daniel, thank you very much.’