Terry Allen was not smiling now. He had made two very dangerous enemies, and his plan of being seen by his peers as a man who had no fear of the Baileys was suddenly moot. Everyone would now know that he had been given a serious tug and, unless he was seen to retaliate somehow, his credibility was basically fucked. He had no intention of causing a tear-up in Peter’s house – there were far too many Baileys under one roof to even contemplate such a foolish action. But he could bide his time.

Daniel could almost read the man’s thoughts, and he loved that both he and Peter still had the skill to suss out a situation for what it was. This ponce had thought he could use this night as his chance to make the Baileys look weak. Now it had been made clear to him that he wasn’t in their league, the humiliation he was about to endure would guarantee that he would not forget this lesson in a hurry.

‘Get your brother, and your crew, and get out.’

Daniel’s voice was low, almost bored-sounding, and Terry Allen knew that he had no option but to leave.

‘Come on, I’ve apologised, we are mates, ain’t we?’

Peter Bailey stood up, and Terrence Allen was reminded of just how big he was; he had misjudged the situation badly.

‘What part of “fuck off” don’t you get, Terry?’

When he left the office, Daniel and Peter started to laugh, once more in perfect sync. Together they were invincible, and that made them both feel good. They could feel the sheer power of their combined strength, and suddenly they were reminded of the early days, how they had worked so well as a team and taken whatever they wanted. The Allens’ departure would be noted, talked about, and they would not forgive them the humiliation in a hurry. But people like the Allens needed to be taken down a few pegs before things got too out of hand.

The Allens were fucking good earners and, if they had used their brains, they would have been given a lot more responsibility. Peter and Daniel had had great plans for them, but they had fucked it all up now. They were mugs of the first water – arrogant, grasping and not prepared to wait for what they believed was their right. Well, they would find their operations seriously curtailed for a while. Let them see who was actually running the whole show.

‘Shall we get a drink, bruv?’

Peter grinned. ‘You took the words right out of my mouth.’

Chapter Ninety-Six

‘Good night or what?’ Liam climbed into the car beside his brother.

‘One of the best, bruv.’