‘She said something really weird to me,’ Jill told him one night in bed. ‘She said, “Do you partake?” I didn’t know what the hell she meant, but I’m guessing it was either sex or drugs or both.’

‘Ah, it was probably nothing,’ Terry told his wife, but he was thinking of the way Nula was always eyeballing him – even though she was now officially Charlie’s girl.

Charlie had told him how hot Nula was, up for anything.

‘Hot as fucking mustard,’ he’d told his mate with a wink.

Terry was thinking about that ‘partake’ comment. All right, he knew Charlie was wild, but a woman, well, you expected her to have some standards. He counted himself lucky that his Jill was a one-man woman. He was proud of that fact. And she hadn’t protested when he’d told her about the business they were involved in.

‘We all got to be friends,’ he’d told Jill. ‘We work together.’

‘Yeah, and soon we’ll practically live together an’ all, won’t we?’ said Jill acidly.

Terry sighed.

Jill had kicked off when she’d been told of Charlie’s new plan. A two-up two-down on the manor was no longer good enough for Charlie and Nula Stone. They were looking at big gaffs out Essex way, talking about having one house for the Stones and another nearby for Terry and his tribe. What, live in Charlie’s pocket and in close proximity to Nula, who was already lording it over her because she was Mrs Charlie Stone? Jill’s shrieks of protest could be heard in the next county.

‘It won’t be attached, doll,’ Terry promised, to calm her down. ‘It’ll be separate, our own little place. No mortgage to bother about, no rent.’

‘And all paid for by Charlie Stone.’

‘So what? I work for Charlie. You know that. He wants me close.’

Terry knew that Charlie had decided, when the money had really started to roll in, that he needed space and country air. Charlie and Nula had scouted out a huge grand house with a pool. Him and Nula would live in the main house, which was practically a mansion, Terry and Jill in the much older – but still very grand – gatehouse down at the end of the drive. Jill didn’t like old buildings and protested about the idea, but she didn’t have a leg to stand on. Charlie wanted this, and he wanted Terry right there as his wingman, just like always; so the deal was done.