Claydon’s face was so contorted with rage: his eyes glazed over, and his jaw tightened. ‘Who the fuck d’ya think you are? Telling me to fucking run along? My arse. The only one ’ere who’s gonna get mugged off is you, ya prick. Now, outside. Me and you are gonna have a straightener!’

Ricky’s eyebrows were nearly raised to the roof as he deliberately sighed. ‘Are you kidding me? I’ve only just got ’ere. I ain’t even finished me pint or got this gorgeous young lady’s phone number. I’ll tell ya what, though, and it’s my best offer. Come back at the end of the night, and if ya still want a straightener, then you can have one. I can’t say fairer than that, now can I?’

Claydon couldn’t believe the words coming out of the kid’s mouth. In fact, he was so utterly gobsmacked, he looked to his brother for some support. But Clive was just as surprised.

‘You silly little prick! Do you know who we are?’ came a slightly slurred growl from Clive.

Ricky curled his top lip and shook his head. ‘Nah, I can’t say I do. But, anyway, like I said, come back at the end, and we’ll have a straightener.’

With that, he turned to face Arty and Liam. Claydon’s and Clive’s eyes followed, and as violent as they themselves were, they were also aware that the likes of Stafford and Ritz were dangerous fuckers, who would pull a tool out and know precisely how to use it.

Claydon nudged his brother and both were about to leave, but Arty stood in their way. ‘Not so fast. I think you owe our mate an apology. I don’t like it when anyone in my company gets called a “prick”.’

Claydon was now fuelled by the drugs in his system; he wasn’t going to be mugged off. ‘Fuck off, Stafford, or me and you will take this outside.’

Liam let out a deep laugh. ‘Cor, you’ve got ya brave hat on, Claydon.’

With that, the Cables pushed past Arty and Liam and left.

Arty then shot Ricky a frown. ‘You wanna be careful, mate. They can have a serious ruck.’

Ricky grinned again. ‘Yep, Art, me too. But I just didn’t wanna have one right now.’

Kendall watched the handsome young man, admiring his confidence. Yet it was his adorable grey eyes that drew her in. And there was so much else about him that was really impressive. He had gorgeous dimples and broad shoulders. She wondered if he was just a time-waster and hoped he wasn’t. If she could have, she would have played hard to get, but then she clocked a small group of girls all made-up and looking Ricky’s way, so she thought it was a good idea to get in first.