Get Even (26 page)

She brought the beers in to the men, and agreed with Reggie that Ray would start working for her the next day as her number two and, with that in mind, she went to bed for the first time in years a happy woman.

Ray Donovan had looked at Sharon Scott and felt a tremendous – and unexpected – desire to look after her. She was a beautiful woman, but she was also very vulnerable. If ever a woman needed a man to look out for her then she was the one – alone with two young sons and no man on the horizon. Her husband, he knew, had been brutally murdered and that had left Sharon and her children bereft in all ways. He had never felt such a pull before, never felt such a rush of emotion as he had with this Sharon Scott. He sensed that she reciprocated his feelings – he wasn’t a fool. Women liked him – they always had – but he wasn’t a man to flit from girl to girl. He wanted something more than that. He wanted a woman he could love deeply and who he could respect.

He had known that Reggie Dornan was a queer. He had encountered enough in the clink and he could smell them from a mile off. He also knew that Reggie Dornan had to be very careful that no one in their world ever guessed about that part of his make-up. It wasn’t as enlightened in the criminal world as things were on the BBC. Gay men were looked on with suspicion and it was still seen as a weakness. To the old guard it was looked upon as an aberration, something to be frightened of. Personally, he couldn’t give a flying fuck. But he knew his world and, for men like Reggie Dornan, it was a dangerous path. He admired him actually because he knew how hard it was to live a lie. He knew that better than anyone.

Sharon Scott opened her door at 7 a.m. to Ray Donovan. She was shocked once more at the sheer size of him. He walked through to the kitchen and she saw the awe on her sons’ faces as he introduced himself. She poured him a coffee and watched delightedly as he conversed with her boys and they chatted back, perfectly at ease with this man who was going to be her minder. He was a natural with kids; he talked to them as equals and listened to what they had to say. It was good for her sons to have a man around, and she was pleased that she had already put on her make-up and dressed herself carefully. She liked this man and she had a feeling that he liked her.

For the first time since her husband’s death, it felt as though things were looking up. She had needed someone to take her mind off things and this man, this Ray Donovan, was exactly the one to do it for her.

She cooked him eggs and bacon and, as she placed the plate in front of him, he smiled at her and she knew that whatever happened she would be hard pressed to be without him already.

Jamie Brewer was what was known as a fucker. He loved the epithet, and he lived up to it at every available opportunity. He was miffed, seriously miffed, that the cab ranks that were the property of Sharon Scott were not his to take. Oh, he appreciated that her old man had been a Face and that she had Jack Johnson and that arrogant cunt of a man, Reggie Dornan, on her side. But, as far as he was concerned, he needed those ranks to add to his growing empire.

Jamie was not that tall but he was broad and he had laughing, brown eyes and blond hair, the combination of which made women give him a second look. Jamie loved women; he had even considered fucking Sharon to get what he wanted. It appealed to him to fuck the widow of Lenny Scott, but one meeting with her had assured him she would not be swayed to his way of thinking. If he was honest, that had annoyed him too – women were usually inclined to fall at his feet. He was determined to get what he wanted, no matter what it took. If that meant frightening her, then that was what he would do. Jamie was a natural-born bully. He liked to intimidate and he enjoyed other people’s discomfort. He relished their fear. He felt that anyone who had what he wanted should remember that he would move heaven and fucking earth to take it from them. It was what he had always done and he saw no reason to change his ways now. Jack Johnson was a fucking dinosaur and that cunt Reggie Dornan needed a fucking slap. Who did they think they were?

He would put himself out now to prove his point. Sharon Scott was a fucking female who wanted to live in a man’s world. That meant she would have to be treated like a man. See how she liked that. As the old saying went, how could you trust anything that bled once a month and didn’t die?

He was smiling as he made his plans. He would put the fuck on them all. This would be his Waterloo; he would make his point and he would do it with aplomb. He was a man who knew what he wanted and he was willing to take it, no matter what the consequences.

Sharon walked into the office of the taxi rank in Ilford with Ray close behind her. She saw the stares of the drivers, and her controller especially. Margaret Avis was a woman of indeterminate age and she liked the men. Her eyes were nearly out on stalks as she looked Ray Donovan over from head to foot. Sharon had to suppress a smile.

In the office Sharon put on the coffee pot and, turning to Ray, she said seriously, ‘Am I or my boys in any real danger?’

Ray looked at her and said quietly, ‘Maybe. Jack thinks this Brewer wants to make his mark, and the best way to do that, in his mind, is to take what was your old man’s. It’s a ploy, fucking outrageous really. But he can bask in your old man’s shadow if he takes on his businesses. It is a child’s fucking game. So, don’t worry – I will take that cunt out as soon as he rears his ugly head.’ He smiled then, as he said quickly, ‘I am assuming he is ugly! I don’t know for sure.’

Sharon smiled with him. Ray was a really nice guy and she was falling for him in a big way. His accent was music to her ears, he had a softness to his voice that she liked. She felt that he liked her too – at least that is what she hoped. She had not looked at another man since Lenny. When she had found out his true nature it had broken her heart. She had loved and trusted him and he had betrayed her in the worst way. Another woman she could have coped with, even forgiven. But a man? That was something that she had never even contemplated. Why would she? Lenny Scott had been a man, a real man. He had fooled everyone. Each time his mother extolled his virtues Sharon had felt sick because she knew the truth about the father of her two children – her handsome sons, so like him in looks and even in temperament – the man she had adored with all her soul.

She wondered briefly if Ray was hiding his true nature. She wasn’t exactly a good judge, was she? She had had only one man in her life: Lenny Scott. She poured the coffees and forced the thoughts from her mind. That was then and this was now. She had to remember that Lenny was gone for ever. He was dead but she wasn’t. This man had brought her back to life and she wanted him all the more for it.

Jack Johnson was pleased that he’d got Sharon Scott a minder because, when all was said and done, that was exactly what this Ray Donovan was. And he knew she needed one. It was good that he wasn’t a local man – that would just cause more complications. Jamie Brewer was an arrogant little fuck, but he also had a few people on his side and that was why Jack and Reggie wanted to sort this with the least aggravation possible.

The Brewers were a big family that had managed to marry into other families. That meant that Jamie had good connections. But, as Jack pointed out to Reggie, that didn’t mean he was liked. One thing they knew for sure about Jamie Brewer was that he was a reckless fucker. He had far too high an opinion of himself. He always, however, made a point of going after what he wanted with a vengeance. That was what they were so worried about.

‘You think he is a new enough Face to give that cunt Brewer second thoughts?’

Reggie nodded. ‘It will buy time, at least, Jack. She is safe with Ray until we can discover what Brewer intends to do. He has made a point of saying publicly that he wants the ranks. I am quite happy to take him out myself, as you know. But it’s what goes with him we need to think about.’

Jack nodded sagely. ‘I hate this kind of shite. Jamie Brewer is a little cunt with big connections. From what I can gather, though, his own family are not that enamoured of him. They see him as a loose cannon. I’m meeting with his mother’s brother later on. I will try and sort something; I am not without my fucking own creds. I don’t want to start a fucking war over taking out that useless cunt but by the same token I will not let Sharon be taken advantage of. She’s under my protection so the fact he is stronging it is an insult to me, not to mention the insult to Lenny Scott. After all, she is his wife – or widow.’

Reggie knew how much Jack missed Lenny. He wished he could say how much he missed him too. They had had such fantastic sex, but they had also had fantastic conversations. They had been soulmates. If the world had been different they could have been the people they were meant to be instead of living a lie. For Sharon, Reggie was the reason she felt that her life had been wasted – her husband had wanted him over her. If only she could understand the truth of it all.

‘I think bringing Ray in is a good move, Jack. He is a big fucker and he is loyal. He likes her, as well. But then, what’s not to like?’ Reggie still acted the womaniser. What choice did he have?