they called it. Jake would sneak off to meet him, much to Grace’s annoyance. But short of locking her son in his room, she could see no way of preventing the two of them meeting up. Thankfully, Nathan always stayed away from the pub, and well away from her, and from what Jake told her, his dad seemed to have become an entirely different person.
Jake almost had her convinced for a while, but Grace didn’t buy it. Nathan was incapable of behaving like a decent human being for any length of time. He could be the most charming man on the planet when he wanted to be, but it never lasted. He was a master manipulator, earning himself super-dad status from the confines of a prison cell. God knew what kind of influence he could exert now that he was out. If Jake followed in his father’s footsteps, she didn’t know what she would do. It pained her to even think about it, making her stomach contract and her throat feel like it was closing over. She would never let Nathan taint him. Not her sweet, precious boy.
Jake looked so much like his father, from the smile to the same blue eyes. He had the same confidence, too. Fortunately, that was where the similarities ended. Jake had always been a sweet and caring child. There was many a time he would come home from school with some stray or injured animal he’d found, and he would plead with his mum to keep it. The flat, and then the house, sometimes resembled a menagerie.
Providing he passed all of his exams, Jake would be off to university in a few months to study business and economics. Grace had worked hard to provide him with the best opportunities in life; sent him to the best private schools, made sure he always had everything he wanted. She would have been proud of him no matter what path he chose, but she was so pleased that he’d decided to go to university. Her heart could almost burst with pride whenever she looked at him. He was the most precious thing in the world to her.
Despite her hatred for Nathan, he had at least given her Jake, and because of that a part of her would always be connected to him. Grace knew that she would never escape him entirely, so she’d had to figure out a way to protect herself from him instead. And she had, making sure that she would never again be at the mercy of the monster she’d married.
Grace had no doubt that Nathan believed he’d made the decision to stop harassing her entirely on his own. He would never have done so otherwise. She knew him too well; knew exactly how to play him. Smiling to herself, she recalled the night she’d met a man named Patrick Carter. An encounter that would change her life beyond all recognition and lead to the realization that she could play Nathan Conlon at his own game – and win.
Ten Years Earlier
Grace watched as the attractive man in the suit threaded his way through the crowd towards the bar. He looked vaguely familiar to her, and she was sure she’d met him before but couldn’t place him.
‘Pint of Stella please, love,’ he said.
‘Coming right up,’ she smiled as she set about pulling his pint.
‘Grace Sumner, isn’t it?’ he asked.
She nodded, surprised that he knew her maiden name. Most people knew her as Conlon now, much to her annoyance. ‘Do I know you?’ she asked.
‘You used to,’ he smiled. ‘But I’ve not seen you since you were a dot.’
‘I thought I knew your face.’
‘Patrick Carter.’ He extended his hand to shake. ‘You can call me Pat. I knew your dad. We went way back.’
Grace knew his name. Patrick Carter was a Liverpool legend. He’d worked for Nathan’s old boss, Tommy McNulty, and she wondered briefly if he’d worked for Nathan too. Carter had a reputation for being as hard as nails. Rumour had it he’d once been jumped by a rival firm. Six of them had taken him on and all six had ended up in intensive care, while Patrick had escaped with nothing more than a cut lip.
‘Oh, you were one of those friends, were you?’ she teased him.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he laughed.
‘I know all about my dad’s colourful past, Pat. And no offence, but you look just the type.’
‘I wasn’t aware we all looked the same,’ he chuckled.
‘Yes.’ She nodded as she passed him his drink. ‘Trust me. I used to be married to one of you lot.’
Patrick nodded. ‘Yeah, I know. Nathan Conlon.’
Grace bristled. Mentally checking that her mobile phone was in her trouser pocket should she need to call someone to escort Mr Carter from the premises. Nathan’s former colleagues, John or Ben would do that for her if she asked.
‘Look, if you’re here to settle old scores with Nathan then you’d better think again. I have nothing to do with him anymore. This place is sod all to do with him.’
Patrick shook his head. ‘Not at all. I’ve just got out after a long stretch. Only got out a couple of months ago. I was sorry to hear about your dad,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to pay my respects and see what the old place looked like. I spent a lot of my early twenties in here.’ Taking a sip of his pint, he looked around him. ‘It looks exactly the same.’
Grace smiled. She’d worked hard over the past two years to ensure that the pub was restored to its former glory. Nathan had almost ruined the place. Milking it for every penny, allowing the place to become run down and letting his mates have free rein. As a result, they had lost all of their regular custom.
‘I appreciate your condolences, Pat.’
Grace watched him drinking his pint for a moment. He looked a little younger than her dad would have been. He was tall, with dark hair, greying at the temples and brown eyes. He must have been a hit with the ladies in his younger days. Probably still was.
‘So what are you up to now that you’re out?’ she asked him. By the looks of his suit, he was doing well for himself.
‘This and that.’ He shrugged. ‘And how about you? Is that husband of yours behaving himself in the nick?’
Grace laughed. ‘I doubt that. And I told you, I have no idea what he’s doing in there. I have nothing to do with him now. At least I try not to. If only he would bloody leave me alone.’
‘Oh?’ Patrick raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Giving you a hard time, is he?’
‘That would be an understatement. I’m sure that man lives to torment me.’
‘Well maybe there’s something we can do about that, Grace?’
‘I can handle him,’ Grace replied. She didn’t want to be in Patrick’s debt, as nice as he seemed, she really didn’t know him at all.
‘Look, Grace,’ he said with concern in his eyes. ‘Your dad was a good friend of mine. He helped me out of a few sticky situations. I know he left this life behind, but I always respected him for that. If there is a way I can help his daughter out, then it would be my privilege to do so. Besides, my lads were given hefty sentences because of Nathan Conlon’s inability to keep his trap shut, so any chance to give
