ever say too much about what we get up to in front of Jess, will yer?’
Ronny shook his head. ‘Fuckin’ hell, Ed. You can’t put birds in front of family business. You always used to put your family first when you were married to Bev.’
Eddie stood his ground. Ronny wasn’t as good-looking as him, and his bird, Sharon, was a big old heifer.
‘Look, Ron, family comes first and you know it does, but there’s no point in storming in the Flag tonight. We don’t know where Paulie is, for a start. Listen, the O’Haras will be well pissed up by now. If you were in there, they’ll definitely be expecting a visit from us. They’re probably staring at the door as we speak. Our best bet is to leave it a week or two. Let them think they’ve got away with it, and when they’re least expecting it, we’ll pounce on ’em.’
Ronny shrugged. Maybe he should go and find his other brother, Paulie. He’d round up a few faces and maybe they could sort it without Eddie.
Eddie read his mind. ‘Don’t start organising things behind my back, Ron. I’ll speak to Paulie tomorrow. We’ll sit down properly, put our heads together and hatch a plan.’
Ronny nodded. He knew deep down that Eddie was talking sense, but he was still annoyed. Both he and Paulie were older than Ed, but they never got to call the shots. Even his old man put Eddie before them. It was as though they were the lackeys and Eddie was being primed as his father’s successor.
Ronny let out a loud sigh. ‘Look, Ed, I like Jessica and that, but is she gonna be hanging round here all the time?’
Eddie smirked. He knew Ronny was fucking jealous. ‘Yes, Ron. For your information, Jessica’s here for the foreseeable future.’
Eddie slammed the front door as he left the flat. When he’d split up with Bev, he couldn’t be arsed buying a place of his own, so he’d moved in with Ronny. He hadn’t minded sharing with him, they’d got along OK, but since he’d met Jess, he could sense things were getting a bit awkward.
He opened the car door. ‘Sorry about that, darling.’
Jessica kissed him on the cheek. ‘Don’t worry about me. I know your business is important – you do what you have to do.’
As he drove towards East Ham, one part of Eddie’s mind was focused on Jessica and the other on business. The O’Haras had taken a bloody liberty. The British Flag, better known to locals as the Flag, belonged to the Mitchells. It was their headquarters, where they’d meet and discuss work matters. The O’Haras used the Chobham Arms in Stratford, and Eddie wouldn’t dream of taking the piss in their pub. Whatever happened, they had to be taught a lesson. He’d speak to his dad tomorrow, see what he had to say.
Eddie pictured Jimmy O’Hara’s ugly face. Word had it that since their little fall-out, O’Hara’s finances had gone from strength to strength. Jimmy was the middle son. He was only thirty-two, and owned salvage yards out in Essex. Ed hated the cunt with a passion. Jimmy thought he ruled the world and the silly big prick even had the cheek to call himself King of the Gypsies.
‘What do you think of them, Ed? Do you like them?’
Realising that he hadn’t listened to a word Jessica had said, Eddie apologised. ‘Sorry, babe, I had a police car up me arse and I was concentrating on that. Do I like who?’
Jessica laughed. ‘T. Rex. My brother Ray is obsessed with them. He spends hours in his bedroom playing their records and he’s even started wearing eyeliner like the singer, Marc Bolan. He’s in a band himself, with three of his mates. Ray plays the drums and they’ve done a couple of gigs locally. I went to see them play one night and I was shocked – they were actually quite good.’
Eddie shrugged. He’d never had much experience with blokes who wore make-up. ‘You sure your brother ain’t an iron?’
Jessica couldn’t stop laughing. ‘You must be joking. He’s a right lad and he’s got a different girl on his arm every week. Raymond’s one of life’s go-getters. He’ll make it big somehow, I just know he will.’
Eddie pulled up outside the pub. ‘How old did you say he was?’
‘Sixteen. He leaves school this year and my dad wants him to learn a proper trade. Raymond’s having none of it, says he wants to be a rock star and he’s not interested in doing nothing else.’
Eddie got out of the car and opened the passenger door for Jessica. ‘Don’t worry about your brother, he’s bound to grow out of it. Now, what is madam drinking tonight?’
As Jessica followed Eddie into the pub, she noticed how all heads turned their way. She clocked the whispers and loved the way people fell over themselves to acknowledge and be acknowledged by her handsome man.
‘I think I’ll have a glass of wine,’ she said happily.
‘Eddie! Long time no see. Christ, you’re looking well. What a lovely surprise to see you. Now, what would you and your beautiful lady like to drink?’
Eddie introduced Jessica to the guv’nor of the pub and left her chatting to him while he sorted out the money he was owed. ‘Won’t be a sec, babe. Just going to see a man about a dog,’ he said, winking at her.
Minutes later he returned with a big grin on his face.
Jessica nudged him, ‘Did you get your money?’ she whispered.
‘Plus interest,’ Eddie said laughing.
The Burnell Arms had a band playing and Jessica was happy to stay there. Ever since she’d met Ed, she’d gone off her food, so she didn’t fancy a meal. The evening flowed nicely and Jess had a wonderful time. At half-eleven, Eddie turned to her.
‘I think I should be getting you home now.’
‘Oh, I don’t want to go yet. Can’t I stay at yours tonight?’ Jessica asked.
Eddie shook his head. ‘I promised your mum and dad that I’d have you home at a reasonable time. I know you often stay at mine, Jess, but that’s when they think you’re staying at your mate’s. If you stay tonight, they’ll know we’re at it and I don’t want them to get the wrong idea about me.’
Ed thanked the guv’nor, said his goodbyes and led Jess from the pub. She only lived a short distance away and as he pulled up near her house, he noticed her look of disappointment. Pulling her towards him, he kissed her softly.
‘I’d love to wake up with you tomorrow, more than anything else in the world, but we need to do things properly. I know I haven’t said this to you yet, but I’m gonna say it now. I love you, Jessica Smith, and that’s why I want you to go home tonight. If we’re gonna have a future together, we need your parents to be on our side.’
Jessica looked at him with moo-cow eyes. ‘And I love you too. Please Ed, my mum wouldn’t care if I stayed round yours and she’d smooth it over with my dad,’ she pleaded.
Eddie shook his head. ‘It’s not your mum, Jess, I know she’d be OK. Look at things from your dad’s point of view. He knows I’m thirty, he knows I’ve been married, he knows I’ve got kids. If you stay out tonight, he’ll be worried sick and I don’t want to fuck things up for us. Trust me, I’m a man and I know how they think.’
Unable
