LITMIR.BIZ

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with other birds. Meeting Jess had knocked him for six. She was a major piece of eye candy, had a terrific personality and, since they’d got together, he hadn’t so much as glanced at another piece of skirt.

      Eddie did up the top button of his shirt. As he secured his tie, he thought about the sex they’d had earlier. He hadn’t used a rubber today, he’d forgotten to buy any and it didn’t bother him at all. In Jess, Ed was sure he’d found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and the quicker he put her in the club and stuck a ring on her finger, the better.

      Eddie looked up as his brother, Ronny, slammed the front door.

      ‘Am I glad to see you.’

      ‘What’s up? Can’t you spend a day without me?’ Ed asked sarcastically.

      Ronny walked towards him. ‘Don’t muck about, this is serious, Ed. The O’Haras are in the Flag. They’re mob-handed and we’re gonna need backup if we’re gonna sort it. They looked like they were about to smash the pub up. I think they’re trying to muscle in on our patch.’

      Eddie’s features blackened. He’d never laid eyes on any of the O’Haras since last year when his face had got slashed to fuck. He’d caved Jimmy’s head in with a baseball bat that day, and the families had avoided one another ever since.

      Ed had ended up with forty-seven stitches in his face, but Jimmy had come off worse. He’d spent over a month in hospital, and had to have numerous scans and tests to rule out brain damage.

      The feud between the two families had been halted since then. Ed’s dad, Harry, had arranged a meet with Jimmy’s old man, Butch.

      Harry had said, ‘Look, we’re all trying to earn a few bob here and no one needs all this extra aggravation. I’ll do you a deal. You stick on your patch and do what you’ve gotta do and we’ll stay on ours. If you agree to the deal, we’ll let bygones be bygones. If you don’t, and I find out your boys have stepped one foot in any of our boozers, I promise you there’ll be a fucking bloodbath,’ Harry had said.

      Butch shook hands on it. ‘You have my word, you’ll have no more trouble from me or my lads,’ he promised.

      As Jessica walked towards him in a white halter-neck catsuit, Eddie kicked Ronny to urge him to keep schtum.

      ‘You look gorgeous, darling.’

      Jessica smiled. Any new clothes she bought now she kept round Eddie’s. She had to look the part for her new man.

      Ronny was pissed off. What was more important, family business or fucking birds?

      ‘Where are we going?’ Jessica asked excitedly.

      Eddie decided to give Canning Town a wide berth. He didn’t want Jess to see the other side of him. He was a lunatic when he got going and he knew if he came face to face with Jimmy O’Hara, he’d throw him straight through the pub window.

      ‘I thought we’d go to East Ham for a change. A bloke in the Burnell Arms owes me some dough and needs a little reminder. If it’s any good, we’ll stay there; if it’s shit, I’ll take you out for a nice meal instead.’

      Jessica nodded happily. As long as she was by Eddie’s side, she didn’t care where she went.

      Eddie handed her his keys. ‘Go and sit in the car, babe. I just need to have a quick chat with Ronny. It’s business, you’ll only be bored.’

      ‘Bye, Ronny,’ Jessica said as she left the flat. That was one of the things she loved about Eddie. She knew he was a bit dodgy and she found his little business chats and his life in general bloody exciting.

      Eddie made sure she was out of earshot, then turned to his brother. ‘Don’t 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

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