‘Yeah, definitely.’ Holly nodded. ‘I know I don’t have to, but I might as well try to get some qualifications. That was the thing my mum was always worried about: me leaving with nothing and having to take shit jobs like her.’
‘At least she got that right,’ Suzie said softly.
‘She got a lot right,’ Holly countered. ‘When she snatched me that night she was off her head with grief and guilt after losing her baby, and she convinced herself that I was Holly. She could have handed me back when she came to her senses, but she genuinely thought Dominic Cooper had seen me and would kill me if he found out where I was. That’s why she did what she did: to protect me from him. And that’s why,’ she added, ‘I’m going to look after her when she comes out of prison.’
Suzie smiled and squeezed her arm. ‘She’s a lucky woman having a daughter like you.’
‘And I’m lucky to have a mum like her,’ Holly said.
Arriving back on the estate a short time later, Holly smiled when she saw Gee, Carol and Carol’s four sons – Davy, Ben, Steve and Pete – waiting outside Suzie’s house.
‘Hey, how did it go?’ Carol asked, rushing to her and giving her a hug.
‘Horrible, but I said what I needed to say, so it’s all good.’ Holly smiled.
‘She was brilliant,’ Suzie said, unlocking her front door. ‘Anyone fancy a brew?’
‘I’d prefer a glass of this,’ Gee said, grinning as he produced a bottle of Prosecco from behind his back.
‘Me too,’ Holly beamed. ‘What . . .?’ She held out her hands when Carol raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m old enough.’
‘Suzie . . .’
Turning her head when she heard the call, Suzie groaned, and said, ‘What now?’ when she saw Rob running towards them, his face still bearing faint bruises from the savage beating he’d received from Dominic and Austin.
‘Can we talk?’ Rob asked when he reached them, flicking a hooded glance at Holly and the others, as he added, ‘In private.’
‘I’ve got nothing to say to you,’ Suzie said coolly. ‘I gave you a chance and you betrayed me.’
‘I didn’t,’ he argued. ‘It was Holly he was after, not you, so I knew you’d be safe.’
‘You’re so full of shit,’ Suzie sneered. ‘He wasn’t after Holly at all. He didn’t even know who she was until you stuck your nose in, trying to get rid of her and make some money. You make me sick.’
‘Please, babe,’ he implored, reaching for her hand. ‘Don’t do this.’
‘I haven’t done anything,’ she spat, yanking her hand away. ‘It was all you.’
‘I think that’s your cue to leave,’ Gee said, stepping between them and giving Rob a cold look.
‘So do we,’ Steve added, as he and his brothers flanked Gee.
Aware that he stood no chance, Rob backed off. ‘This isn’t over,’ he said to Suzie. ‘I love you, and I know you still love me.’
‘If your definition of love is the violence I’ve been listening to through my wall for the last few months, you’ve got serious problems, young man,’ May Foster said, coming out through her gate to join the others on the pavement.
‘Spot on, May,’ Suzie said, smiling at the woman who, in the last month, had proved to be an exceptionally nice lady.
‘Why don’t you do us all a favour and fuck off back to psycho Angie,’ Holly piped up. ‘No one wants you here.’
‘Might’ve known you’d have something to say,’ Rob hissed, glaring at her. ‘Couldn’t wait to get rid of me so you could jump into Suzie’s knickers, could you?’
‘That’s news to me,’ Dan Spencer said, walking up behind the group wearing civvies. ‘Something you want to tell me, Suzie?’
‘Ignore him, he’s an idiot,’ she said, smiling as she reached up to peck him on the lips. He had called round to check on her a couple of days after the siege, and she had invited him in for a drink. They had talked for hours, and she had realized that he wasn’t only good-looking, he was also a genuinely nice man, so she had been happy to accept when he had asked if he could take her out for dinner sometime. They had been on several dates since then, but it was still early days, so she knew that the kiss was probably a bit forward. But he didn’t seem to mind, and the look on Rob’s face was priceless.
‘Let’s go in and get that bottle opened,’ Holly said, heading for the door. ‘Celebrate me getting my life back.’
‘There’s something else to celebrate, as well,’ Dan said, closing the door on Rob’s indignant face after they had all made their way inside. ‘Dominic Cooper’s going down for murdering your mum and—’
‘Anna,’ Holly corrected him, not yet comfortable about calling the woman who she now knew had pretty much neglected her in favour of Devon Prince her mother. ‘But how did you manage to link him to it? I thought you said he might walk?’
‘He probably would have if his sidekick, Austin, hadn’t told us everything in an attempt to secure a lesser sentence for himself,’ Dan said. ‘He gave us the address of a flat we hadn’t known about that Cooper used as a stash-pad, and we found enough there to pin him down. Anyway, we’ve got him for that murder and three others that had gone cold on us, so, all in all, Rob getting jealous of your friendship with Suzie did us a massive favour.’
Pausing, he turned to Suzie and gave her a mock-frown, saying, ‘It is only a friendship, isn’t it? Only I don’t want to be treading on anyone’s toes.’
‘Pig’s got game,’ Davy chuckled, snapping his fingers in glee.
‘Shut up, you idiot,’ Holly laughed, slapping Dan’s arm playfully. ‘She’s fancied you from the first time she laid eyes on you.’
‘Holly!’ Suzie hissed.
‘What?’
