something to be proud of. Philly saw himself as a bit of a catch, and he was glad he had won this girl beside him. She was a blinder in every way. A good laugh, fabulous body, a good brain in her head, and a fantastic fuck – what more could a man want from life? He was going to marry her, and he was not going to wait about either. Like her, he wanted kids, and he wanted stability. What he didn't want was someone like his mother, but there was little chance of that: Finoula didn't drink, had never even tried cocaine, and she didn't feel she had lost out because of it. She could sip water all night and still have a blinding time. She was the girl for him all right.
'Come through to the VIP bar, babe.'
He walked her carefully through the crowded club and, seeing the way he was treated by the punters and the staff alike, she felt so proud to be with him as his girl. This was the life for her, this was what she wanted: the respect and the kudos having the name Murphy would bring her. She was already a McCormack and that had given her a small taste of what a name could do for you in life.
As Philly grabbed her hand and walked her into the VIP bar, she felt the excitement welling up inside her. She could see the envious glances from the other girls there, could almost feel their jealousy, and their surprise at Philly Murphy acting like a love-sick teenager, because that was just how he acted around her. It was part of his charm for her, as though he was lucky to have her. He had told her he loved her, and she knew it was true. Life was just getting better and better.
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight
Phillip watched the room through the two-way mirror behind the bar area. All the bars had them; it was the only way to stop thieving and people giving the drinks away for free. Though, in fairness, their staff were loyal and honest enough. It was the agency fuckers you had to watch out for. They were only there for one night and they went all out to make sure it was a good earner for them. That is until they were caught, of course – then they realised they had skanked off the wrong person. He was watching the VIP bar, eager to see this little bird of Philly's and, when they walked in, he had to admit she was a looker. She could have stepped out of the pages of a magazine, but then that wasn't too hard in Essex. All the girls were lookers. It was almost a genetic thing – they knew what was in fashion, what wasn't and where to get whatever they wanted. Even through the mirrors, Phillip could see she was special though, and watching his son's beaming face as he escorted her to the bar, it was clear that she was going to be a part of their lives from now on. She was from good stock, and it seemed like she could handle herself; if she ran the bookies as well as he had heard, she would be an asset to them. She had a business degree by all accounts, so she wasn't the usual tits and teeth – she had a bit of nous as well. His Philly had done well by the looks of it.
Christine watched as her husband spied on his son and his new girlfriend, because that was exactly what he was doing, spying on them, and it annoyed her.
'Come on, Phillip, let's get out there and say hello. She looks like a nice girl.'
'I just wanted a sneak preview. If she was a Hammer Horror I was going to fuck off home to avoid them!'
Christine laughed despite herself, Phillip could be amusing when the fancy took him. Through the mirror she saw Breda walking towards Philly and his girl all smiles and camaraderie, and she felt a rush of affection for her sister-in-law. She might get on Breda's nerves at times, but she knew Breda felt a lot of guilt over what had happened all those years ago, and genuinely cared about Christine. Breda just wanted everyone to be happy, everyone in her family anyway. As Christine watched her with her elder son it occurred to her that Breda was probably closer to him these days than she was, and she was amazed to find that the realisation didn't bother her as it would have once. She had learned to live with a lot of things over the years, and she had also accepted that it wasn't what happened to you, it was how you
'She's very pretty, Phillip,' she commented to her husband.
He nodded, but she knew that the girl's looks wouldn't affect him – if she was seventy-five, he would still want her rather than anyone else in the world. She told herself that it was a compliment, most fathers would have been drooling over this little girl and her tight young body. She decided the girl had a lovely smile, and that she liked the way she looked at her son, as if she had been given a lovely present, and was thankful for it.
The gunshot, when it came, was deafening, even though they were inside the offices away from the club itself. As her son sank to the floor, and young Finoula started screaming, Christine realised that it was her Philly who had been the target, her baby had been shot, and blood was seeping through his lovely suit and on to the carpet she had chosen so carefully.
She could hear someone screaming, screaming louder than everyone else, and it was a few seconds before she realised that the terrible noise was coming from her.
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine
'He's still in the operating theatre. This is fucking madness.' Phillip's voice was loud in the small room, loud and aggressive sounding. 'Who would dare? Who would fucking dare!' He kicked the wall in outrage, and the thud was audible to them all.
Declan didn't answer him; he was thinking exactly the same thing, so it was pointless repeating it. If the lad died, he knew there would literally be murders, though the way Phillip was acting now, he wouldn't put it past him to take out the poor surgeon if he didn't tell him what he wanted to hear.
'Will you calm down, Dad! For fuck's sake, this ain't helping anyone, is it?' Only Timmy could have got away with that, and even Breda was impressed that the boy was saying what they all wanted to but daren't. Even more astounding was the way Phillip swallowed it – anyone else would have been dismantled in seconds. 'Whoever is behind this is a fucking dead man, Dad, that's a given. Let's just concentrate on getting him better first. How's me mum? Has anyone been down to see her?'
'She's all right, Timmy, I sat with her until the sedative worked,' Breda said from her place beside Finoula, who looked bedraggled and covered in blood. Finoula had held Philly in her arms until the ambulance had arrived, and travelled with him all the way to the hospital. She had been outstanding, and they knew she would be accepted by every one of them for this night's performance. If Philly survived he would be a lucky man to get this girl full-time, and they would tell him that as well. Phillip, especially, was impressed with her; he knew she had been terrified, yet she had lain over Philly, as if protecting him from further harm. The girl loved his son, of that there would never be any doubt.
The door opened and they looked expectantly towards it. When Mad Jack walked in, Finoula ran to him and, bursting into tears, she sobbed brokenly, 'Someone shot Philly, Dad! Some bastard shot my Philly.'
As he held his daughter to him, Mad Jack looked at Phillip and shook his head sadly. It said a lot for him that he didn't question what had occurred, or make a scene about his daughter's condition and the danger she had been in. Like everyone in the room, he saw this as an occupational hazard. And, like them, he would move heaven and earth to find the culprit. This was personal now – whoever had done the dirty deed had risked his daughter's life in the process.
'Fucking terrible business, Phillip. Any idea who it was?'
Phillip shook his head. 'Nah, but there's a hundred grand reward for any information, so I don't think it'll be too long before we have a fucking name.'
Mad Jack inclined his head in agreement. 'Fucking filth they are. We'll find them, Phillip, don't you worry about that.'
Phillip nodded, and felt the anger spiralling through him once more. 'How dare they! How dare they shoot
Mad Jack didn't even react to the venom in his words, none of them did. At the end of the day, Phillip was only
