The priest went up to the pulpit and began to speak. Keskia could hear him but the words seemed to wash over her. She barely registered what he was saying, thinking only of her daughter, who now lay a few feet from her, hidden within the confines of the coffin.
She rose to sing the hymns and listened with tears in her eyes as the priest went on. She lifted her head as Corey gave a eulogy and she was pleased, at least, that her daughter had known such love in her short lifetime.
When the time came to say goodbye, Keskia could barely control herself, and the tears ran down her face and dripped from her chin onto her clenched hands. It was unfair, she knew, that her daughter should have had her life cut short. The priest had not mentioned that it was suicide, but Keskia was sure he had thought about it, as she knew everyone in attendance must have. She wondered if people judged her daughter for what she had done, then realised that she herself was guilty of that much.
At times she hated how selfish Jessie had been to do such a thing, to leave such grief in her wake, but then her thoughts turned to how desperate, how tragic, her daughter must have felt to do it in the first place, and the grief swept over her again.
She had failed all her children, Keskia thought, as she headed the procession to the grave. She had failed her sons, but her only daughter she had failed most of all. Her sons were despicable at times, but they were strong and fearless at least. Jessie had been vulnerable and innocent, and she should have protected her, should have taken more time to nurture her, rather than spending her days worrying about her boys and forgetting that she had a daughter who needed love too.
It was too late for remorse, Keskia thought, as Jessie’s coffin was lowered into the ground, adorned with flowers. It was too late for any of that. She had failed Jessie, her precious daughter, and nothing she did could ever change that.
* * *
At the wake, Tyrese drank his beer and watched cautiously as Jayden Healy approached him. He had not been pleased that Jayden and Corey were to carry the coffin along with him and Trent, but he supposed it showed respect for Jessie, and that was what mattered. Sometimes he forgot, he realised, that Jessie had lived with the Healy brothers for months, and that she must have loved them too.
“I’m sorry,” Jayden said as he stood beside Tyrese at the bar, with a gentle shake of his head. “For your loss. Jessie was a great girl.”
“She sure was,” Tyrese agreed.
Jayden lifted his glass and Tyrese clinked his against it.
“To Jessie,” they both toasted.
“I’ve been meaning to speak to you,” Jayden said quietly. Tyrese nodded, wondering what this would be about. “After this tragedy, I think it’s time we put aside whatever differences we’ve had in the past.”
Tyrese looked at him and knew that Jayden was being earnest.
“We used to be best mates back at school,” Jayden said, and Tyrese smiled, remembering the days they had spent skiving off together and drinking, kicking the ball about on the playing fields between their two estates. “I’m not saying we should go back to that,” Jayden said, “Not if too much has happened lately, but I think it’s time we stopped all this fighting, all this feuding, and made our peace.”
Tyrese considered what he was saying. It was true that their feuding had caused a lot of heartache, a lot of suffering, and Tyrese agreed that it was time now to lay it all to rest. It would be Jessie’s legacy, to have brought peace between their two families and stopped any more needless tragedy.
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Tyrese nodded. “We’ll have to work out the finer details another time, but I definitely think that this needs to stop.”
Jayden lifted his glass and Tyrese toasted again.
“To peace,” he said, and Jayden repeated his words, a smile on his lips.
Before Tyrese could say anything else, chaos broke out. A shout and a few cries went up from across the pub, and Jayden rushed forward a split-second before Tyrese had realised what was going on. Trent and Corey were locked together, pummeling each other with their fists, cussing and struggling, knocking people out of their way in their brawl.
Jayden grabbed his brother and Tyrese grabbed Trent, and together they pulled the pair apart, still kicking out and punching, their faces flushed, angry looks on their faces.
“What the hell are you playing at?” Tyrese demanded of them both.
“He started this,” Corey snapped, pointing at Trent.
“Oh, grow up,” Jayden chastised his brother.
“Like hell I started it,” Trent said, still getting his breath back, struggling a little even though Tyrese’s arms were wrapped around him so he couldn’t get at Corey again. “He started this when he drove Jessie to put a gun in her mouth.”
“Trent, that’s enough,” Tyrese hissed in his ear.
“You think I did this?” Corey laughed, shaking his head. “Take a look at yourself. When did either of you fucking Banks brothers ever give a shit about your sister? Huh, when did you last visit?”
“Corey, shut the fuck up,” Jayden warned him.
“Nah, they wanted a fight, they’ll get one,” Corey retorted. “Trent, you act like such a big man, but Jessie fucking hated your guts. You didn’t know that?”
“You fucking pussy,” Trent shouted, straining against Tyrese to get at him. “You know Jessie fucked around behind your back? Spread her legs for any guy who’d have her so long as it weren’t you.”
“Trent, I’m warning you,” Tyrese growled in his brother’s ear.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if my sister fucked Jayden over there,” Trent went on, pushing his luck, still struggling to get free. “He ain’t saying much. Maybe he knows it’s true.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Corey shouted back.
“He’s talking out his arse,” Jayden said, trying to calm him.
“You want someone to blame?” Corey shouted. “Blame yourselves. You don’t think I don’t know what you were up to, Tyrese? You tried to blackmail Jessie into betraying me, didn’t you? Jazz heard it all, man, so you’re fucking busted.”
Tyrese gritted his teeth. He dragged Trent backwards, away from the Healy brothers, and a few guys stepped in to help. Jayden was taking Corey towards the doors, Jazz crying and looking exasperated as she went after them.
“Sit down and shut the fuck up,” Tyrese said, throwing Trent into a chair. “If you move towards that door I’ll break both your legs, is that understood?”
Trent seemed to be calming down somewhat and he grabbed a beer and drank heavily. Tyrese looked around at the shocked faces of those at the wake. It was a farce, he knew, and they had all disrespected Jessie with their shouting and their brawling. He looked around for his mum, to apologize to her, and realised that she was gone. He dreaded to think how ashamed she was of them all and he turned back to Trent, wanting to punch him, hoping Jayden still wanted peace after what had just happened.
* * *
In the back of the taxi, Keskia wiped her eyes and tried to compose herself. She had hoped for better from her boys but they had proved time and time again that they were beyond help. They were angry and disrespectful, and she wanted nothing more to do with any of them.
She shook her head, wondering how she had managed to raise such animals. She had tried her best and all she had to show for it was a bunch of criminals for sons and a daughter who had hated her life so much she had put a gun in her mouth to escape from them all.
It sickened her and she knew that she must share her portion of the blame. She had never known such trouble kicking off at a funeral before though, and she was sure that word would soon spread amongst the people she knew, everyone judging her as a mother and wondering at how bad her parenting must have been.
She could do nothing about that now, but she was going to take action to stop this kind of thing from happening again. When she got home, she would be packing up her sons’ belongings and throwing them out on the street. She didn’t care if they lived in a beds
it or a cardboard box under London Bridge, just so long as they weren’t under her roof.
The only child she would allow in her home was Jessie and it was too late by far for that. Her resolve was strong and she had never been so determined to take action before. She had never been so disgusted either and she knew she had to do it now before her resolve weakened and her sons could talk her round.
Not this time, she thought, directing the taxi driver towards the estate. She would hear no more excuses and no more lies.
As far as she was concerned, Jessie was the only child she could be proud of, and that was something, she thought, given she had just killed herself.
* * *
Tyrese glared at Trent, wishing his brother would stop running his mouth.
“Calm down,” Tyrese urged him. “You want everyone to hear you?”
They were still in the pub, but everyone from the wake had pretty much abandoned them here, shocked and appalled by what had transpired.
“I don’t care who hears,” Trent snapped. “Corey Healy is a dead man.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Tyrese hissed. “Me and Jayden were talking about putting this whole feud to bed when you piped up, battering his brother –”
“You want to strike a deal with those pussies?” Trent asked, horrified. “Get fucked man, there’s no way in hell I’ll ever deal with them.”
“Maybe you won’t have to,” Tyrese said. “Maybe after today I’m fucking fed up of you, and I’ll be taking charge without your input. You’re finished, Trent, you’re done. You ain’t got a say in how things go down from now on.”
“You firing me?” Trent laughed. “You kicking me out? Let me guess, Sanjay fucking Siddiqui is going to step into my shoes. Well, it ain’t the Banks brothers without me.”
“It’s been working just fine without you for months,” Tyrese said, his anger rising. “I ain’t going to let you mess up this deal. We can’t beat the Healy brothers, we need to make a deal with them, and if you can’t see that, then you’re out.”
Trent stood up, the chair scraping at the movement. Tyrese thought his brother was going to hit him, but Trent shoved past him, heading for the door.
“You can negotiate with Jayden all you want,” Trent said, glancing back at him. “But I’m telling you now, I ain’t resting until Corey Healy is dead.”
He turned and walked out of the pub. Tyrese didn’t go after him, sitting down heavily and shaking his head. Trent was going to ruin them both by going after Corey and there was nothing he could do to stop him, short of taking his own brother out of the game for good.
Tyrese picked up his beer and drank. He could only hope that Trent would calm down and see reason, but he wouldn’t hold his breath for that. He knew they were heading for disaster now and he couldn’t think of a way to save them.
* * *
Corey stared at the spot where he had found Jessie lying dead. The sheets had been changed and all trace of her death had been erased from the room, but the image was fresh in his memory and he knew he would never be able to forget it.
The floorboard creaked behind him and Jayden walked to his side.
“You calmed down now?” Jayden asked him.
“Yeah,” Corey replied.
“Good,” Jayden sighed.
“I’m still going to kill the Banks brothers,” Corey said.
“Fuck sake,” Jayden muttered. “You need to think about this.”
“I have,” Corey insisted. “I’ve thought of nothing else since she died, and what happened today at the funeral just shows that I was right. They’re animals. We can’t strike a deal with them, we can never trust them. The only thing they’re good for is target practice.”
“I don’t think so,” Jayden said. “Tyrese has brains. He knows we need a deal, and he’s willing to talk.”
“I don’t care,” Corey said. “He won’t be doing so much talking when I stick a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger.”
“That’s just the anger and the grief talking,” Jayden said diplomatically.
“Maybe,” Corey said. “I guess it’ll be anger and grief pulling the trigger too.”
Jayden shook his head and left the room, and Corey knew his brother was disappointed. Normally he would have respected his brother’s wishes, but Jayden didn’t understand. This was not just business, it was personal.
The Banks brothers had driven Jessie to suicide and he would avenge her, to make up for letting her down when she was still alive.
He pulled his phone out and called Goldie. He didn’t trust him, especially after he had seduced Jessie with the promise of a baby, but Corey knew that he was one of the few that would not run straight to Jayden and tell him whatever Corey had asked of him.
“I need your help,” Corey said when Goldie picked up.
“Sure man,” Goldie said, surprised.
“And Jayden can’t know about it, not yet,” Corey insisted.
“Sure,” Goldie said. “You need me to take someone out for you, right?”
“I want Tyrese and Trent Banks dead,” Corey told him. “I don’t care if they suffer and I don’t care how much it’ll cost. I just want them wiped out.”
“I can do that,” Goldie said down the phone. “I’ve been meaning to get back at them for breaking my legs for a long time. Don’t worry man, I’ll kill them.”
Corey hung up and knew he had chosen the right man for the job. He looked down at the bed where he had found Jessie. Thinking of her and how she had been driven to death, he knew he was doing the right thing. Goldie would pay for it too, but that could wait until he had outlived his usefulness.
He could not relax yet though, not until Tyrese and Trent Banks were dead.
* * *
Keskia avoided any eye contact as she hurried across the courtyard and up the stairs to her flat. She did not care what the neighbours must think, she just wanted to be alone. She wanted to bolt her front door shut and never set foot outside again after today.
She turned from the stairwell at her floor and hurried home, fumbling for her keys. As she approached the front door, a hooded figure turned from looking down at the courtyard beneath. Keskia froze.
“What are you doing here?” Keskia asked, her voice shaking.
She stepped closer, the keys shaking in her hand.
“I’m back home,” Troy said. “Where else did you think I was going to go?”
Keskia swallowed hard and unlocked the front door. She stepped into the kitchen, heard the scuff of trainers as Troy went to follow her inside. She slammed the door shut in his face and threw the chain into place.
Troy rapped hard on the door.
“Mum, what the hell?” he demanded, shouting through the door.
Keskia took a deep breath, tears threatening once more. The door rattled as Troy slammed his hand against it. She sighed and undid the chain. Her youngest son almost fell onto the kitchen floor as she threw the door open.
“What was that about?” Troy asked, eyes narrowing.
Keskia looked into his face, knew that she could not abandon her son, no matter what he had done, or how she felt about it. She had forsaken Jessie, and she could not do the same to Troy. She opened her arms and enveloped him in a hug, holding him tight against her.
Troy shrugged out of her embrace and stepped around her, dropping a small bag of his personal items on the kitchen table. He opened the fridge and pulled out a can of beer.
Cracking it open, Troy caught his mother watching him.
“What are you staring at?” he snapped. “Forgotten what I look like? Perhaps you should have visited me then. Or waited for me after I was let out.”
With that, he snatched up his bag and sauntered into the lounge, swigging from his beer as he went.
“I’m taking my old room back,” he called over his shoulder.
Keskia watched him go. She knew that her son had not changed. Perhaps he never would. She put a shaking hand out and clutched the back of a kitchen chair for supp
ort.
* * *
Troy kicked off his trainers and sat down heavily on the sofa. He heard a chair scrape from the kitchen but paid it no mind. He flicked on the television.
He finally had his freedom. It was bliss, to be able to do whatever he wanted, to have a cold beer, no eyes watching him, nobody to control him. He fully intended to make the most of it. He would enjoy everything that he had taken for granted before he had been locked up.
The last few days had been spent in a drug and booze fueled haze. He had found some university student who fancied herself a bit of rough, and he had crashed at her dorm until she had wised up to him and turfed him out.
He had got his pressing needs out of his system, but still, there was unfinished business he had to take care of before he could truly feel free. People on the Goldsworth had wronged him, stabbed him in the back, abandoned him.
Payback was his top priority now, Troy decided. It was just a matter of who would be first.
NO SECOND CHANCES
BOOK 4
CHAPTER ONE
It was Saturday morning, but Tyrese Banks did not feel either the usual urge to party or the beginnings of a hangover. He had necked a few beers last night, but it was not to celebrate, it was because he had needed to, or his emotions would have overwhelmed him.
His thoughts remained on Jessie, his beloved little sister, and the fact that she had just put a gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger. He knew that he was not entirely blameless for pushing her to that desperate point. He also knew that her boyfriend, Corey Healy, had a burden of guilt probably larger than his own. Trent, in his anger, was all for revenge and justice, but Tyrese disagreed.
If he held Corey responsible for pushing her to that point, he would have to accept responsibility for his own part in the tragedy and he did not want to allow himself to think like that. Besides, he reasoned, Jessie had been dealing with grief and her own issues, and nobody had forced her to take that drastic route to oblivion.
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