The Take (64 page)

Jimmy never tired of this spectacle. He could watch Mags feed his Joseph all day and all night, it was to him the most beautiful sight in the world. They had been given a second chance and they were determined to make it work.

Freddie Jackson had blighted all their lives in one way or another and now he was long buried and the wounds he had inflicted on them all were healing over.

He felt the difference more and more every day. Even the girls were coming to terms with the devastation that had passed for their lives. They were closer than ever before, and they were gradually fleeing the nest that he had provided for them with Maggie.

He had achieved so much in his life, he had worked for his family, he had tried to live a good life, and it was his duty now not to let Freddie Jackson spoil his happiness in any way.

If Freddie had left a legacy, it was to push the remaining family closer together. As Ozzy had always told him, find a positive instead of a negative, and you will find your life is much easier to bear. The Jackson clan was still strong and new recruits would be added all the time. Rox had already started the ball rolling for the girls.

The Jackson empire would live on, and he was determined to pass it over to this little lad here. Otherwise, what the fuck was it all for?

He smiled at his lovely wife and basked in his own happiness, because being a Jackson he had learned the hard way that you never knew how long this feeling was going to last.

About the Author

Martina Cole is the No. 1 bestselling author of eleven hugely successful novels. Her most recent novel,
The Graft
, was No. 1 on the
Sunday Times
hardback bestseller list for eleven weeks, as well as a
Sunday Times
No. 1 bestseller in paperback, and
The Know
was selected by Channel 4's
Richard &Judy
as one of the Top Ten Best Reads of 2003.
Maura's Game
and
Faceless
both shot straight to No. 1 on the
Sunday Times
bestseller lists and total sales of Martina's novels now exceed four million copies.
Dangerous Lady
and
The Jump
have gone on to become hugely popular TV drama series and several of her other novels are in production for TV. Martina Cole has a son and daughter and she lives in Essex.

Reviews:

Highly acclaimed for her hard-hitting, uncompromising and haunting writing, as well as her phenomenal success, Martina Cole is the only author who dares to tell it like it is.

Praise for Martina Cole's bestsellers:

'Martina Cole pulls no punches, writes as she sees it, refuses to patronise or condescend to either her characters or fans… And meanwhile sells more books than almost any other crime writer in the country'
Independent on Sunday

'Intensely readable'
Guardian

'Set to be another winner'
Woman's Weekly

'A cracking yarn… Cole writes with huge authority on what is traditionally men's territory and more than succeeds'
Ms London

Also by Martina Cole

Dangerous Lady

The Ladykiller

Goodnight Lady

The Jump

The Runaway

Two Women

Broken

Faceless

Maura's Game

The Know

The Graft

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank all the people who kept me company through the long nights of writing. Beenie Man, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Barrington Levy, Usher, 50 Cent, Free, Ms Dynamite, The Stones, The Doors, Oasis, The Prodigy, Bob Marley, Neil Young, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Janis Joplin, Ian Dury, Clint Eastwood and General Saint, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Charles Mingus, Edith Piaf, Canned Heat, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, Alabama 3… to name but a few.