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it galled her. He was the only man she had ever been with and he had pursued her. .Christ, had he pursued her. Always taking her out, giving her things, and then she was pregnant. Like her mother before her she soon found out that Patrick Connor was not only unreliable but downright cold and callous. At six months old Anastasia had been taken to hospital and Tiffany had rung and rung his mobile to no avail.
    She knew he was with someone else and it hurt her, hurt her so much she had felt an actual physical pain, but there was something about him that held her to him though she didn’t know for the life of her what that was. But once his arms went around her she was his. No matter what he had done.
    He was Pat, and he was a law unto himself, and if you wanted to keep within his orbit you learned that lesson fast.
    He had arrived home a few days after Anastasia was discharged, made a fuss of Tiffany and the baby, and she had forgiven him.
    But it had hurt, hurt her deeply.
    Now she was aware that her days with him were numbered. He was into youth, extreme youth. He needed little girls with no brain and no idea about the real world. She was getting into the lap dancing club because she knew deep inside that soon she would be the sole breadwinner for her daughter, and also that what she wanted for her child was going to take money, real money, to achieve. Anastasia would have the life she had wanted for herself, all those lonely nights spent in the children’s home and later in foster care.
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    Anastasia was going to get everything, Tiffany was going to see to it personally. She might look a bit like her own mother but that was where the similarity ended. Her child was her world and she would do anything for her.
    It was a promise she was to keep but the price was to be far higher than she’d expected.
    Patrick was already walking towards the door. She watched him sadly. He was annoyed and it showed. Now he would walk out on her for a few days because she had had the nerve to make a remark.
    ‘Have you seen me mum yet?’
    Even as she said it she was telling herself to shut up, not to antagonise him further, but she couldn’t help it.
    ‘She’s been round to Carole’s so she’s obviously on the prowl.’
    Patrick looked at her coldly.
    ‘If I see her I’ll offer her her old job back. I like to keep things in the family - or haven’t you noticed that yet?’
    As the front door slammed behind him Anastasia whimpered and Tiffany felt the old longing for him return. She felt an urge to run to the door and beg him not to leave her for days on end as he usually did, but she fought it. Instead she hugged her little daughter close and wondered if her school uniform was still in the top cupboard in the bedroom. Once she was financially secure she would feel better able to cope with Patrick Connor and his mood swings.
    But at times like this she felt so very, very lonely. He was all the family she had ever really known.
    As Pat pulled up outside Sonny Lee’s flat he was fuming inside. Tiffany had the knack of making him feel guilty; her mother had had the same way about her. Anastasia meant literally nothing to him. Oh, he liked showing her off to his mates when she was dressed up and looking cute, but the actual everyday care of kids, especially little kids, pissed him off.
    Sometimes he wondered why he let women have his babies, it changed them inside. A lot of them changed on the outside as well - stretch marks and flab being just a few of the things he hated about some of his exes. Still, the punters didn’t give a toss and that was the main thing. All his kids’ mothers were on the game, and soon he knew Tiff would be just like them. She had a shock coming to her at that club and he was intrigued to see how she would handle it.
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    Before he rang the buzzer of Sonny’s flat he checked inside his sports bag. He had two hand guns and a large bag of cocaine. Pat liked Sonny; he was an earner and was also sound.