Disobey

‘Mr Lee, it’s Alfie. I think we need to talk.’

5

‘Are you sure he said that?’ Franny Doyle looked at Chloe-Jane incredulously as she laid the few clothes she did have out on the spare bed.

‘Yep. He said as long as it was alright with you, I could stay for as long as I liked.’

Franny gave a small smile. ‘It’s not really my decision.’

Chloe chewed her gum noisily. When Alfie had brought her to the flat, no one else had been in and he’d only just managed to have time to show her to the spare room before rushing out to his club which was almost opposite the flat.

Chloe remembered he’d said something about Franny, but she hadn’t really listened. She wasn’t the least bit interested in any of Alfie’s girlfriends. But then Franny had come in, and they’d both given each other a fright as they’d bumped into each other in the darkened hallway.

That had been two hours ago and for some reason this woman wanted to know all about her, asking her questions about her life. Chloe-Jane wanted not to like her but for some reason she couldn’t help warming to Franny.

Chloe’s eyes glinted slyly. ‘But it is to do with you. Uncle Alfie said if you didn’t mind then I could stay longer … So is it alright? Can I stay?’

Franny wasn’t sure what to say. She could see Chloe was desperate. Behind the front was a vulnerable young woman who was essentially still a child. Her body was that of a woman though, albeit a glamour model. Huge breasts, almost cartoonish in look, disproportionally formed the contours of her tiny body. Huge eyes and full lips gave her sensuality older than her seventeen years which Franny was certain would attract the wrong kind of attention.

It wasn’t Chloe’s fault but it slightly niggled her that Alfie hadn’t bothered to tell her his niece was coming to stay or even ring her for that matter. She knew she was being silly, especially as things like this never usually troubled her. Maybe it had something to do with her finally deciding she was going to tell Alfie that she’d move in with him. Perhaps it was selfish, but the idea of having someone else in the flat whilst she adjusted to giving up her independence hadn’t been what Franny had imagined.

But then what was she supposed to do? Chloe was Alfie’s family and he didn’t have much of that, and if she was going to be with Alfie long term, well that made Chloe her family too. And reading between the lines, it was clear Chloe had had a difficult time of it.

Franny could tell Chloe was proud, just like Alfie, but she hoped the girl would eventually open up to her. She knew through experience what could happen if problems and secrets went unresolved. She also knew what it felt like to be lost.

Franny smiled at Chloe, suppressing a sense of foreboding. ‘Yes Chloe, of course you can stay as long as you want.’

Chloe couldn’t contain the sound of excitement in her voice. Franny was clearly an easy touch. Before she knew it she’d have her eating out of her hand. Things were beginning to look up. ‘I’ll pay my way.’

Franny looked sceptical. ‘Don’t be silly, you haven’t got any money. Besides, Alfie wouldn’t expect that. You’re family.’

‘I will though, then there’ll be no problem.’

‘There’ll be no problem anyway.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course I’m sure, it’ll be lovely and I’m sure Alfie will feel the same.’

‘No way. No fucking way. Do I look like I’ve got baby-fucking-sitter written all over me boat?’ Alfie Jennings did not need this at all.

‘But I’ve told her now, Alf.’

‘Well un-fucking tell her, Fran. I ain’t got time for this shit now. And who’s going to fork out for her? Muggins here. I don’t even know her and I’m supposed to cop the bill for her? It’s bad enough having to fork out for me ex and me daughter who I never see but who still wants to spend me money, let alone some waif from me half-sister.’

‘You can be really horrible sometimes, Alfie.’

‘So you like to keep on telling me, but I like to see it as being real. I ain’t having someone leeching off me, family or not. So you can tell her she ain’t staying here.’ Christ, this was the last thing Alfie needed. What happened to Sarp had really shaken him up, and he didn’t want to have to worry about anything else. He had to think about what to do, and having Chloe here wasn’t going to help one little bit.

‘Alfie, come on!’

‘Franny, listen, I’ve got a lot going on right now, babe, so when I say no, I mean no. I can’t deal with it at the moment. So just get rid, will ya.’

Chloe-Jane listened at the door as Franny and Alfie argued. Her heart was sinking. She’d hoped against hope that unlike the majority of people in her life, her uncle might actually want her around. But clearly she was wrong.

‘I’m not going to do that. If you want to, you tell her. I’m not going to do your dirty work for you, Alf.’

‘Fine then, I will.’ Alfie headed for the door but Franny grabbed his arm, holding him back.

‘Alfie, no! Wait!… You can’t.’

‘Firstly, I can and I’m going to, but secondly, how come you’re bothered; what’s it to you?’

Franny frowned, annoyed. This was the part of Alfie which irritated her and sometimes made her doubt the relationship. He could be so compassionate at times, but then there were times when he was like this. Ignorant. ‘What do you mean, what’s it to me? She’s your niece and she’s just a kid, plus it’s obvious she’s got nowhere to go.’

Alfie snorted.

‘I hate it when you do that, Alf.’

Alfie looked surprised. ‘Do what?’

‘Snort when you know I’m right.’

Alfie’s roar of laughter made Chloe jump but she continued to listen, her resentment towards her uncle growing greater.

‘You ain’t right, babe. She’s a player.’

‘She’s a seventeen-year-old kid, Alf.’

‘Yeah, a seventeen-year-old kid who wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of Playboy.’

Everything about this moment made Franny want to walk out and go back to her own flat. She hadn’t yet told Alfie about her plans to move in with him and the way the conversation was going she didn’t know if she ever would.

‘Why do you have to be like this, Alfie?’

‘Like what?’

‘Don’t play the innocent!’

Alfie shrugged, he hated it when Franny became difficult. He was used to birds giving him grief; usually when they did he’d just leave them to it and go and find some Tom to fuck or play a few games of poker to get his mind off it. But with Franny he couldn’t do either. Knowing that he, Alfie Jennings, was locked down by a woman pissed him off and fascinated him all at the same time, which in turn made Franny even more attractive to him.

‘Play the innocent! I’d say if anyone had then it’s Chloe. Don’t you see Fran, she’s properly played you. I said to her she could stay for two nights only.’

Franny shook her head, picking up her coat and bag. Even though it was the early hours of the morning, she wanted to go home to her own bed. She didn’t feel like being around Alfie tonight. ‘I’m not stupid, Alf. Of course I know she’s playing me. But don’t you see she’s got nowhere else?’

‘Well she ain’t staying here.’

Franny stood opposite Alfie. She studied his handsome face and gave him a sad smile.

‘Then that makes two of us then.’

Alfie raised his voice in annoyance. ‘You what?’

‘You heard me, there’s no way I’m going to stay here if you throw her out.’

Alfie’s old school instinct kicked in and he growled at Franny, a sneer coming over his face. Love was one thing, but this was another. He was basically being blackmailed by Franny and he didn’t like it. Not one fucking little iota.

‘Sorry darlin’, you may be the woman who’s grabbed me heart but I ain’t letting you grab me balls. No one but fucking no one tells Alfie Jennings what to do.’

Franny stepped in towards Alfie. Her voice was calm but cool. ‘Alfie, I’m not telling you what to do, quite the opposite in fact. I’m telling you what I’m doing. Give me a ring when you’ve stopped being such a prick.’

Franny swung open the living room door, coming face to face with Chloe who had heard every word of the conversation.

‘Get your stuff, Chloe, you can come and stay with me.’

The surprise on Chloe-Jane’s face mirrored that of Alfie’s. Chloe looked first to her uncle, then to Franny and back again. ‘You mean it?’

‘Of course.’

‘No she don’t. This is about me.’ Alfie’s voice was loud and although she ignored it, Franny could sense some hurt in his voice. She swivelled round to look at Alfie.

‘I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, Alfie, but the world does not revolve around you. Contrary to what you think, this isn’t about you. This is about Chloe, your niece. Remember?’

Alfie began to panic, this was the last thing he’d expected. ‘You walk out of here and you won’t be walking back in. You hear me?’ The moment the words came tumbling out, Alfie immediately regretted them, especially saying them to someone as fiery and stubborn as Franny Doyle.

Although Franny knew that Alfie didn’t really mean what he’d just said, her eyes flashed with anger. He was behaving like a spoilt child. ‘Is that what you really want, Alfie?’

It was the question Alfie Jennings hoped that Franny wouldn’t ask. Either way, the answer would make him look like a cunt. If he answered it with the truth – which was, of course he didn’t want her not to come back, in fact he didn’t want her to go – he’d look a soft cunt and he’d be open to any sort of female manipulation in the future. The other way he could answer it was with a lie, which would be to tell Fran that, yes he meant it and she could piss off out of his face. If he told her that he’d not only look a cunt, for the first time in his life he knew his heart would break, so instead, Alfie Jennings did what he’d done whenever he got nicked. He stayed silent. After all, it was his right.

Franny glared at him. ‘Fine, well if you haven’t got anything to say, Alf, Chloe and I will get off. You know where we are when and if you decide to wind your neck in.’ And with that Franny marched out of the room, with an excited-looking Chloe next to her.

The front door banged and Alfie rushed across to the window, watching as they walked down the street. He wondered if Franny could feel him watching. There was a huge part of him that wanted to call her back, but his stubbornness and male pride wouldn’t allow it.

He’d been right about Chloe, she was trouble, and now the thought began to creep in that Franny was too. But then show him a woman that wasn’t trouble, and he’d show them a man. Alfie sighed. Maybe it was better like this. Yes, he’d make Franny sweat for a couple of days, bring her back to her senses and have her scratching down the door to come back. It’d also give him time to concentrate and sort out all this mess with the triads.

As Alfie continued to gaze out of the window, he caught a glimpse of someone looking up. He couldn’t make out who it was but he was certain of one thing. Like everything else in his life at the moment, it probably meant only one thing. Trouble.

6

‘Uncle Alfie! Uncle Alfie! Open the bleedin’ door will ya!’ Chloe-Jane banged hard on the side entrance of Whispers nightclub. Two days had passed since the last time she’d seen her uncle. And although no doubt he’d been in a huff, getting his bollocks in a twist, as arguments went, it was nothing. She was used to having stand-up rows, followed by fisticuffs. Broken bottles and drunken slurs thrown about by her mother and her boyfriends; that had been Chloe-Jane’s life, so a few choice words were no reason to harbour a grudge. As well as this, she wanted something from Alfie.

About to bang on the door again, it was swung open by a startled-looking Alfie, something which didn’t go unnoticed by Chloe-Jane.

‘Alright mate!’ She grinned, trying to peer over Alfie’s shoulder. ‘Up to no good, are ya?’

Alfie scowled. ‘Has anyone ever told you you’ve got too much chat? Anyway what are you doing here? I thought you’d be somewhere else causing trouble.’

‘Ain’t me causing trouble. What’s going on in there, ’cos whatever it is I bet Franny don’t know nothing about it?’

Alfie stepped out into the alleyway, making sure the side door of the club was closed behind him. He shoved her gently on her shoulder. ‘Piss off, will you. I don’t need you buzzing around here like a fly on a pig’s arse. So do one.’

Chloe-Jane looked nonplussed. ‘Can’t understand what Franny sees in you.’

‘Well it’s a good job it ain’t nothing to do with you, ain’t it?… What is it you want anyway? Oh don’t tell me, money …’ Alfie went in his pocket and took out a roll of twenty-pound notes. ‘Go on then, how much do you want? How much will it cost me for you to go on your merry way?’

Chloe-Jane looked affronted. ‘I don’t want yer money!’

‘No?’

‘No.’

‘Then what?’

Chloe-Jane folded her arms, reminding Alfie of his ex. ‘I want a job.’

Alfie roared with laughter. ‘A job, in my club?’

‘Yeah, what’s wrong with that?’

‘Now I know you’re taking the piss. For a start, my club is a classy joint and the way you dress it’d make it look like it was a knocking shop for misfits and secondly, giving you a job would mean I’d have to trust you and I don’t, not one tiny bit.’

Having developed a thick skin over the years to survive, Chloe-Jane was not put off. ‘Oh please Uncle Alfie, I won’t let you down, I promise. I’ll work really hard, just give me a chance.’

‘I gave you a chance and what have I got to show for it? I’ll tell you. Me missus up and left, and now I’m in the dog house and you’re like the cat that’s got the cream.’

‘Look, all I want to do is pay my way.’

‘And there’s me thinking you’re a freeloader.’

‘I ain’t, and I know Franny said I didn’t have to pay, but people get fed up don’t they?’

‘That’s the first sensible thing that’s come out of your mouth. Ain’t nothing for nothing in this world, you need to learn that, Chloe-Jane.’

Chloe’s tone was laced with a bitterness far surpassing her age. ‘You think I don’t know that? From the time I was thirteen I was having to pay my way at home, and if I didn’t, me mum would chuck me out or call social services to come and get me.’

A flash of shame briefly crossed Alfie’s face, thinking about Chloe-Jane’s life. He’d half suspected his sister had neglected her but he’d done nothing about it. But then, it wasn’t his fault was it? He’d had his own problems and there was no point in beating himself up about it now.

‘So that’s why I want a job, ’cos I reckon if I pay Franny, she can’t say anything and won’t get rid of me.’

Alfie leant forward. ‘And that’s why I ain’t giving you a job. Because the sooner Franny comes to her senses the better, and we can all get back to normal. So like I said, do one, ’cos you’re not going to make me feel bad about it because it ain’t my fault you’ve got nowhere to go.’

Never one to be able to keep her mouth shut, no matter how hard she tried, Chloe-Jane retaliated, sticking her two fingers up as she turned away. ‘And it ain’t my fault you’re a prick.’

Alfie watched the ball on the roulette table go round and round. The place was packed and all thoughts of Franny and the annoying Chloe-Jane began to fade. He had been supposed to meet Mr Lee, to sort things out, but he’d cancelled so until Alfie heard from him, why not keep pushing ahead with his venture? The damage had been done anyway, so what harm would a few more quid in his pocket make?

The room was packed with illegal gamblers and there was an air of excitement about the place as wealthy businessmen from all over laid thousands of pounds on the table, losing it in a turn of a card or a spin of the wheel.

‘Hey! Alfie!’ The voice sounded from behind him and before Alfie had a chance to turn round properly, he felt a punch land at the back of his neck, complete with knuckledusters. He leapt back as his men ran forward, swinging with his fists at the suited men. The other punters in the club ran over to the exit but it was blocked by a large group of Chinese men who’d somehow got in through the double-locked doors.

Immediately the men started attacking the terrified punters. Nunchucks and coshes, chains and knives were bandied round. Alfie caught sight of a rich American banker being stamped on by three of the perpetrators. Blood poured from the man’s face as he screamed at them to stop.

Alfie ran over to the far side, but was grabbed by a Chinese man with an ability to fight far superior to Alfie’s. The man roundhouse-kicked Alfie’s face, splitting open his lip and loosening one of his back teeth in the mix.

The next blow to Alfie, apart from to his pride was to his nose. A grinding of cartilage sounded as Alfie saw all around him his men being overwhelmed by the triads.

The side lunge to Alfie’s knees brought him down to the ground and he yelled out in pain as his head hit the sharp side of the corner of the bar. He felt the warmth of his blood trickling down his neck. It was all beginning to get blurred now and the room began to spin around. The people’s outlines began to fade in and out. Double vision halted any attempt for Alfie Jennings to fight back. Another pain hit him, this time in the stomach. The blow winded him and he struggled to breathe as he reached out to the wall to try and drag himself up. The boot to the back of his head saw Alfie sprawling on the floor. The next moment, he blacked out.

7

‘Will you just sit down, Vaughn!’ Casey Edwards sat at the kitchen table in Lola’s flat watching her soon-to-be husband pacing up and down. He’d been pacing for the last hour and a half, ever since he’d got the phone call from one of his men, and it was now playing on her nerves. ‘Vaughn, please! Can’t you go and pace somewhere else?’

‘I’m thinking.’

‘Well can’t you think in the car, I thought you wanted to get back home?’

Vaughn swung round to look at Casey. She was so beautiful and he was a lucky man, but she needed to understand things had changed. Everything had changed. And he wasn’t going anywhere, not until this was all over.

He’d just got a call from one of his men, letting him know there’d been some trouble at Alfie’s club, and also that Sarp, the Turkish restaurant owner from Greek Street, had gone missing. As for Alfie’s club, he didn’t know what was going on there but apparently something about a casino had been mentioned.

Vaughn shook his head as he thought about it. There was no way Alfie could really be so stupid, so fucking muppet-like as to open a casino right under the noses of the triads. No, he might be a lot of things and do a lot of things, but that? To bring the devil to the door, knowing it wouldn’t be just him who would be in the firing line. No, surely not.

Alfie had sat there and seen the state Lola was in when the triads had thrown a warning fire bomb in the café. He’d been as angry as the others to think the triads were coming on their territory. There was no way it was an act. Vaughn’s men must have got it wrong about the casino. Or they better have got it wrong. Because if they hadn’t, this stunt of Alfie’s would certainly be his last.

‘You go, Cass. I’m going to stay in Soho.’

Casey looked amazed. One of the things she loved about Vaughn was that he’d put all his old life behind him. He hadn’t seemed to miss his old life like so many of the other retired gangsters; he’d been satisfied to take it easy.

Casey had played hostess many times at the lavish dinner parties she and Vaughn had at his sprawling Kent mansion, listening to the retired faces who could no longer cut it or who no longer had the edge to stay; all dissatisfied and unable to take to civilian life. But Vaughn had been different; he’d found peace outside the world of violence and multi-million-pound deals. But since the attack on Lola’s café last week he’d become obsessed with catching up with the people who’d done it. Almost overnight, the Vaughn Casey had known changed into a hard ruthless man, set on revenge.

‘Vaughn, this isn’t a one-man crusade. What about the others, they can help sort it out as well. There’s Del, Johnny, Alf …’ The moment Casey began to say Alfie’s name she immediately regretted it, as she saw the look in Vaughn’s eye. His voice was cold and agitated.

‘Alfie? Are you fucking serious? That man’s caused enough grief, wouldn’t you say, Cass?’

Casey decided to remain silent. Vaughn and Alfie’s history went way back. At one time, at the height of Vaughn and Alfie’s friendship breakdown, Alfie had told Vaughn he’d slept with her. And although Alfie Jennings had eventually admitted nothing had happened between him and Casey, it was still a sore spot for Vaughn when she talked about Alfie with any form of affection or positivity.

‘Well, Cass?’ Vaughn stood in front of Casey. She could see he was pushing for a fight, which would be his excuse to stay in London without having to discuss it with her. Well she wasn’t going to be goaded. If he wanted to stay in Soho then she wasn’t going to let him put it on her. She remained silent, staring at Vaughn.

Eventually Lola, having finished consuming a runny egg sandwich, broke the silence.

‘Listen Casey, Vaughnie is just doing what he knows best. He’s old school. Them triads need to be stopped and put in their place. This is Soho. Our Soho. Me and Vaughn’s. All of us have been round here as long as me memory will take me back. It’s where we belong. It’s all some of us know; all some of us want. You’re not from round here, love, so it’s different for you, harder for you to understand. But this is our home and we’ll do anything to protect it. So let Vaughnie do what needs to be done.’

Casey shook her head. ‘Lola, you know I love you like my own mum, and you’re right I’m not from round here, but neither is Vaughn, not anymore. He’s moved on. I’m not asking him to turn his back on you or Soho, I’d never do that, but he needs to leave it to the others, take a step back.’

Lola shook her head, her warm smile cutting through her craggy wrinkled skin. ‘Cass, it’s in him. Soho is in his blood. No matter what, that will always be the case and no matter how much he loves you, Soho will always come first.’

Casey was about to object but as she watched Vaughn walk out of the room without saying a word, something told her Lola might just be right.

The AA meeting in Greek Street was empty, save for an old man and a twenty-something skinny woman whose eyes gave away her hard life. But it wasn’t the people Casey had come to see, it was the sense of support she felt when she walked into the hidden meetings which could be found in every town. These sobriety meetings had saved her life. Stopped her from destroying herself when nothing else could reach her.

But as she’d got better, she’d relaxed, hadn’t bothered attending so many meetings, and that had been fine, but one morning last month she’d woken up and from nowhere the cravings had returned. That overwhelming sense of needing a drink. No matter what. No matter how much it hurt her or anyone else, the need to feel the burn of the alcohol hit the back of her throat had become overwhelming.

The cravings which in the past would’ve led to her putting herself in compromising situations with men and drugs were the demons which had brought her to Soho in the first place. Casey had come searching to put the past right, and whilst doing so had put herself right. Her life had gone from unmanageable to downright good. Life had come together. Her life finally had a purpose, and of course then there was Vaughn. She loved him and that love wouldn’t have been possible if she was still a drunk. A lush. He was again part of the reason she needed to stay sober because if she didn’t, it wouldn’t be a question of if she might lose Vaughn, it would just be a question of when.