Fatal Page 17

  ‘Oh, so you do care.’

  Affronted, Alice restrained her feelings. She glared at Lola. ‘I didn’t say that, I said, what do you mean?’

  ‘Alice Rose, has anyone told you what a feisty little mare you can be, not to mention stubborn? Maybe you should start thinking about other people and not just yourself.’

  ‘That’s what I have been doing, but I’m not going to do that anymore.’

  Sighing, Lola’s heart went out to her. ‘Alice, lovie, don’t lose yourself in this. This isn’t you. The Alice I know is loving and caring, just like your dad and Franny and Alfie. Look around, look what you’ve got – you’re lucky to have so many people who love you.’

  Alice stalked towards Lola, her almond eyes brimming with fury, her stomach twisted in knots. ‘I don’t want to be around people like that.’

  ‘None of us is perfect, Alice – doesn’t that Bible of yours teach you that?’

  Ignoring how cold it was getting, Alice gave an embittered smile. ‘What do you know about it?’

  ‘Enough. I know there’s a story of how that Jesus bloke chatted away happy as Larry with them leopards and accepted them for what they were.’

  ‘Lepers, not leopards. It’s not The Lion King, Lola.’

  Sniffing, Lola shrugged. ‘Well, whatever, lions, leopards and tigers, they’re all the same.’ Alice rolled her eyes as Lola continued to talk. ‘The fact is, Alice, you and I both know the whole point to all that religious stuff you go on about is to accept people no matter what they’ve done, how they look or who they are. You’re supposed to love people regardless, darlin’.’

  ‘Even gangsters?’ Alice scoffed.

  Lola sighed again, realising that winning Alice around was going to be trickier than she’d first imagined. ‘Yeah, cos I ain’t asking you to love what they do, but love who they are. Alfie, Cabhan and Franny are good people with good hearts, it’s as simple as that. They saved me.’

  Sitting on the bonnet of the Ferrari, Alice gazed at Lola coolly, slight ridicule in her voice. ‘Are you going to tell me now that you were a gangster as well?’

  Lola shook her head and took a deep breath. ‘No, but I was on the game – a prostitute – for a long time, and if it wasn’t for that lot, I might be still there now. So you see, all of us in one way or another have baggage.’

  Staring in horror at Lola, Alice, her thoughts spinning, got up and moved away from the car. ‘You … you were a prostitute. How could you?’

  Taken aback, Lola shook her head. ‘Alice, don’t.’

  ‘Don’t what?’

  ‘Don’t look at me like that.’

  ‘How else do you want me to look at you?’

  With tears in her own eyes now, Lola spat out her words. ‘Like I’m a human being. Like I still matter. Who are you to judge me, Alice Rose? You don’t know my life, you don’t know what I’ve been through, and believe me, sweetheart, you could never judge me more than I’ve judged myself over the years. Being out there on the streets, I lost everything. I lost me kids and I lost who I was, so don’t you dare look at me like I’ve just crawled out from under a stone, because this is me, Alice, warts and all. This is who I am, but it’s not all of who I am, and it certainly doesn’t define me. So, do yourself a favour, darlin’, and get off your high horse, stop being selfish and realise your life ain’t so bad.’

  Sobbing and wishing she were back in the safety of the convent, Alice blurted out her words. ‘That’s not true, it sucks, and you have no idea how unhappy I am, Lola. I can’t stand it. I’ve never felt like this before and I don’t know what to do. Mum’s dead, Sister Margaret’s dead and my dad isn’t who I thought he was, and everyone lies about who they are apart from …’

  Encouragingly, Lola spoke gently to Alice. ‘Apart from who?’

  For a moment, Alice thought about confiding in Lola about Nico, about the way he made her feel, the way he made her feel so special, but it was almost like she didn’t want to share him, share what they had with someone who didn’t think the way she and Nico did, so instead Alice said, ‘Apart from you. You’ve told me the truth.’

  Pleased, Lola smiled.

  ‘But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m stuck here, and all I want to do is go home and have life go back to the way it was.’

  Alice slumped down in the middle of the lane weeping, her head on her knees as Lola gently cradled her. ‘I know, sweetheart, I know. This has been so tough on you, don’t think I don’t understand that, but, Alice, as hard as it is, you’ve got to keep going, keep trying by finding the good in what you’ve got and the people around you. I ain’t saying that’s easy, but I’m saying like the sun will rise tomorrow, you too, Alice Rose, will rise.’

  With Lola’s words touching her heart, Alice smiled as she lifted her head, her eyes red and puffy. ‘I’m so sorry, Lola, I didn’t mean to be nasty; I didn’t mean to judge you. I was just …’

  Finishing off Alice’s sentence, Lola cackled, ‘Shocked that I was an old brass?’

  ‘No! Gosh, no! Oh, Lola, I wasn’t going to say that!’

  ‘Alice, I’m just kidding. Oh, don’t cry. Listen to me, I’m as tough as a pair of rain-weathered boots. My skin may look like I wash in milk and honey, but it’s thick as an old rhino!’ Lola burst out into laughter again, the deep lines on her face looking like ridges in the sand. ‘Now come on, Alice, I need to get you out of here. We need to hurry, but if you’re really lucky, I’ll work out how to stop that car long enough to treat you to a Maccie D’s on the way back. So come on, lovie, let’s go.’

  ‘How the fuck could you lose her? How?’ Raging, Nico Russo upturned his bed in the small cell before sweeping everything off his side locker and kicking it over in fury. As it clattered to the floor, Nico stopped dead to stare at the only picture on the wall. The photo of Alice Rose. Her eyes staring back at him.

  With shallow breaths, he walked up close and ran his fingers caressingly down the tiny photograph he’d got one of his men on the outside to print for him.

  Closing his eyes, he imagined her, imaged her smell … her taste … her body … her blood.

  ‘Where are you, Alice Rose, where did you go? Are you playing games with Daddy?’

  Feeling both aroused and calmer, Nico picked the phone up again. ‘Sal, are you still there?’

  ‘Sì, Nico.’

  ‘Good. I want you to find her, but I have an idea, a plan. I need you to do something …’

  32

  Alfie Jennings sat on the uncomfortable seats in Addenbrooke’s Hospital waiting for Lola to pick him up. The relief of hearing that Alice was safe had nearly brought him to tears, and the pride and love he’d felt for Lola for finding her was immense.

  Feeling his phone beep, he looked down at it. It was a text from Franny:

  Who are you going to choose?

  Seething, Alfie reread it, blowing out an exasperated lungful of air. He replied:

  Maybe you should check your fucking voicemails before you start again with this stuff. I’ve been trying to get through to you for AGES!!!! WTF!

  Alfie waited for the reply. It came in quickly:

  I know you have. But you still haven’t answered my question – who are you going to choose?

  ‘Are you having a fucking bubble?’ Alfie growled out loud as he read the text, just as Lola walked into A&E.

  ‘Everything all right, Alf? Did the procedure go well? Alice is in the car. She’s not keen on seeing you but I told her she ain’t got much choice; though I doubt you’ll get a word out of her. She’s not happy, Alfie, though who can blame her? Anyway, I parked just outside in the disabled bay. Come on.’ As Lola approached him she wiped her lips with a McDonald’s napkin. ‘You sure you’re all right, Alf?’

  ‘Do I look all right? And to answer your first question, everything isn’t okay, it’s so far from okay it ain’t real. Can you believe I’ve just got a text from Franny and once again she’s right up her own arse.’

  As Alfie hobbled along next t
o Lola on the crutch the hospital had provided, heading for the door, she glanced sideways at him. ‘What are you talking about now?’

  ‘I’m talking about Franny not giving a fuck that Alice was missing or that Cabhan is in some induced coma or that I’ve got a poxy hairline fracture!’ Alfie shouted the last part of his sentence.

  ‘Calm down. Did she actually say that?’

  ‘No, but she knows I was trying to get in contact with her and all she wants to know is who I choose?’

  Standing in front of the Ferrari, Lola frowned. ‘Who you choose?’

  ‘Yes, just before all this happened, me and her, well, we were talking about Bree and …’

  ‘Oh, she wants you to choose between her and Bree? Well, she’s hurt, isn’t she?’

  Alfie raised his voice again. ‘Hurt, no, I’m hurt. Cabhan’s hurt. All she is is licking her wounds. She’s crazy! We’ve got all this going on but all she cares about is all this shit between her and me.’

  Clambering into the car, slightly out of breath, Lola panted, ‘That’s not true! Have a heart, Alfie.’

  ‘Listen, Lola, my only concern is Alice and that’s what hers should be as well.’

  Trying to remember what button to push, Lola scanned the dash. ‘Yeah, but—’

  Before Lola had a chance to reply, another text beeped in:

  Well, Alfie, who do you choose?

  Alfie shoved the phone into Lola’s hands. ‘She’s like a woman possessed. Only a few hours ago she told me that she didn’t want me to choose and now, because Bree and her have had a mothers’ meeting, she’s putting the pressure on … Fuck it, I’m best off without either of them.’

  ‘Come on, Alf, I know you’ve had one of the worst days, but I know you don’t mean that.’

  ‘Lola, look at my face – do I seem like I’m kidding?’

  ‘She’s clearly upset, Alf. Wouldn’t you be if you came home and she’d got another bloke in her bed right in front of your nose? I admire her. I think she’s shown enormous restraint. Most women I know would be tearing out Bree’s hair. But not Franny, she’s a proper lady … Did you tell her about Cabhan?’

  Annoyed, Alfie tapped his fingers on the side panel. ‘If you mean, did I leave a message for her, yes, I did.’

  Lola quickly glanced over at Alfie. ‘Well, there you go then, she obviously hasn’t listened to the messages, otherwise she’d be on the phone like a shot. There’s no way Franny would stay away just because of some domestic with you. Cabhan’s like her second father and she’ll be devastated once she finds out. Let’s face it, I’ve been on the other end of your messages when you’re on one, and they ain’t exactly a book at bedtime. She’s only just recovered from the last lot you left her. Once bitten, twice shy, and I don’t blame her.’

  Continuing to seethe, Alfie pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. As he was about to light one, Lola snatched it out of his mouth. ‘Not in the car. Alice is asleep, she’s enough problems without having a lungful of smoke.’

  Angrily, Alfie crumpled the cigarette up in his hand. ‘Fine …’ He stopped as he glanced at his phone again. Another two messages:

  Well?

  Choose.

  Frowning, Alfie switched off his phone. He couldn’t deal with Franny now. His focus had to be on Alice and what he was going to do, or rather how he was going to keep her safe. The Russos were ruthless – this was a game to them and there was no way they were going to let this go. The problem now was he had to make the decision about what to do with Alice on his own. Cabhan was off limits; they’d put him in an induced coma after his operation and who knew if he was even going to pull through. Jesus, what a mess.

  With Alice squashed up asleep in the barely-there back seat of the Ferrari, Lola reversed out of the car park with a screech and a jolt as Alfie gazed out of the window.

  ‘You know we can’t go back to the house, don’t you?’ he said.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘You also know that wherever we go has to be somewhere that no one can ever find Alice, nowhere that anyone would think of looking for her.’

  ‘Yeah, but where?’

  ‘I think we should take her to stay with Abel. Abel Gray.’

  Lola’s eyes widened as she shook her head. ‘Abel? Alfie, no, no, she can’t go there, you can’t take her there, that poor girl’s been through enough already.’

  ‘Lola, if there was any other way I’d take it, but what choice have we got?’

  33

  It had taken Lola over three hours to drive to Abel Gray’s isolated thirty-acre country estate in South Hampshire, situated on top of a hill and tucked away within the New Forest with sweeping views of the coastline.

  Although it was early morning, it was still dark and Alice had slept fitfully most of the journey.

  Lola shivered as she stared into the dense woods surrounding Abel’s imposing property, which was kept secure by great metal front gates locked with a heavy, rusty steel chain.

  She whispered as if someone were listening, feeling ill at ease as a cold wind blew through the window and made a shrill noise around the car. ‘Alf, I don’t think this is a good idea, I think we should go. We can’t leave Alice here, you know that. Alfie, see sense, please.’

  With his heart pounding, Alfie also stared at the woods, which even in daylight blocked out the sun. ‘Lola, my only concern is to try to keep Alice alive.’

  ‘And you think leaving her with Abel is the way to do it?’

  Alfie rubbed his head, knowing what Lola was saying was right. ‘Look, maybe we should stay with Alice as well. That way we can make sure she’s … well, that nothing happens with Abel.’

  Lola shrank back into the car seat. ‘No, none of us should stay here.’

  ‘Where are we, Lola?’ Alice’s soft voice came from the back of the car.

  Uneasy, Lola glanced at Alfie. ‘We’re just at a friend’s house. But we’re not staying.’

  Alfie leant across and gripped Lola’s hand tight. He gave her a hard stare as he hissed through his teeth, ‘You ain’t helping and I’ve already told you, this is the only way … Listen, Alice, I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to sort this out with Abel first. He’s not a great one for phone calls, so I couldn’t let him know that we were coming.’ Alfie turned to Lola and whispered, ‘Lock the doors, do up the windows and whatever happens, don’t open them under any circumstance.’

  Lola held onto Alfie’s hand. ‘Please, Alfie! You’re injured, you can’t go. What about your leg?’

  ‘It’ll be fine, I’ll see you soon.’ And with that Alfie Jennings, trying to ignore his own doubts and pain, climbed out of the car, opened the boot of the Ferrari to take out a small black crowbar and headed towards Abel Gray’s estate.

  Limping around the outside of the grounds, using his crutch as an aid, Alfie noticed the twisted barbed wire on top of the ten-foot-high iron fence, like a thorn crown. Ivy and bristle grew high and thick, covering most of the estate wall.

  It’d been a long time since Alfie had come here, maybe as far back as ten years ago when he’d watched Natalia be buried, and then he hadn’t stayed long because after what had happened, Abel Gray was not a man who liked company and company certainly didn’t like Abel Gray. Not that Alfie should’ve allowed that to keep him away, but what had happened had made it feel impossible for him to return. Until now. Until he’d had no other choice.

  With difficulty, Alfie crouched down, feeling a shooting pain go through his leg. He stopped to take a deep breath, beads of sweat prickling on his forehead as he knelt by one of the old sycamore trees. He brushed the grassy earth away, uncovering an old stone floor.

  Cautiously, he looked around, then he slipped the hook of the crowbar along the edge of one of the stone tiles and applied force to the opposite end of the bar. Strain masked his face as he pushed down hard, levering the stone tile until he felt it shift. With massive effort, Alfie moved the stone to one side, exposing a large hole in the ground leading to a dark secre
t passageway.

  Manoeuvring himself to the edge of the hole, Alfie tried to remember how far down it went. He picked up a small pebble, dropped it into the hole and heard it hit the ground slightly before two seconds passed. Shit. It was further than he’d thought, and with his leg he knew it would be trickier than normal.

  Throwing his crutch down the hole, hearing it clatter and echo as it disappeared into the darkness, Alfie prepared himself to jump and the inevitable pain that would come with it.

  ‘Holy Christ! Holy Christ! Fuck! Fuck!’

  In the dark passageway, Alfie rolled about on the damp cobblestone floor in agony, clutching his leg, which felt like it was going to explode. He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as burning agony ripped through his shin and knee.

  Curled up on his side, Alfie scrabbled in his pocket, pulled out the strong painkillers that the hospital had given him and popped them into his mouth from the foil blister like a starving man. From his other jacket pocket he pulled out his phone to light up the passageway.

  With his hands shaking, Alfie switched it on. It took a moment for it to leap into life and as it did, it beeped – once, twice, five, six times – showing the number of text messages he had. They were all from Franny:

  Alfie?

  How hard can it be?

  Too scared to choose?

  Why no answer, Alfie?

  Don’t take too long, otherwise you might not be able to choose at all.

  How’s Alice?

  Grimacing, Alfie stared at the messages, reading and rereading. He didn’t even want to fill his head with them. His anger towards Franny would only cause a distraction. But as he lay on his back, waiting for the painkillers to kick in before he moved, he couldn’t help sending off a quick text:

  I can’t deal with this right now. Why don’t you just listen to your messages?

  The reply came in quicker than Alfie had anticipated:

  I have, but you still haven’t chosen.

  Not wanting to but furious with Franny, Alfie pressed dial, raging and feeling nothing but bitterness towards her. It rang and a moment later he heard her voice.