LITMIR.BIZ

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      Shannon trembled as Charlie stood above her in the back room of his club. She was stoned, but not so stoned she hadn’t felt the hard kicking Charlie had just given her. The blood ran from her mouth as she gazed up at him. ‘I’ll do some more okay? I’ll work harder, I promise, Char.’

      The boot to the side of her head sent her flying back against the table and the ringing in her ear almost muted out what Charlie was screaming at her. ‘Too fucking late! You call yourself family and then you have the cheek just to hand me four hundred quid! You cheeky bitch. I can’t believe it. I mean, there’s me thinking that you’re pulling your weight and it turns out you’re just mugging me off … Four hundred quid for a whole day’s work.’

      In serious pain, Shannon hugged her knees to her chest as she sat against the wall. ‘I tried, I really did.’

      Charlie’s bellow filled the entire room as he charged towards Shannon, lifting her up from the floor by her hair. He stuffed the money she’d given him into her mouth, pushing it down her throat, making her gag, making her face turn from red to blue. Her eyes opened wide in terror as she struggled to breathe.

      ‘Tried! Are you being funny? All you have to do is open your mouth or open your legs and bingo! You hardly have to be a frigging genius, but what you want is a free ride ain’t it, Shan? You don’t want to do any work. You’re taking the piss because you think I’m soft for family. Well think again, darlin’, because I warned you before about handing over this sort of money.’ He shook her hard, and her head flicked back and forth, before he dropped her back on the floor, watching in disgust as she vomited up the contents of her stomach along with the money he’d stuffed in her mouth.

      Void of any sympathy, Charlie raged, ‘I hope you’re going to clear that up. This ain’t a free boarding house, Shannon. You’re no better than a dirty dog.’

      Pulling off her top and quickly trying to clean up the vomit with it, Shannon nodded fearfully. ‘I know, Char, and I’m really sorry … Look, there, that’s better, it’s gone. It’s all clean now.’

      Charlie crouched down to Shannon, curling up his nose at the smell of bile. ‘Stop the crying, for God’s sake. I don’t know what you expect me to do, Shan. I mean, seriously, tell me how I’m supposed to pay for all you girls, and pay for this place and all the other expenses I have, when all you give me for a day’s work is this?’

      Unable to stop crying, Shannon wiped her mouth with her top, which was now covered in vomit and dirt. Mucus and snot stuck to her cheek. Then looking so much younger than her sixteen years, she trembled, gazing at Charlie through her swollen, black eye. ‘Char, I’m so sorry, you got to believe me. I won’t do it again.’

      Grabbing another handful of Shannon’s hair, Charlie pushed his face onto hers. He spoke in a hiss. ‘You say that every time, and every time I give you another chance. Maybe if you spent less time sucking that crack pipe and more time sucking cock, there wouldn’t be a problem.’

      Shannon nodded her head, but she flinched as Charlie pulled her hair harder and continued to talk. ‘It’s no good, Shan. If I give you special treatment, all the other girls will want special treatment too, and I can’t be doing with that. I can’t do with the grief, so you need to say ta-ta.’

      Shock crossed Shannon’s face, her eyes full of fear. ‘What … what are you talking about?’

      Standing up, Charlie wiped his hands on his tailor-made dark blue jeans. ‘I’m letting you go, Shan, I’m not anybody’s mug.’

      Panicked, Shannon crawled towards Charlie, grappling at his trouser leg. ‘Please, please, Uncle Charlie, I’ll try harder. I’ll do anything you want, just please don’t get rid of me.’

      Trying to shake her off his leg, Charlie bellowed. ‘For God’s sake, get up!’

      Shannon continued to beg, her voice becoming louder and more high-pitched as hysteria set in. ‘No! No, Char, please. I love you. I don’t want to go, please don’t make me go, I want to stay here and work for you. Please, Uncle Charlie, I’m sorry.’

      Turning to one of his men who was sitting reading a magazine in the corner, Charlie spoke abrasively. ‘Get her out of here, Frank, now!’

      Whereupon, Frank picked up Shannon – who scratched and fought like a tomcat – and took her outside to the dark streets of Soho, dumping her still crying and half naked in the alleyway.

      ‘Do you have to do that shit?’ A few streets away in the empty club in Sutton Row, Vaughn stared at Alfie as he hoovered up another line of finely cut cocaine.

      Standing up straight, Alfie squeezed his nostrils between his fingers as the powder burnt the inside of his nose. He glanced at Vaughn, feeling the numbness at the back of his throat as he spoke. ‘I get enough grief from Franny, I don’t need you acting like me mother as well. Just lighten up – it’s a few lines, that’s all. Maybe you need to take a toot, help you chill out more.’

      Grabbing Alfie’s expensive shirt, Vaughn twisted him around. Both their handsome faces screwed up in rage as they stared at each other, full of hostility. Vaughn’s green eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t need to get out of me head and neither do you. In case that shit has made you forget, we’ve got a problem with Charlie, and I’m not talking about the stuff you put up your nose.’

      Pushing Vaughn’s hands away, and biting down the rising feeling of stress, Alfie glared. ‘I know what we have, and winding yourself up more ain’t going to help.’

      ‘Oh, and that shit is, is it?’

      Exasperated, Alfie walked around the bar to pour himself a glass of vodka, trying to even out the buzz of the coke. ‘Look, let’s just wait for Franny, and then we can decide what we’re going to do.’

      Vaughn laughed scornfully as he tapped his special-edition diamond Rolex. ‘It’s twenty past three, mate. Franny ain’t coming – not here, anyway …’

      ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

      Vaughn looked immaculate – despite the altercation with Charlie’s men earlier – in his silk grey shirt and Jacob Cohen jeans. He sat down on the bar stool. ‘You called Franny almost two hours ago and she’s still not here. Don’t you get it?’

      Aggravated, partly by Vaughn and partly by the fact that the cocaine wasn’t giving him the high he wanted, the pulse on Alfie’s jaw began to throb. ‘Get what?’

      ‘What do you think she’s been doing?’

      Alfie shrugged. ‘She was in the bath, or doing her nails, all that crap that girls like to do.’

      Bemused, Vaughn stared at Alfie, his voice mocking. ‘Is that what she said? Is that what she told you?’

      ‘Well kind of, she said that …’ Alfie trailed off, remembering that Franny hadn’t actually told him anything. ‘Look, does it matter what she said? She’ll be here.’

      Reaching for the bowl of cashew nuts, Vaughn popped one into his mouth. He pointed at Alfie. ‘Yes, actually it does matter. If she was at home when you called, why isn’t she here already? Even me old mum could walk it in fifteen minutes, let alone Franny.’

      ‘You need to back off – that’s my woman you’re talking about, and I don’t like what you’re getting at.’

      Not interested in doing anything near to backing off, Vaughn continued. ‘I don’t like it meself, but she ain’t to be trusted. You know that, but you just don’t want to admit it.’

      Knocking back the vodka and immediately pouring himself another drink, Alfie said, ‘You’ve just got it in for her. Ever since she took that money, you’ve been looking for something to hang on her.’

      ‘Well do you blame me? She’s screwed us over once and she’s capable of doing that again.’

      Angrily, Alfie threw

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