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  ‘Nope,’ Sammy replied cheerily.

  ‘You always look as though you’ve just spent a week on the beach,’ Seamus said with a chuckle and an envious look. ‘I don’t know how you do it. I could spend a month in the Maldives and not tan like you do.’

  Sammy’s naturally light blond hair, pale blue eyes and tanned complexion always drew a lot of interest, though no one knew where this unusual combination had come from. Certainly not his parents, who had both been an average mousy brown and pale. Freddie often joked that he’d been swapped at birth by a Swedish body-building couple.

  ‘How’s the hand today?’ Sammy asked. ‘Still in pain?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s not the best,’ Seamus replied with a grimace. ‘But I’m getting by. Tim out there is shaping up, ya know,’ he said, changing the subject. ‘I’m t’inking we should start putting him in for proper training soon.’

  ‘Yeah?’ Sammy raised an eyebrow in interest. ‘You think he’d be a contender?’

  ‘He definitely would,’ Seamus confirmed. ‘He came through the youth offender system and took to the programme well. He’s had it tough, just needed a bit of direction. He’s been edging for an in with Freddie, but obviously I shut him down for now. He’d be sound to play the game though, if we got him up to match level. It would take some time,’ he shrugged, ‘but it’s worth getting the ball in motion, if you’re up for it.’

  Sammy nodded slowly. They had been talking about expanding their reach in the boxing world. Seamus had been winning and throwing matches strategically for them for the last few years and it had been a solid earner. They couldn’t spread themselves too far for fear of being noticed, but if they found the right sort of people, they could have three or four boxers in the leagues and make an absolute killing.

  ‘Keep working with him and I’ll sit in on some matches. Then when he’s ready for the lower trials we’ll set up a meet with Freddie,’ he replied.

  ‘Perfect. So, what have we got on today? I could do with getting out of here. The ring is calling to me soul and it hurts,’ he admitted with a groan.

  ‘We’ve got protection collections to do, but I’m also a man down on the coke run. The guy who picks up from Alfie’s men and drops to the top of the dealer tree has been arrested for a domestic.’

  ‘What?’ Seamus exclaimed with a look of disgust.

  ‘Yeah,’ Sammy said in a grim tone. ‘Beat up his missus, I heard. He’s going to have to go. Can’t have a liability like that walking round with that much product. But until we reshuffle, the drop needs to be picked up. Could you run it today?’

  ‘’Course,’ Seamus replied, ‘no problem. Just give me the details. Can’t have all that lovely cocaine not reaching our customers now.’

  ‘Great.’ Sammy pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Seamus. ‘Burn that when you’re done.’

  ‘Will do.’ Seamus reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. Unscrewing the lid, he popped two of them in his mouth.

  ‘What are they, painkillers?’

  ‘Christ the lord, no!’ Seamus replied in disgust. ‘I wouldn’t touch the things. Don’t you know how addictive they are?’ He shook his head. ‘No, these are iron and magnesium. Helps speed up the healing. Anyway…’ he pushed the bottle back into his pocket and zipped up his dark green aviation jacket, ‘I’d best be off then. The coke won’t deliver itself. I’ll catch up with you on the collections after, yeah?’

  ‘Sure,’ Sammy replied, opening the filing cabinet by the desk. ‘I should be in Soho, just give me a bell when you’re on your way. What did you say that boy’s name was again?’

  ‘Tim Eaves,’ Seamus called back as he opened the office door. He couldn’t wait to get away from his beloved gym today. ‘Second drawer down.’

  As the office door shut behind him, Sammy checked his watch. He had some time before he needed to meet Freddie at the club. He reached into the drawer and ran his fingers down the files until he found the one he was looking for. ‘Bingo,’ he muttered. Settling back into Seamus’s chair behind the small desk, he opened it up and began reading through the boy’s history and list of offences. He chuckled at a couple of them and got comfortable as the file continued.

  Seamus had been their prize fighter for a long time and they had made a lot of money from his games. But with him out of action for the foreseeable future, now more than ever, Sammy wanted to get the ball rolling on the next step in their plan. Because when all was said and done, time was money and money was power – and in their game, power was everything.

  Four

  Later that night, having gathered everyone together in the office at Club CoCo, Freddie opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a battered old map of London and the surrounding areas. Unfolding it, he flattened it out as best he could over the desk. Black and red marks were dotted all the map. They would mean nothing to the untrained eye, but to those in the know each mark indicated either a Tyler-owned building, a road which held no cameras, or marked the boundary edge for the area in which they could do business.

  ‘I’ve had an offer on a bulk load of weed from a contact over in the East End, but only if we can take the lot and store it ourselves until it’s been distributed,’ he said, leaning over the map.

  Anna peered at the map from her seat on the other side of the desk out of interest. She knew that the details of this particular job wouldn’t have much to do with her, but looked to see if she could come up with a viable location suggestion anyway. Most of their barns and warehouses outside London to the east were already being used for various other enterprises, she knew.

  Sammy waited for Freddie to continue, but Paul frowned. ‘What contact?’ he asked.

  ‘Lily Drew,’ Freddie answered.

  ‘What’s Lily doing with a bulk load of weed? And why are we taking it? We have our own set-up already,’ Paul questioned.

  ‘Those boys of hers, the twins,’ Freddie replied, ‘they got their hands on a job lot from the Jamaicans in the South. Only the Jamaicans don’t know it was them and Lily don’t want them finding out.’

  ‘No…’ Sammy exclaimed under his breath in surprise. He threw his head back and laughed. ‘They didn’t? Those little fuckers. I bet she’s steaming.’

  ‘She certainly is,’ Freddie replied. ‘She can’t distribute it round there, they’ve not dealt in weed before so it would be too obvious where it came from if they suddenly had some. She needs to get rid of it somewhere it can be filtered off quietly. I wouldn’t usually entertain it but she’s practically giving it away, so it would be silly not to. We can just add it in to our orders, no one will be any the wiser.’

  ‘I don’t know, Fred, I don’t like the idea of having to store it,’ Paul said with a worried grimace.

  They had only been out of prison for a couple of months and were still being watched loosely by the police. It wasn’t that Paul had lost his nerve – storing illegal substances like this was what had tripped them up last time. He’d been caught moving a large bag of cocaine and it had ended up being enough to send them both down for nearly three years. It had been the one and only time they had stored any of the drugs they distributed. Usually they had an efficient, constantly moving chain in position, moving the goods straight from supplier to the top of the dealer tree. That way, the risk was minimal.

  Freddie nodded. ‘I know, I don’t exactly relish the thought either. But if we plan carefully and make sure we don’t personally go near it, I don’t think it poses us any real risk. It won’t sit there for long and we can get it pushed out in a week. Plus, it’s Lily,’ he added. ‘We ain’t exactly going to say no when she’s up against a wall, are we?’

  ‘Mhm,’ Paul grunted grudgingly in agreement.

  ‘Who’s Lily?’ Anna asked, crossing her arms with a frown, a small needle of jealousy prickling her at the way Freddie had spoken her name to Paul. She’d never heard any of them talk of a Lily before.

  ‘Lily was one of our neighbours on the estate we moved to a
fter Dad died,’ Freddie explained, hiding the small smile of amusement at Anna’s reaction. After all they had been through over the years, it warmed his heart to see how protective she felt of their relationship. ‘Her mum was friends with ours. When we were little, she used to come watch us sometimes so Mum could work extra hours. She was a few years older than us.’

  ‘Oh, OK,’ Anna replied, her stance relaxing. ‘Well, if she’s one of your own of course you have to help her out,’ she agreed, understanding where Freddie was coming from.

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘What form is it in?’ she asked.

  ‘Bagged. They have a few trees too, but I’ve told her to destroy those. We haven’t got the equipment or time to dry them out.’

  There was a knock on the door before it immediately opened. Tanya walked in with a broad smile. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ She closed it behind her before walking forward to take the seat next to Anna.

  Anna twisted her lips to one side as her eyes swept over the map. There was nowhere obvious under the radar that wasn’t already being used, but, ‘What about the storage in the roof at The Sinners’ Lounge?’ she said, suddenly. ‘It’s been empty since we moved in and it’s out of the way of the general public.’ Anna saw Paul’s face drop even further. ‘I know it’s central but think about it. There are people coming and going all the time. No one would notice your transporters coming in and out and they wouldn’t have to travel so far to get it. If this Lily can get it in there unnoticed it’s the perfect solution.’

  ‘If who can get what into The Sinners’ Lounge?’ Tanya asked, glancing from Anna to Freddie.

  ‘Weed,’ they replied in unison.

  ‘Oh, right. OK. Sure. Because that makes complete sense,’ she replied sarcastically.

  ‘Freddie needs to store a few bags of weed—’ Anna began to explain.

  ‘More than a few,’ he interrupted.

  ‘Freddie needs to store more than a few bags of weed for a week or so and we’re looking at options,’ Anna finished.

  Tanya frowned. ‘One-off?’ She shot the question at Freddie.

  ‘Total one-off. It won’t be repeated. We still have our usual process in place,’ he replied.

  Tanya exchanged a look with Anna. ‘It’s fine with me,’ she said eventually. ‘But you’ll have to talk to Josephine about it, she’ll need to know what’s happening.’

  Anna looked away and pursed her lips, her expression hardening at the sound of Josephine’s name. ‘No problem,’ she replied. ‘I’ll sort it.’

  ‘OK, that’s settled then,’ Freddie said, folding away the map. ‘I’ll make the arrangements.’

  The beep of an incoming message sounded and everyone looked down to their phones.

  ‘Mine,’ Tanya announced.

  ‘Shit, is that the time?’ Freddie said, more to himself than anyone else. ‘Wait here,’ he added, looking at Paul and Sammy as he marched towards the door. ‘I’ll be back in a second, just need to grab Gavin before he locks up.’

  Tanya scanned her text and scowled. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Anna asked.

  ‘My date for tomorrow night has cancelled.’ She sighed dramatically and sank deeper into the chair, crossing her long, shapely legs in front of her. ‘I’m destined to be man-less forever, me.’

  ‘No, you aren’t,’ Anna replied, rolling her eyes.

  ‘I am. Honestly, my charm has worn off. It don’t work anymore. I’m practically days away from being a spinster.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Sammy said from behind her with a laugh. ‘Your charm is as intact as ever, Tanya Smith.’

  Tanya twisted round to stare at him. ‘And what authority do you have on the matter, eh? My charm never worked on you, did it, you big blond giant?’

  ‘Well, you never actually tried throwing your charm my way, did you, you little red firework?’ he replied, an amused glint in his eye.

  Tanya opened her mouth to respond, but for once found she had no response to give. She closed it again, folded her arms and looked him up and down. Sammy was right, she never had tried her luck in his direction, despite the fact he was one of the most attractive men she knew. She knew why, of course. Sammy had never been an option for her in the past, not really. When she’d first met everyone many years before, she’d only had eyes for Freddie. They’d dated for a while when they were young and naïve. And when, years later, they all became friends and eventually she’d been accepted into the Tyler crime family, she’d just written him off as being too close for comfort. Tanya lived by the rule that one should never shit on one’s doorstep. And Sammy was as close to her front door as someone could possibly get.

  She couldn’t even think about it. What if they started something up and then it went south? What if it all just went horribly wrong and then suddenly there was nothing but tension where there had been friendship before?

  Then again – a small internal voice whispered – what if it didn’t?

  Anna began discussing plans for the restaurant with Paul and the moment of flirtation between Tanya and Sammy passed. Sliding her gaze sideways, Tanya discreetly looked Sammy up and down once more. His piercing blue eyes and full lips were accentuated by a tanned, chiselled face. She didn’t usually like blonds, but Sammy pulled it off so ruggedly she decided she’d make an exception. His beige summer suit was expertly tailored, showing off his broad, defined physique to the max; she bit her lip as she wondered what his chest was like under his crisp white shirt. Was it smooth or did he have chest hair?

  Catching her staring, Sammy’s lips curled up into a smile of amusement and Tanya immediately pulled her attention away. She pursed her lips and joined in Anna and Paul’s conversation. She might have been thinking about it, but no way did Sammy need to know that. Not yet, at least. If she did decide to do anything about him then it would be on her terms. And she’d make damn sure he didn’t know what hit him.

  Downstairs, Freddie finished up his business with Gavin, the club’s general manager. ‘… so if you see him in here again call Ricky through to deal with it quietly. Just make sure you close off the cameras in the alley out back beforehand. OK?’

  ‘Got it, no probs,’ Gavin answered.

  The rogue pill-seller Paul had suspected had been found and warned off with a small slap in the back alley for his troubles. It would leave a bruise perhaps but nothing had been broken. He was only a young kid, so Freddie wanted to give him a chance to fuck off quietly. But as far as chances went, he never gave more than one. If the kid turned up in the club trying to peddle his wares again he’d suffer the beating of his life.

  ‘Great, catch you tomorrow.’ Freddie walked back to the stairs that led up to his office just as the music stopped and the lights came on. It was closing time – time for all the stragglers and the die-hard stop-outs to vacate the premises.

  Unbeknown to Freddie, a pair of eyes that had been staring at him from the corner of the room narrowed. ‘There’s a time and place for us, Freddie Tyler,’ the voice that came with the watching eyes whispered. ‘And it’s coming very, very soon.’

  Five

  The sound of laughter travelled up the narrow staircase from the floor below, alerting Josephine to the arrival of the girls. She checked her watch and raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was later than she’d realised. She’d been lost in her thoughts and memories for most of the evening again. That happened a lot these days.

  The whorehouse – or out-of-hours club, as Anna referred to it – which Josephine ran for her and Tanya, was a place that opened up for horny customers once their main club around the corner closed for the night. The main club – Club Anya – served drinks, food and fun to the public and put on an array of impressive entertainment night after night. Burlesque dancers sashayed around rope climbers, fire breathers pranced below ring gymnasts, and pole dancers slid up and down from floor to ceiling, all wearing only the bare minimum. After finding one of the girls offering extra services in the back all
ey one night, Anna and Tanya decided to open somewhere more discreet that catered for the men who wanted more than just a show. Now, once the girls were done for the night there, they relocated here – The Sinners’ Lounge – to make some real money.

  Dragging herself off the sofa where she had been sitting for the last few hours, Josephine turned on the light. It had grown dark without her even realising. She rubbed her eyes, tired despite all the extra sleep she had been giving in to lately. Walking through to the bedroom, she sat down at her dressing table and looked herself over. She didn’t look too bad, having already piled her curls up on top of her head and got dressed ready for the evening earlier on. She just needed to touch up a bit. Running her hand down her face she continued to her neck and lingered on the Adam’s apple that stuck out there, an ever-present reminder of her roots. Up until a few weeks ago getting rid of it had been one of her biggest priorities, the next surgery on the list that she’d been saving for in her quest to become all woman. But now it all just seemed so incredibly unimportant.

  Sniffing, she dropped her hands and refocused on the task of preparing for the evening ahead. She had to look her best. If she didn’t, the girls would start wondering why. Talk would begin and suspicion could form – and this was something that couldn’t be allowed to happen. Anna and Tanya had been very explicit on that point.

  Josephine reached for the tube of concealer and squeezed some onto her finger, then rubbed it into the dark circles under her eyes. Checking it was all smoothed in, she nodded and opened the box containing her collection of lipsticks. She rummaged through, looking for a shade of pink that would match the fuchsia stripes that ran through her black dress. Finding one, a brief smile of triumph played across her lips. She leaned in and began to apply a thick layer to her lips, before slowing to a stop as the memory hit her.

  This particular lipstick was one she had bought over a year ago to go with a flamboyant little number she’d worn on a night out spying on the enemy for Anna. It had been the night she had first met Aleksei. He had asked the barman to send fuchsia cocktails over to her table, to match the lipstick. Later he had sent over his number too. Josephine had known it was a bad idea – she was, after all, part of the opposing team, not that he knew that at this point – but something in Aleksei interested her and curiosity had won out. They had met, hit it off and secretly embarked on what had been the most beautiful and heartbreaking relationship of her entire life.