Free Disobey by Jacqui Rose Page B

surprised at the strength of the injured Alfie Jennings. As Vaughn fell into the hospital sluice trolley, propelling the steel surgical instruments to the floor, Del Williams stepped forward to help, lunging angrily towards Alfie, but a sudden pain stopped him, sending shockwaves through Del’s body. He held onto his head.

    ‘Fucking hell!’ Del shouted out in pain as Chloe-Jane stood with a metal tray in her hand.
    Del turned to stare at Chloe, seeing the security guards rushing over to see what the commotion was. He snarled at her. ‘What the fuck did you do that for?’
    Chloe-Jane shrugged, looking first at Alfie, then at Del who’d she’d struck hard across the head. ‘He’s family. And family stick together.’
    An hour later, Franny sat in the waiting room drinking what she suspected was the worst cup of coffee she’d ever had. Either that, or it was the bitter taste in her mouth she’d suddenly developed as she listened to Vaughn and Del tell her their suspicions about Alfie, who lay oblivious under anaesthetic in theatre.
    ‘It ain’t even bang out of order, Fran, what he’s done is worse. Much worse. He’s got involved with them triads, or at least he’s been part of the reason they’ve launched their attacks on Soho. He went against the rules, Fran, opening up a casino behind our backs. Everyone knows that’s off limits.’
    Franny bristled. ‘If it’s true.’
    Vaughn and Del glanced at each other.
    ‘Don’t look like that, guys, we don’t know it’s true.’
    Frustrated, Vaughn stood up, gesturing widely with his hands. ‘Oh come off it, Fran, you know what a fucking muppet he is, this has got Alfie Jennings written all over it. Anything that goes wrong and there’s even a sniff of Alfie’s name, you know he’ll be right in the centre of things. Ain’t no smoke without fire, or in this case, ain’t no smoke without Alfie. It’s always been the same. You know that.’
    Franny’s face flushed with anger. She spat out her words, surprising herself at how protective of Alfie she felt. ‘This isn’t about what’s happening in Soho, Vaughn, this is about you. Everyone knows you’ve got a problem with Alfie, and this is your way of getting back at him.’

    ‘Don’t be such a stupid cow, Fran, didn’t you see what shit he got your father into? I don’t know how you can bear to let him near you.’
    Franny’s slap to Vaughn’s face shocked everyone, apart from Chloe-Jane who had seen it coming. The only other person Chloe had known do that had been her mother, just before she’d drunkenly laid into her, often leaving her too bruised to go to school the next day.
    Chloe-Jane stepped behind Franny, showing her solidarity to her newfound friend as well as her uncle. He wasn’t her favourite person by any length but it was one thing for Chloe-Jane to think Alfie was a god almighty prick, but it was an entirely other thing for someone else to.
    Vaughn’s fury showed in his eyes. Who the hell did Franny think she was? This was men’s business, not women’s. He’d had a lot of respect for her at one point, the way she’d handled herself when the shit had hit the fan with her father, Patrick. She’d also been a good friend to Casey which of course he’d appreciated, but now? Now he was losing respect for her and if she wasn’t careful, Franny would lose the respect of the other London and Soho faces she’d known since she was a child.
    Franny’s voice was steely.
    ‘Don’t you dare speak about Patrick.’
    ‘Why not, truth hurts.’
    Franny stepped forward, closing the space between them. Franny stared at Vaughn, wondering how he’d changed from the sweet perfect gentleman to a hardened embittered man. When Casey had called her in tears, worried about the way Vaughn was acting, she’d reassured her friend it was probably nothing and had convinced Casey just to put it down to Vaughn having a bad day. But as Franny stood in front of him, it was clear this was far from a bad