‘He needs to know the lie of the fuckin’ land!’ raged Glynn. ‘They think you’re a soft twat.’

‘No they don’t!’ Peter retaliated. ‘I told him that wasn’t the fuckin’ end of it.’

‘So, what have you got planned then?’ Glynn asked, sarcastically.

‘I don’t know,’ said Peter, his frustration showing. ‘I’ll think of something. Don’t worry; he ain’t fuckin’ getting away with it.’

‘Well, you better fuckin’ had do,’ warned Glynn.

‘What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?’ Peter countered, but Glynn kept quiet. ‘Look,’ continued Peter, ‘just ’cos you’re well in with our Adele, don’t think you’re running the show now.’ There was a look of surprise on Glynn’s face. ‘Yeah, I fuckin’ know,’ Peter added, looking down his nose at Glynn.

‘She’s got fuck all to do with anything!’ snapped Glynn. ‘I know you don’t like me seeing her ’cos of my past but, at the end of the day, Pete, she’s just an ex-con like the rest of us.’

‘No she fuckin’ isn’t!’ Peter ranted. ‘Our Adele’s been through a lot so you better not shit on her.’

‘I wasn’t gonna. Anyway, she’s not a kid, y’know; she’s capable of making her own decisions. Why you being so fuckin’ protective?’

Peter didn’t respond. Glynn had hit a nerve. He didn’t know everything about Adele and her past, and there was no way Peter was going to be the one to break it to him.

Thoughts began to flash through his mind about everything he and his sister had been through. The years of abuse at their father’s hands. His drunken rages. The cruel way he had treated their mother, which finally culminated in Adele killing him in a violent frenzy. And as Peter recalled their troubled childhood, he capitulated. Maybe he had overreacted because of his over-protectiveness towards his sister.

‘OK,’ he said. ‘Having a go at each other isn’t gonna get us anywhere. I’ve given Alan the chance to back off. If he won’t take a friendly warning then he’ll have to fuckin’ do it the hard way. Don’t worry, he won’t get away with taking over our businesses. I’ll fuckin’ fix him.’

That seemed to pacify Glynn, who stayed quiet for the journey back, but Peter glanced at him once or twice. His face was stern, his eyes alight from the fire within him, and Peter couldn’t help but wonder what was going on inside his head.

*

David looked across at Alan and chuckled. ‘I bet you’re quaking in your fuckin’ boots, aren’t you?’ he asked, sarcastically.

‘What do you think?’ said Alan.

‘So, what’s the upshot?’ asked one of the other men.