Although Peter was trying hard not to appear soft in front of Glynn, the thought of inflicting damage on his two old friends or anyone working for them still bothered him. But Alan had forced him into this so he had no alternative.

‘Leave it with me,’ said Glynn. ‘I’ll sort the fuckin’ tools out, don’t worry.’

‘OK, let me know when you’ve got hold of them. In the meantime, I’ll let our men know what we’re gonna do and I’ll sort out the finer details, like who’s going to each of the clubs. We’ll have to make sure that everyone keeps schtum, though. We want it to be a fuckin’ big surprise to Alan and his gang.’

‘Don’t worry, it fuckin’ will be,’ said Glynn.

*

Adele had managed to avoid Glynn since the night when the drug dealer had escaped from the club. But now, as she sat at her desk entering some figures onto her computer screen, she could hear him talking to Peter in his office. The conversation sounded serious although it was difficult to hear exactly what they were saying.

Then they finished speaking and she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her office. Peter or Glynn? She wasn’t sure. But as she thought about the possibility of it being Glynn, her heart rate increased. She silently cursed the fact that he still had that effect on her.

‘What do you want?’ she asked, when he appeared at the door.

‘Ouch!’ he mocked. ‘Is that any way to speak to your former lover? It wasn’t so long ago that you couldn’t get enough of me.’

‘That was before I found out what you were really like,’ she snapped. ‘And the only reason I couldn’t get enough was because it was usually all over before it had even bloody well started. So, for your information, you’re crap in bed.’

He ignored her last scathing comment, focusing instead on the first. ‘What makes me laugh about you, Adele, is that you think you’re so much better than the rest of us. But when it comes down to it you’re just the same. You know what goes down with your brother’s businesses yet you didn’t turn down the job when he offered it, did you?’

‘I didn’t bloody know then what was involved,’ she said. ‘And that’s still far more than I want to know.’ Thinking of the protection racket, she added, ‘You just keep your illegal activities to yourself and leave me out of it. It’s because of your bloody blackmail that I’m still here. Otherwise I’d be well away!’

She hated the fact that his goading was getting to her, but she couldn’t help becoming angry. ‘We’re nothing alike!’ she screamed. ‘You’re ruthless and callous, and you don’t fuckin’ give a shit about anybody but yourself.’