‘Aah, right,’ said Denise, with a knowing smile. Then she added, ‘So, what was wrong with just knocking you back like anyone else would have done?’

‘Exactly!’ Anna noticed that a small crowd had now gathered around them and she was enjoying playing to an audience. ‘Instead, the mad bitch has to go and attack me. She’s a fuckin’ psycho! I tell you what, if either of you are thinking of making a play for her, I wouldn’t bother, not if you value your life, anyway.’

‘We wouldn’t,’ said Denise, giving Louise an evil stare.

‘No, would we ’eck,’ Louise quickly added.

‘How come she got the better of you, anyway? You’re bigger than her. I thought you would have fuckin’ had her,’ said Denise.

‘She’s stronger than you think,’ said Anna. ‘And she’s a fuckin’ kickboxing expert, isn’t she? Haven’t you seen her in the gym doing her stuff? She’s good at it – fast, too. She had me up against that fuckin’ cell wall before I even knew what was happening. Anyway, from what I heard you didn’t do so well against her when she had a go at you.’

Denise sniffed. ‘She just caught me by surprise, that’s all. She looks like butter wouldn’t melt but, you’re right, she’s a fuckin’ lunatic when she loses it. Anyway, she’d better not fuckin’ go for me like that again. ’Cos next time I’ll be ready, and I’ll fuckin’ have her.’

Anna noticed the steely look of defiance on Denise’s face as well as the concerned expressions on the faces of some of the other inmates. Anna realised that perhaps she had gone a bit too far. After all, Adele had good reason for doing what she had, although Anna wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. And despite Adele attacking her, Anna still had a soft spot for her and wouldn’t want her to come to any harm. Denise was a tough adversary and it wasn’t good to get on the wrong side of her.

What Anna didn’t realise was that Adele’s reputation was gaining momentum. The other prisoners already knew what had happened between Adele and Denise, and this new revelation was further cementing Adele’s status as someone who wasn’t to be messed with.

‘She’s alright really. She’s just got a bit of a temper, that’s all,’ Anna said.

‘You’ve soon changed your fuckin’ tune!’ said Denise.

‘Like I said, she’s alright really. You’ve just gotta make sure you don’t upset her.’

Denise scowled at Anna. ‘We’ll fuckin’ see about that,’ she murmured before walking away with Louise trailing behind.

Anna stared after them, worried that she might have stirred things up unintentionally. She only hoped that Adele wouldn’t suffer because of her big mouth.

Chapter 7