All the other prisoners were in no doubt as to who was top dog whenever Shazza was inside. And most were frightened of her. Although she enjoyed abusing Caroline verbally, she had stopped short of handing out some of the treatment that she reserved for the weaker prisoners. She homed in on them, and made their lives a misery.

As Caroline watched Shazza being led to her cell, a feeling of dread came over her. She knew that Shazza’s arrival spelt trouble. And one thing was for sure: now that Shazza was among them, things were about to take a turn for the worst.

Chapter 9

By the time Adele had finished seeing the governor it was visiting time so she was led straight to the visitors’ room by the two guards. She spotted her brother straight away. It was difficult to miss him as several pairs of eyes were also pointed in his direction. As soon as he saw her, a big grin broke out on his handsome face. Adele strode purposefully in his direction while other prisoners and visitors whispered amongst themselves. Peter’s visits always drew this reaction because of his reputation as a gangster.

He was dressed smartly in a tight-fitting polo shirt, which emphasised his toned physique, and he had placed his expensive-looking leather jacket on the back of the chair. His dark hair was cut short and neatly styled in the latest fashion.

‘Hi, sis, how’s things?’ he greeted.

Adele took her seat opposite him. ‘Not too bad,’ she replied.

‘Anyone been giving you grief?’ he asked, and she noticed how he raised his voice and looked around the room; a veiled threat to anyone who might be considering it.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ she laughed.

‘Maybe they’re getting the message then,’ he grinned back, checking around the room once more.

‘I dunno. One or two have tried it on.’

Peter raised his chin and his eyes locked on hers. ‘I hope you sorted ’em out,’ he said. ‘Don’t want anyone taking fuckin’ liberties.’

‘No problems. It was fine.’ Then she paused before continuing, ‘Let’s just say the black belt in kickboxing has come in handy.’

‘Glad to hear it. Looks like that was a good move, then.’

‘Yeah, it’s helped me to look after myself, but apparently some of the hard nuts are seeing me as a bit of a threat,’ she whispered. ‘Some are even calling me top dog.’

‘Whoa!’ he said loudly, holding his hand up, palm outwards. ‘Be fuckin’ careful.’

‘Why?’ asked Adele, his words reminding her of Caroline’s previous warning.

Peter lowered his voice again. ‘Because there’s always someone else who wants to be top dog. And if they want it badly enough, they’ll make sure they fuckin’ get it, so you watch yourself.’

‘Shit!’ Adele gulped. ‘But what if it’s too late?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well,’ she whispered, ‘what if someone already wants to bring me down?’