Standing up straight, Alfie squeezed his nostrils between his fingers as the powder burnt the inside of his nose. He glanced at Vaughn, feeling the numbness at the back of his throat as he spoke. ‘I get enough grief from Franny, I don’t need you acting like me mother as well. Just lighten up – it’s a few lines, that’s all. Maybe you need to take a toot, help you chill out more.’

Grabbing Alfie’s expensive shirt, Vaughn twisted him around. Both their handsome faces screwed up in rage as they stared at each other, full of hostility. Vaughn’s green eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t need to get out of me head and neither do you. In case that shit has made you forget, we’ve got a problem with Charlie, and I’m not talking about the stuff you put up your nose.’

Pushing Vaughn’s hands away, and biting down the rising feeling of stress, Alfie glared. ‘I know what we have, and winding yourself up more ain’t going to help.’

‘Oh, and that shit is, is it?’

Exasperated, Alfie walked around the bar to pour himself a glass of vodka, trying to even out the buzz of the coke. ‘Look, let’s just wait for Franny, and then we can decide what we’re going to do.’

Vaughn laughed scornfully as he tapped his special-edition diamond Rolex. ‘It’s twenty past three, mate. Franny ain’t coming – not here, anyway …’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Vaughn looked immaculate – despite the altercation with Charlie’s men earlier – in his silk grey shirt and Jacob Cohen jeans. He sat down on the bar stool. ‘You called Franny almost two hours ago and she’s still not here. Don’t you get it?’

Aggravated, partly by Vaughn and partly by the fact that the cocaine wasn’t giving him the high he wanted, the pulse on Alfie’s jaw began to throb. ‘Get what?’

‘What do you think she’s been doing?’

Alfie shrugged. ‘She was in the bath, or doing her nails, all that crap that girls like to do.’

Bemused, Vaughn stared at Alfie, his voice mocking. ‘Is that what she said? Is that what she told you?’

‘Well kind of, she said that …’ Alfie trailed off, remembering that Franny hadn’t actually told him anything. ‘Look, does it matter what she said? She’ll be here.’

Reaching for the bowl of cashew nuts, Vaughn popped one into his mouth. He pointed at Alfie. ‘Yes, actually it does matter. If she was at home when you called, why isn’t she here already? Even me old mum could walk it in fifteen minutes, let alone Franny.’

‘You need to back off – that’s my woman you’re talking about, and I don’t like what you’re getting at.’