Thank you for all the follows and favourites. Keep the reviews coming - I love hearing your thoughts on the chapters. Thanks so much to those who take the time to write. It too me a while to work this chapter out and I'm still not quite sure about it. What do you think?

Tommy ran a hand down his face. The hotel manager at his side was stammering out another apology and the tea room waitress on his other side was sobbing and wringing her hands and begging him not to fire her as cream dripped from her apron onto the carpet. Damn Alfie Solomons. Tommy knew Rose was safe with him, but he was furious he'd taken Rose without his permission. He took a deep breath, put one hand on his hip and held out a hand to Ellen trying to stay calm.

"I'm not going to fire you, Ellen. Now, stop crying for a moment, please. Mr. Peterson, tell me again where they went."

Ellen sniffed and wiped the back of her hand under her nose. Mr. Peterson spoke nervously.

"They went through the kitchen, Mr. Shelby. Colin, the chef, said they went out of the back door into the alleyway."

"And did Colin see which way they went?"

"No, Mr. Shelby, sir, he said closed the door behind them."

Tommy swore which garnered tuts of disapproval and a few shaking heads from the ladies at the tables. He threw a quick smile their way.

"My apologies, ladies."

He swept out of the room, planning his next step. The ladies all watched him go and then threw themselves into hushed and earnest conversations about what they'd just witnessed. It was the most exciting day they'd had that year. Mr. Peterson mopped his brow with a handkerchief and Ellen sniffled. He looked at her.

"Oh, for goodness sake girl, go and clean yourself up."

Not far away, at Jenny's café, Alfie fixed Rose in his gaze and she tried not to squirm. She knew it was a risk to ask him but he was unpredictable and might just help her out. Alfie chewed the inside of his cheek. Her request had surprised him.

"Why do you need money?"

She kept her voice bright. "Oh, just some girl things, you know – stockings and things."

A young lad arrived with two cups of tea which he put brusquely on the table and hurried off. Alfie was pleased to see that it was piping hot, strong tea in a large tin cup. He took a sip, his eyes still on Rose, and was glad for it. He put the cup back down on the table and wiped his moustache with the back of his hand. Rose didn't touch hers.

"Don't you have a job in the Shelby Company? Why do you need money?"

She scowled. "Tommy is withholding my wages."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I owe him some money."

Alfie let out a laugh. "You owe him money? Did you lose a bet on the horses or something?"

Rose was unamused and didn't answer him. Alfie took another gulp of tea.

"Why don't you ask him for money?"

"Have you met him? Why do you think I haven't asked him for money?"

"Tommy is many things, but he's not mean. I can't see him not giving you money for things you need."

"Yeah well, I can't ask him."

"What about your other family? Can't you ask them?"

Rose was getting frustrated with all the questions. Why did he need to know so much? She tried not to let her annoyance show.

"Tommy said I can't ask anyone else for money."

Alfie tilted his head to one side and studied her. Something wasn't adding up.

"So why are you asking me?"

"Cos you don't care what he says."

He leant forward, his direct gaze firmly fixed on her. Rose was decidedly uncomfortable.

"Actually, Petal, I care very much indeed what Tommy says. And you should too. Your brother is the cleverest man I know. Apart from myself."

Rose realised she was fighting a losing battle and wondered how to change the subject. Alfie sat back. He opened his mouth to say something but at that moment Jenny arrived with two bowls of groaty pudding. She placed the larger one in front of Alfie and a smaller bowl in front Rose who looked at her surprised.

"I didn't order anything to eat, Jenny."

"I know what you said, Bab, but you definitely need something to eat. That pudding will put some meat on your bones and some colour back in your cheeks. It's on the house for you Shelbys, you know that."

"No, Jenny, I…"

Alfie interrupted. "That's extremely thoughtful of you, Jenny my dear. I'm sure Rose here will make a good effort to eat it."

Rose frowned at him. She didn't feel it was his business. Jenny beamed at him.

"I hope you enjoy your first taste of Black Country food, Mr. Solomons."

"Oh, I'm sure I will."

Jenny continued to stand there, smiling at him expectantly and Alfie realised she was waiting for him to try it in her presence. He picked up his spoon and took a mouthful of the thick, steaming stew. It was lovely – full of flavour, the vegetables were tasty and the beef practically melted in his mouth. The groats added a surprisingly nice texture to it and Alfie was impressed. He made appreciative grunts as he chewed and swallowed the hot food. Jenny's smile grew wider with every noise Alfie made.

"Jenny, that is the most delicious mouthful of food I have ever had apart from my own mother's cooking – God rest her soul. I'm not surprised this place is packed."

Jenny's smiled practically reached her ears and she bounced a little on her heels.

"Birmingham food will never disappoint, Mr. Solomons."

"Unless it's Sally Brockett's, eh?"

Jenny laughed loudly. Rose rolled her eyes at Alfie's charm but was quietly impressed with the way he'd paid attention to what Jenny had said and was able to use it to his advantage.

"Too true, Mr. Solomons, too true."

"And call me Alfie, please. All my friends call me Alfie."

The hardy, older woman blushed and put a hand up to pat her hair. Then she gathered herself and nodded briefly at him before moving away to another table. Alfie shoveled a few more spoonfuls of the food into his mouth. He was starving and the stew definitely hit the spot. Rose watched him, her nose wrinkling slightly at the droplets of sauce which clung to his moustache, and then leaned forward.

"Alfie…"

"Eat your food, Petal, it's amazing."

"I've had it before. Look Alfie, …"

He looked at her. "Finish your food and we'll talk about money then."

She paused. What did that mean? Was he going to lend her the money? There was only one way to find out. She picked up her spoon.

Ten minutes later, Alfie had scraped the last of his groaty pudding from his bowl and was sat back in his chair feeling replete. Rose had managed about half of hers and was pushing the rest of it round her bowl. He watched her for a while working out his approach. He knew why she wanted the money; he had seen how her behaviour was changing as the day went on, her leg bouncing up and down under the table, shifting frequently in her chair. She was craving the drug she had been taking for the past year. He tried again, hoping she'd be honest with him this time.

"What do you need money for, Petal?"

She raised her eyes to him. "What I said – just some necessities."

He frowned. "And how much would you need?"

She put the spoon down and looked at him hopefully. "About ten pounds, maybe fifteen."

Alfie's eyebrows shot up.

"I know it's a lot but things are expensive these days. And Tommy expects me to dress properly for the job, you know, and…"

Alfie leant forward, his eyes narrowed. "Stop lying to me, Rose."

Rose's mouth dropped open. Alfie had never spoken to her like that before. "Alfie, I'm not, I…"

His expression softened and he shook his head. "Petal, I know why you want the money."

She looked away. Of course he did, he wasn't stupid. Her shoulders sagged, she knew she'd been foolish to try and use him for money.

"I'm sorry, Alfie. I shouldn't have asked." She sat back, her arms folded round her, looking anywhere but at him.

"You can ask me anything, sweetheart, I don't judge. But you can't lie to me. Friends don't lie to each other."

Glancing at him before looking away again, she nodded. She was embarrassed. She was sad that her visit was Alfie had turned sour. She was annoyed that he'd not leant her the money. And she was still craving a pill, feeling overwhelmed by all the emotions that were tumbling around inside her. She cleared her throat.

"I think I should be getting back now. Tommy will be mad if I stay away too long."

"Tommy will find us before long. There's not much that happens in this city without him knowing it."

Rose knew he was right but she wanted to get out of the café. The noise and the heat were giving her a headache. "Can we go, please, Alfie?"

"Yeah, alright."

He stood up and Rose did the same thing, picking up their coats. He took some money out of his pocket and looked for Jenny.

"Oh, you don't need to pay, Alfie. We never do."

"Alfie Solomons will always pay his way, young lady. Jenny is working very hard to keep this place open and should be paid for her labour, don't you think?"

"You sound like Jessie Eden."

"Who?"

"Never mind."

Jenny protested vehemently when Alfie tried to give her the money into her hand. She told him that it was no trouble at all, that any friend of the Shelbys was a friend of hers. Alfie grabbed her hand and pressed the money into it.

"Jenny, my darling, your food could be served at Buckingham Palace to the King himself! You deserve to be paid fairly."

Jenny blushed once more and looked like she was going to fling her arms around Alfie. Rose was desperate to leave and tugged on Alfie's sleeve. He gave Jenny one last charming smile along with a wink and followed Rose outside.

After a few steps, Rose had to stop and lean against the wall, her eyes closed. She felt dizzy. Alfie put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her, concerned.

""You don't look very well, Petal."

"I'm ok. It was just really hot in there. I just need to cool down."

"Do you want me to take you home."

She opened her eyes and squinted at Alfie who was outlined against the pale February sun. She shook her head.

"No"

"Well, what do you want to do? How can I help."

She pushed herself off the wall. "I want to explain."

He nodded, then looked around. "Where to, then?"

Rose thought about it. She tried to think of where there was a quiet place they could sit and talk. An idea popped into her head. She squinted up at Alfie again.

"I know somewhere."

She set off down the street and Alfie followed her, wondering which part of this grey, smoky city he would have the pleasure of seeing next.

Ten minutes later, as Rose led Alfie towards the canal, Tommy reached Jenny's café. He stepped inside and the noise and bustle stopped almost immediately as people saw him. Every eye was fixed on him as he surveyed the room. Jenny hurried over to him. She looked flustered.

"Mr. Shelby, to what do we owe the pleasure? It's been a while since we've seen you in here. Can I get you a cup of tea, some hot food?"

"No thank you, Jenny. I was told my sister Rose was here."

"Oh that she was, Mr. Shelby. With a Mr. Solomons, of all people. They had some groaty pudding and Mr. Solomons said it was the best food he'd ever had except for…"

"Jenny, when did they leave?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, I'd say. Mr. Solomons paid generously for the food, even though I told him not to, that the Shelbys always have their food on the house, but he…"

Tommy turned away from her mid-sentence and went outside. He stood on the pavement and looked up and down the street. They could be anywhere by now. He clenched his fists. What was Alfie thinking? Tommy was furious with him. He beckoned to one of his men who were waiting by his car. The man approached questioningly.

"Put the word out again."

"Yes, boss."

About a mile away, Rose pushed open the gate of the scrap yard and let Alfie in before closing it behind him. She knew that Uncle Charlie and Curly were away on a delivery and had a hunch the yard would be empty. She was relieved to see it was. Alfie looked around, taking in the size of the yard as well as everything it contained. He looked at Rose, amused.

"This another one of Tommy's businesses?"

Rose walked over to Charlie's little shelter, glad to see the stove and the fire were lit, and added more wood.

"This is our Uncle Charlie's scrap yard. He runs all sorts of businesses here – boats, scrap, stables."

Alfie had followed her and took over building the fire whilst she put the kettle on the stove. "There's a lot of scrap here, most of it stolen, I assume. Isn't that what Gypsies do?"

She looked at him indignantly. "Uncle Charlie doesn't steal things, he just finds them before they're lost."

He laughed. That was a good line. He watched as she scooped tea in the pot. "More tea?"

"Yeah, it's cold. Tea will warm us up."

Alfie shook his head as he sat down in one of the old chairs. "Gentiles in this country do nothing but drink tea – like it has magical powers or something."

"It does. Aunt Pol can read your future in your tea leaves."

"Can she, now?"

"Yeah, and she's always right."

"Course she is."

"My mum could do it too. They call it second sight."

"Do you have this second sight, then?"

"No – well, Aunt Pol says I don't, but…"

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued as to why she'd stopped talking. She came over with two cups of tea and handed one to him. He took it but put it on the ground. He wasn't ready for another one yet. Rose sat down in the chair next to him and pulled her feet up. She held her cup between her hands, warming them up.

"But what?"

Rose looked at him confused. "What?"

"You said that Aunt Pol told you you didn't have second sight but…" He looked at her expectantly.

She sighed. She didn't really want to revisit things, but as she looked at Alfie and saw the interest and concern that was in his eyes, she found herself wanting his help.

"I saw my mother."

Alfie frowned but didn't say anything, instead waiting for her to explain.

"I saw her a few times. It was so nice to see her, Alfie, to finally meet her. And she said she'd missed me and that she was proud of me. John was with her – I saw him too. It was … they were…"

She furrowed her brow as she saw the skepticism in his eyes. He still said nothing.

"But Aunt Pol said that it wasn't second sight, that I couldn't see the dead. She said it was the pills. So did Tommy."

"And was it?"

She took a breath and nodded. "I think so. But it was so good to see her, Alfie. I've spent my whole life wishing I could have met her and now I have."

Alfie spoke gently. "It wasn't really her, was it though, sweetheart? It was a hallucination because of the drugs that were in your system."

"The first time I saw her, she was in the fire, in John's funeral fire. It was like she'd come down to take him with her. And she was calling me to her, with her hand, waving me over, you know?"

Alfie's eyes widened. "Into the fire?"

"Yeah"

"And, did you…?"

Rose nodded. "I wanted to, Alfie, I wanted to be with Mum and see John again, but Mal – he's my friend – he stopped me."

Alfie didn't know what horrified him the most – the fact that she'd almost walked into a fire or that she'd wanted to join her dead mother. He spoke gently.

"Why would your mother want you to hurt yourself?"

Rose looked at him and tears filled her eyes. He'd spoken the very thought that she'd had many times before. She'd been confused that her mother had wanted her to join her in death.

"She wouldn't."

"No, she wouldn't. That's how you can know that it wasn't really her, Petal, hmm? It was the pills."

She looked down and nodded. "I miss seeing her though. I want to see her again."

"Is that why you want to buy more pills?"

She looked back at him, visibly upset. "I'm really sorry I asked you for money, Alfie. And I'm sorry I lied to you. I am."

"So tell me the truth now."

She put her tea, untouched, on the little table next to her. Tucking her legs underneath her, she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I … I need them. They help me to cope."

"They don't, you know better than that, Petal."

"They do! That's why the doctor prescribed them."

"That doctor was an ass. They've not helped you, have they? Look at you."

She was getting agitated now. "That's because I'm not taking them. I was fine whilst I was."

"Were you?"

"Yes, that's what I'm trying to tell you."

He shifted a little in his chair to face her better. "Rose, you are more intelligent than this. You know what is going on, you just won't face it."

She scowled slightly. "I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do."

She sighed. He was right

"I want to forget what happened at that place."

He nodded, his expression softening. She looked at him. It felt good talking to him. She trusted him and knew he would understand.

"And I don't want to feel all this stuff that I'm feeling. The pills, they blocked everything out and they stopped the nightmares and it was just easier."

"But they also gave you hallucinations which made you want to hurt yourself."

"Yeah"

"Tommy was right to stop you taking them. If you were with me, I'd have never let you start in the first place."

She heard the accusation in his voice and her loyalty flared up.

"Tommy had a lot going on, it wasn't his fault."

Alfie bit his lip. There was a lot he wanted to say on the topic of Tommy and the way he treated Rose. He changed tack.

"The fact is that you have to decide for yourself that the pills are done with, that you'll never go after them again, that you'll fight as hard as you can to withstand the temptation that will follow you for the rest of your life."

"It's hard."

"Of course it is. Whoever promised you it wouldn't be? Who do you know whose life is easy, hmm?"

Rose thought about it and realised that she couldn't think of anyone who didn't struggle.

"You?"

He laughed wryly. "Not at all, my flower."

"What's hard in your life then?"

"Oh, little Rose, we don't have the time to get into all that. We're talking about you now."

"But I want to know about you and your life."

"Maybe another day."

"Another day in a year's time?"

He smiled. "Let's hope not."

"Alfie, I can't do it on my own. I need help."

"It seems to me that you have a family who are helping you."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, they are, but what about when this vendetta is over and everyone goes back to their own lives. What then?"

"Then you cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, you take each day as it comes."

Rose looked away. Maybe he was right.

"The nightmares are getting better. They were bad when I first stopped taking the pills. Tommy had to stay with me like I was a baby. It was embarrassing."

"But they're better now?"

"Yeah"

"Why? What happened that meant they weren't so bad?"

Rose paused. She knew exactly why but didn't know if she should tell him.

"Aunt Pol said that I could take back the control that had been taken from me."

"She's right."

"I feel so out of control the whole time, as if anybody could do anything to me at any time. It's scary and exhausting. But then I did something to take back control and it felt good. It felt really good because for the first time in my life I wasn't afraid, I had the power and that was what helped with the nightmares."

Alfie nodded and wondered if he really wanted to know the answer to his next question.

"What did you do?"

She frowned slightly as she looked at him, wondering what he'd think of her if she told him. She could never take it back if she said it now. He repeated the question.

"What did you do, Petal?"

"I killed a man."

Alfie could not have been more surprised. Out of all the things she could have said, this was the very last thing he had expected. He stared at her, at her small face which still had so much child-likeness in it. Her nose red from the cold, her freckles standing out against paleness of her skin, her red hair curling under her ears in such a way that he could easily imagine what she'd looked like as a toddler. He felt a rage inside him as he realised what her life had become. He remembered when he'd first met her in his office – this tiny, scared girl looking at him across his desk with her chin up boldly and a determination in her expression. He remembered how he'd lifted her up as she'd slumped on the chair in exhaustion. He remembered marveling at how light she was and how easily she'd leaned into him, trusting him completely even though she'd just met him. That was the moment which had cemented his affection for her, which had opened up a place in his heart for her, which had caused him to begin of think of her as the daughter he'd never had. And now she was telling him that she'd killed someone and that that had helped her feel powerful to the point where her nightmares had improved. He wished he had been here to protect her from all that she had been through, that he could have given her the life she deserved. He wished he'd never taken her back to Tommy after rescuing her from St Mary's. It was too late now, but maybe he could prevent further damage. Maybe he could do now what he hadn't done then.

Rose was watching Alfie as he processed what she'd told him. She had no idea what thoughts were forming in his head. All she could see that he was quite affected by what she'd said and her heart sank. He was judging her, she was sure. She tried to explain.

"It was an Italian, Alfie. He came after me and he was going to hurt Fred and I had no choice. It was him or me, and I wasn't going to let anyone hurt me again. I had a knife and that was how I took back control." She looked away. "And I'd do it again."

Alfie closed his eyes. A knife! And she'd do it again. She'd become a killer so that she wouldn't ever have to fear being taken advantage of again. She was fourteen. Fourteen! She should be out with her friends, finding her way in the world, having fun whilst she was still young. He opened his eyes.

"Do you like the seaside, Petal?"

Rose was confused. "What?"

"Do you like the seaside? The beach? The ocean?"

"I've never been."

"I have. It's lovely. There's a life to be had there that's so different to the one we have. No business, no danger, no…"

A car arrived in the foreyard. Tommy's car. Alfie and Rose looked across as it pulled to a stop and Tommy climbed out. Rose's stomach lurched when she saw his face. He was angry. Alfie could see it too and stood up. Tommy walked over to them swiftly and Alfie switched on the charm.

"Tommy! You found us. I knew you would. Why don't you join us for another cup of tea."

Tommy ignored him and looked at Rose. "Get in the car, Rose."

"Tommy…"

"Now, Rose!"

She could see he was deadly serious and she stoop up quickly. She looked at Alfie.

"Will I see you again, before you leave?"

Tommy answered. "No, you won't. Get in the car."

Rose was upset. She didn't want to not see Alfie again for goodness knows how long. She looked at him desperately. Alfie knew that Tommy meant it and he knew he had every right to stop him seeing Rose. He was frustrated and annoyed that Tommy held all the cards but there was nothing he could do. He put a hand on Rose's shoulder. Tommy clenched his jaw at this but said nothing.

"I'll be back before long, my Petal. We have the fight coming up, don't we, hmm? I'll see you then, won't I? We'll get some more groaty pudding."

Rose moved forward and put her arms around him. He barely had time to hug her back before Tommy spat his words out.

"Get in the car now, Rose."

Rose pulled away quickly and smiled at Alfie sadly. "Bye, Alfie."

"I'll see you soon, my sweetheart."

Rose hurried to the car, anxious not to upset Tommy anymore. Alfie watched her go and then turned to Tommy.

"It was all me, Tommy, hmm. I didn't like the food in that fancy hotel of yours, so I asked her to take me for some real food. We talked. She had a lot to say. Told me how hard it's been for her this past year. Told me why she was taking that stuff. Told me she'd killed a man."

His eyes were fixed on Tommy now, his cold stare boring into him. The unspoken accusation was clear. Tommy had had enough. He stepped closer to Alfie, his gaze also unblinking.

"She is not your sweetheart, or your petal, or your anything else. She is mine. I've cancelled your rooms at the Midland. You need to leave now." He paused a beat before continuing. "You will never see her again."