TIES THAT BIND

Chapter 9

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, she had managed to get most of his clothes off as he fell about giggling because in his words she was tickling him on purpose. She got him a glass of water for if he woke up in the night and hopped into bed next to him. Snuggling into his back, pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades as her arm draped over him resting on his chest. Her eyes welling with tears that he was back, she had been worried, scared even, that he wouldn't. Whenever they had talked about the families, the business, she had always given him the basics, the funny bits that changed the whole tone. The closest he had come to seeing anything the families were into was the aftermath of what happened in the yard years ago. Nearly losing her brother then had made her re-evaluate her involvement in the firm, she'd taken a step back, had helped out at the yard and club if she was needed but completely changed the parlours and once she had her club, she ran it all her way. All above board, no risk of a raid and definitely no chance of ending up with a tag on her ankle at one of Charlies posh army do's. She'd have been mortified

She knew well enough he did the same thing, gave her the basics when Geraint and Dylan Smith were killed and Dangleberries lost his leg. How do you make someone see what you see and do you really want to give them those nightmares, she knew he had them sometimes, fidgeting and incoherent mumblings as he slept.

The night she raced to her brother she would never be able to forget what she saw, the way he looked at her, his hand trying to reach for Tone, his other gripping hers tightly, he couldn't speak and she couldn't tell him that even to her it looked like Tone hadn't survived his father holding him quietly sobbing as he held his head to his chest. His eyes as he stared at her, first fear, then rage, finally sorrow as if he read her expression, a smile, a nod, an acceptance as he closed his eyes. Her and her Mum had sat with him for hours at the hospital, but he never opened them again and she never knew what he was trying to tell her.

She wanted to sleep, needed to sleep but her eyes just wouldn't stay closed as she remembered, ruminating on the conversation she would have to have with Charles. She saw the horror and shock in his eyes when she shot Serge, she had never shot anyone before and when he screamed out in pain and fell back onto the sofa it rattled her but she had to carry on, it was the plan, had been discussed at the family meeting. After Jack, her beloved brother, after they found out who did it and why. Everyone had their tasks and that included her and she wouldn't let them down.

-OG-

Dave, Gary and her, Cos and Nicky Latsis, and of course Fred met at the Casino in Danny's office. "I have spent decades keeping a low profile" he barked "decades that only the people who needed to know knew who my family were and these thieves fucked that up in less than 5 minutes" he nodded to one of his minders who went to the cabinet and poured everyone a drink "they might like to believe they are gangsters, think they're fucking mafia but they aren't, their common thieves not one dollar, not one brick is to be left of their so called business empire" he swirled his whisky staring at the cut crystal glass "they brought the police to my door, they've been questioning me, my staff, put off some of my business associates from coming here while this is still under investigation" taking a gulp of the drink "taking far too much interest in what goes on here" finishing his drink and holding it out to his minder for a top up "but more importantly they killed friends of mine" he spoke through gritted teeth, looking through the smoked glass at the casino below "nothing more than gamblers who are going to be taught a very valuable lesson"

"I'm surprised they started in the East" said Cos looking towards his son, Nicky was hell bent on going in all guns blazing, wanting to avenge his brother; oh, he fully intended to make them pay same as Nicky but with age came wisdom. Mores the pity it wasn't the sixties anymore, when they knew exactly what the police were up to, who they had in the frame and how close they were, and get there first, they still had Teflon of course but how much information would he be able to glean. They needed to plan if they had any hope of not getting their own collars felt and making sure these toerags where shown the error of their ways "their warehouse is in Elstree an old industrial estate, not that far from Alex house in St Albans, its where the drugs are processed and stored" he sighed "thought they would hit us before you" looking across to Dave who looked like he was desperately trying to control his feelings, he, Fred, even Danny knew the carnage that would follow when Dave finally lost it. Like him, nothing would stop the inevitable of what was going happen next.

"They've taken a few clubs and bars in the West to peddle their shit" shrugged Fred "Molly's was on the borders with Central, so a good earner for them, but they jumped the gun trying to go for the wharf so quick" wincing at his turn of phrase and the look in Dave eyes as they locked. They were young men when they bought that place and now once again it had been the cause of a shooting and this time they had killed Jack "Ideal site for bringing in their crap, quiet and discrete" sighed Fred and it was crap, they had had it analysed, god help the poor sod who took that stuff. Couldn't stop himself from reminiscing the meetings he, Dave and Sam had down in the portacabin, chewing the fat and planning their next job until Dave got sent down. Jack wanting to turn it into a legitimate business, the cut and shuts long gone and they had been making a packet ever since with the scrap and a bit of smuggling on the side, they may not be one of the big firms these days, but they had a lot of friends because of their history and that wharf, guns and people were the only things they outright refused anything else was fair game, cheap booze and fags, works of art and some stunning jewellery, the snide clothes were probably sold on every market in London. He couldn't help but sigh as he reminisced, him and Sam, keeping an eye out for the kids while Dave was away, that bloody play, he couldn't get Jacks grin out his mind and how he and Sam pissed themselves laughing as they told everyone down the Earl about Gary and Jacks attempt at livening up a school play. Now Sam and Jack were gone.

"It was that fucking wharf, that's what they wanted" said Dave, the rage clear on his face though his voice was low as he spoke through gritted teeth "the jewel in the crown to get their shit here and process it in our warehouse"

"We plan" said Danny topping up everyone's glass "a concerted effort, all their businesses targeted at the same time, they haven't the resources to secure them all, they don't have the allies and they don't know they have involved me" with some venom he added "and by the time they do it will all be too late" all of them sitting in this room knowing the final outcome would not be pretty.

Molly was given the task of getting friendly with Alex's wife Anna, she was less suspicious, hadn't met her and no obvious threat, find out if she was involved and how much she knew, find out if she was the one that knew if they were all to be at the casino that night. Had she befriended Jack or Toni to get information, had she been the trap. She knew that wasn't the case, never in a million years, but she had her task and befriend her see if she was part of the business, what other businesses they had, asked about where she lived and did she like it, it didn't take her long to find out that Anna was actually pretty lonely in an unfamiliar city with no friends. Weeks of telling Charlie she was at Nicky's club helping out. The worry that Alex would spot her and know who she was, trying to find places to meet where it was unlikely they would turn up, dressing differently, changing her appearance just enough that if he did turn up hopefully wouldn't recognise her before she could make her apologies to Anna and leaving. Keeping it all from Charlie because she knew he would go mad, would never understand why she had to do this.

-OG-

That's how it all started, she sat next to her in a wine bar, kept looking at her watch and finally admitted that her boyfriend looked like he had stood her up. Anna told her it looked like she was also spending the evening alone, her husband was supposed to have been there over an hour ago. Molly knew he wouldn't be here, he was already on his way with Serge to a club up west, where their men had caused trouble, the owner would be querying what he was paying protection for, the bar completely trashed. They met a few times after that and once Anna had a few wines she was very forthcoming. She knew how lonely Anna was, brought to a new country a year ago, forced here because her husband and his brother made some very bad enemies, now they were trying to build a new business here and were never about. Admitted she was having an affair with the brother but he was no better than her husband, promised her that she would live like royalty once they got the business off the ground but was hardly ever there and when he was, he wasn't the lover she expected, just like her husband, it was quick and she had become a very good actress, she'd laughed but Molly didn't find it funny as she spotted a bruise on her wrist.

She'd seen enough over the years, the walking into doors or tripping down the stairs, the excuses some of the girls had used at the parlour. How they had been made to feel, that they somehow deserved it for answering back, being told they were loved one minute and beaten the next because they didn't understand the pressures. Believing there was nothing more, nothing better, that nothing would change, that no one cared, no one saw. No one would help them and where would they go. She did see and she did care. Mary had shown her that with help you could change the outcome, when she had seen her at the opening of the club she was shocked. They had never met or spoken again, she didn't think Mary would want to know her, not after what happened all those years ago, but she knew she was doing well, she had her own place and ran one of their salons, looked after the girls made sure they were safe, listened to them when they came in with the odd black eye, let Lil know if anything needed to be done about it. Lil gave her updates and she was glad she was doing so well, was under no illusion they would have the friendship they once had and made sure that she never knew the salon she managed was owned by her. Artan had asserted his control, made Mary dependant, the unwavering belief she loved him, the drugs making her pliable to his demands for money, if she had a smidgeon of guilt about what happened to him it was wiped out by what Mary had achieved since, he was gone and she got herself clean. Mary had turned into a valuable asset, she knew flannel when she heard it, excuses for the black eye or split lip, ran that salon with military precision, a small flat above for if one of the girls needed somewhere to stay. It was one of their most profitable salons as a result. She never needed to know it was Molly and Colin that paid visits to the husband or boyfriend, show them the error of their ways.

She saw the shock in Anna's face when they walked into her home, Serge running down the stairs half-dressed behind her. She was in there with six men, but he would know where the guns were and she knew from Anna there were some in the house, he might get to one as they were distracted with searching, he might even get Charlie, Serge might even know who Charles was, target him specifically to get her to lose focus, she had no way of knowing if he realised her husband was there. She had known this was an assignation and that their men would have been sent away, the rest along with Alex on their way to Gary's, who was ready and waiting for their arrival. Everything had gone to plan so far, but who could be absolutely sure, Charlie wasn't meant to be there, they might have missed something. Her heart had been absolutely pounding. Apart from her, and Gary had insisted, told her to go in hard and strong, no one was carrying and could retaliate if Serge got to any hidden weapons, he was the one that had to be disabled, there were to be no mistakes and kill him. The two men provided by Danny, the ones that opened the gate and door, well without a doubt they were, there was no way they would be on a job like this without being tooled up, ex-military according to Danny and would have a cool head, they certainly seemed to from what she had seen. The first shot had been to make sure he couldn't get to the guns. The second, she wasn't even sure herself why she did it; because she let the club go, they thought it would be easy to just move on, steal a car, shoot her brother so the family folded and gave them what they wanted. She had lost her brother and Toni and then there was Sam a man that had figured hugely in her early childhood along with Fred, saw him laughing as he taught her to box so she could be like her brothers, then there was Anna's drunken ramblings, a poverty-stricken childhood, becoming an escort, meeting Alex who promised her the world if she married him. Her Mum still barely eating, staring into space, Gary, her Dad none of them able to bring her out of the melancholy she felt at losing her son.

Charlie would never understand, he never really had understood the life she had been brought up in, tried to, listened when she told him in Cyprus, nodded in all the right places, held her tight, but far removed from the life his mum had had, he was a posh boy and she would lose him over this. She couldn't stop the tears as she remembered him holding her hand, the way he put his hand on her back to guide her across a road or into a room. Always the gent, always making her feel safe, looked after. She had never needed looking after, she knew that, so did most people she had to deal with, but she loved the feeling he had always created in her, the one that made her feel special, apart from her parents and brothers, made her believe she was worth something, she wasn't just some east end trollop with connections.

Everything was gone, Serge and Alex, Danny had contacted their enemies who flew in to take them away, they had been looking for them for years. The factory in Elstree burned to the ground, her, Gary and Nicky had done that after they left the hanger, the house signed over and the process of being sold started, bank accounts all transferred, bars and clubs all being signed back to original owners, documentation she had got from the safe destroyed, proof of ownership all being organised, changed and traces destroyed. Danny's lawyer making sure everything was as it should be, no paper trail and any electronic copies deleted. How would he feel if he found out a team of hackers had seen to that, making sure that the deleted files were overwritten, within a matter of hours there would be no trace that anything had even existed, the existence of Alex and Serge no longer required and deleted with a push of a button. If there were any foot soldiers left that had an ambition to take over, there was nothing left to take, everything destroyed to make a statement of what would happen if you tried to take what wasn't yours and leaving them in no doubt that the safest course of action was to retreat, other firms already given the nod, circling to take anything that was left, the lack of strength obvious after what happened today. All of them had made a show they were the ones that still controlled the east end but anything else was up for grabs. Gary and Nicky would go round the pubs and clubs in a few days, when the dust settled, telling them that they could provide the protection if they needed it but next time to let them know if someone tried to change the order of things.

Her mind wandering back to Artan, he had wanted what they had and now Alex and Serge had too, there would always be someone who wanted to change the way things were done. She had stayed on the peripheries until now, did the accounts, ran her club her way, if she got a whisper of something that might be beneficial to the firm she passed it on, but her Dad had needed her and she felt this huge hole at the loss of Jack. She'd done it, just like she was asked, for her brother, Toni and Sam, but Charles had insisted on coming, he wasn't meant to be there and she saw it in his face. The look of horror as she pulled that gun, she pulled herself tighter into his back. He would never understand, that no matter how hard she tried to leave it behind it was a life she knew, the way it had always been, that there were times it could be ruthless, cruel, but if they hadn't made such a public show of force today then there would be another sitting in the wings, waiting to take them, spotting the weakness and exploiting it. None of the family had ever wanted to expand on what they had, they had enough businesses to keep them all occupied, giving them a decent earn. After Derek they had never recruited anyone into their circle that wasn't family. Getting her club would always play on her mind, that it started all of this, her wanting to prove to everyone she could do it her way, leave that life behind. She had only wanted him to be proud of her but, no matter how hard she tried, that life would suck her back in. Even after those conversations with Saul that it was in no mans land, she couldn't shake it from her mind, if she had just done what they said maybe Jack would still be here; that Charles would never have seen her shoot a man.

She could hear Charles soft snoring as all these thoughts swirled around her head unable to sleep her thumb moving back and forth across his chest. He wouldn't wake, of that she was sure, he had been with Elvis, had a skinful. If only she could sleep like him. She'd made sure Serge couldn't run, although that was more accident than design ensured he couldn't hurt anyone, then taken him to the hanger, just like they planned. Fred told her he had told Charles to leave and Colin was taking him home, but a text from Elvis was enough to let her know that it was far from alright, he would see her differently, he would wake up and realise…... He wouldn't love her like he used to, would see her as the cold and calculating person she had displayed today, the one with the black heart, the one he didn't believe existed. She wondered if he still saw her as that little kid who cried her eyes out being stuck up a tree. That kid had long gone. Didn't matter what she did, how hard she tried, she would always be a Dawes. Something would happen, it always did, it was the way it was, something would pull her back to that life. Why couldn't she just stop crying, she was a grown up, this wasn't the loss of a stuffed toy, cried her eyes out over that too, had the whole house searching. How would he ever forgive her for this, be able to shut from his mind who she was, what she had done.

She had surfed the internet and found that Kipling story Charlie had gone on about, the one about the cat. Is that what he thought, she was the cat who couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to be domesticated or wild. Half in and out of their marriage and the firm, he would never understand what she had to do, why she had to, but it didn't mean she didn't care what he thought, cos she did, more than anything as another wave of tears coursed their way down her face.

-OG-

He woke with a thick head the next morning opening his eyes to see a glass of water and a bottle of paracetamol. He rolled over, he was alone, the side of the bed next to him was cold, she'd obviously been up a while, unusual in itself, she never got up early as he looked at the clock. He took the paracetamol and water before lying on his back staring at the ceiling his hands behind his head contemplating everything that had happened yesterday. Conversations with his uncle, Colin and Elvis plaguing him as he mulled over the events of yesterday, assumptions he had made about Molly's business. She had told him she wanted to run the club her way and he assumed it would be run the same as the others, that the booze was part of consignments smuggled in at the wharf. After one heated debate about the massage parlour, very early on in their relationship, had never brought up the subject again. He sniggered at the thought of his uncle comparing Molly to an iceberg, that wasn't an analogy he would ever have used when trying to describe her. He sniggered again, feisty, obstinate, fool hardy might have been a few of the more appropriate phases he would have used when describing her, along with funny, tactile and affectionate when it came to him and the family, never would he have described the woman he adored as an iceberg, completely missing the point of what Fred was trying to tell him. The woman he would adore for always, who would always be an important part of his life, and didn't want to contemplate a life without her in it; that was the problem when she did things like she did yesterday, it scared him, made him so angry.

Elvis was right, he hadn't told her much about Iraq or Afghanistan, telling her funny stories about a bunch of cockwombles he was meant to be in charge of, how beautiful the mountains were, if there was wifi and a Starbucks to get his coffee, he could live there; glossed over the day they went to a Command Post and found everyone dead, green on green they called it, how inexperienced some of them were, barely 18 in his opinion as he remembered a young lad they had nicknamed Rolex Boy, sympathising with the Captain at the loss of his men. Never once mentioning the same ANA Captain led another section and their Captain into an ambush, an absolute disaster by all accounts, significant injuries to their men and the captain had never made it out, it could so easily have been him and his men. He didn't want her with the same dreams he sometimes had or realise he had doubts, doubts about what they were doing out there, doubts on his ability to judge a character as trustworthy after what happened to those men and their Captain. All of it shut in a box that he worked hard to make sure stayed closed. He sighed, she was right too, when they were here, nothing else mattered, not the army, not the clubs, their different upbringing. When they were here it was perfect.

-OG-

His parents were still in Bath but spending a lot of time in London, not due to go back to Lake Garda, ever since the shooting they had stayed and since the funeral hoping to convince Belinda and Dave to come with them, time away somewhere warm and quiet might help them start to heal. His mum was very worried about Belinda, she didn't know what to say to her, how to help her. Maybe now, after this they might go he thought.

He needed to see his mum, see Andrew. The conversation with Fred playing over and over in his mind "he was a wrongun before he got here" He felt like his whole world had imploded, things he never knew about, his brother's kept secret, then there was Molly, the image of her as she stood in that house, her face so expressionless a coldness he didn't think he had ever seen in her. She'd helped that friend of hers get off drugs, and from what Colin said she had given the girls a skill, a trade so they didn't have to sell themselves and yet she had the fortitude to pull a gun and shoot a man, no emotion whatsoever showing on her face. He couldn't keep lying here wool gathering, he had to get up.

He showered, dressed and leaving their room went to join her as she stood in the kitchen. She was leaning against the counter drinking her tea, her face pale, dark circles from lack of sleep under her eyes, her hair unbrushed and a mass of tangles around her shoulders, still dressed in her West Ham shirt and sleep shorts her eyes staring out the window, not hearing as he entered the room, her mind very much elsewhere. His heart lurched as he looked at her, he needed to speak with Andrew and his mother about why Andrew had come to London, but he needed to sort this first, moving to make himself a coffee. He couldn't help the sigh, how had they come to this, the pang of regret, that hollow feeling of loss an obvious gulf between them. "Do you love her" Elvis had asked him last night and that was the crux, he did. Didn't think he would ever stop, she made him believe that anything was possible, the way she clung to him made him feel ten feet tall, the way she smiled and looked at him, when he woke in the morning and she was there, she was imprinted on his heart and he couldn't imagine a life without her. It was knowing he was coming back to her that had kept him going on every tour. She had told him not to go with her, he would never see her the same, he knew that was worrying her, could see it so clearly as he stared at her.

He took her tea off her putting it on the counter, pulling her into a tight hold, taking a deep breath and inhaling the smell of her shampoo and the remnants of her perfume. Yes; he still loved her as the feeling of her in his arms swamped his thoughts, his breathing matching hers, if he lived to be a hundred, he didn't think another woman would ever hold his heart like she did. Even after yesterday, holding her like this, now, he wasn't prepared to let what they had go.

"How's your head" she asked quietly as her arms snaked around his waist her head resting against his chest

"Bit muzzy, better than I expected or deserve" he snorted and kissed the top of her head. He sighed "I think I might have had a bit of a strop yesterday"

"Only a bit" and he felt her sigh against him, not elaborating

"It was a shock, you pulling a gun and shooting him in the foot"

"You and me both mate, I ain't never done that before" his hands coming up to her shoulders and pushing her away from him, staring into her troubled eyes "Shot someone?" he asked her eyes opening wide "Course not you numpty, what do you take me for" she huffed looking up at him, she may have led a very different life from him, but did he really think she went around shooting people, sometimes he could be a right plank.

"Fuck" the only thing he could think of, not very imaginative and not very supportive, but certainly very descriptive, from her face yesterday he never would have known and that had plagued his every thought, how could she do something like that "So how did you know? I mean how did you know how to use it? where did it come from?" a stream of questions he had been bottling up spewing out of his mouth without giving her an opportunity to reply. She'd have to tell him, could see in his eyes that he wanted answers, she desperately wanted to smooth that familiar frown he had between his eyes, the one he always had when he was dwelling on something, but she didn't think he was ready for that yet "while you were out walking Teddy, Colin gave it to me, said Gary told him I had to prove we meant business" she dropped her eyes "that I wasn't the weak link" bloody Gary he thought but not surprised, he'd always been the ringleader when they were growing up, keeping the sudden rush of irritation under control, he could almost feel the guilt radiating off her as he encouraged her to continue "and I was Charlie, I should never have given up the club, let them think we were weak, that they could do that" her eyes filling with tears for Jack, he paid the price for her mistake, she wiped her hands across her cheeks angered by the tears that had fallen "I know how to fire one, Gary, Jack and I used to shoot cans when we were kids over at Tony's place" his eyes opening wide at her admission, "Col said to aim for the floor near his feet, that should scare him enough so he sits down and don't try and make a go for the guns in there" she screwed up her face and rubbed her forehead a look of horror sweeping his face at the thought there were weapons in that room "I missed" He narrowed his eyes in disbelief "are you saying you were aiming for the floor near his feet and accidently shot him in the foot" sucking in his bottom lip, he didn't know if he wanted to laugh or shake her until her teeth rattled for her unbelievable stupidity, anything could have happened, the danger she put herself in while he was being held back by Tom and Dick "Well yeah" she shrugged, he didn't need to know how shit she was at shooting those cans, how her brothers laughed "I suppose so, well his left foot anyway"

"So why did you shoot him again" she shrugged lowering her eyes, "you got to admit Charlie he was a cocky little shit, the way he spoke to Anna, then I suppose I just lost it a bit, thinking about Jack and Toni" she looked up "Honest Charlie, I was aiming for the same foot, really I was, I mean it was already fucked" he shook his head, her eyes telling him she was telling him the truth but the bite of her lip telling him that she didn't really care, that it served him right, that things were going to get much worse for him later. He pulled her back into him again "Whatever you do Molly don't you ever join the darts team down the Earl" he could feel her giggles against his chest "they already know that, Tony thought he should warn them I weren't that good when we had competitions aiming for those cans, Gary was the one that always got them all" nothing Gary did surprised him anymore, sighing in resignation "I was never meant to kill him just frighten him a bit" he stroked her hair, her head still resting against his chest "I think you did that alright, it scared the shit out of me anyway"

His hands moved to her waist as he lifted her onto the worktop, standing between her legs her eyes not leaving his. "What happened after" she grinned "What after you went off in a huff with Colin" he raised an eyebrow but nodded "Well after I gave all them papers to Danny's lawyer and Dad told Alex that his coke factory and his greenhouse were gonna burn" she shrugged "Me, Gary and Nicky were all told we had to go, sort the factory and they were gonna deal with this the old way" she sighed her eyes not leaving his "you'd already buggered off with Col, so I went with Gary and Nicky, we did the factory." She shrugged "then we went to the Earl for a couple of beers and Gary dropped me home" his hands still on her waist as he narrowed his eyes

"What did you do" raising his eyebrows encouraging her to talk, he wanted answers, her eyes not leaving his, under no illusion he was going to let it drop "was there no resistance" going back into Captain mode, there was only her, Gary and Nicky going to a warehouse with goodness knows how many people and clearly dangerous, he should have stayed then at least there would have been him and Colin, he'd left her vulnerable gone off in a sulk taking Colin with him and getting pissed with Elvis "Some" she shrugged, she could see he thought it was only the 3 of them, no need to mention some of their men were meeting them there, keeping an eye until they got there "Most ran as soon as they saw us, probably didn't want to be there anyway" she shook her head at the memory of how frightened some of them were, probably thinking they were government officials all dressed in their dark suits and there to take them away, well until Nicky pulled his gun, then they just ran not wanting to be part of it "the rest got to sample their product, rather a lot of it" raising her own eyebrows hoping she didn't have to say any more than that, the men who had met them there had covered the place in petrol. "The factory's gone, so's all their gear, they can't start up again"

"So you don't know what happened in the hanger" she lowered her eyes, his heart beating faster, that knot in his chest tightening, she knew, as he cupped her chin with his hand lifting her head, letting her know he expected a response, his head dipping to meet hers, his voice quiet but the timbre letting her know he was trying very hard to control his emotions "Do you have any idea how hard it is when I see you do things like that" his hands holding her face so she had to look at him "a complete disregard for life and limb, the danger you put yourself in, the risks you took"

Sighing as she looked up at him "I aint ever seen a turf war" she shrugged "well not a big one, the odd skirmish, some twat that thought they could flex their muscles, neither has Gary or Nicky, not really, that business with Artan and Derek was easily dealt with, nothing serious that warranted something like this" the look in her eyes spoke volumes, although the image of her waving that baseball bat, Jackie tied up and Gary beaten to a pulp, seemed pretty serious to him, and he had been blisteringly angry then too "when Jack, Toni and Sam were killed outside the Casino, Dad, Fred and Gary all shot, only me, Jacs and Cos still standing" her eyes clouding at the memory, his arms gripping her tighter "they moved the goal posts, changed the outcome, no negotiation, no compromise, no likelihood they would walk away with anything, and they haven't" she sighed and sucked in her bottom lip "They inadvertently involved Danny and he brought in…." she huffed "Well people with experience at getting what they want, it would have been well messy if they didn't…you know.. give up quick"

"So….?"

"The pubs and clubs are back with their proper owners, the factory and greenhouse gone, bank accounts emptied, the house on the market" she shrugged "we've acquired some extra business along with Cos, people who had their homes and livelihood taken away have it back. We were a little surprised at the lack of loyalty to the brothers, seems they weren't popular employers, didn't like the way they did business. Alex and Serge didn't have a big organisation and limited resources to hold onto it, they over stretched themselves when they made the mistake of killing my brother and Toni. Dad, Fred and Cos have a lot of friends to keep what they have, if the brothers had just stuck with what they had, hadn't been greedy for more, stuck to their own area, things could have turned out differently for them" taking in a huge breath as she looked at him "but once they involved Danny" she shrugged and looked down

"The brothers, what happened to them" that painful knot in his chest tightening again, the fear she could still be in danger swamping his thoughts

"Why? She huffed "why do you want to know?" her green eyes piercing as they stared into his

"For a start, will they come back" his hands moving to her hair running his fingers through the tangles as if he was trying to comb it remembering Colin telling him that they would have taken out the whole family if they could, her whispered words that there was only her and Jackie left standing, her own admission of that night had made his heart beat faster, a pained expression sweeping his face "Will they try again, come for you, Gary, the family" and she shook her head "I don't know how Danny does it, gets what he wants, don't wanna know and neither do you Charlie" her hand finally coming up to try and push those frown lines away, her thumb tracing up the bridge of his nose "but once they had what they wanted, Danny handed them over to the people they pissed off, they came in on a small plane and took them" she looked into his eyes "I don't know what happened to them or where they took them, I don't want to know and to be honest I don't really care, but Dad said they were pretty messed up when they left and didn't think they would last much longer with those blokes that came to get them, they weren't your friendly types"

"So they won't be back" and she shook her head "you're safe" he asked and she nodded, for the first time since all this started, he felt the fear and anger start to leave him "Honest, there aint nothing left to say they were even here, if there is anyone of those thieves left the word has gone out that the brothers are gone and anyone that thinks they can try again will be dealt with the same way, by the end of the week every pub and club will have heard the whispers and they will be looking over their shoulder" unable to drag his eyes away from hers as he took in what she had told him, "What about the police, wont they hear those whispers, wont they be looking for Alex and Serge, will they come for your Dad, Fred, you" he couldn't believe she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief "they don't even know about them, they won't hear nothing, no ones gonna say nothing, no one saw nothing; the drug squad will probably be rubbing their hands and taking the credit for putting a stop to a major drugs ring" the laughter dying on her face as she stared into those worried eyes of his "but that's the thing Charlie, sometimes there are people who want to change things, want more, don't like the way we do things, think they can just take everything. If you show weakness and I did, if you don't fight back, that's exactly what they will do and with no regard for who gets caught up in the crossfire" raising an eyebrow "get rid of the Captains…" hearing a ping which made him break contact and she grabbed her phone, grinning as she saw who it was from, turning it to show him a picture of Anna in a skimpy bikini on a sun lounger smiling and holding up a vivid blue cocktail towards the camera. He couldn't stop staring at the photo, so that had been their intel, the one who had helped ensure the plan was a success.

"I'm so sorry Charlie" the smile leaving her face "I can understand this has all been difficult, not what you're used to," her heart breaking in two as she looked at his face "No matter how much we try and change things, make it legit, there will always be someone who wants to challenge us, take over" tears falling down her face, this time he really did see her differently, "I can't stop thinking it was my fault, I was the weak link, this was all my fault"

His hands cupping her face, his thumbs wiping the tears, or trying to "None of it was your fault, Jack knew you wanted to let the club go" she nodded "I know that, but it don't make me feel any better"

"If there is one thing I learnt from all the years in the army, is that it doesn't pay to dwell too much on what you can't change" he sighed pulling her close, her head against his chest, he knew that only too well, decisions he had made, men he had lost "Jack obviously thought it was the right thing to do, he was the one that advised how to get out of your contract for the club without giving them anything. It wasn't your fault, none of it was your fault" he felt her nod against him although he wasn't entirely sure she believed him. Taking a lung full of air as he changed the subject

"Fred said something yesterday, about Andrew, its playing on my mind" he spoke quietly, not mentioning what Elvis had said, "I need to speak to him" she shrugged not making eye contact her head nestled against his chest "Whatever" was her nonchalant response and he wondered if she knew, that he was the only one that had been kept in the dark

His hand coming up under her chin forcing her to look at him again, his heart breaking at the sadness he saw before she shut him out by closing her eyes "Molly look at me" he pleaded and she opened her eyes glittering with unshed tears "It's one night, I need to see him and tell me what really happened back then. I want to know all of it" she blinked a few times, nodded as if clearing her mind but didn't speak "I'd really like it if you came with me" her eyes searching his face. She didn't want to, he could see that, there was no love lost between her and Andrew and he knew Rebecca did her nut in, her words not his "Do you love me?" he queried well aware it wasn't just this jaunt to Bath the reason he was asking as he searched her eyes, looking to see if he could see doubt, almost fearful at her response, all the secrets she had kept, did it mean she didn't trust him, love him enough "Always" she answered a wide smile breaking across her face lighting it up, wrapping her arms around his neck "Yeah! I'll come" she knew why he was asking, course she bloody loved him, but wanted to protect him from seeing a side of the family he would struggle to understand.

"Excellent" he beamed releasing a breath he hadn't realised he was holding "I'll phone Mum. We'll go tomorrow" as his lips crashed against hers lifting her off the counter as her legs wrapped around him for balance. Polar opposites Elvis had said. He'd be bald by the time he was 40, she had him tearing his hair out sometimes. He wanted to stay angry with her, the stupidity was beyond belief, reckless didn't even begin to describe what he felt. By her own admission she had never shot anyone before, anything could have happened and she seemed oblivious to all of it, once again he was grateful that she had never contemplated joining the army and been one of his, she would have been a bloody nightmare. Her hands already snaking under his t-shirt, her nails gliding down his spine as she kissed him, wanting him to know just how sorry she was, every nerve ending tingling at the sensation, sending messages to his groin that he knew would have him losing all reasonable thought the moment he had her naked and back in their bed as he started moving them back to their bedroom, her eyes already glazing with lust, soft and smoky, in this moment he would refuse her nothing. That feeling in the pit of his stomach finally releasing its grip, they would get through this, no matter what he loved her and he knew she loved him as his anger slipped away.

-OG-

As it happened his parents were coming up to London to stay with Fred and Josie so they didn't need to travel down to Bath. Turned out that Dave was the only person other than his Mum and Fred that knew of Andrew's involvement with drugs. His Mum begged him to leave it, that Andrew wasn't in a good place at the moment, there were problems in the marriage and Rebecca was telling him he couldn't give her the life she wanted, threatening to leave and take their son with her. His mother had looked very scathing as she huffed those words, "thought she would get the bleedin house didn't she" her East End accent returning as she tried to contain her anger "take it off William, just like that" clicking her fingers "Well her aspirations were shattered when she found out it was in trust, can't be bleedin sold and will never be hers, so maybe she'll think twice about breaking his heart and stay with him if she wants the bloody house so much" she sighed "She'll get paid off, if she finally decides to leave, and Andrew can get his life back on track without her constantly pushing him to make more effort and get a decent job in the city" huffing "there's nothing wrong with the job he's got in Bath"

He had always wished he and his brother had the same closeness Molly had with hers, but Andrew had always made it clear he didn't want that, even before Rebecca. In fact for as long as he could remember it had always felt like a competition between him and Andrew, his Mum confirming that although he loved Rebecca, and was devastated she wasn't happy in their marriage, couldn't help but feel he only started the relationship because of Charles, he was the one that had brought her to their home. A bit of an eye-opener for him, Elvis had alluded to it a few times, bringing it up again only the other day, Rebecca had never been anything other than a friend and her involvement with his brother had barely registered. After the long talk with his mother, he decided to let it drop, wondering if some of the things Andrew had done to Molly when they were growing up was because he had seen how fond of her, he was.

-OG-