DISHONOUR. Jacqui Rose

can do this. What I can’t do is spend the next few years rotting away behind bars because of my missus. I have the contact but I don’t have the readies.’

      ‘How much exactly are we talking?’

      ‘Two hundred grand; maybe a bit more.’

      ‘That sounds okay, but how will you be able to get in the same van as me?’

      ‘I’ve thought about that. On the morning of you going to see Ray-Ray, there’ll need to be a fight on the wing. I need to get hurt. Hurt enough for the medics not to be able to deal with it here, but not hurt enough for them to call an ambulance. You’ll have to have someone break my arm. The wing will go into lock down whilst they check me over. Obviously you’ll be delayed as well. When they realise it’s broken, they’ll call the security firm to take me. I can sort it for my contact to make sure there aren’t any other vans available that morning. And in this day of lags suing the prison authorities, they ain’t going to have me hanging around whilst I’m screaming lawsuits. Then, knowing your van is coming for you, they’ll probably put me in with you.’

      ‘Probably?’

      ‘Well there’s the possibility they might not, but what I thought was, if you put a squeeze on that muppet of a deputy governor who you’ve got sucking shit out of your arse, you can make sure I’m on the van.’

      ‘And what if I can’t? What if I can’t swing it for you to be on the van?’

      ‘Then at least we tried, but you’ll still have a chance of getting away.’

      Freddie watched Eddie watching him. It not only sounded good, it also sounded like there could be a chance of them pulling it off, albeit a small one; but as Eddie had said, what did they have to lose? He could easily sort out his men to haul up the van with shooters if they knew which route they were going, and the money wasn’t a problem.

      With one flash of his gleaming white teeth, Freddie Thompson grinned. ‘Okay Ed, let’s do it.’

      11

      Ray-Ray Thompson was only half listening to the blonde haired nurse talk as she changed his dressings. He liked her. She’d been kind to him, comforting him when he was crying out in pain, staying with him as he screamed out from the nightmares. Now she was telling him about her boyfriend. From what he could gather he was a bit of a player and no more in love with her than he was in love with his teacher, though he wasn’t going to say so. Who was he to spoil anyone’s dreams? As the nurse chatted away, Ray-Ray thought about Laila. He missed her. Everything about her he missed. Her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes danced when she looked at him.

      There was a part of him that wanted to make sure she was safe. But how was he going to find out? He couldn’t ask his mother. He didn’t want her knowing anything about Laila. Then a thought came to him. He spoke, interrupting the nurse in mid flow, complaining about the lack of text messages her boyfriend had sent.

      ‘Can you do me a favour?’

      The nurse looked at Ray-Ray in surprise, slightly put out she hadn’t finished her story.

      ‘Yes, of course.’

      ‘I want you to go and see somebody for me …’

      Tasha Thompson stretched, forgetting where she was for a moment. Imagining being back in Soho in her absurdly expensive handmade bed with Freddie lying next to her, and Ray-Ray sleeping safely in the next bedroom. But as the summer sun forced its way through the gap in the curtains, reality seized hold of her.

      She turned her head and saw she was alone in the bed. Sitting up, she quickly rubbed her eyes. There, in the corner of the room, perched on the edge of the cream embroidered chair was Arnold. In the dimness Tasha couldn’t make out his face properly, only the stillness of his body and the stillness of his stare. A chill ran down her.

      ‘Arnold?’ There was no answer; merely the murmur of voices outside in the distance. ‘Arnold, you’re frightening me.’

      Arnold’s tone was as still and unmoving as his physical presence. ‘I’ve been watching you sleep. So still, so very still.’

      He got up, walking slowly towards Tasha. Crouching down in front of her he smiled. ‘You’re perfect. Just perfect.’

      Tasha laughed, her cockney accent cutting through the air. ‘Stop being a soft git; you must be bleeding on something. I’m hardly God’s gift.’

      Arnold tilted his head to one side, catching a beam of sunshine on his cheek. ‘Oh but you are to me, you really are.’

      She stared at him, always surprised at how beautiful he really was. She could stare at him all day. For a start, he certainly didn’t realise how good-looking he was and how many heads he turned when he walked down the street. He was tall, almost six foot five. Wavy blonde and honey-brown hair. Big green eyes with a mesmerising stare. His face was square and chiselled with a wind-tanned complexion. His body was naturally muscular yet he showed no vanity, wearing clothes befitting of a man twenty years his senior. Bleeding hell, her granddad, God bless his soul, wouldn’t even have been seen dead in the shirts she’d seen Arnold in. Though perhaps that was what she liked and trusted about him. Quite why he would choose her, when he could quite frankly have the pick of any woman, she didn’t know. Stroking Arnold’s face without saying anything, Tasha got up from the bed, heading towards the bathroom. He was sweet, but compliments made her feel uncomfortable. What she really wanted to do was get showered then go straight to the hospital.

      She picked up her phone. It was on silent. There were eighteen missed calls. One from her sister Linda. Seventeen from Freddie.

      ‘Why did you say I’m frightening you?’

      Tasha turned round, her thoughts preoccupied with not having answered Freddie’s calls. ‘Come again?’

      ‘Why did you say a minute ago I’m frightening you? You’re not scared of me are you?’

      ‘Scared of you? Christ almighty, I’m more likely to be scared of me own shadow. You’re the gentlest man I know Arnie, and I appreciate that.’

      ‘You called me Arnie.’

      ‘Don’t you like being called that?’

      Arnold smirked. ‘You know I do.’

      A flash of puzzlement crossed Tasha’s face for a second before disappearing into a frown. ‘I said it, because when I saw you sitting there, I thought you’d changed your mind about us. You know, perhaps you thought better of getting involved with the likes of me. I don’t know what impression I’ve given you, but I don’t do this all the time; in fact, it’s the first time I’ve done anything like this before. I ain’t ever cheated on Freddie before.’