by Jacqui Rose
Frowning and not particularly interested in her son’s computers, Mrs Thomas shrugged. ‘I don’t know, all I know is that I washed the keyboards for you and I tidied up all those wires over there. You really …’
Isaiah stopped listening to his mother as he watched one of the files on his computer show a ‘read’ notice.
‘Oh my God!’
‘Isaiah, do not take the Lord’s name in vain.’
‘Mom, believe me, it’s not in vain, I need all the help I can get … Now, can you leave the room?’
‘But—’
‘Mom! Go!’
Hurt by her son’s anger towards her, Mrs Thomas picked up her cloth and bucket, marching out of the room affronted.
Quickly picking up the phone, his eyes still glued to the screen, Isaiah pressed call.
‘Hello?’
‘Alice! Alice!’
‘What’s the matter, Isaiah, what’s happened? Didn’t you get the text that Abel got off okay?’
Isaiah whirled around, running across to the door to lock it. ‘It’s not that, it’s about the email to Nico.’
‘What about it?’
Isaiah closed his eyes before saying, ‘It’s gone.’
Sitting down on her bed, listening to Alfie stagger around the flat, Alice said, ‘Isaiah, you’re not explaining properly.’
‘Okay, what I’m trying to say is the email has been sent to Nico.’
‘What? But Abel told you not to send it, not until he got there.’
‘I know, I know, but that’s not the worst part. The worst part is, the wrong email was sent. Nico’s got the wrong email.’
Alice leant forward breathing tentatively as she chewed on her fingernail, fear rushing through her. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘My mom, she was cleaning and I hadn’t locked my computer. I was only popping out for a Hershey bar, you know, the new milk—’
Raising her voice, Alice cut in, ‘I don’t care about what flavour chocolate it is, Isaiah, just tell me what you’ve done!’
Nervously, Isaiah pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. ‘Sorry, sorry, I know you don’t. Look, I didn’t lock my computer, so when Mom was cleaning, by mistake she hit the command key, which is linked to the file for the emails I created to send to Nico.’
‘But you said the wrong one was sent.’
‘It was. The file I’m talking about had the emails in it that Abel told me to delete.’
Bewildered, Alice snapped at Isaiah. ‘But you didn’t delete them!’
‘I know, because I never delete, I just archive, it’s something I’ve always done. But I hadn’t finished archiving and I hadn’t unlinked the pathway, so when Mom pressed the command key, it shortcut to send. I’m so sorry, Alice.’
With tears in her eyes, Alice shook her head. ‘I don’t want you to be sorry, I want you to undo it. Can’t you delete it, so Nico won’t see it?’
‘No, well, I could, but I’ve got a “read” notice. Nico has already read it.’
‘But don’t you understand, that email, it makes out that Salvatore was betraying him with my dad. Isaiah, the reason Abel decided not to send that version was because he knows Nico well enough to realise that not only will Nico want revenge on Salvatore, but also my dad. But he can’t get to Dad at the moment, so the closest person to him is Franny. You knew that, Isaiah, but look what you’ve done. That email could put Franny in more danger than she already is. These are real people, Isaiah – their lives depend on us.’
‘Alice, please don’t cry. I’ll sort this out. I promise.’
‘How, Isaiah?’
Not feeling like eating his chocolate anymore, Isaiah stared at one of his computer screens. Excited, he suddenly sat forward, watching as the virus he’d embedded in the fake email started to download, copying the details from Nico’s phone, sending files and contacts and numbers to Isaiah’s computer.
‘Alice, we’re in. I’m in Nico’s phone, our malware bug has worked … Wait, wait, I can see he’s making a call … He’s calling Bobby.’
Alice, just as excited, said, ‘Will you be able to hear what he says?’
‘No, I only get a mirror image of his phone screen on my computer that shows who he’s calling. It’ll also show me any texts he sends or receives. Basically, anything he does on the phone I’ll see it, but I can’t hear. Alice, the only way to find out anymore is for you to call him. You need to call Nico and see what he says. It’s the only way.’
‘Nico? Hey … Nico? Are you there?’
Alice held the phone close to her ear, listening to Nico’s staggered breathing as she sat on her bed. She waited for another couple of minutes or so before she tried again.
‘Nico, are you all right? You’re not saying anything. Are you ill? Is there a problem? It’s making me nervous.’
In his prison cell, Nico Russo, edgy and dripping with sweat from the hot Colorado evening, leant his head against the off-white walls, his eyes closed as he whispered venomously, ‘And why would you be nervous, my sweet Alice Rose? What have you got to be nervous about? Have you done something that you shouldn’t? Have you, Alice?’
Trying her best not to feel uneasy or paranoid, Alice kept her voice as light as she could.
‘No, well, I hope not, Nico.’
Grinding his teeth, Nico hissed, ‘And how do I know you’re not lying? How do I know precious little Alice isn’t just like her precious father?’
Standing up and checking in the hallway that Lola wasn’t near enough to overhear, Alice shut the door of her bedroom. Her heart thumping, she walked across to the small window that looked out over Soho’s rooftops.
‘Nico, have I upset you in some way?’
‘You tell me, Alice.’
Trying to play it carefully, Alice said cautiously, ‘I’m just confused, because I don’t know what my dad has got to do with this. You seem so angry. Different to how you normally are.’
‘I’m not angry, Alice, why should I be fucking angry when all my life I’ve just given to others, looked after them, taken care of my family and looked after my friends as if they were my own blood.’
‘I’m not sure, I don’t know.’
Nico banged his head against the side of his brick cell, bursting open the skin on his forehead to leave a trail of blood to run down the off-white wall. ‘You don’t know? I thought you were cleverer than that, Alice. But maybe I’m wrong about you like I’ve been wrong about other people. Maybe you’re just like your stupid, stupid father.’
‘Nico, you’re not making sense.’
Raging, Nico began to pace. ‘Aren’t I? What a shame, Alice. What a fucking shame for you.’
Doing her best to keep calm, Alice continued to speak gently. ‘I don’t know why you keep talking about Dad. Has something happened?’
‘Not yet, Alice, but it will, trust me, it will.’
‘Nico, you’re beginning to frighten me.’
‘My mother used to tell me, beware of the half-truths, Nico, they’re more dangerous than lies because you never know which half you’ve been given …’ Nico stopped and chuckled scornfully to himself before adding, ‘But then look what happened to her. We all get the punishment we deserve in the end, Alice.’
Not knowing how to steer the conversation, Alice, desperate but feeling sick at her words, said, ‘I love you, Nico, and you can tell me anything.’
Agitated, Nico shook his head as he stared up at the sky through the bars of his cell. ‘No, Alice, I can’t.’
‘But you can, Nico, we’re—’
Nico interrupted her, screaming down the phone, the veins on the side of his head pulsating. ‘I said, I can’t! Don’t tell me what I can do, Alice. I need time to think … Do you know what it’s like to give everything? Every part of you?’
‘No.’
‘No, I didn’t think so, but I do and what do I get in return for all my efforts? I’ll tell you, shall I? Tradimento. Tradimento. Tradimento.’
With a shiver,
Alice thought of what Abel had said as she quietly whispered the word down the phone. ‘Betrayal.’
‘Yes, and what has to come after betrayal, Alice?’
‘I don’t know.’
Nico laughed scornfully again as he stared at Alice’s photo on the wall. ‘After the rain comes the sun, Alice, and after betrayal comes vendetta … revenge!’
And with that Nico Russo clicked off the phone, leaving Alice Rose frozen with fear of what was about to begin.
Biting down on his fingers hard enough to leave teeth marks, Nico stared at the screen of his phone, rereading the email from Salvatore to Cabhan, which must’ve been sent by mistake when Salvatore had forwarded all the various emails from his attorney regarding his prison transfer and his appeal.
The email spelt out what had crossed his mind a few times whilst he’d been in prison: that Salvatore was trying to take over the family business with the help of Cabhan. Though when he’d questioned Salvatore about it, of course his brother had just made excuses and denied any such accusation. But now he knew the truth. The full truth.
The email was dated a few months ago and for some reason, between then and now, Salvatore had turned his back on Cabhan. Perhaps it was because Salvatore had thought Cabhan knew too much, wanting to dispose of him before it was too late, or perhaps Cabhan had just become surplus to requirements, but whatever the reason, he didn’t care, it made no difference. The damage had been done. The writing was now on the wall. He knew the truth.
With a surge of hatred running through him, Nico spat on the floor, mixing his spit with the blood from his head. He made an oath to himself. From this moment on, Salvatore Valentino Russo was no longer his brother. He was dead to him and he would pay heavily. Vengeance, Nico told himself, vengeance would be his.
51
The buzzing of her phone woke Alice. She was exhausted, having only slept fitfully in the night, but reaching over to the bedside cabinet she answered quickly. ‘Isaiah? Has something happened?’
‘Alice, there’s been a text from Nico to Bobby. It came through on my computer just a few minutes ago. I’ll read it for you.’
Alice sat up in bed, listening as Isaiah cleared his throat.
I want you to go through with what we discussed last night. Don’t fuck it up. Call me when it’s done. There’s no more time left, everyone has had their chance.
Having finished reading the text message, Isaiah leant back on his chair. ‘That’s all there is, Alice, there’s been no reply from Bobby.’
Feeling sick, Alice closed her eyes to steady herself. ‘It can only be about one thing. It can only be the fact that he wants revenge because of what he thinks my dad has done. He’s going to do something to Franny, I know it. I just know it.’
Not feeling as convinced as he sounded, Isaiah said, ‘No, we don’t, Alice, it could be about anything.’
Fighting back tears, Alice shook her head, her hands trembling. ‘No, Isaiah, you didn’t hear him last night. You didn’t hear how Nico sounded. Nothing I said made a difference. He didn’t say anything about the emails, but he was so angry, and he talked about betrayal. I just know it was about the email. He’s planning to do something, Isaiah … What have we done? We’ve made everything worse, haven’t we?’
‘Alice, we’re doing all we can already. Abel is coming; he’ll have landed by now.’
Desperation ran through Alice’s words. ‘And what difference will that make to Franny and Bree? Isaiah, don’t you see, we’ve got to do something before it’s too late.’
‘Alice, there is nothing. You don’t even know if he was talking about them.’
‘Yes, I do, and I can’t just leave them. It’s already my fault and all I’ve done is gone and made it worse.’
Isaiah, feeling Alice’s panic as well as responsible for what his mum had caused, said, ‘Why don’t you just wait to speak to Abel? He’ll know what to do.’
Becoming angry, Alice began to get dressed, putting Isaiah on loudspeaker as she did so. ‘I haven’t got time to wait for him! Think what the text said: there’s no more time left. How can you want me to risk it? How can I sit back and do nothing when there’s a chance that Bobby is going to hurt Franny?’
‘But—’
Beside herself now, Alice shouted down the phone, racked with sobs. ‘Don’t give me a but! Look, we know where they are, don’t we? So that means we can do something.’
‘Alice, Abel said that he wouldn’t manage to get any of his old acquaintances together until Wednesday, just wait a couple of days.’
‘I don’t care what he says, and I don’t care what you say. I’ve already told you, it’ll be too late by then. And I don’t want you saying anything to Abel. You understand? I don’t want you telling Abel. You owe me that, Isaiah Thomas.’
Isaiah rubbed his face, more stress than he’d ever had in his life hurtling through his body.
‘Please, Alice, just wait, okay. Don’t do anything silly. I’m scared for you. I’m over here and so is Abel, and you can’t just do this on your own.’
‘I’m not on my own though, am I?’
Isaiah spoke quickly. ‘Alice, I love God as much as you do, but I don’t think he’s going to help you right now.’
Alice, furious, snarled down the phone as she laced up her trainers. ‘I’m not talking about God, Isaiah, I’m talking about Alfie.’
Sceptically, Alice stared at Alfie, who was drunk and half asleep. Frowning, she shook him hard, looking up at the clock as she did so.
‘Alfie, get up! You need to get up. I need your help. Alfie!’
‘Leave me alone, Alice.’ Alfie’s voice was slurred.
Shouting at him, Alice shook him harder. ‘Alfie, you’ve got to wake up, now!’
Lola hobbled through to the lounge and looked at Alice as she continued to shake Alfie awake.
‘What’s going on, love?’
‘I just need to wake him up.’
Leaving Lola looking baffled, Alice quickly ran into the kitchen, filled one of the pans with water and ran back into the lounge. Without hesitation, she threw the water over Alfie.
Spluttering in shock, Alfie sat up raging. ‘What the fuck! What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Fucking hell!’
Alice stared at Alfie and spoke with a new kind of firmness. ‘Alfie, you need to sober up. You hear me? Alfie!’
Staggering to his feet, Alfie sniffed loudly. ‘Leave me alone, Alice.’
She shook her head. ‘No, I’m not going to leave you alone. You need to get yourself sorted and have a clear head.’
Alfie went to reach for the almost empty bottle of whiskey, but Alice snatched it away. ‘No more drinking, Alfie. Understand?’
Dripping wet, Alfie contorted his face in fury. ‘What is this, some fucked-up intervention? I bet this is something to do with you, Lola, ain’t it? Is this your idea of the twelve-step programme? What are you going to do, hey, Lola, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change? Well, I’ve got news for you. I’ll never accept it, I’ll never accept what’s happened to Franny and Bree, so why don’t you do me a favour and fuck right off!’
Alice slapped Alfie hard on the face. Her own face was red and angry. ‘Don’t you dare speak to her like that, do you understand me, Alfie Jennings? The only thing that Lola has done is try to help. Everyone here is hurting, everyone is scared, but it’s only you who’s drunk. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and get yourself sober.’
Alfie rubbed his face, not quite knowing whether to laugh or bawl Alice out. He smirked. ‘What is this, one of your crusades? Cos I’ve already told you, I ain’t no angel.’
Stepping right up close to Alfie, Alice held his glare, her almond eyes hard and steely. ‘What this is, Alfie, is me doing what I can to save Franny, like Abel is, like we all are, and if you want to do the same, I’d get in a cold shower and get dressed. But in the meantime, Alfie, why don’t you just shut the hell up.’
It was past two o’clock as Alice, Alfie and Lola
sat in the car on the way to West Berkshire with Alice telling them an edited version of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Lola, driving as smoothly as Lola could, shook her head. The car immediately swerved and Alfie had to put a helping hand on the steering wheel. She sounded bewildered as she spoke to Alice.
‘I can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve let you down. All I’ve done is hide in me bleedin’ room and feel sorry for meself.’
Alfie, feeling ashamed, looked at Alice, who was squeezed into the barely-there back seat. His head still swam, and the swirl of alcohol still sat in his blood, but he knew that although it was far from ideal, Alice was right, this was the only way and they couldn’t risk leaving it until Wednesday – no matter what the danger, no matter what happened, they at least had to try.
‘Have you spoken to Isaiah yet?’ The tension in Alfie’s voice was obvious as he checked the chamber of one of the guns Abel had brought from his house.
Alice glanced at her watch before she replied. She had to trust that Isaiah would contact her if there were any more texts or calls between Bobby and Nico. But maybe, rather than no news is good news, maybe it was a bad thing that there hadn’t been any more communication between the pair, because it could only mean one thing: that the final decision had already been made. There was no going back. Nico had made up his mind that Franny was going to pay for what he thought was Salvatore and her dad’s betrayal.
Answering just as tensely, Alice said, ‘No, I haven’t, and I haven’t spoken to Abel either. I just don’t think it’s a good idea, not for now anyway. He can’t help from where he is, so the only thing Abel will do is worry and … Lola, turn here. The farm is just along that road.’
Alfie glanced out of the window, looking concerned. ‘We need to ditch the car, it’s hardly discreet, is it?’
Lola nodded as she pulled over, driving the Ferrari carefully off the road to park up behind a large thicket. She swivelled round to face Alfie, her forehead creased with fear. ‘What now, Alfie?’
‘You got to stay here, darlin’, just keep hidden.’
‘No, no way! There’s only two of you, you’ll need all the help you can get.’