Kimberley Chambers 3-Book Butler Collection: The Trap, Payback, The Wronged. Kimberley Chambers

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      Ahmed glared at the police, put an arm around Vinny’s shoulder and led him away. ‘Come on, let’s go. Pete and Paul will stay at the club until we get back. We need to go to the hospital.’

      Old Sidney Palmer had just picked his wife up from her regular Monday-night jaunt at the bingo hall when he had driven past the Butlers’ nightclub and heard a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. He had seen the motorbike race away, and being the good citizen that he was, Sidney had decided to give chase in his Ford Cortina.

      Dorothy Palmer had begged her husband to stop at a phonebox, ring the police, and give them the registration number, but Sidney being a stubborn old mule had ignored her wishes, carried on chasing the bloody bike, and now the rider had just hit the car in front, flown off his bike, and was lying in a crumpled heap in the middle of the A13. ‘If we’re up on a murder charge I will brain you, you senile old bastard,’ Dorothy hissed.When a dazed Johnny tried to get up and run, he collapsed immediately. Cursing his luck, he took the gun out of his jacket and threw it across to the opposite carriageway.

      When the police arrived a few minutes later, Dorothy got out and stood with Sidney while he explained to them what he had heard, seen, and how he had followed the suspect. When the police called Sidney a hero, and said his bravery would more than likely be rewarded, Dorothy held her husband’s arm with pride. Perhaps he wasn’t such a senile old bastard after all.

      Unable to sit still, Vinny paced up and down the hospital corridor. Roy had been rushed into theatre for an emergency operation to remove the bullet from his skull, and the doctors were yet to tell them any real news of his condition.

      Seeing his devastated mum lay her weary head on Vivian’s shoulder, Vinny bit his lip to stop himself from crying. His mother was such a strong woman, as hard as nails, and to see her so upset tugged at his heart-strings.

      ‘There yous are. What’s happening? Any news yet?’ Michael asked, dashing straight over to his mum.

      ‘Oh Michael. It was awful. You should have seen him. I thought he was brown bread, I really did, but the ambulance men said he still had a pulse,’ Queenie explained, hugging her youngest son.

      ‘How’s my Lenny, Michael? Hysterical, he was. Never seen him like that before. Has he calmed down a bit now?’ Vivian asked.

      ‘He’s still upset and very tearful, but Brenda and Dean will take good care of him,’ Michael replied.

      ‘What about Little Vinny? Is he OK? I just thank God he was asleep in the club when it happened. I would have hated him to witness it first hand,’ Queenie said.

      ‘Little Vinny weren’t with Bren and Dean. They only had Champ with them,’ Michael informed his mother.

      Vinny felt his blood pressure rapidly start to rise. ‘What do you mean, he weren’t with them? I thought you told Bren to look after him, Auntie Viv?’

      ‘I did. Bren and Dean was gonna take him home with my Lenny. I wouldn’t worry too much. Karen was still at the club. Perhaps he wanted to stay with her?’ Vivian replied.

      Unable to stop himself, Vinny punched the wall with pure frustration. ‘Ahmed, shoot down the club and find me my son. I want him brought back here, OK?’

      With a curt nod, Ahmed dashed down the hospital corridor.

      Back at Queenie’s house the initial awkwardness between Brenda and Nancy had just started to thaw. ‘So, how long you been seeing Michael then? Where did you meet him?’ Brenda asked, inquisitively.

      ‘I’ve not been seeing him long. We bumped into one another over at Barking fair last month. Your Dean seems like a nice guy, Bren. Yous two been together long?’

      Glad that Nancy was there as it took the edge off waiting for news about poor Roy, Brenda spoke frankly about her relationship with Dean, her plans for her wedding day, their unborn child, and her hopes and dreams for the future. ‘So, what about you? Do you still live with your parents? And do they know you and Michael are together?’ Brenda asked.

      About to explain that she had just left home and would be moving in with Michael, Nancy was stopped from doing so by Dean’s reappearance. ‘Lenny reckons he’s going up the hospital, Bren. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he got a bit bolshy and sort of told me to mind me own business.’

      ‘Well, you’re gonna have to stop him,’ Brenda ordered.

      ‘Bren, he’s a big old lump and nearly as tall as me. I ain’t even properly related to him, so what am I mean to do? You’re his cousin, you bloody well stop him.’

      Hearing the front door slam, Brenda leapt out of the armchair and opened the lounge window. ‘Lenny, get back in ’ere now,’ she yelled.

      ‘No. I ain’t some kid no more, and if I want to go to the hospital to see how Roy is, there is nothing you can do to stop me. I want to be with my mum and Auntie Queenie, not sitting here doing nothing.’

      Realizing that her cousin had a point, Brenda told him to wait a minute, then turned to Dean and Nancy. ‘Come on. Let’s all go up the hospital.’

      ‘Me and Nancy will be better off staying here, Bren. You go with Lenny. It ain’t right for us to go. We’re not even family.’

      There was no way that Brenda was leaving Dean alone with somebody as beautiful as Nancy, so she stood her ground. ‘You are family, you div. We’re having a baby together and getting married, remember? You’re gonna have to come too, Nancy. Unless you want to go home. My mum barely knows you and I can’t leave you alone in her house, she’ll kill me.’

      With no home to go to, Nancy nodded miserably. Queenie had insisted earlier that Michael’s ex-girlfriend was lying about being pregnant, but Nancy still didn’t know that for sure. Say she was at the hospital too? Also, Vinny was bound to be there, and just being within a fifty-yard radius of him gave Nancy the heebies.

      ‘Yous two coming, or what?’ Brenda asked, impatiently.

      Knowing she had two choices, none and sod all, Nancy followed Brenda and Dean out of the house.

      When Ahmed returned with both Karen and his son, Vinny wasn’t happy. According to a nurse he had just spoken to, Roy was still being operated on and he needed Karen around him at a time like this like a boil on his arse. ‘Why didn’t you send him home with Brenda like I asked? Is it too much for you to respect my wishes, even though my brother is on death’s door?’

      Karen was rather taken aback. ‘Our son was confused and upset, Vinny. He couldn’t understand what was going on. He wanted to stay with me, and seeing as we’ve been getting along well and I am his mother, I didn’t see it as a problem. I wasn’t going to take him home to Dagenham with me. I was worried about you and Roy, so was going to stay at the club with Little Vinny until you got back.’

      Colleen had been in a hysterical state after arriving earlier at the hospital, and was currently being treated for shock. Seeing her parents walking back towards him, Vinny led Karen around another corridor. ‘Look, I’m sorry, OK? I’m just stressed and off my head with worry.’

      Little Vinny followed his parents, and desperate to get his dad’s attention, leapt up and down while holding his arm.

      ‘Stop it! What’s a matter?’ Vinny shouted at his son.

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