‘I killed her, eh? What is this game you’re playing, Erin?’
‘No games,’ she spat back. ‘I told you, Erin Nuffield is gone, and she’s never coming back.’
‘Your name is my name, Erin. You’re married to me. Ring a bell does it? You took my baby. You ran off, and took our daughter. Our daughter, Erin. OUR DAUGHTER. What the hell is going on?’
‘You know what’s going on. We left because of you. I changed our names. We have a new life now, and I’m ringing to tell you that you need to stay the fuck out of it. You will never hear from me again.’ The tears came now, but her voice didn’t shake once. She clenched her fist tighter, to take the edge off her panic, but then stopped herself. She was hurting again, for him. No more. Her tears stopped.
‘That’s what you have to say to me? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? Tell me where you are, Erin. I’m already looking.’
‘Oh yeah, what did the police say?’ She put her hand down on the grass, grabbing at tufts and pulling them from the earth. ‘Did they put out a missing person’s report?’
‘Don’t push it, Erin. Tell me where you are, right now.’
‘No! This is not how this works. You will not see us, not like that, ever again. We are not coming home. I’m going to fight you, every step of the way. So tell me, what did the police say?’
‘You fucking bitch.’
There it was. She’d poked the beast good and proper now. She swallowed hard but kept it up.
‘I didn’t think the nice act would take long. I’ve been to the police, Victor, and they know all about you, and our horror show of a marriage. Stay away from us, I mean it.’
‘Or what? Who do you think you are?’
‘Or the police will come for you, and I’ll go to court—’
‘You ran off with my kid and didn’t tell me whether you were alive or dead. I know your mother was a bit of a scatty bint, but I thought you were better.’
‘You leave my mother out of this. You’re not father of the year.’
‘Shut up!’ he boomed down the line. ‘I love Ava. Tell me where you are now!’
‘You love Ava? Really??’ She threw a huge clod of grass at the tree stump in front of her. ‘You could have fooled me.’
‘I did though, didn’t I? For long enough? We have a kid together, Erin.’
‘Don’t you even say my name.’
‘You belong with me, and I’ll call you what I like, Erin. You need to stop this and come home. This is going to get bad if you don’t. I’m closer than you think.’
She felt her heart stutter to a stop and didn’t reply. ‘It doesn’t matter how close you are, Victor. What was before will never happen again. Don’t come near us. Leave this alone. Goodbye.’
She heard the rage of him, shouting down the line, but she ended the call, and when he rang back a moment later she turned the thing off and smashed the SIM card to pieces. Leaning back against the biggest of the trees, she processed the call. Replayed every detail in her head. He could be close. She wasn’t stupid – she knew he was rather adept at this. She had hoped to gain something from the call. An idea of his state of mind. What he knew. Where he was. It was easy to read his moods, with the amount of practice she’d had.
From early on in their relationship, his attentiveness was nice. He’d really noticed her; he took an interest. After her upbringing, being first on someone’s list was something she’d never experienced before, and for a time she’d loved it. Till it got a little awkward. Him turning up to her nights out with friends, getting her to come home early. One time he’d even caused a huge scene because she’d been chatting to a male friend. Someone from her old neighbourhood, who she’d bonded with over their equally shitty upbringings. That night had been the first time she’d looked at Victor and seen who he really was, but by then it was too late. Their lives were linked, and when Ava came, her world got smaller and then shrank altogether. Till it was just her and Ava.
She knew that she’d incensed him, and she hadn’t done it to be cocky, or to make things worse. She’d needed information. She wouldn’t be able to contact him. Once he was arrested, it would be through a wall of people. She needed to read his state of mind. How close he might be. She’d needed to tell him how she felt. For her own sanity. A tick of the checklist back to sanity. Back to herself, and her future.
She’d felt those words inside her for so long. Saying them to Victor now felt good. She’d longed to say them to him. To be able to tell him that they were gone and never coming back. Keeping what she wanted to say to him close to her chest a minute longer was unbearable. She’d needed him to know that the Erin who left was dead. She’d died in that house, on that bedroom floor. It had been Hannah who had scooped Ava up, got her bag and walked right out of the door with her. Fleeing to Kate’s where her stashed stuff was waiting. To a new life, with friends, and a job. Independence. Poverty at times, fear ever there. A man in her life who had helped her grasp her future.
But the fear wasn’t there now, she realised with a smile. She’d told him, she’d showed him that she wasn’t going to just keep taking his shit over and over. She wiggled her toes, checking her nervous system wasn’t tricking her, but she was here, and feeling freer than she had in a long time. After putting her old SIM back into her phone, she half skipped to the shop, and didn’t see the observer, watching her from the shadows in the car at the top of the street. She was far too happy to care right now, and she couldn’t wait to tell Brody.
Brody grabbed a large ham and cheese baguette from the display cabinet, rolling his eyes at Officer Reymond as he asked for a salad bowl. He knew he’d be hungry again in an hour and moaning on their shift.
‘You sure that’s going to fill you?’
Peter Reymond shrugged him off, picking up the dressing sachet from his plate and drizzling the oily contents over his large salad. The whole thing would be about fifty calories, and Brody knew he was going to regret his choices.
‘Yeah, I had a big belly buster this morning at the greasy spoon, don’t tell Angie.’ His wife Angie worked in the control room, and she was like an all-seeing eye. She knew everything about everyone, and she wasn’t afraid to say it either. ‘She’s got me on this health kick. We had tofu burgers last night.’ The face he pulled told Brody that he didn’t approve.
‘Ah well, she’s doing it for your own good.’
Peter had had a heart attack the year before – too many quick lunches out on the job. It was easy to grab a microwave hot dog from a petrol station, but they added up with the long hours and odd eating times. Brody had seen a few men arrive with six-packs and see their waistlines expand. The job took its toll. Luckily he had Bullet to run around with, and he kept himself fit. Lately, with the sleepless nights and the white-hot sexual frustration of being so close to Hannah and not yet making love, he’d been hitting the gym a fair bit too. He didn’t want to cross that last line, not when she was going through so much. He wanted her head to be clear when it finally happened. All two and a half seconds of it. He frowned at his own bad joke.
‘I know, but seriously, mate, some of the stuff.’ Peter patted his belly as if he was apologising to it. ‘It just don’t agree with me. I’m losing weight, but I’m not sure it isn’t just the crapper talking.’
‘Nice.’ Brody winced. ‘Listen, not to change the subject, but I wanted to ask a hypothetical.’
‘Oh yeah, is this with my internal nose, or my copper nose?’ Peter knew the law and the police handbook, and he would know what to do. ‘’Cos I have been apprised of your situation. Off the record, of course.’
‘John Tucker called you,’ Brody said with the lift of a brow.
‘Tucker called me. He’s not doing that well with being off the case, so to speak.’
‘We don’t want another loss.’ Peter nodded with him. Brody knew he remembered the case too, the one that had caused John to give in his badge. The domestic violence case that kept occurring. They’d both tried everything to get the victim out of the situation, but she was so fearful, so controlled by a man who played the law like a fiddle. One night, they had been called again, and it was over. Having to tell her family and see the case through had taken a lot out of their community, and the officers involved. It was the kind of thing that didn’t happen in places like Leadsham, and the villagers had had a rude awakening to the real world when it had. They were healing now, but he knew that there were many Hannahs out there, and not all of them were free. ‘Work know about us, but what if he shows up? She had to file a report, right?’
‘Right, for the child especially. Taking off with his child does complicate things, but proving why she ran – she has that?’
Brody nodded, not wanting to say anything that she wouldn’t want spoken to a stranger. ‘She left with what she could get.’
Peter tapped him on the arm, a meaty slapping sound as he connected. ‘We’ve got your back, lad. Eat up.’ He nodded to the baguette and speared a piece of lettuce with his fork. ‘And get me a sausage roll before we go, I’ll eat it outside.’
Brody nodded, and the two men ate. As he headed back on shift, his phone buzzed. Hannah had text him.
I called him. I know you said not to, but I had to say it to him. Before he gets caught. I told him I’m going to fight. See you at mine, 6 p.m.? Brody tapped a reply back, telling her he couldn’t wait. He didn’t want to comment on the other thing, not by text. He didn’t want to put his stamp on what she was going through. She’d changed since they’d met, and he needed her to feel that independence. It wasn’t the best move, but it was done. He was strictly hands-off on the case. He’d already got her living with him, and he knew she wasn’t entirely happy about it. The circumstances at least. The swift nature of it. He didn’t tell her that really he was glad that she was doing it so quick. He didn’t want to be that guy; it felt like he was preying on her situation almost. He didn’t want to be a person who made her feel like that in any way. She was her own person, and he loved her for that.
‘It looks like things are in motion,’ he told Peter as they got into the van, ready to go search a housing estate where some of the minor players had been scouted. A couple of the residents had been supplying bits of information, and they were about to take down three of the properties in one swoop. John always called it a ‘shakedown’ because when they hit, everything was taken into custody, be it evidence from the places or the people who scattered when they came knocking.
The rest of the afternoon was hectic, and Bullet was on the ball as usual, helping to bring in a big haul for their afternoon’s work. There was a lot of paperwork to be done, but the empire was crashing down around Big Phil’s ears. It was a thing of beauty for the officers and their months of hard work, but Brody was more looking forward to getting home that night and seeing Hannah.
When Brody arrived at her old bolthole, Hannah was already sitting and waiting for him, on the couch playing with Ava. The rest of her possessions were in a couple of bags next to the pram. He must have walked over from his house. She never heard a car, but she knew his big strides by heart.
‘Good day?’ she asked as he sat down next to them. Ava immediately went to him, and he tickled her till she belly-laughed.
‘Yeah, it was as it goes. You okay?’ He looked flushed, so she knew he’d had a good day at work. He shone on the good days, like the sense of achievement was fuelling him.
‘Good. I called Victor, like I said. He didn’t like it, but I told him what I needed to.’
He kissed Ava’s fingers, and she dropped her little head of hair onto his chest. He covered her with his left hand, stroking her back and took Hannah’s hand in his.
‘She’s getting tired.’
He stood up, lifting Ava on him without moving her an inch. ‘Come on then, let’s walk home. I left Bullet there.’
He put Ava into her pushchair and took all the bags from Hannah as she locked up for the last time. She had no further link to this house, but she couldn’t help but feel thankful, and a little sad. The charity shop was taking back what she didn’t take with her. The manager had taken her to one side.
‘We’re still here, remember. And we’ll donate what you gave us.’ Her brows had raised in question. He’d patted her hand. ‘For the next brave woman in need.’ She’d hugged him tight before leaving. She’d go back there, she resolved. Help give back. They’d helped make her rented little house into a home. It had been Ava and Hannah’s first home, the first one that mattered.
She turned the key in the lock, but she didn’t take it out.
‘When we first moved here, you know, I was a wreck.’ She reached out and touched the wood panel with her palm. ‘It was cold, and the heater wasn’t great. We had nowhere to sleep, so we slept on the floor. I had to haggle in charity shops to buy furniture. No one would hire me.’ She could hear Brody putting the bags down, and she wanted to turn to face him. She wanted to post the keys through the door like she’d promised the landlord and walk away. To Brody’s house, Brody’s bed. She wanted to hop, skip and jump right into her new life. She just couldn’t take the key out of the lock – not yet.
‘Do you need time?’ Brody was standing with his hands by his sides when she turned to face him. ‘Oh God. Han, I knew I’d rushed it. If you need more time, I can get a patrol car to come by once in a while.’
Ava was busy trying to pull apart her picture book, not bothered by the scene one bit. Hannah watched her as he spoke. She knew that her child wouldn’t remember this, any of it, and she was grateful. For the most part. If she remembered anything from the time in this house, it was more than being scared. ‘I can wait, Hannah. I feel like I pushed you—’
Her hand left the door handle. ‘Don’t you ever think that. You did nothing but give me time. I’m not scared to leave. I’m grateful to this house. It wasn’t all bad. This was our home.’ She kissed him on the lips, slow and soft. ‘I was just reflecting. That’s all. I’m not the same woman who slept on that floor. It’s time to go.’
‘You sure you’re ready?’ He chewed his lip as he looked from her to the door. ‘Shit, Hannah, I feel like I’m making things worse. If you need to stay at the house, I can …’
‘Brody.’ She stopped him. ‘No patrol cars, I told you. No panic alarms. No pepper spray. I was just saying goodbye to an old friend, that’s all.’ She pulled him close to her, taking the key out of the lock for the last time. ‘I’m ready for what comes next, believe me.’
‘Have you not dropped that kid yet?’ Mrs Barclay, one of the bookshop café’s loyal customers, was always to the point. It was lucky Lola’s mother Peggy had gone home. Lola had insisted, because her mother’s mothering had driven her pottier than the lack of coffee did. Lola managed to keep her cool at the rather awkward and personal statement of her current distress by the woman before her.
Despite this, Hannah loved Mrs Barclay. She planned to be a version of her when she was older. She never kept the truth in, and tact wasn’t much something that she was concerned with.
‘You must be fed up to the back teeth.’
Lola, who was currently sitting in one of the comfy chairs in the corner, huffed back at her. ‘No, I’m fine. Just a few days overdue – nothing major.’ She was sitting and sipping a raspberry-leaf tea, looking like she wanted to take the belly off like an itchy cardigan. It was a warm day in early summer, and the open windows were doing little to dampen down the humidity. Mrs Barclay shot a knowing look at Hannah before leaving with a fresh cream cake and half a dozen of her favourite crime reads. The second the door closed, leaving the two women alone, Lola continued, replying, ‘Except for the fact that she doesn’t want to come out.’ She scratched at her bump, moving the elasticated waistband of her trousers into a comfier position. ‘I farted on John last night. Not near him, but on him.’
Hannah pushed a copy of Pride and Prejudice back into place on the shelf and tried not to laugh. ‘So? You’re married! That’s allowed.’
‘Not in my house it’s not.’ She looked mortified. ‘I’ve never done it.’
‘You must have!’ The irony of shelving Austen whilst arguing the merits of marital flatulence only served to fuel her amusement. She was still buzzing after the night before. Every night she’d been at Brody’s, she’d slept like a log and waking up wrapped in his arms was the icing on the cake. It was proving harder and harder to play down her feelings for him. Or her lust. Their abstinence was becoming almost Austenian in itself. Still, even if he farted, she wouldn’t mind. Oh God, she had it bad. Victor being quiet again had allowed her to enjoy her cohabitation. She couldn’t wait till they finally had sex. She knew he was feeling the strain. He was at the gym a lot for a man who didn’t need to work out so much. She focused back on Lola, who’d huffed to get her attention in the first place.
‘Come on, you’re pregnant. He’ll understand. It’s John – you couldn’t meet a nicer bloke. Apart from his friend, of course.’
Lola made a sick motion with her finger in her mouth, but she nodded along too. ‘True, we have a couple of good ones, but that’s not the point. When I’m in bed, I’m like a bloody beached whale, honest to Christ. Last night was so sticky, the fan was on but I was baking. Poor John was trying his best to keep me cool, but I was just miserable. I got up to spend a penny, and I let rip. I mean, it was bad, and with my pickled onion craving …’
‘Please don’t tell me you shat yourself, Lola.’
‘No, but it was still like a pickled onion factory like there for at least two hours. There was no air. I think I’ll just divorce him, start a new life.’
‘I wouldn’t recommend it – you love John.’
Lola’s face dropped, and Hannah wanted to bite her tongue off. ‘Oh God, that was a joke. I’m fine, really. I didn’t mean it to be snippy. I am glad I left, believe me.’ Lola moved in her chair, trying to get comfortable but looking like she’d failed. Hannah walked over to the customer fridge and paid for two cans of cold, caffeine-free cola. She passed one to her boss and took a seat next to her. John was out running errands and doing local deliveries, and they were usually quiet till lunchtime. Especially when the heat meant that many were out in the sunshine, mostly in their gardens or in the pub beer garden.
Lola took a deep sip and smiled for the first time that morning. ‘Ahh, thanks. I know you didn’t mean it nastily; I just feel so proud of you. And a little scared, sometimes. I can’t help it. John worries too. I just want you to know that we are here, one hundred per cent for you and Ava. Brody loves you – err, to bits, you and Ava.’
‘I love him too.’
Lola’s smile widened. ‘You do?’
‘God yes. It scares the shit out of me though, and I kept expecting him to wake up, or find someone better, or get fed up …’
She’d seen him some days after a bad shift, seen his haunted, tired features. He’d always played with Ava though and been nothing but attentive to the pair of them. It was when Ava was asleep, and things were quiet when he’d change. Never to anger, or frustration. Just being a little quiet, hugging her a little bit tighter on the sofa. Wanting to hear about Hannah’s day and giving minimal detail back about his. She knew him on his bad days, and they were still some of the best days she’d had with him. With anyone. Ava too. He channelled his bad days into good and gave back to his community. He was a literal hunk. She didn’t want to cause him pain.
‘I just think that it’s still quite new, under this pressure, and a bit too good to be true.’ She couldn’t look Lola in the eye, so she took a long drink before adding, ‘He’s too good to be true, right?’ She looked to Lola and realised that she did need an answer, because she didn’t understand it herself. ‘And if he’s real, this super guy with his super dog, all burly and quiet, and loving, if he’s real? Then I don’t get it.’ She slapped her hand against her forehead. ‘Because a guy like that should not want a bundle of trouble like me. The whole ex thing. The police issues. Ava. And, I mean, he’s highly trained. I work in a bookshop …’
Jesus, the moods were obviously preying on her mind more than she thought. It was like a torrent coming out of her.
‘Hey!’ Lola objected, banging her fist down on the chair arm. ‘Stop spiralling. And also, objection, it’s a very nice bookshop. That pays well.’
‘True, and I didn’t mean it like that, but after childcare, and stuff for Ava, and me? I’m not flush, and I can’t just live with Brody forever. It’s his house.’
‘Yes you can, and that will be fine with Brody.’
‘But that’s a negative, Lola.’
‘Why? He has that big house, he pays his way, you pay your way. You are both nuts for each other.’
‘He loves Hannah though, and I’m Erin, remember?’
‘I never met Erin, I would have liked her I’m sure. I do know Hannah though, and she loves Andrew Brody. She’s tough as old boots and is shacked up with my copper mate and everything. At it like rabbits they are.’
‘We are not.’
‘You are!’
‘Nope. He’s loving, he’s close, but that’s it. It’s starting to get a bit weird when we first get into bed, but he’s been tired lately anyway. He wants to wait till things calm down, but we’re just waiting for things to move along. He wants to wait till my head’s clear I think. He’s being patient, but …’ She bit her lip. Bedding Brody wouldn’t affect clearing her head, because she was worrying about Victor anyway. And the fact was, even in her situation, with all the worry, she wanted to. She was dying to take things further with her boyfriend. She cared for him. Every night in his bed was getting harder, in more ways than one. ‘He’s been working later since we got back, some big job he can’t talk about, but it’s been bothering him.’
John came through the door then, and Lola shot up to meet him. Well, she got out of the chair after a couple of failed attempts, and then needed a wee, but before too long they were both in the kitchen dealing with the lunch rush. Hannah ran the bookshop counter, and whenever she caught a glimpse of them together they were deep in conversation. And avoiding her eye. She tried to push the feelings of fear she felt flickering around her, and she rang Ruby the minute she got a free moment. She always checked in on Ava.
‘Hey, love, everything okay?’ Ruby was as cheery as ever, and she could hear the kids laughing in the background. ‘We’ve got them all under the air conditioning in the living room. Toy Story and ice pops are going down a treat.’
‘Oh good, Ava doing okay?’
‘She’s as happy as Larry, love. Just let me go into the office.’ The noise dimmed down after Hannah heard the click of a door. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘Yeah, I just wanted to remind you to be careful, okay? Keep your eyes open.’
‘Love, it’s so hot at the minute that the kids are happy with shade, ice-pops and the paddling pool. We’ve been changing our routine lately, staying closer to home. Don’t worry, we have the doorbell cameras, and the house alarms. We lock the electric gates at the front.’
Hannah knew the house was a nice detached that also had a kiddy-proof garden and electric entrance gates. The cars were kept separate from the house by a wall, and the whole place had CCTV. Ruby was a dab hand with tech, and she had their house all wired up and modern as could be. It was like a nursery in a private home, and she knew she could trust them with Ava.
‘Sorry, I know I’m being a pain.’
‘You’re ringing to check on your daughter, and the rest of us. Nothing wrong with that, and besides, Brody has already been to check out the place.’
‘What?’ He’d never mentioned it.
‘Yeah, the other night. He came over when the kids had gone home, helped me adjust the cameras so we could cover optimum ground, checked the fences. He even sent a buddy of his from the fire station over to check the smoke detectors and exits. The kids loved Reggie the fireman that day. Anyway, like I said, we’re like Fort Knox here, love. You go enjoy your day, and we’ll see you later.’
‘Thanks. See you soon.’ Hannah put down the phone, bewildered. The other night. He’d said he was working late, but she wondered whether he had been working on cases or working behind the scenes to protect her. Calling in favours at work, other services. She gnawed at her lip. It had started already, and Victor hadn’t even shown his face yet. Her name was out there now, on court documents and at her local doctors. Ava was registered too. She’d even applied for the money due to her daughter, a bank account. Things were easing.
She pocketed her phone in her work apron and threw herself back into work. When five o’clock came, and Brody pulled up, she still didn’t know how she was going to act around him. She decided to focus on cleaning the till area instead, dragging her heels even though they had to go collect Ava and get on with feeding her, bathtime, the little routine they’d got into lately. Brody had offered to collect them both that night, and she felt awkward when the shop bell went.
‘Hi.’ She tried to keep a straight face as she cleaned a teeny speck of dirt off the screen of the till. ‘I won’t be a minute. Did you have a good day?’
‘That depends.’
He fell silent, and she finished her task in silence. When she’d done, she had no choice but to look at him. ‘On what.’
‘On how mad you are that I went to Ruby’s house.’ He rubbed his shoe on the floor in the pose of a regretful teenager. ‘She called to tell me, thought she’d upset you.’
‘So is everyone in on this then? Do we have cameras, at our house?’
‘No!’ Brody looked appalled and she swore under her breath. ‘Not at our home.’
‘Sorry, that was wrong. And cheap.’
‘No, it’s a fair question, and no, other than the doorbell camera and the camera on the dog pen for Bullet, that’s it, and you’ve seen those, and the security system.’ She’d set the house alarm herself that morning. ‘If you want any more security, we can look at that together. I just figured that with the kids being there, it wouldn’t hurt to prepare them, check things over. Ava loves it there, doesn’t she?’
‘Yes, and thank you, but you should have told me.’
‘Yes, and I also should have told you that I’ve been looking for him, for the poster of the flyers, but I didn’t, because I did it off duty and I didn’t want to scare you. We had a sighting, so I drove up there one night. It went cold, I didn’t find much, but the description fit his profile.’
‘And if you’d have found him?’
‘I would have notified my colleagues and driven home to you.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘Nothing else. I have nothing to say to that man. Ever. My only thought was for you.’
‘What about your job?’
‘My job is what I do, not what I am, and I did nothing wrong. I am looking for a person of interest – that’s all – and the case led that way. I documented my findings to my superiors and I’m already stood down from the case.’
‘You have that speech prepared?’
‘It’s not a speech, and that’s the way I talk at work.’ He looked stern when he’d been speaking, professional, but his eyebrows waggled at her now, and he was her Andrew again. ‘Just because you turned me into a sissy, doesn’t mean people have to know. I was keeping you safe, and I knew you wouldn’t like it. I messed up, and I’m admitting it.’
She folded the cleaning cloth in front of her, sticking it into her cleaning caddy and shoved it under the counter.
‘Okay, well help me lock up and you’re forgiven.’ She picked up her bag and shop keys and, after walking over to him, she dropped the keys into his outstretched hand. ‘Thank you for protecting me, but I can do this, you know. I don’t want anyone else to get dragged in.’
His hand tightened around the keys, and they headed out into the street. He locked the doors swiftly and tucked her into his arms as they headed out to the car. Hannah was just leaning in closer to Brody, when she caught a movement in the corner of her eye. Turning, she looked straight into Victor’s eyes, and she froze in place. Brody clicked open the car, opening the door for her, and she thought for a moment that he hadn’t noticed. She didn’t know where to run to. That was her first thought. She would have run back into the shop, but Brody had the keys. The door was locked. Brody’s car door was open right at the side of her, the passenger seat looking so normal, she wanted to laugh. It would be so easy just to get into the car and drive to collect Ava. Go and buy some things to cook together later, before bathing Ava and finding some film on the box to watch. Maybe tonight they would have made love.
That was gone now, and she couldn’t believe how she was feeling. Anger. She was scared, but she was feeling anger more. At the fact he was here, and that she wasn’t ready. She hadn’t had nearly enough time.
‘Just get in the car,’ Brody said, in a low, easy voice. He smiled at her and nodded his head ever so slightly in Victor’s direction. ‘It’s okay.’
She looked from him, back to Victor, and he was standing there next to his car, plain as day. He looked tired, jowls filled with stubble. He’d put on weight; he looked stooped somehow. She couldn’t work out why he looked so different, but when she met his eyes again, he was right in front of her. She took a step forward, towards Victor, and then another. She crossed her arms, feeling her fingers close around the strap of her bag. Coiling herself instinctively. Two more steps, and then he took a step, and she shouted, ‘Stop!’ His leg faltered, but then he took the step. She felt her anger flicker, but he didn’t lift his other foot.
‘We need to talk, ERIN!’ He shouted her name for Brody to hear, but he hadn’t moved an inch. She could hear him watching them, but she knew he hadn’t moved a muscle.
‘I said everything I had to say to you on the phone. Leave. I’m calling the police.’
She pulled her phone out of her bag and unlocked it with a shaky hand. She glared at her hand for a second, willing it to stop, and started to dial.
‘We need to talk, alone. Ava doesn’t deserve this.’
‘Don’t talk to me about Ava. You never gave a shiny shit before.’
‘Woo! That mouth! You’ve gone a bit country girl, haven’t you? Living up here, with the farmers.’ He nodded his head sharply in Brody’s direction, and she heard him take a step closer to her.
‘Put the phone down, get in the car. We’ll talk,’ Victor said.
‘That’s the only car I’m getting into.’ She pointed at Brody’s vehicle as she dialled the final nine, putting her phone to her ear and hoping to God he didn’t rush at her. ‘Yes, police please. My estranged husband is here, and I fear for my safety. I have a court case pending. I have a restraining order against him.’
Victor snorted at her, laughing the way he always did. Like a rabid hyena. Brody was closer now. She heard him mutter, ‘This guy?’ under his breath, and she was laughing before she could stop herself. That shut Victor up. She knew he hadn’t heard Brody. She gave out the location of the bookshop, knowing that the police were literally on the street already. She wondered whether Victor knew that. He didn’t show an ounce of being rattled.
‘I’m glad you find this funny, but you won’t for long. Kidnapping our daughter, leaving me to run the house, and the business? You know your place is back at home, looking after all that. Running off, coming here?’ His eyes darkened, and she fought the urge to cry. ‘You know how it went last time you left. I got you back.’
‘Yeah.’ She nodded, her face curling with anger. ‘And I paid for it.’ The last time he’d found her, before she got pregnant, he’d dragged her home. She hadn’t gone back to the library after that. Not working was her punishment. One of them. ‘I’m never coming back.’
‘We’re leaving,’ Brody said behind her, and she felt his hand close around hers. He didn’t move her, just held her hand, and she pulled him closer, towards the car.
‘That’s my wife you have there, Big’un.’ Victor couldn’t leave it. Nothing had changed. ‘I’ll be wanting you out of the picture. This is a family matter.’
Brody waited till Hannah was in the car, and he walked around to his side at the front of the car. He never turned his back to Victor, but he took his time. When he came to sit next to her, she reached for his hand and gripped it tight. His face looked relaxed, but she knew she must look terrified. She felt it.
‘He won’t leave. How the hell did he find me?’
‘He’s been close for a while. Small town.’ He didn’t look happy about that this time. Before they knew it, a police car pulled up at the side of Victor, and Brody pulled out on to the street, heading in the opposite direction. He drove a different route to collect Ava, and once Hannah had her, he drove them straight home. No supermarket shopping for them tonight. He was on the phone when she got out of the shower, Ava having crashed out without a murmur of dismay. She’d had a busy time in the paddling pool, playing in the sun with her little friends, and had worn herself out.
‘The station dropped him back off at his car, he’s been warned not to contact you again. He’s claiming he hasn’t been served.’
‘I’ll check tomorrow, with my solicitor. See what’s next. They have the proof.’ Hannah tried to talk about the injunction, but her words came out in a garble. She was trying to pull a jumper on over her sweats, feeling ice cold, but her arms were refusing to work, and she ended up in a mess of clothes and arms.
Brody sat by her until she calmed down. Eventually, she was dressed and breathing normally. Sitting side by side, backs against the wall, she turned to look at him.
‘You know, this night would be a lot better if you took your clothes off.’
‘God, you kill me when you say things like that.’ He kissed her. ‘We’ll have our time, once things settle down. There’s no rush, baby.’
His laugh was the only thing she got, but he didn’t take his body an inch away from hers the whole night. Bullet slept at the top of the landing, between both bedrooms, a new basket beneath him.