When we cleared the side of the building, I was vaguely aware of a small gap between two outer walls. Everything happened in rapid succession after that. One minute Lee was walking along in front of me, hands cuffed behind his back, and the next he was turning, using his broad shoulder to back me in between the walls. Since we were at the end of the line, nobody else was there to see what he’d done.

I struggled to get by him, but he leaned his entire weight on me, pinning me to the bricks. His scent invaded my senses and my whole body trembled.

“You have two seconds to let me go or I’m going to start screaming,” I threatened him, my heart rate picking up.

“Don’t shout. Just listen to me. You have to uncuff me, Karla,” Lee said, his voice soft and pleading. There was a desperation in his eyes.

“Why the hell would I do that? Do you know how much trouble I could find myself in?”

Lee’s breath hit my cheeks as he looked at the ground, his posture slumping. “I know. And I’m sorry for asking, but I can’t spend a night in the bin. Believe me.” His blue eyes flickered between mine, pleading with me to do it. I stared back at him, quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Yes, he’d been at the rave. Yes, he was likely involved in some shady dealings. But he hadn’t had anything on him. Letting him go wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it?

Swallowing, I asked, “What were you doing here tonight? Because seriously, Lee, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look good.”

He nodded, some relief shaping his features. “Yes, I know. It looks shitty, and it is shitty. I know this place has no licence, and I know alcohol and drugs were being sold to underage kids, but I was here for my friend. You remember when we spoke on the phone? I told you I was going to my mate’s birthday party. That’s why I was here. His party was inside.”

“In that case, you might want to be a bit pickier when choosing your friends in future. But why is it so important that I let you go? This is hardly a first for you.”

Lee swore under his breath and levelled me with a serious look. “The black eye your boy Steve had? I lied. It was me who gave it to him. I don’t have time to explain right now, but the fucker had it coming. And believe me, if you don’t let me go, sometime tonight that prick is going to round up his buddies and come find me. Let’s just say, I’ll be lucky if I’m not in a hospital bed come the morning.”

As I listened to him speak, it all sank into place. Since Steve was dirty, I well believed he’d put a beating on Lee once he had him locked up. It was difficult to think straight, but in that moment, I knew what I had to do. I had to let Lee go.

“Okay,” I said breathlessly. “Okay, turn around.”

“Thank you,” Lee whispered gratefully, letting his mouth drop to my forehead as he placed a soft kiss on my temple. The contact made me shiver. Unfortunately, just as I was about to pull out the keys to his cuffs, I heard Jennings’ voice shouting loudly, “Where’s Constable Sheehan? She was here only a moment ago.”

“Shit,” I cursed, and swiftly twirled Lee back around, grabbing his arm and pushing him forward.

Jennings was just rounding the corner when we stepped out.

“Sorry, ma’am, this one almost got away from me,” I said breathlessly, while internally I was freaking out. How on earth was I going to get Lee out of spending the night at the station now?

“See that it doesn’t happen again,” she snapped before walking with us back to the patrol cars. Lee was silent as I opened the door, placed my hand on top of his head and gently guided him inside. Tony, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, studied Lee through his overhead mirror, his brow furrowing. I walked around and got in the passenger seat, and then we were off.

“Isn’t that the bloke whose house we visited a few weeks back?” he asked me curiously.

“Yep,” I replied, a brick sinking in my gut.

“Huh.”

“You know, I’m right here. You don’t have to talk about me like I’m in another room,” Lee put in, the comment reflective of his usual cheeky personality. It was the tightness around his eyes that told me he wasn’t as relaxed as he was letting on.

“Shut it,” said Tony, eyeing Lee again with a stern expression.

Lee slumped back in his seat, and silence filled the car. All the way back to the station, I was tense and frazzled, especially since Lee wouldn’t take his eyes off me the whole time. They asked a question: Are you going to help me out of this?

The problem was, now that Tony had recognised him, there was no letting him go. If Lee just so happened to disappear, Tony would come looking in my direction for answers. Since I was on shift for the rest of the night, I determined to keep an eye on Lee and make sure Steve didn’t get him alone.

A couple of minutes later we reached the station, but it was almost three hours before we’d finishing booking everyone. Lee was taken to the cells with a number of other young men, and just as he was being escorted off, I shot him a look of apology. There was really nothing I could do for him, not here at the station where there so many watchful eyes.

I was back on the front desk again when I saw a call come in about a home invasion, so I asked Steve to go check it out. He didn’t look too happy to be sent away, but he didn’t seem suspicious, either. He had no idea that I knew Lee in any capacity other than an official one. Once he was gone, I felt like I could relax, and lost myself in paperwork. By the time my shift came to an end, I was ready to spend the day in bed.

However, as I was making my way outside, rummaging in my bag for my car keys, I spotted Lee and Stu leaving through the opposite door. Stu must have come to collect him, and other than appearing a little tired, Lee didn’t seem any different than usual. Steve hadn’t gotten to him, thank God.

“Hey,” I said, a small bit awkward. “Everything okay?”

Stu wore a hostile expression while Lee glanced at me and replied shortly, “Fine and dandy.”

It was only when he spoke that I heard the strain in his voice, which alerted me to the fact he was walking more stiffly than usual. He stood up straight but held his hand to his stomach as though he was in pain. They were both walking away when I hurried to catch up with them.

“Lee, hold on. Are you sure you’re all right?”

He turned slowly and stared me down, a moment passing between us as my gaze flickered over his face. There were no visible signs that he’d been hurt, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t.

“We need to get going, bruv,” said Stu, hands braced on the roof of his car.

“Are you driving home?” Lee asked, and I nodded.

“Follow us, then, and I’ll buy you breakfast.”

With that he turned and carefully lowered his body into the car. I stood there for a second while Stu’s car hovered just outside the station, as though waiting for me to get a move on. Sucking down a deep breath, I hurried to follow them, and a couple of minutes later we were parking along the street outside a small, rundown café.

Stu went in ahead of Lee, who waited for me to catch up. Despite the fact that he was clearly in pain, he held the door open for me. I stepped by him, murmuring, “You don’t need to do that.”

He only stared at me, and we walked to where a waitress was seating Stu at a table by the window. I was momentarily grateful for the fact that I’d changed out of my uniform and into civilian clothes before leaving the station, because if anyone here knew the Cross brothers, I was sure they’d find it odd to see them eating breakfast with a cop.

The brothers chatted while I sat next to Lee, quiet. I didn’t know how to bring up the questions I wanted to ask him, mainly because of how guilty I felt. Not only had I arrested him, but because of that he’d taken a beating. Unease twisted in my stomach. The waitress returned and took our orders. I asked for coffee and a croissant, while Lee and Stu ordered two full English breakfasts. Silence fell over the table as the brothers eyed me and I grew uncomfortable.