“Your lot aren’t welcome round ’ere,” one of them called over, and I kept walking. I was outnumbered, so there was no point in responding. I didn’t think they’d get physical, since I wasn’t trying to stop them from doing anything, but then one of them stood in front of me, sucking on a smoke and exhaling right into my face.

“Good-looking for a copper, though. Hey, red, why don’t you stick around and have some fun with us?”

“Look, lads, there doesn’t need to be a problem here, so if you could quit the side show, I’ll be on my way.”

I knew instantly that my tone didn’t sit well with the ringleader, as he flicked the butt of his smoke to ground and shot me a dirty look. He had tattoos on his neck and face, and, by the look of them, they’d been done in prison. This bloke obviously had some sort of chip on his shoulder about law enforcement.

“Side show?” he said, and glanced back to his boys. “This stupid bitch has a mouth on her.”

He took a step closer. Quickly shifting my shopping bag into my other hand, I pulled out my Taser and held it at arm’s length.

“Back off now,” I ordered him, and he stared at me cockily, like he wasn’t scared. Lifting his T-shirt, he revealed a gun tucked inside the waistband of his pants.

“You’re not the only one who’s packing, cunt,” he spat, but I stood firm.

“Do you really want to pull a gun on an officer right out in the open? I’m pointing this Taser directly at you, so who do you think is going to be quicker?”

“Come on, she’s not worth it,” one of his mates said. A few seconds passed before he threw a few more ugly words at me and slunk off. Letting out a slow breath, I returned to the car, dropped my shopping bag in the back seat, and pulled out my phone to call the station. I made a report on the incident, described what the guy with the gun had looked like, and then hung up.

By the time I arrived home that evening I was exhausted, but I’d still managed to pick up some groceries for dinner – in a better neighbourhood this time. Turning my key in the lock, I heard Alexis chuckle, and stepped inside to find she had company. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy when I found out her company was Lee.

“What are you doing here?” I asked irritably, too tired to even pretend to be polite.

“I’m here to visit Alexis, see how she’s doing with the baby and everything.”

“Lee’s offered to drive me to the hospital if I ever need to go when you’re working,” Alexis put in, eyeing me curiously. She had no idea about the stuff that’d been going on between me and man sitting across from her these last few weeks.

“How kind,” I muttered, throwing the groceries in the kitchen before shutting myself inside my bedroom. I leaned back against the door and let out a long, weary sigh, really needing this day to be over. A knock sounded above my head, and I startled when Lee called, “I unpacked your stuff, Snap. Why don’t you go relax for half an hour, and I’ll get dinner started?”

Was he shitting me? And God, I just remembered that there was a packet of tampons in with the groceries. Wonderful. Not wanting to alert Alexis to any weirdness, I replied in an even tone, “That’s quite all right. I can make my own dinner.”

“Let him make it,” Alexis called. “No offence, but Lee’s a better cook than you.”

“That’s lovely.”

“You know it’s the truth!”

I grabbed a change of clothes and swung the door open. Lee, who’d been leaning his hand against the wood, fell forward slightly, and I suppressed a smirk.

“Fine, you can cook. I’m going to take a shower.”

And with that I strode to the bathroom, affecting a casual demeanour and not giving either one of them a second glance.

“I put your tampons in the top cabinet if you’re looking for them,” Lee called after me, a smile in his voice.

Cringing, I resisted the urge to respond, my skin prickling as I undressed, knowing he was in the next room. I spent longer than necessary washing myself, not wanting to go back out into the apartment and wonder why exactly Lee was there. I knew for a fact that he hadn’t come just to be all chivalrous and offer Alexis help while she was pregnant. No, he was there for me, and I hated how I couldn’t seem to escape him, not even in my own home.

I spent time putting on body lotion and braiding my wet hair into a plait. I’d put on the T-shirt and shorts I usually wore to bed, but couldn’t go braless like I normally did. Lee was standing in the kitchen when I came out, and the place smelled great. He’d taken the ingredients I’d bought and turned them into a chicken stir fry.

We made brief eye contact as I passed him by, his gaze dipping to my face, then dropping and lingering on my bare legs. I huffed a breath and went into my bedroom, dumping my clothes in the laundry basket before coming back out. Alexis sat by the TV, flicking through the channels, and I came to sit beside her.

“Oh, Tony called, by the way. He’s been trying to get a hold of you, but your phone was off. He sounded worried.”

“Yeah, my battery died. I had a run-in with a few thugs earlier. He must have heard about it and wanted to check if I was okay.”

I didn’t even realise Lee had been listening until he asked in a tight voice, “What did they look like?”

I turned to him for a second, finding his eyebrows drawn together. He looked pissed. I waved him away. “It’s fine. I’ve already made a report about it.”

“What did they look like, Karla?” He repeated his question, this time more firmly. I noticed he was holding a chopping knife.

Alexis motioned for me to tell him, like I had no reason not to, so I finally said, “Tall guy, shaved head, neck tattoo of some sort of bird. An eagle, I think. He was the main one who put it up to me. I didn’t get a proper look at the others.”

“When you say ‘put it up,’ what exactly do you mean?”

“He was just running his mouth, calling me a bitch. He had a gun, though.”

Lee kept nodding, taking it all in, but I could see the cogs in his head turning. He went back to cooking dinner and I turned to the TV, trying to concentrate on the show Alexis had put on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to focus, and I kept wondering why Lee wanted to know what the guy looked like so badly. Did he plan on doing something about it? I remembered his words at the station earlier.

I would never hurt you, never. If any man tried to lay his hands on you, I’d make sure that was the last thing he did.

This guy hadn’t exactly put his hands on me, but I had no doubt that he would have if I hadn’t been so quick to pull out my Taser. A few minutes later dinner was ready, and Lee served us each a huge plate of stir fry. I was too hungry not to dig in right away, and he seemed pleased by my eagerness. He shot me a grin from where he sat on the armchair, and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, my God, Lee, this is amazing!” Alexis enthused. “Jamie Oliver in da house.”

He shot her a wink. “I’m more of a Gordon Ramsey type.”

“Oh, yeah, I can definitely see that. You in the kitchen, swearing your head off at the staff because you can’t bear to send out second-rate risotto to paying customers.”

Lee chuckled. “That’s the plan.”

“No, seriously, you should chuck in all this car business and open up your own restaurant. I’m not joking.”

Shaking his head, Lee settled his attention on the television. I noticed he hadn’t made anything for himself, which left me feeling sort of guilty, but perhaps he’d already eaten. Once Alexis was finished, she declared she was going to bed. She seemed a little too quick to announce it, and I wondered if she’d sensed something between me and Lee and wanted to give us privacy to talk.

A few beats of silence passed before I asked, “How’s Liam doing?”

“He’s angry. We all are.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I mean, Tony, one of my closest friends, had arrested him, so if Lee was angry, then I didn’t really understand why he was here in my flat, acting like everything was normal.