We walked side by side for a few minutes, begrudgingly on my part, before arriving at the Tube station. I swiped my Oyster card while Trevor proceeded to jump the barriers and continue toward the escalators like he hadn’t a care. I looked around, irritated to find there were no attendants about.

“Hey, you can’t just….” I called before stopping mid-stride, my mouth agape as I watched him jump atop the escalators and effortlessly slide down the middle. Several people watched in surprise the same as me, while one man shouted after him angrily, saying he was going to break his neck. I boarded the moving steps and looked down to see Trevor waiting for me at the end, casually leaning against a wall as he checked his phone. He slid it in his pocket when I finally reached the platform.

“So, where to?” he asked, like everything was perfectly normal.

“You…I…eh….” I mumbled, trying to get my head around what he’d just done. “Are you crazy?”

He held up his thumb and pointer finger. “Just a little bit.”

“You need to go back up now and pay for your fare,” I said, trying to sound stern.

Trevor shook his head. “Nah, don’t fancy it.”

I was about to protest further when he grabbed my arm and propelled me forward just as a train reached the platform. Before I knew it, he’d shoved me on board and was ushering me into a seat. I yanked my arm out of his hold and glared at him.

“You’re going to get us both killed.”

He let out a long sigh, sounding like a bored teenager as he replied, “You need to loosen up.” He paused as he cocked a curious brow. “What is it that Lee sees in you anyway?”

What he said got my back up as I stood, walking away from him and down the centre of the aisle. I went through the doors separating the carriages and entered the next one. It had fewer passengers than the last, and I sat down in an empty seat, folding my arms across my chest. A second later, Trevor plonked down beside me, and I scowled hard.

“It’ll take a lot more than storming off in a huff to get rid of me, Constable,” he teased, a grin on his face.

“I’m not in a huff.”

“You are,” he said, pointing his finger into my shoulder. “You’re all in a tizzy because I wondered what Lee sees in you, but you didn’t wait to let me finish. I think it’s the hair. He’s always had a thing for gingers, though his last girlfriend, Tammy, had a dye job, that weird plum colour.”

His mention of an ex-girlfriend caught my interest, and I slid my gaze to him.

Trevor’s grin widened. “Oh, now she’s curious.”

“Shut up.”

He nudged me. “All ya gotta do is ask, Constable. They don’t call me ‘old blabbermouth’ for nothing.”

I gave him a tiny smile. There was something about Trevor that was so playful and child-like that I couldn’t seem to help being charmed by him, even if he had just broken several laws in the space of about three minutes. I was off duty, after all.

“So, tell me, then,” I urged him.

“What do you want to know?”

“How long have they been broken up?”

“About six months. Lee called it quits when she started asking for too much stuff, wanted him to buy her a house, a new car. I mean, the brazen-faced cheek of it!” he exclaimed, and I laughed. “Seriously, though, Tammy wasn’t too bright, didn’t realise that the minute you start flashing the cash, people begin to take notice.” Trevor eyed me meaningfully, and I didn’t need him to explain further. My gut twisted as I was given yet more evidence of Lee and his family’s criminality. “Anyway, Lee’s been all ‘wham, bam, thank you, ma’am’ ever since. Well, until you came on the scene, that is.”

“I’m not sure you should be telling me this.”

“What you gonna do, arrest me?” he asked jokingly, though there was a bite to his words. He still hadn’t forgiven me for Liam, not by a long shot.

“Believe it or not, I only want what’s best for you and your brothers, and though it goes completely against everything I stand for, I care a great deal for Lee, more than I should.”

Trevor eyed me, a quiet descending between us. I turned my head and stared out the window at all the blackness whizzing by.

The silence was only broken when Trevor asked cheekily, “So, does this mean I can start calling you sis?”

I shook my head at him, unable to hold back a chuckle. “Piss off.”

At the next stop we got off, chatting on the walk to the venue where Reya was performing, and, surprisingly, Trevor bought me a drink when we got there. It was a couple of minutes before she was supposed to be on stage, and my unlikely companion was on his phone again. It was starting to irritate me.

“Who are you texting so furiously?” I asked.

Trevor chuckled. “I’ve never heard texting described as furious before. Do my fingers look angry or something?”

“Answer the question.”

“It’s Lee. He wanted to know where we are.”

“Oh?”

“He also told me he’d break my balls if I try coming on to you. I told him you weren’t my type.”

“My disappointment is palpable,” I deadpanned.

Trevor held his phone up to snap a picture. “Say cheese.”

“What are you doing?”

“Lee asked for a pic,” he answered simply, focusing on his phone. “He says he likes your dress. Wants to know what you’re all dolled up for.”

“Tell him it’s because I’m meeting a man,” I replied sassily.

Trevor widened his gaze but continued tapping on his phone. “If you say so.”

I sipped on my drink and waited for Lee’s response. Trevor chuckled. “He says he almost forgot you two had a booty call set for tonight, but he appreciates your effort.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Sure.”

“It is,” I exclaimed. “Anything that went on between me and your brother is over.”

“Well, alrighty, then. So, what’s on tonight? Anything good?”

“Reya’s performing. Remember my friend you met at the nightclub?”

“Chesty Laroo? No shit.”

“If you call her that to her face, I’ll punch you in the testicles.”

Trevor threw his hands in the air. “Hey, ease up. Though it might surprise you to discover, she’s not my type, either. I just said all that stuff about her the other night to piss you off.”

“Are you gay?”

“Nooooo.”

“Well, you seemed to like her at the club.”

“That’s because I’m a shameless flirt,” he said, batting his long lashes. I had to admit, they were pretty enviable. “I can’t help it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d give her a go for a night, but I’m not sure I’d be a returning customer, if you get me.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“I’m just honest. People can’t handle honesty these days. But anyway, I was talking to her because I have a gig I think she’ll be good for.”

“What kind of gig?”

“A ‘none of your bidniz’ kind of gig.”

I levelled him with a deathly stare. “Whatever you’re up to, don’t you dare even think about involving my friend. Reya’s had a rough enough time of it already.”

“Oh, yeah, what happened to her?”

Lifting my martini glass, I threw his own line back at him. “None of your bidniz.”

Trevor laughed loud enough that the women sitting on the other side of us turned their heads. When they saw who the source of the laughter was, they took their time checking him out. Trevor shot them a wink and a suave little, “Ladies.”

Turning back, he eyed me up and down, a secretive grin shaping his lips. “Okay, I think I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“Why my brother has such a hard-on for you. You’ve got a smart mouth. It’s kinda sexy.”

“Oh, shut up,” I said, just as the house lights dimmed down and a brunette stepped onto the stage to announce Reya’s performance. She had a quite a good following these days, so the bar was packed to the rafters.

A minute later my friend took to the stage, dressed all in black: black dress, black tights, black shoes. Her hair was styled in vintage waves, and her makeup was golden-era Hollywood. She looked striking without showing an inch of skin, and I noticed Trevor’s attention was glued to her. He sipped on his pint as Reya’s hands met her piano keys and she played the opening chords to her song. Mouth close to the microphone, she breathed in and out, creating a sound effect as though she was gasping for air. Her style was so realistically unique, and the very reason why I’d been drawn to her from the first time I saw her perform.