For some reason, the final thief turned back just before making the jump, and I came face to face with a pair of blue eyes impossible not to recognise. Barely a second passed, but time stood still, the moment dragging out as my heart beat wildly in my chest.

No.

Memories flooded my vision. Trevor jumping a ten-foot wall the first time I’d caught him trying to steal a car. Lee telling me he’d made a deal with McGregor to get out of their arrangement. And later, betting me he could make it to the ground from the top of a fifteen-storey building with nothing but his own two feet.

I blinked back to the present just in time to see him land on the roof of the next building before disappearing out of sight. Trying to gather some composure, I lifted my radio, spouting off details of what had happened, completely on autopilot. A minute later, Tony and several armed officers arrived. I told them how the men had escaped, and immediately a plan was put in place to search every building in the area. I kept busy, helping with the search and trying not to let my mind wander to the reality of what I’d seen.

Several hours later, after my shift had finished, I found myself sitting on a closed toilet seat in the ladies’ bathroom back at the station, my face in my hands as I experienced a minor anxiety attack.

Thankfully, no employees or civilians at the bank had been harmed. The sight of the guns was enough to keep everyone from trying to be a hero. The search had been unsuccessful, though a forensics team was currently checking out the abandoned transit van. I didn’t expect them to find anything. Lee was too clever for that.

He’d just robbed a bank. It wasn’t so shocking when you considered the fact that he’d spent his entire life stealing cars, but then I thought of the amount he’d gotten away with.

Three million pounds in cash and bearer bonds.

It suddenly made sense that McGregor was willing to let Lee out of their arrangement. He was going to pay his way out, and good old-fashioned cash was the currency of choice. My entire body grew cold and clammy, and I felt sick to my stomach with the decision that was now weighing heavily on my shoulders.

Should I give an eyewitness account, saying I’d recognised Lee as one of the robbers? Or should I keep my mouth shut, let him pay his way out of a life of crime, and finally have some semblance of freedom?

I knew which option my heart desired, but could I live with myself if I allowed Lee away scot-free?

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I finally left the cubicle. Staring at my face in the mirror, it was the first time in my life that I looked at my own reflection and barely recognised the woman who stood before me. In that moment, I knew I was never going to hand Lee in. Was it because I loved him? Was it because I knew deep down he was a good person and deserved a better life? Or was it because I was selfish and didn’t want him to be taken away from me?

Right then it felt like a mixture of all three.

When I arrived home that night, it was late and Alexis was fast asleep, light snoring coming from her room. The flat was dark, and when I switched the lamp on, I got a fright to see Lee sitting on the couch.

Even though I knew it was him, I grew anxious. There was something about the tension in his shoulders that put me on edge. He wasn’t here to whisper sweet nothings in my ear, that was for sure.

“How did you get in?” I asked into the dimly lit room.

“Alexis,” he answered simply.

The last I’d spoken of Lee to my best friend, I’d been wondering if I was in love with him. She didn’t know about Tony discovering our relationship, or about the bank job. As far as she was concerned, she was doing me a favour by letting Lee into our home.

Passing by the living area, I went and dropped my keys down on the kitchen counter, bracing my hands on the cold Formica and letting out an exhausted sigh. “Why did it have to be me? If I could rewind the clock and go back to this morning, I never would have gotten out of bed. I would’ve called in sick. Then I’d never have to know.”

“You can’t unsee what you saw,” said Lee. “So, what are you gonna do about it?”

Turning abruptly, I scowled at him. “Is that the only reason you’re here? You want to know if I’m going to turn you in?”

Lee’s expression was sober. “I’m a survivor, Karla, first and foremost. If someone’s fixing to feed me to the lions, I want to be prepared.”

My hands clenched into fists, my mouth a firm line as I levelled him with all the animosity I had inside me. “And what if I say I’m going to do it? Will you hurt me? Will you threaten me to keep quiet?” I was glad I’d managed to withhold my tears and keep my voice steady, when all I wanted to do was cry.

Lee stood from the couch, his posture tense. “You think I have that in me?”

“I have no idea what you have in you, Lee. Not two days ago you told me you were getting out of the game. Today you robbed a bank. What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to at least give me the respect I deserve and believe that I’d never lay a hand on you. And if you were going to turn me in, then I think there should be enough loyalty between us by now for you to give me a heads-up. Let me get out of the country before you put me in the firing line.”

“You’d do that?” I asked, disbelieving. “You’d leave London?”

“Yeah, and I’d take everyone I care about with me,” he replied before a sad look passed over his features. “Well, almost everyone.”

My heart hurt, my head swimming with emotions as I tried not to succumb to the tenderness in his voice. Several moments of quiet ensued, and I went to sit on the couch. Lee remained standing, his eyes glued to me like I was a wild animal who might bite at any moment.

“I’m presuming you gave all the money to McGregor.”

Lee’s voice was low. “Apparently, the price of freedom these days comes at a cool three million.”

I flicked my gaze to his. “Do you have any idea what he’s going to do with it?”

“Buy another villa in Spain for his mistress. Fuck if I know, Snap. All I care about is that he won’t be bothering me or my family again. We can stay in London and go clean. It’s a win-win.”

“He could use it to do bad things, bring even more crime into the city.”

“He’s gonna do that anyway. Look, this isn’t about him doing bad, it’s about me doing good. You can sit there and spout all the moral philosophies you want. I still know it’s all bullshit. Nice guys finish last, and I’d step over a thousand people if it meant the ones I cared about were safe, because I know every single one of those thousand would step over me, given half the chance.”

What he said went against everything I believed in. I could name him a hundred times I’d put a stranger’s safety before my own because it was my job. Still, I understood why he had such a cynical view of the world. His own parents had abandoned him when he was just a child, so too had his aunt. From a young age he’d learned that people were selfish, only out for themselves. It hardened him to believe everyone was like that. For Lee, true altruism didn’t exist. Well, I was going to show him that it did.

“It’s not true, you know,” I said finally.

Lee looked back at me, clearly having been lost in his own thoughts. “What’s not true?”

“That they’d all step over you. I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well, you’re different.”

“Not really. You just think that way because you’re not looking in the right places. Good people exist, selfless people.”

Taking a step forward, he closed the space between us and knelt down in front of me. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper. “Was I looking in the right place the day I met you?”

“Yes,” I replied. “And I’m not turning you in.”

Lee exhaled a heavy breath, all the tension going out of him. He bent his head to stare at the floor, like he couldn’t bring himself to look at me.