“That doesn’t even make any sense,” I told him.

“Course it does. Now come on, I believe you two lovely ladies owe me a drink.”

Yep, definitely the eccentric one, I thought to myself as we let him lead us back to the bar.

***

I woke up the next morning with the mother and father of a hangover. I’d stayed out longer than I planned to, letting Trevor convince me into going to nightclub after nightclub. The three of us drank and danced, and then drank some more. I literally lost count of how much alcohol I’d consumed, and that never happened. Every time Trevor looked at his phone, I got a little tingle down my spine, knowing he was texting Lee. It was disconcerting that just being around someone who had contact with him got me excited.

Though honestly? There was very little about my relationship with Lee that wasn’t disconcerting. Or, well, my non-relationship, as seemed to be the case now.

Alexis gave me a smug grin as I trudged my way to the bathroom. She sat by the kitchen counter, eating a bowl of cereal, and looking pleased with herself now that she wasn’t the only one who wanted to vomit their guts up first thing in the morning. Though at least she had a valid reason.

Instead of taking a shower, I ran a bath, pouring in extra bubbles before sinking into the soothing water. The honey and almond scent made me feel a little less like death warmed over. When I finally got out and dressed myself, I decided the first order of call was to go shopping for hangover food. It was after one o’clock when I left the flat to walk to the nearest shop.

Unlike last night, this time I spotted Trevor before he spotted me. He was hanging from the same metal bar, half his body suspended in mid-air.

“How’s the head, Constable?” he called when he finally saw me.

“Thumping. Why are you here?”

“I’m on guard duty again. No rest for the wicked.”

“Well, I’m just going to the shop. Then I plan on spending the rest of the day in bed, so you can head home,” I said, continuing on my way as Trevor dropped to the ground, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking alongside me.

“Lee wanted me to invite you over to ours. When I told him about our escapades last night, he said you must be hung over as fuck, and in need of a good feeding. He’s cooking a roast.”

“I’m not going to your house,” I said, my statement final.

“Why not? It’s free food, plus you’ll get to swoon over my brother and be all, Oh, Lee, take me upstairs and handcuff me to your bedpost. I want you to take me prisoner this time,” Trevor teased, pitching his voice higher. I smacked him on the arm and told him to shut up.

“I do not sound like that,” I huffed, and he chuckled.

“I know you don’t, you’ve got a bit of a husky rasp going on. Very sex-ay. But seriously, you’ve got to come. Lee said he wants to update you on everything that’s been happening. I mean, he’ll probably end up crying tears of sorrow into the gravy pot if you don’t show.”

I gave him a narrow-eyed look. “You’re really weird, do you know that?”

“Oh, give it up, we both know you’re charmed.”

“I’m far from charmed.”

“Then why have we already walked by the shop, huh? You’ve decided to come over and you don’t even realise it yet.”

“Why can’t Lee just call me on the phone and ‘update me’?”

“Maybe because that’s the unsexy option. Or maybe because the phone lines are being tapped.” He widened his eyes in mock terror.

I frowned, knowing I was never going to win with him. “But won’t it be a bit awkward? Liam’s got to hate me, and Stu’s never exactly been my biggest fan.”

“Lee’s already had a word with them. They’ll be on their best behaviour.”

I eyed him for a minute, unsure whether he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, I couldn’t deny that I really wanted to find out what was going on. Maybe my hung-over brain wasn’t functioning properly, because after a minute I finally gave in and told Trevor I’d go with him.

When we got to Lee’s street, I glanced up and down, checking to see if there were any suspicious-looking vehicles around. As it happened, there were only a few cars, and all of them were empty. Besides, being such a shrewd customer, I thought that if Lee was being monitored, he’d know about it.

Christ, what the hell was I doing? I really shouldn’t have been there. The old woman I’d noticed peeking out her window at me before was standing by her doorstep two houses down, a sweeping brush in her hand as she swept dust from her hallway out onto the street.

“Hello, Trevor,” she said with a warm smile, at the same time eyeing me somewhat suspiciously. Did she recognise me out of my uniform?

“Afternoon, Mrs Spencer,” Trevor replied, “You’re looking fetching this fine Sunday.”

The woman chuckled and shook her head, waving him off. God, he really was a shameless flirt. I swear, if there was a cat in front of him, he’d find some way to chat it up.

Stepping inside the house, Trevor led me into the living room, where Sophie was sitting on the floor, playing with her son and another little girl. It took me a moment to recognise her as the next door neighbour’s kid, the one I’d seen the first time I came here.

“Isn’t that the girl from next door?” I asked curiously. I remembered how she’d run to Lee, like he was a safe place away from her nutjob of a mother, and how it had warmed my heart.