His jaw firmed as the constable continued to lead him from the room. I hurried over to Tony to ask what was going on.

“Seems to be some kind of gang rivalry. A woman called in to report the fighting going on outside her building. No weapons were involved, but a few of them are in a bad way. And get this, it was the Cross brothers who started the fight. The eldest one is being interviewed right now, and I’m about to question the other,” Tony paused to glance down at the file he was holding. “Lee Cross. You wouldn’t mind sitting in on it, would you? You’ve dealt with him before. Maybe he’ll be more inclined to talk to a familiar face.”

I felt about two inches tall when Tony looked at me with such sincerity and trust. He had no idea what a crappy excuse for a police officer I was, or just how deeply familiar Lee and I truly were.

“Sure,” I replied stiffly. “Anything I can do to help.”

Tony nodded and motioned for me to follow him to the interview room, which consisted of bare magnolia walls and a table with three chairs, one of which Lee was currently occupying. The constable who’d brought him there was standing by the door, while Tony and I took the seats across from Lee. I glanced at him, unable to prevent the pang of concern in my gut at seeing him beat up. My first instinct was to reach across the table and inspect his injuries, make sure he was okay. His cuffed hands were behind his back, and I desperately wanted to take them off, massage his wrists to ease the strain.

I tried to push those perplexing instincts aside and harden my resolve. Lee had instigated a dangerous gang fight. He deserved to be suffering. I hadn’t even known he was part of a gang, or maybe Tony just presumed he was. After all, he was a boss, an under-boss, but a boss nonetheless, and he obviously had a lot of young men working for him, stealing for him.

I kept reminding myself of these facts, my expression sullen.

Lee’s gaze fixed on me as the muscles in his jaw twitched.

“I’ve forgotten something. I’ll be right back,” said Tony, after rifling through the file he’d carried in. Once he was gone, I was alone at the table with Lee. The other constable still stood by the door, so I couldn’t speak openly. We found ourselves in something of a staring contest. I didn’t look away, nor did I let my expression falter. He needed to know I wasn’t happy with any of this.

Lee smiled vaguely and leaned his body forward as much as he could, studying me as he cocked his head. “Why so blue, blue eyes?”

“I didn’t give you permission to speak, so be quiet,” I replied firmly, irritated by how his lips curved around the edges at my hot-tempered response, hating how it made my insides flutter.

“Such a pretty blue,” he went on, goading me.

“I told you to shut it. That’s your final warning.”

“You know, I kinda like it when you boss me around, Constable.”

Deciding he was enjoying himself far too much, I gave him the silent treatment, staring at the wall as we waited for Tony to return. It only took a minute, and his chair scraped against the floor as he pulled it back. Once he was seated, he cautioned Lee before starting the interview.

“So,” Tony began, flipping through a new folder, “do you want to tell me what started all this, son?”

“My solicitor’s on his way. I’m not talking to you until he gets here. End of.”

“An eyewitness claims you were the instigator in the disturbance, says you walked right up to Carl Finley and attacked him, completely out of nowhere.”

“Bit dramatic,” said Lee.

“So tell me your version of events.”

“You got a hearing problem? I said I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

Tony raised his hands in the air. “That’s fine by me. I’ll just keep talking, then, shall I?”

Lee shrugged, his eyes flicking to me for a second and then back to Tony. I’d never felt more tense in my life. He could’ve outed us right then and there. He could’ve said anything, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

“Our witness maintains you were shouting at Carl, saying he disrespected something that belonged to you. It sounds like maybe he had it coming, and you know, I’ve got to wonder what he disrespected. It must be something pretty special,” Tony went on, and my entire body turned cold as my eyes rose to Lee’s. He stared back at me, completely expressionless, but in that moment I knew. I knew he’d started the fight with the neck tattoo guy, or Carl Finley, because of what he did to me. It was unbelievable. Inexcusable. I dealt with aggressive individuals on a daily basis. I was used to it. And the fact of the matter was, Lee had no business starting fights over me. We weren’t even together, and in spite of what he’d tricked me into saying during sex, I certainly didn’t belong to him.

Lee levelled me with his gaze as he replied to Tony, “You have no idea.”

My pores tightened, my tummy fluttering in response to the intensity in his words. The reaction pissed me off.

“You don’t seem very remorseful for your actions,” I put in, unable to keep quiet.

“I don’t have any regrets, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

I grabbed for Tony’s folder, which contained details of those who’d been taken to hospital. “One of the men involved in the fight has a busted jaw, and another has a smashed kneecap. It’d take a fairly cold-hearted individual not to feel concern over such serious injuries.”

“If Mugabe got his jaw broke, would you shed a tear?” Lee asked with derision.