Officer Bradley looked at me, his eyes almost pleading. I kept my arms folded but shrugged, silently letting him know there was nothing I could do to help.
“There have been no threats,” he said in a small voice.
“Of course not,” I replied. “This is all hypothetical. Don’t forget the rules of the game.”
“So, hypothetically,” Vienna said, shooting a small grin my way. “Would we be entitled to protect our own if we felt someone was in danger from this tiny little man?”
“What would happen if we, hypothetically,” I said, pulling my pocketknife free, letting the soft click cut through the silence. “Were to use this knife to defend ourselves?” I flicked it open, watching his eyes bulge as I did so.
“You’d be charged with a criminal offence,” he stammered.
“What if, and again, this is hypothetical, but what if there were…” I glanced around, mentally counting. “At least ten men who were willing to testify that you came in here issuing threats to a woman on her own, and we arrived back just in time?”
“Hypothetically,” Vienna reminded him when Bradley hesitated in his answer.
I leaned forward on the bar, bringing myself closer to him, and ran the blade over my finger. “What would happen in that scenario?”
“Hypothetically,” Riley said. “This woman is in extreme distress and has a long history of being harassed by this man. What would we be expected to do in that situation?”
“I need to be going,” Bradley said, straightening to his full height.
“So soon? But the fun was just getting started. This was your game, officer,” Tools said, pulling a sad face.
“Be that as it may, I really do need to get going.”
“Come again soon,” I grinned, pushing myself back to my full height. He turned around, and the men parted, gesturing to the front door with their arms. I chuckled when I noticed the shaking in Bradley’s legs and went back to pouring pints for the lads.
“Hypothetically, what would happen if I didn’t pay for this pint?” Vienna said as I placed the glass in front of him.
I didn’t bother answering him. Instead, I picked it up, poured it over his head, and handed my next pint to a bloke that didn’t wind me the fuck up.
Chapter 18
Rachel
I hadn’t realised how tired I was until I laid my head down. Hacksaw had carried Axel to bed whilst I was dealing with Bradley in the bar and had laid him down in the cot for me. I thanked him and sat in the rocking chair next to it, staring down at the child that had made my life so complicated, and yet so complete. I’d walk across hot coals for him. I’d do anything within my power and then some just to keep that smile on his face. Just to keep him unaware of all the stress and danger this place caused.
And it was worth it. Because he was sleeping as though he didn’t have a care in the world—exactly as it should be.
A smile fell over my lips as I looked down at the tiny human that was my entire world, and before I knew it, I was gone.
I woke to the sounds of Axel softly babbling to himself, his blonde hair stuck up messily from his nap.
“Hey, handsome,” I said, smothering my yawn. “That wasn’t a long nap.” I pulled my phone out to look at the time, surprised to see that we had been up here over two hours. It was nearly three, which meant Bee should be home from school very soon.
I quickly pulled Axel out of his cot and changed his nappy before carrying him downstairs. I heard voices as I approached the bottom, and as I rounded the corner, I saw Dante talking to a woman I didn’t recognise. Their voices were soft, and there was a frown on Dante’s face that let me know he wasn’t happy about whatever it was they were talking about.
“Da!” Axel shouted, scrambling to get out of my arms. I placed him on the floor and held his hand, encouraging him to walk across the floor instead of relying on his crawling. He took unsteady steps towards Dante, who crouched down low, holding his hands out, murmuring encouraging words.
I let go of Axel in the doorway and let him cover the rest of the distance by himself, his legs growing shaky as his excitement at seeing his dad grew.
At the last second, Axel fell forward, and Dante caught him, swinging him up into his arms and onto his shoulder in one smooth movement.
“Hi,” I said to the woman, holding my hand out to her as Dante lavished praise on our son. “I’m Rachel.”
“Heather,” she replied, accepting my hand, but her tone was reserved, her eyes guarded. No doubt she had heard the twisted version of events where I “abandoned” Bee, and was wary of my intentions here.
To be honest, I wasn’t mad about it. That made me instantly like her, knowing she had Bee’s best interests at heart.
