As she turned the key in the lock, raised voices drifted up from the hallway. Curious, Frank got up and went over to the door. He’d heard the girls being brought back earlier than usual last night, and a lot of shouting and door slamming had followed. Whatever had happened, it clearly hadn’t been resolved yet if the foul-mouthed insults he could hear Nick firing off right now were anything to go by. He didn’t recognize the other man’s voice, but he was disappointed that it wasn’t Karel, because if those two went head to head, the gang would implode and his ordeal would be over.

The voices faded away, and Frank, none the wiser, picked up the tea Irena had made for him and carried it to his chair.

Frankie . . .

Recalling the way she had spoken his name, Frank shook his head as he sank down on the seat. For a moment there, he had allowed himself to believe she might still have feelings for him. But who was he kidding? She loved Karel, and she would stay loyal to him to the bitter end – no matter how badly the bastard treated her.

Downstairs, Irena prepared breakfast as the men came in from the caravan and took seats at the table. Nick and Gaz were still bickering, but she was relieved they were no longer shouting, because there was always a risk it might turn physical when things got that heated – and a very real chance, when Nick was involved, that someone could end up getting stabbed or shot.

Like Frank, she, too, had sensed that something bad must have happened last night. But she couldn’t ask Karel about it, because he still wasn’t speaking to her. He blamed her for Frank’s attempted escape, despite the fact that his men had also been here and security was their job – a job they were extremely well paid for, while she received nothing for all the cooking, cleaning, and washing she did. Theirs was a male-dominated world, and the women they allowed into it were viewed as little more than maids and on-tap pussies. But Karel had told her she was different. He’d said he loved her, and that he wanted to marry her and have children with her.

If he cared about you, he wouldn’t have gone in there while you were sleeping last night . . .