‘Sonny, just a sec – OK? I’ve got some private things to tell Callie. Would you mind waiting for me outside the car?’

Sonny turned to stare out of the windscreen, his expression stony. I placed a placating hand on his thigh, dismissing the tiny voice inside me asking me why I was doing so. There were places and spaces within my life that were mine and mine alone or reserved for my children. I didn’t need him to fill every part of my existence. I didn’t want to completely disappear into Sonny’s life any more than I wanted him to try and disappear into mine. Sharing a life wasn’t about subsuming myself to him. Did he understand that? If not, then we didn’t stand a chance. When I had Troy home safe and sound, Sonny and I would need to sit down and talk, really talk, about our expectations of each other.

Giving me a tight smile, Sonny did as I asked and left the car, slamming the door behind him.

With a sigh, I activated the messaging app and recorded what I needed to say to Callie, setting out facts and giving her strict instructions. My voice memo was last-minute insurance and I needed to make sure that Callie knew that. The message sent, I stepped out of the car.

‘Ready?’ I asked Sonny.

He nodded.

‘Then let’s do this.’

We walked up to the unassuming side door next to Ava’s, and Sonny pressed the buzzer. This was the discreet entrance that led directly to the club’s offices on the first and second floors.

‘Yes? Can I help you?’ came a woman’s impatient voice through the intercom.

‘My name is Persephone Ealing. I’m here with Sonny Devlin. We’d like to see Eva Foxton.’ I bit back the ‘please’ at the end of my sentence.

‘Just a moment.’

A moment turned into a minute. Exchanging a look with Sonny, I raised my finger to press the buzzer again when the intercom crackled back to life.

‘Come up.’

A click as the door was unlocked. Sonny pushed it open immediately. Before us was a staircase covered in a well-worn indigo-blue carpet, a white wall to one side of it and a set of barred, windowless, steel double doors that led directly into the club on the other side. One steadying deep breath later, I started up the stairs, Sonny close behind me. We were well and truly putting our heads in the lion’s mouth, and all I could do was pray it wouldn’t bite.