Josh still liked to train. It helped him relax, clear his mind. Helped lift some of the stress he was under right now. Sometimes his chest felt unbearably tight, he was so strung out. Worried about Aysha. Hating Shauna. Fretful over Claire, who he knew was missing him badly. Unable to see her, speak to her properly. It was all getting to him and he wanted to be gone.

‘Any fights lined up? Bubba Pole might have something for you.’

‘Too much going on at the moment for that.’ Truthfully, Josh felt that if he started fighting here again then Shauna would take it to mean that he was staying. And he wasn’t. He absolutely bloody wasn’t. He would probably get back in the ring again soon – he always did, fighting was his life – but for now he felt too scrambled to seek out fights, here or across the pond. Aysha was just getting back on her feet again with Connor’s help, and Josh felt that within a couple of weeks he might be able to make a break for it.

He looked at his wife. She was watching him with bright-eyed interest, a fake smile on her face. She was still a handsome woman, Shauna. Kept herself smart, svelte. Went to dance classes with her stuck-up mates who actually looked down their noses at her, probably still laughed at her behind her back, called her pikey and gyppo. Not that she gave a fuck.

Shauna still had a little of that dark-skinned and flashing-eyed gypsy thing going on. Lots of men still gave her the eye. But Josh knew her secrets now. She was a cold, hard, merciless bitch. Josh wished that she would run off with one of the men who admired her – with Jeb Cleaver, for instance, or any bastard – and make all this easy for him. But she wouldn’t, of course. Once Shauna had you and the lifestyle you could provide for her, that was you done for. You were hers.

If she knew what I was up to, she’d fucking kill me, he thought. That sent a chill up his spine. Set him thinking about the meals she cooked him. Shauna was a terrific cook, most gypsy women were. He always enjoyed the famous Shauna Flynn Full English, bacon and mushrooms and stuff – mushrooms could kill you, couldn’t they? Deathcaps could, for sure.

And Claire. Christ, Shauna must never find out about Claire. He worried about having told Trace, but he was just going to have to trust her and Pally to keep their gobs shut. They had to.

Shauna gave him a smile and turned her attention back to the TV show.

Josh was still watching her, thinking of her shooting the two older Cleaver brothers dead.

Of Philippa Houghton, drowned.

Claire’s dog Blue, killed. Shauna had been there, watching that.

And Claire. Raped and terrified, running for her life, her family threatened.