He tapped gently on his daughter’s door, before walking into the dimness of her bedroom. Her TV was on, providing the only light, but the sound was down. She was lying in her bed and, as she turned to look at him, he forced a smile on to his face.

He knelt down beside her bed. She could smell the shampoo and soap that he always used – it was a familiar scent, something that had always comforted her until now. She looked up into his face, as she had so many times before, only this time it was different. He wasn’t the dad she had loved and adored any more. He was a stranger to her. This was a man she didn’t trust.

‘You all right, Jessie?’

She nodded. He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He could feel the stiffness in her slim body, knew that she was still traumatised by the events of the last twenty-four hours. He relaxed his hold on his daughter and, settling her back on to her pillows, he sat beside her on the bed. He could see that the fright lingered, and he knew she was never going to forget what had happened. But he continued to smile down at her, as she watched him warily.

‘Listen to me, Jessie. That was never supposed to happen. It was a complete one-off. I swear that to you, darling. Burglars! Fucking creepers! They are the scum of the earth. Anyone who wants to nick someone else’s hard-earned cash is filth. Never forget that, my little darling. But they weren’t banking on your mum were they, eh?’ He was trying to make light of everything, make a big joke of it. ‘Did you see her, Jessie? With my shotgun! She looked like Calamity Jane!’

Jessie didn’t answer, and that bothered him. She had always been able to say what she wanted to him – that was part of their closeness.

‘She was only trying to protect you, darling. There are some bad people in the world, and sometimes bad things happen. But it’s over now. It’s all sorted out. Daddy’s here.’

Michael could see his daughter’s sad face, still full of fear. It was ridiculous. He was with her now – she had no reason to be scared of anything.

‘I want to go to sleep.’

Michael watched his daughter closely. Her voice sounded different, there was no inflection in it, no emotion whatsoever. She had been truly affected by the Cornels. If he could, he would happily murder the fuckers all over again for that.

‘OK, baby. But promise me you will try and put this behind you. You’re a Flynn, and that means nothing or no one can ever hurt you.’