He’d expected Eimear to be one of the slower ones; he thought she was one of those bitches who abandoned their children with the folks so they could go around drinking and screwing, but he’d got her wrong. When he’d got her into the car she’d been pissed, but he’d been surprised at how quickly she sobered up when she realised what was happening.

And then she started screaming for her kid.

Her baby. She would fight for her baby.

The car shuddered to a halt and Eimear prepared herself. It had taken her a few minutes to come to after he’d knocked her out. When she’d regained consciousness she hadn’t realised where she was, as she was bumped up and down in the dark. She felt around the small space with her hands, the panic building. She suffered a little with claustrophobia and was struggling to breathe in the tight space.

She could smell petrol and hear an engine – she was in the boot of the car. She tried to get her breathing under control. She needed to be strong, to be ready. For her little Lily.

When he opened the boot she’d catch him by surprise. He probably thought she was still out of it. But she’d kick and bite and slap and then run as fast as she could.

And when she reached safety and got home, she’d never leave it again. She would hold Lily tight, inhaling her, loving her. She’d be a proper mother. No more booze, no more dancing, no more men. It would just be Eimear and her daughter, and the comfort of her parents.

Why had she got into the bloody car with him? She could have walked home. It wasn’t far, drunk or not. But they lived in a village in rural Kerry, for God’s sake. It was safe. You could trust people.

Eimear had no idea how long he’d been watching her, studying her movements. She thought, even now, that this had all been unhappy chance. If she’d turned left instead of right coming out of the pub. If she’d stayed in that night. If she’d gone home with one of the locals.

This was like something you read about, something that happened to other women. Not to her. Eimear was normally sharp. Fair enough, she’d got caught with Lily, but by Jesus, she didn’t regret that for a second. As soon as they’d placed her little angel in her arms, she’d known she’d love her forever.