Kevin wanted her to pay as much as Nikki, the woman who injured him. He fantasized about it every night when he looked at his scars in the mirror, but Kevin was scared. The Sharkeys could end him if they found out what he was doing, but then, so could Malky McDade and stop his supplies of drugs. He had to just hope Malky would come out on top.

Kevin had a baseball cap under his hood, and he pulled the brim down further as he spotted Mack coming out of the barber’s with her dog and walking to the sweet shop next door. He’d noticed that a lot. Kevin didn’t think she needed traditional sweets every day, and sometimes she went in a few times a day. In the afternoon she came out with a woman and walked along the street, headed to George Square.

That confused Kevin. The woman was pretty enough, but not Mack’s usual type of glamourous women that hung around nightclubs and the casino.

Kevin had to know more about her, but he couldn’t go into the shop and risk Mack seeing him. He would need to enlist some help.

* * *

Mack was happy to say that things hadn’t changed for her and Flora since her confession. In fact, Mack felt they were closer than ever. In the afternoon Mack stopped by Sweet Surprise to take Flora out for their daily walk with Dexter.

As was her practice now, Mack carried Dexter out of the shop, placed him on the ground, and handed his lead to Flora. She knew how much Flora liked to walk him. She saw Flora’s gaze flit over to The Deep nightclub. Bar staff were polishing the silver facade at the entrance to the club. At night there were blue lights that simulated waves moving through the sea. It really was nice.

“Have you ever been in a club before, Flo?”

“No, I never had a group of friends to go with, and then I developed the fear of going out at night. Loud noise and lights are a lot of stimulation and not good for me. But I have always been fascinated by your club.”

“How come?” Mack asked. She wanted to find out if it was because Flora thought she was gay.

Flora shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. “I suppose I just always wondered what it would be like to be normal and walk into a pub or club.”

Mack put her hand on the small of Flora’s back and rubbed it. “You are normal—pubbing and clubbing isn’t for everyone. I’ve been growing out of it for years. A lot of people pretend to like that kind of nightlife because they think that’s what they should be doing. You stay your authentic you, Flo.”

“Still, it would be nice to see what it was like once, but the lights would be too much for me.”