‘Here we go,’ the priest said as he placed his hand on the middle of Jax’s back and performed a motion somewhere between a rub and a pat. ‘It’s all going to be okay. Oh, you poor fella. Breathe. That’s it. Nice and slow. Yes. That’s it, my boy. It’s not as bad as it seems. Everything is going to be okay.’

The plump hand, now rubbing with a firm, circular motion, was warm. So was the timbre in the man’s voice. For a brief moment, Jax did not mind being babied by this man. His breathing slowed and the cell came back into focus.

‘Yeah, righto,’ he said as he gently pushed the hand away. He felt a little violated, not because the man had done anything inappropriate but because he generally avoided all physical contact – in the army, that kind of thing would have been a one-way ticket to a beating. He didn’t even touch Nikki much, except when they were in bed, the whole world reduced to no more than just the two of them. He tried hard not to think about Nikki because he would never see her again. He had made sure of that by telling her in no uncertain terms that it was over. She had promised never to visit. Never to write.

‘Yeah, I’m sweet. Thanks, mate. I’m all good.’ Jax cleared his throat.

‘Oh, don’t be embarrassed,’ the man said. ‘Nothing wrong with having a little spell. Happens to the best of us.’

He pulled out the chair and motioned for Jax to sit.

‘Come on now. Take a moment. Catch your breath and clear your head. Then we can see what I can do to help.’

Jax backed up to the chair.

The man looked around the cell. ‘Not much here, is there? The usual tardiness with delivering a man’s provisions.’ He tutted as he took in the bare bed. ‘This won’t do at all.’ The priest shook his head in disgust as he moved back towards the door. He waddled more than walked. He stopped and took a moment to straighten his glasses. Then he extended his index finger and leaned right in to press the red button on the face of the emergency intercom – the knock-up, as the guard had called it.

‘Hello, guard?’ he demanded in a voice he clearly knew how to project. ‘There’s a situation here needs attention. Guard?’

He released the button and gave Jax a thumbs-up. Jax watched, intrigued, as the man’s bushy eyebrows shot up and, with surprising speed, he pressed the button again. ‘Over,’ he said, his mouth almost touching the grille. ‘Sorry, I forgot to say over . . . Over.’

He took a step back and, with brow furrowed and index finger still out, eyeballed the knock-up like it was a poisonous snake.