Idris stopped suddenly. Everything was pitch black, the heat coming at them from all sides, the smoke heavy. The wet coverings on their face meant it was impossible to speak. Sensing something was wrong, Jia pushed past him swiftly to discover the way was blocked by the burning door, buckled and blistering in the intense heat. Without flinching, she stood up, placed her hand on the searing metal push plate, and heaved it with all her might. The door shifted, and she fell forward into the light.

One by one the rioters moved aside, slowly at first and then faster and faster, until the mass split, separating like the sea for Moses. Elyas squinted through the heat, his eyes transfixed, waiting, willing the restaurant door to open, and when it did he felt his heart in his throat. Through the smoke she emerged, her forehead smeared grey, her eyes focused, a cloth around her nose and mouth, calls of ‘Allahu Akbar!’ still reverberating around her. The carcasses of cars burned on either side as she stepped across a river of shattered glass and debris, Idris, Malik and Nadeem stumbling in a line behind her, coughing and spluttering as they came. Paramedics hurried forward with silver blankets to wrap around their shoulders, but Jia walked past them towards Elyas and and collapsed into his arms. Elyas held her tight, and she let him, the fight having left her body. She reached out to her brother standing beside them, grateful for his presence. He held her hand and nodded, then went to check on his cousins. The paramedics moved in to help, checking Jia’s pulse, wrapping her blistered hand, administering oxygen, asking questions. Elyas heard nothing, saw nothing, except Jia Khan.

CHAPTER 46

‘I’m pregnant,’ she told the doctor in A&E, then turning to Elyas, added, ‘ten weeks.’

Elyas was speechless. The doctor seemed unconcerned. ‘We’ll do a scan just to make sure everything is as it should be, but you seem fine,’ he said. ‘It sounds as if your quick thinking kept your exposure to smoke to a minimum. Wrapping those wet tablecloths over your face and mouth was a brilliant idea.’ He turned to Elyas. ‘Keep an eye on her. If she has any shortness of breath or chest pain when you get home, you’ll need to bring her back in.’ He left the two of them in the examination room.

‘When were you going to tell me?’ Elyas said.

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I was waiting for the right moment. I haven’t had time to process it myself…but it’s going to be OK.’ She was going to say more but a nurse came in.

‘Ms Khan, the police are here for you. I’ve told them that you’ll be a while,’ she said.