The hot water jets hit his head like a thousand sharp needles, but they instantly relaxed his muscles and helped to soothe his worrying mind. First up, he needed to be clear-headed, ditch his own stubbornness, and track down his girl – in the hope she hadn’t jumped to any wild conclusions. ‘Shit!’ he said aloud. He should’ve been more sensitive. After all, Zara was not herself just yet; she was quiet and seemed a little lost among the party guests. He should’ve known it would have been all too much for her.

Once he’d got dressed and hurried back to the lounge, he retrieved his phone; luckily, it was still intact. Zara’s phone was still switched off. All he could do was send her a voicemail message. Having done that, he put his phone in his pocket. Now impatience and agitation set in again as he screamed to no one, ‘For fuck’s sake, what’s she doing?’

Gloria returned again with a tray of fresh coffee and some more McVitie’s digestive biscuits. ‘Mikey, stop fretting. She’ll be back. She’s probably gone to meet the Lanigans or even headed up to the hospital. That poor lad. His father must have been worried to death.’

Mike listened as his mother rambled on, and then he frowned. ‘I’m gonna let her get on with it, the silly woman. She should’ve known me better. Where’s Eric gone now?’

‘Son, your brother is a law unto himself. He tells us nothing.’

‘What?’ Mike sensed the sadness in her tone. ‘But we’ve no secrets. We never have had.’

Gloria took her coffee and sat back down, crossed her legs, and sighed. ‘Mikey, he ain’t like you. He never has been. The truth is, when you ran the firm, he followed you around, but, left to his own devices, he’s a bit of a dark horse; sort of detached, if ya know what I mean.’

‘Devious?’

Gloria raised her brows. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t go that far, but let’s just say he’s not as open as you. The truth be known, you two were so close in age, we probably treated you as if you were one person. You were the voice for both of you. Eric seemed to stand by your side, you did the talking, and he just nodded in agreement. You led the firm, and with your ideas, you grew the business, and you were always the one who was on the front line. Even as a little lad, you would place Eric behind you, protecting him, in a way. You might not have realized it, but you did.’ She stared off into space as if reliving a moment. ‘You were always an open lad. Whether we liked what you did or said, or not, you never hid anything. You’ve always been a straight-up, no-holds-barred person and so honest.’