As soon as she opened the car door, Eric greeted her with a stony face. She wasn’t even going to bother asking what was wrong. After ten minutes of congested London traffic, listening to a talk show on LBC, Eric broke his frustrated silence. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. It’s the last thing I wanted to do. I only want to help you, Zara.’

Zara was jolted out of her thoughts of vengeance. ‘Yes, no worries. It’s fine.’ However, it wasn’t really okay; she was sick to the back teeth of hearing those words: ‘I only want to help’.

He sensed her distraction, and chewed his lip, thinking of the right words to say without sounding too nosey. ‘Do they reckon Neil will make a full recovery?’

‘Yes. Apparently, he’s as strong as an ox.’

‘Do they have any idea who did it?’ asked Eric, in his most caring tone, hoping to keep up the conversation.

‘No, but . . . well, no, they don’t know.’

He knew she was deliberately keeping something from him and it spurred on his vexation.

‘Does he have any enemies?’

Zara rolled her eyes. ‘In our line of work, of course we have enemies.’

‘We?’ He’d done it again, allowing the words to leave his mouth before giving much thought to what he was saying.

Zara was now the one who was irritated. She turned to face him. ‘Eric, I don’t know what your problem is, but let me lay the facts on the table. My business is not a two-bit set-up. I’m worth a fucking fortune, and I’ve managed to hang on to it with the full support of the Lanigans. I understand that marrying Mike would make me a part of your family, but that is a very separate issue. My business with the Lanigans is my business, end of story!’

‘But wasn’t Mike supposed to be part of your firm?’

Shaking her head in exasperation, she went on, ‘Fuck me, Eric, that was twelve years ago. Mike went to prison, so what do you think? Did you think we just carried on where we left off? You, Eric, fucked off and got on with your life, and me, I had no choice but to do the same. Mike and I do have some business dealings like gun imports, but that’s as far as it goes. So, as much as I appreciate your concern, please don’t try to get involved in my own firm.’

Annoyed, Eric retaliated. ‘What firm? All the Lanigans’ men are in Ireland!’

A sudden hot feeling crept up her back, leaving her head with a tingling sensation. Her heart rate rocketed, and her hand shook. She had to answer quickly before he realized he’d said something he shouldn’t have. She didn’t want him to know she’d picked up on it.