On the other hand, there was no getting away from the fact that Hannah would be dead if he and Rosie hadn’t shown up at her flat, and his head was a little fucked up from trying to deal with that. If the worst-case scenario had happened and he had lost her, he wasn’t quite sure how he would have handled it. And that scared the hell out of him.

Unsure how to proceed and unwilling to leave her alone for any length of time, fearful something could happen again, he had stuck close, convincing himself that she needed him, all of the while denying the fact that he needed her right back.

He and Rosie had settled into an uneasy alliance, both sharing a common goal: help Hannah get over what had happened. That was why he went to Rosie now. If he needed to disappear overnight, then Rosie would have to stay with Hannah. She was the only one he trusted. Well, Rosie and Josh. Liam knew the ex-husband meant well, but he hadn’t yet quite forgiven him for digging into his past.

As he suspected, Rosie was more than willing to take over the night shift. Liam had seen a different side to Hannah following the attack. A vulnerability that either hadn’t been there before or that she had kept well hidden, and he didn’t want to leave her alone.

‘I can stay for a few days if you like. Give you a break.’

‘Just Saturday night is fine. I’ll be back on Sunday.’

‘Well, the offer is there. I’m sure your mum will be pleased to see you.’

Liam hadn’t told her where he was really going. He might trust her to look after Hannah, but he was quite aware she would still like to get him out of the picture. If he told Rosie the truth, he suspected she would intentionally let it slip.

The less the pair of them knew, the better.

He left Saturday morning, once Rosie had arrived.

‘Are you sure you’re going to be okay?’ he asked Hannah as they said goodbye.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Hannah’s tone was casual as she slipped into his arms, but he knew it was early days. Her physical injuries were only just beginning to heal. And she might make jokes about having panda eyes, but he knew the mental scars ran deep.

Anger still choked him whenever he thought about how Bill Wickham had hurt her and he understood Rosie’s frenzied attack. Had he been the one with the frying pan, Wickham would probably be dead now.

He held Hannah close, careful not to hurt her ribs, and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. He could feel the tension in her body as she hugged him back, and knew she was reluctant to let go.

Eventually, she eased away, forcing a bright smile.

‘Go!’ she told him.