‘OK?’ I asked her, and she nodded silently.

The stranger was examining the gun. ‘You might want to get rid of this.’

‘Kids and guns ain’t a good mix, eh?’ Bill’s wink seemed gross, and I, standing stunned in the shadows, held my own child tight. Zach had retrieved his phone from his pocket and was fiddling with the camera.

‘Don’t!’ I warned him quietly. ‘Put it away.’

Marcus stood, fists clenched, pale-faced but tight-lipped, blood soaking quickly through his T-shirt as Ishaan checked in his bag for something, and someone screamed on and on.

‘Rebekah.’ Lena went to her. ‘It’s OK. Everyone’s OK. Calm down.’

‘Mum, you’re hurting me.’ Zach tried to drag his wrist out of my hand. ‘I’m not a little kid.’

But I wasn’t letting go – and I wasn’t letting him film this either, especially when I saw Nella giving us daggers. Marcus made no complaint, peeling off his T-shirt to let Ishaan check the wound as Lena pocketed her own phone and helped brush Willow down.

Clutching Zach by the hand, I felt my heart galloping. Hastily I looked away from Marcus’s bare torso, as if I’d seen something I shouldn’t have.

‘Guns are never a good thing in my book – toy, air or real,’ the tall stranger agreed with Bill. ‘But then’ – he grinned, his teeth very white in the dark – ‘I’m a pacifist.’

‘I’ll lock it in the boot of the car for now.’ Bill brandished the gun above his head. ‘Best place, eh. Glad you found us, Fintan.’

‘So am I,’ Marcus said through gritted teeth. ‘So you know each other?’

‘Does a bit of work for me sometimes, don’t you, mate?’ Bill clapped the tall man on the back. ‘Told him to pop down.’

‘Better late than never, eh?’ the stranger said, and he had an accent that took me right back to childhood.

Beside me, I could hear Lena murmur to Ish about calling the police. He was demurring, muttering back about it ‘not being their place’.

‘Found it!’ Ish, ignoring his wife, took the dressing he’d retrieved to Marcus. ‘Always be prepared, my mum taught me. Lucky it’s just a flesh wound.’

‘I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t know we had the gun with us.’ Nella was wide-eyed herself now, holding both her children’s hands. ‘My father bought it. It’s just an airgun, but I should’ve said no. Poor Beau. I am sorry.’

‘You were here in the nick of time then, darl.’ Lena shook her head at Fintan. ‘Don’t know what might have happened otherwise—’

‘You’d have been fine. I’m doing a charity bike ride tomorrow.’ He started to move away. ‘Camping nearby suited me well.’

‘Welcome,’ said Rebekah, still waving her phone around. ‘Thank goodness for you!’

‘The 100K to Brighton?’ Ish looked wistful. ‘I meant to do that to raise money for GoGreen, only’ – he inclined his head at Lena – ‘the missus had other ideas!’

Lena shot him a look.