And her daughter was right. A night away was exactly what Sasha and Kev needed. It had been a long time since they’d spent any quality time together alone. The spark had gone, recently. Sasha instinctively reached out to touch Kev’s fingers and he responded, and she knew he felt the same way.

Angel pointed at the door. ‘I’m going now, because I’ve given you more than enough of my valuable time.’

Kev saluted. ‘Missing you already.’

When Angel had gone, they admired the photo of the posh hotel, and looked up its long list of luxury amenities.

‘A four-poster bed, huh?’ A smile played across his lips. ‘Remember when we broke that four-poster in Rome?’

She gave him a challenging look. ‘You’ll have to wine and dine me first, just to be in with a chance.’

He drifted towards the door. ‘Maybe she’s turning a corner.’

‘Yeah,’ Sasha agreed. ‘Maybe she is.’

When Kev was gone, she stayed in the kitchen putting all the dirty pots and pans in the dishwasher and turning it on, and then checked her phone.

No reply from Vaughn.

12

Abs left the party on top of the world. Kelsey was still at the club – she always stayed till the bitter end of a party – but he slipped away, telling everyone that he was off to meet some mates elsewhere.

The truth was, Abs needed a good night’s sleep so that he could get up early to convince Jez not to ruin everything by going to the police.

He couldn’t afford a minicab home from Brentwood to Southend, but as soon as he was outside he felt immediately vulnerable. All the hacks and paps had drifted away, and the streets were dark and empty. He took a baseball cap from his back pocket, pulled it low over his face, and walked as fast as he could along the pavement, hands thrust deep in his pockets.

It occurred to Abs that it was at this time of night when Deano was killed, and he told himself off for even thinking about it. But it was no wonder he was spooked by events, and Jez’s dark mood, his mate’s seeming intention to confess, played on his mind. For all Abs knew, Jez could be at a police station at this very moment, spilling the truth about that disastrous weekend in Wales.

The crash of a bin startled Abs and he spun to see a fox leap across the street, the red mirrors of its eyes regarding him reproachfully. He considered going back to the club to blag a lift, because right now he was totally freaking himself out. But then he recognized the street he was on – it wasn’t too far from the bus station – and picked up his pace. Moments later he sensed a car keeping pace with him on the road.

‘Mate,’ someone called. ‘Oi, mate.’

Abs adjusted the cap and hurried on. He just wanted to get back to his apartment and lock the door, but he was unable to resist glancing over to the car. He saw there were three fellas in it; the two in the front were hidden in shadow, but the one in the back had wound down the window to poke his head out.