Page 63 of Better the Devil

‘What? Well, if I did blush, which I didn’t, it was because I was annoyed.’

‘Oh right, aye. An annoyed blush. One of them,’ Ben said, joining in.

‘Because that’s definitely a real thing,’ Hamza said.

Tyler pointed to his wife. ‘She brushed her hair behind her ear!’

‘Aye, but she didn’t have skelping red cheeks at the time,’ Dave pointed out. He made a weighing motion with his hands. ‘So, who fancies him more?’

‘I don’t fancy him!’ Tyler insisted. He waited a moment, then turned to his wife. ‘You’re supposed to say that, too!’

Sinead shrugged. ‘I mean, he is quite impressive…’

‘What are you talking about?’ Tyler almost choked on the question. ‘He’s like a ginger Deputy Dawg!’

‘Hey, guys! Guys!’

Reeve was jogging back towards them, smiling like he hadn’t seen them in years.

‘Try and control yourself here, mate,’ Dave mumbled.

Tyler tutted, and barely had time to whisper a hissed, ‘Shut it,’ before Reeve arrived back with them.

‘I got my DI over there. I asked her to come say hello.’

Ben looked past the Reeve to where the sharply dressed woman still stood near the cordon, dishing out orders to the Uniforms.

‘Did she say no?’ he guessed.

‘She said no. She absolutely said no,’ Reeve confirmed. ‘Maybe she’ll have time a little later. But, you guys know how it is, right? Controlling a scene.’

‘Aye, well, not to worry.’

The voice boomed from a few feet away.

A car door closed with a sound like thunder.

Logan stepped between Tyler and Sinead, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat, his gaze fixed on the red-haired man smiling back at him.

‘We’ll be taking that off your hands.’

Shona turnedthe lock on the front door, leaned her head against the glass, and took a few seconds to compose herself.

Once Logan had finished with him, Olivia had wanted to hear her father out. Jack had insisted he stay, but Shona had picked up the signals from the girl, and assured him that his presence wasn’t required.

He had a job to do, and Shona and Olivia were perfectly capable of looking after themselves. Olivia had even fetched the knife again, in order to hammer that point home.

The conversation after Logan had left had been stilted. Awkward. Bosco’s fumbled attempts at apologies and explanations had been largely rebuffed by Olivia, who sat facing him from the armchair in the living room, Taggart curled up at her feet, the kitchen knife resting on the chair’s padded arm.

She had listened, mostly in silence, as Bosco had pleaded, made promises, quoted scripture, and said everything he could to convince her that he was telling the truth. That he was here to stay. That he was here for her.

In the end, when he’d run out of things to say, she’d just nodded slowly, like she was taking it all in, and then asked, ‘Is that it?’

It was soon after that she told him to leave. Shona had been braced for him to argue, but he hadn’t. He’d just smiled, patted the arm of the couch a couple of times, then stood up and thanked Shona for her hospitality.

He’d hovered near where Olivia sat for a few moments, like he was expecting a hug, but had left without pushing for one.

Shona had almost felt sorry for him when he was leaving. And yet, her hands had been shaking as she hurriedly bolted the door at his back.