I tried to think of the least embarrassing answer, because the truth was that I’d gone snooping. “All of your brothers have a record, Lee. Not to mention Stu served six months in Feltham as a young offender. Your address is in the system.”

“Yeah, but you went looking, didn’t you?” His smile returned.

“That’s correct. I went looking right after I caught your brother trying to steal someone’s car,” I told him pointedly.

He quirked an eyebrow like he didn’t believe me. “You’re that quick, huh?”

My throat grew dry. “All it takes is a call to dispatch.”

His chest rubbed off mine, and even through my stab vest I could feel it. “And how did you recognise Trevor? You’d never met him before.”

Christ, was this an interrogation? “He has your eyes,” I blurted without thinking.

This gave Lee pause, and a long silence fell between us, his gaze searching mine. “That’s a whole lot of attention to pay to someone you don’t want to know,” he said finally, throwing my own words back at me, the ones I’d spoken the first time we met.

“Lee,” I pleaded, desperately needing him to back off. “You’re too young for me.”

“Karla, I’m perfect for you,” he countered, right before his mouth dipped in and his lips brushed lightly across mine. It was hardly anything, and yet, every nerve ending in my body came alive. Just as his mouth was about to descend on mine again, I dug my heel into his ankle. He grunted and reared away, leaving me enough space to get by him. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far. I’d barely taken three steps when Lee caught hold of my arm and pulled me to him, my back to his front.

“What you just did, not advisable,” he breathed harshly.

There was no mistaking the threat in his voice, and a shiver ran through me. Gone was the playful flirtation, and I was reminded once more that this man was bad news.

“Take your hands off me right now or I’ll arrest you,” I ordered, my tone harsh.

Seconds passed, like he was deliberating over what to do. Then he released me, but not before delivering a final statement. “One day, Karla, you’ll understand that me having my hands on you is never a bad thing.”

My skin prickled. It took me a moment to absorb his words, but by the time I turned around, he was already gone.

***

Once I’d managed to regain my sanity after my encounter with Lee, I called in the troops. An hour later we had the rioting under control, a number of people were arrested, and the remainder were emptied from the stadium. The wound to my forehead was superficial, so, thanks to Lee’s clean-up job, I was still able to finish my shift. It was difficult to comprehend the fact that he’d helped me, but I reminded myself it was all an act. He only wanted to bang a cop so that he could brag about it to his mates afterward.

I was just leaving the locker room that evening when I heard somebody ask, “Shit, what happened to you?”

I winced slightly at the sound of my ex, Gavin’s, voice. Usually, I went out of my way to avoid him, and in the ten months since we’d broken up, I’d managed to reduce the number of times we ran into one another to the barest minimum. Gavin worked for the armed unit, and his job tended to veer toward the more dangerous end of the spectrum, while my daily shifts were usually less hazardous. Today was not the usual.

“I was stationed at Upton Park. I presume you heard about the rioting,” I said, stepping past him and hoping he wouldn’t try to prolong the conversation. In my mind, there were two categories of men who signed up for the police. You had the well-meaning, family kind, like Tony, who just wanted to make the streets a safer place for his daughters to grow up. Then you had the borderline sociopathic kind, like Steve, and, let’s face it, my dad, who joined the force because it meant they got to wield power over people.

Gavin fell into the latter category. I’d broken up with him for two reasons. One, he’d been a controlling fuckwad, and two, I’d caught him shagging another woman – on my birthday, in the ladies’ bathroom of the club where my party was being held. Nothing like a bit of adultery on your birthday to make you feel like truly celebrating – that was sarcasm, by the way.

In conclusion, Gavin was a dickhead, and I was better off without him.

“I did hear, but I didn’t know you were there. Shit, that cut looks bad, Karla. Have you had it checked out?”

“It’s fine. Now if you don’t mind….” I lifted a brow and gestured for him to get out of the way, but he didn’t move.

“Ah, come on, don’t be like that,” he said.

I rolled my eyes, shook my head, and walked around him. He wasn’t even worth the effort of a hostile conversation. He called after me, so I threw my hand in the air and gave him the finger. His growl of irritation was infinitely satisfying. I’d just climbed into my car when my phone went off with a call from Alexis. I put it on speaker.

“Hey.”

“Karla! I just saw the riot on the news. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, nothing a glass of wine and a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I’m on my way home. Do you need anything?”

A pause. “Well, now that you mention it, you wouldn’t mind popping by the McDonalds drive-through, would you? I have a hankering for chicken nuggets and a chocolate fudge sundae for dipping.”

I resisted the urge to gag. “Bloody hell, that sounds disgusting. Are you pregnant?”