“If she brought a coat, she wouldn’t be able to show off those legs, now, would she?” somebody else butted in. Surprise, surprise, it was Steve.

“Or those tits. What are you, love, a D-cup?” said another. The woman looked like she was mentally decapitating each and every one of them, and I couldn’t blame her.

“Oi, you lot,” I called out. “Put your dicks away and go do your jobs.”

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Karla,” said Gavin. “You know I’ll give you a good seeing-to if you ask nicely.”

The men laughed, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lee bristle, his shoulders tensing and his mouth drawing into a tight line.

“Pity I never had a taste for cocktail sausages,” I threw back, and Gavin’s smile fell instantly, while his buddies let out “ooohs” of amusement. If I wasn’t mistaken, Lee’s chest shook with restrained laughter, and it felt good to get one over on my ex.

Noticing the woman shiver once more, I turned and went over to the ambulance, nabbing a spare blanket for her. When I returned, I draped it around her shoulders, and she shot me a look of thanks.

“If they start in on you again, you let me know, okay?” I said, eyeing her meaningfully. Just because she was at this party didn’t mean she deserved to be berated like that. I sensed Lee watching the exchange, and glanced at him just in time to see Steve recognise who he was. An evil grin graced my coworker’s mouth as he nudged the guy beside him before slinking to the end of the line. I was too far away to hear what they said to him, but Lee looked about ready to blow a gasket.

A moment later DI Jennings was back, instructing us to lead those under arrest to police vehicles, where they were to be transported to back to the station. More than likely, most of them had a night in the cells to look forward to. They’d all been searched, so it was just a matter of paperwork now.

I found myself at the end of the line, right behind Lee. Steve and his friend had cleared off, but for some reason my protective instincts were kicking in. I wanted to stick by Lee to make sure Steve couldn’t get another ego trip out of him.

When we cleared the side of the building, I was vaguely aware of a small gap between two outer walls. Everything happened in rapid succession after that. One minute Lee was walking along in front of me, hands cuffed behind his back, and the next he was turning, using his broad shoulder to back me in between the walls. Since we were at the end of the line, nobody else was there to see what he’d done.

I struggled to get by him, but he leaned his entire weight on me, pinning me to the bricks. His scent invaded my senses and my whole body trembled.

“You have two seconds to let me go or I’m going to start screaming,” I threatened him, my heart rate picking up.

“Don’t shout. Just listen to me. You have to uncuff me, Karla,” Lee said, his voice soft and pleading. There was a desperation in his eyes.

“Why the hell would I do that? Do you know how much trouble I could find myself in?”

Lee’s breath hit my cheeks as he looked at the ground, his posture slumping. “I know. And I’m sorry for asking, but I can’t spend a night in the bin. Believe me.” His blue eyes flickered between mine, pleading with me to do it. I stared back at him, quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Yes, he’d been at the rave. Yes, he was likely involved in some shady dealings. But he hadn’t had anything on him. Letting him go wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it?

Swallowing, I asked, “What were you doing here tonight? Because seriously, Lee, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look good.”

He nodded, some relief shaping his features. “Yes, I know. It looks shitty, and it is shitty. I know this place has no licence, and I know alcohol and drugs were being sold to underage kids, but I was here for my friend. You remember when we spoke on the phone? I told you I was going to my mate’s birthday party. That’s why I was here. His party was inside.”

“In that case, you might want to be a bit pickier when choosing your friends in future. But why is it so important that I let you go? This is hardly a first for you.”

Lee swore under his breath and levelled me with a serious look. “The black eye your boy Steve had? I lied. It was me who gave it to him. I don’t have time to explain right now, but the fucker had it coming. And believe me, if you don’t let me go, sometime tonight that prick is going to round up his buddies and come find me. Let’s just say, I’ll be lucky if I’m not in a hospital bed come the morning.”

As I listened to him speak, it all sank into place. Since Steve was dirty, I well believed he’d put a beating on Lee once he had him locked up. It was difficult to think straight, but in that moment, I knew what I had to do. I had to let Lee go.

“Okay,” I said breathlessly. “Okay, turn around.”

“Thank you,” Lee whispered gratefully, letting his mouth drop to my forehead as he placed a soft kiss on my temple. The contact made me shiver. Unfortunately, just as I was about to pull out the keys to his cuffs, I heard Jennings’ voice shouting loudly, “Where’s Constable Sheehan? She was here only a moment ago.”

“Shit,” I cursed, and swiftly twirled Lee back around, grabbing his arm and pushing him forward.

Jennings was just rounding the corner when we stepped out.

“Sorry, ma’am, this one almost got away from me,” I said breathlessly, while internally I was freaking out. How on earth was I going to get Lee out of spending the night at the station now?