“He sent us out to look for you.”
“What?”
“I saw your car at work, figured you’d gone to a mates.”
“I didn’t think he cared.”
“He’ll have something else to focus on now instead of me and Jack.” He sniggers and takes another drag.
“You know, when I found out Kane wasn’t my father, I hoped he’d still be alive and I could meet him. Even before today, a part of me still hoped that DNA test would come back and say Gavin wasn’t my father and I could keep my hopes alive, but I’m glad I have you at least.”
34
KANE
Belle barks, forcing my eyes open. I don’t normally sleep in this late. Sitting up in my bed, the faint rev of an engine travels through the window. My heart races along with my feet as I scramble to Vi’s bedroom to look out of her window that overlooks the drive. She still has her key.
My body sags at the sight of the cop car and Shane stepping out in uniform. What the fuck does he want? I pull on some jeans, then slump downstairs to Belle, barking and circling in front of the door. I unlock it, then open it, giving Shane a glare. Then a wave of dread washes over me. He wouldn’t be here on official business, would he?
“You gonna let me in or are we just gonna stand here freezing our balls off?”
I open the door wider and stand to the side. “Everything all right?” I hold my breath. If anything’s happened to Vi, I’ll never forgive myself.
Belle circles Shane for attention, and he strokes her head. “Just checking in.”
I walk into the kitchen and boil the kettle. A hoodie hangs over the chair, and I pull it on. Jogging on the spot with my bare feet, I blow into my hands to warm up.
“Lilly had a visitor last night.”
“Oh?” I pour two coffees, then hand one to Shane.
“Did you know Violet’s staying with Gareth?”
I clench my jaw. I can’t deny I’ve looked at the tracking app on my phone on more than one occasion. I thought she might have turned it off by now, but she left it on, probably to torment me further. “Yeah, I know her whereabouts. Is she all right?”
“She’s fine.” He blows in the mug, wrapping his hands around the ceramic. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
I take a gulp of the drink, not caring that it burns my mouth. The mere mention of her name hurts like a motherfucker deep in my chest. It’s like losing Ali all over again. And to know she’s with them and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it, just rubs salt into the wound. “I’m all right. You don’t need to worry.” He’s concerned I’m gonna go over there and cause shit. But I’m a big boy now. I have some control and patience. Lots of fucking patience. If the years in prison taught me anything, it was that.
Shane delves into his pocket, pulling out a pack of smokes. He slides one out and places it between his lips before offering one up to me. I take it and turn on the gas stove to light it. Shane flicks his Zippo and inhales. We stand in the kitchen in silence. He’s staring at me in his work uniform. If it wasn’t for his tattoos, he’d look every bit the good boy cop.
I crack my neck from side to side, trying to ease the tension built up this last week. “So, who was the visitor?” I couldn’t really give a shit about town gossip. I flick the end of my cigarette onto a used plate from the sink.
“Violet.”
My head shoots up. “Why was she at Lilly’s?”
“She had some sort of episode at the supermarket. Lilly recognised she was having an anxiety attack and took her back to her place.”
“You just said she was okay?”
“She is. She’s fine. But she found out about the rape.”
I slam my drink down on the counter and turn away from Shane. Rage burns every muscle in my body. The one thing I never wanted her to know. She can think I’m a monster all she likes, but I never wanted her to know the truth about her own father or have those painful thoughts about what her mother went through.
“Why didn’t you just tell her the truth when she found out about Gavin? She wouldn’t have gone to stay with them if she knew the whole truth.”
“Would you want to know you resulted from a rape?” The visions still haunt me when I sleep. Or try to. It’s always Ali screaming as he tears into her. Ali never spoke about it. I don’t know exactly what happened, which is worse. My mind conjures up all sorts of pain and suffering. I should have been there to protect her. Instead, I was on the other side of the world, in a sandbox playing G.I. Joe.
