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“Of course.” Annika waves her hand dismissively. “Order the girls as much as they can eat. Plus yourself, Harvey, and Stuart.”

“I’ll stay for dinner,” Stuart says, dipping his head to peek at Keeley still hiding behind her sister. “If I can sit with you, would that be okay?”

She glances at me, and I give her a reassuring smile. After nodding shyly but taking the step to stop hiding behind Mabel, she offers a small smile back at Stuart. Mabel still seems very unsure of both Stuart and I, her face set in a permanent scowl.

“You have a gun,” Mabel says and all of our eyes dart to the holster on Stuart’s hip.

“I do,” he says gently.

“Bad guys have guns,” she states, matter-of-factly.

“Some good guys do too.” I shrug.

“Are you a good guy?” she asks Stuart.

“I like to think so.” Stuart nods, looking serious. “But I doubt a lot of people would agree.”

“Why not?” Mabel tilts her head, curiosity taking over her caution.

“I’ve done bad things,” he answers. “But for good reasons. And I don’t hurt innocent people.”

She nods. “Okay. You can eat with us.”

“Thank you, lass.”

Keeley giggles. “You sound like the man in the film we watched.”

“Oh yeah?” Stuart smiles. “And what film would that be?”

“It was about a princess with red hair and a bear and there were these three little boys who were really naughty,” she giggles. “Do you know it?”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve seen that one yet. Was it good?”

“Oh, yes.” She nods, her smile beaming and making me smile along with her. Stuart is gentle and soft in the way he speaks to each of them, and I trust that he, too, would do all that he can to protect these children. Every one of the people I’ve met under Annika’s employ would. I think back to Lee this morning, worrying about scaring them, speaking to them softly, vowing to keep them safe. These people are turning out to be so far from the criminal underbelly of the city that I was expecting when I came here.

“Okay.” Stuart slaps his thighs and stands and Keeley’s mouth comically gapes, taking in the size of him. “Let’s go order some food and then you’re going to tell me all about this film with the handsome Scottish man in it.” He gestures for the girls to lead the way and turns back to nod at Annika before following behind them.

“I need to be able to trust you with this, Harvey,” Annika says when we are alone. I turn to face her completely, my face a mask of stone, hiding the desperation I have. I want her to trust me. Ineedher to trust me.

“You can trust me,rainha.”

She nods as though she is agreeing, and I dare to hope although a tiny voice in the back of my mind is asking if I want her trust to get my job back or because I want everything from her. Clasping her hands in front of her, I notice her knuckles are white and she bites on her lower lip, looking at the floor.

“Rainha?”

“I don’t know how to do this,” she blurts.

“How to do what?” I ask, stepping toward her, wanting to reach out and cup her face, stroke her arm, and kiss her hair. Christ, I’ve got it bad.

“Look after children,” she says, looking at me now. Her deep blue eyes showing a vulnerability I haven’t seen from her before. “They need to feel safe here, it’s their home for now and there’s nothing worse than feeling unsafe in your own home.” She looks away again, swallowing down some emotion I want to unpack but decide better of it.

I take a risk and reach out, curling my fingers around the back of her neck and thumbing her jaw until she looks back at me. “You’re doing great,rainha. They’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and look how much they’ve already relaxed. That’s certainly down to you. The way you talk to them, explain things to them, listen to them. Give yourself a break and trust your instincts, you’ve given those girls more security and comfort than they’ve seen in God knows how long. Youdoknow how to do this.”

She’s looking at me with an innocence that seems genuine, looking far more her twenty-eight years than she has done previously. Her lips are perfectly pink and pouty, and my heart starts thumping. “Harvey—”

“I want to kiss you, Annika,” I whisper.

Her eyes widen but she doesn’t say anything as I lean forward.