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I join them, the girls are in the comfy t-shirts and leggings I bought them, Harvey in cargo shorts and his standard black t-shirt. I sit in my orange Karen Millan suit, back straight and perching on the edge of my seat while the others lean on the table or in Keely’s case, kneels on her chair with her palms on the table as she hovers over the sweets.

“So, what is this?” I gesture at the white stuff.

“Maria-mole,” Harvey answers, thickening his accent.

“Which is…?”

“Condensed milk, coconut cream, sugar, egg white, coconut,” he lists off.

“So, nothing with nutritional value.” I screw my face up at the substance.

“Oh, come onrainha, sometimes food should be for the soul, not just the body.”

“And this will feed my soul?” I ask, plucking a square from the tray and examining it closely.

“Try it and see.” He shrugs.

I pop the piece into my mouth and wince at the overwhelming sweetness, it tastes of coconut and sugar, and it sticks to my teeth as I chew. It’s not as bad as I may have thought but I can’t say I like it. However, looking at the girls, they’re both looking at me expectantly. Even Mabel looks stiff with anticipation for my reaction. Somehow, I know there’s only one correct answer. “It’s delicious.”

I try for a smile, but it doesn’t feel natural although none of them seem to notice. It’s like they collectively deflate, offering big, smug smiles as hands dart forward to grab their own pieces. They all moan and smile around mouths stuffed with Marie-mole and I take a minute to appreciate the scene. The girlslook so relaxed, happy. They’ve both put much needed weight on and are well on their way to being unrecognisable from the filthy, scrawny, near feral creatures we found a few short weeks ago. The warmth in my chest that I felt earlier when speaking to Stuart about them comes back with a vengeance. For the first time in my adult life, I feel nervous. I’m going to put myself out there. I’m going to offer myself to someone, even though it may not be a romantic entanglement, I’m still considering tying myself to another life,twoother lives.

“I uh, I was thinking today,” I say, somewhat stuttering. They all quieten down and look at me. “About finding somewhere permanently for you both to live.”

Mabel’s is the first smile to drop, I can see her defences rise immediately. She clenches her jaw and purses her lips. “You’re putting us into the system, aren’t you?”

My lips twitch. She’s so unwilling to trust, always assuming the worst, reminds me of someone. “No, Mabel. I’m not putting you in the system. I told you I wouldn’t, and I keep my word.”

“So, you found someone who wants us?” Keeley asks, still chomping on Marie-mole.

Why are my palms sweating? “Yes, well, kind of.” I glance at Harvey and something like understanding passes over his face, and he raises his brows in surprise. “I was going to ask you if you’d like to stay here.” I say, straightening my back and clasping my hands together on the table in front of me, like I would in a business meeting.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Keeley bounces.

Mabel’s eyes briefly shimmer with hope, but she shakes it away. “Are you a criminal?”

That surprises me, not that I let it show. I maintain eye contact and keep both my expression and voice level when I say. “Yes.”

“Rainha…” Harvey warns under his breath, but I hold up a hand to silence him, knowing how much he hates it.

Mabel is unsurprised by my answer and Keeley is unbothered, taking another sweet from the tray. Mabel seems to consider this information, nodding thoughtfully. “Do you hurt people?”

I take in a deep breath through my nose to give me a second to consider how to answer. “Yes.”

That has Keeley pausing, her face drops as she stares back at me like she is about to burst into tears. “You hurt people?”

“Sometimes.” I don’t let her watery eyes affect me. “But not for enjoyment, only when it’s necessary.”

“Like when?” Mabel asks, still staring with a hard expression.

That’s an easy one. “Like when I find the people who hurt you and your sister.”

“Will you kill them?” She’s not scared or disgusted anticipating the answer.

“I don’t think—” Harvey starts, trying to answer for me but I just speak over him.

“Yes.”

Mabel nods. “Good.”