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“Dad!” Gio yelled from across the garage. “A hand, please!”

“Bugger,” said her dad. “We’ll talk about this later, alright?” he said to Sophie, then he ran off to see what Gio needed.

That wasn’t so bad, was it? Sophie breathed, calming herself. It hadn’t been so bad. It had been… touching. Sad, a little. But also hopeful. Okay, so she hadn’t exactly told him everything, but she’d made a good start and so far things had gone well.

She felt lighter, like part of a weight had been lifted off her.

Her smile came back as she wiggled her mouse and got back to work.

???

“You’ve got your vest on?” Max asked for the fifth time.

“Yes,” said Tilly. “I’m fully equipped and ready.”

Max checked his watch and then peered out of the window of the police station. “Where are they?”

“Should be here any minute, sir.” Waiting for backup had been his idea, not hers, and she’d bowed to it, both because it was protocol and because… Because she kind of hoped that with more people around Sophie would be less likely to see her.

Which was ridiculous, of course, but she could hope.

Not for an instant had she considered not acting on this information. Not for a second had she considered not doing her job. But she had wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t be the one doing this, if maybe she was too compromised.

It wasn’t a feeling that she liked. She knew in her heart that she’d done nothing wrong, but nothing about this felt right.

There were consequences to every decision. But these consequences were going to be personal ones, and she really didn’t want to think about what they would be.

“It’s going to be alright,” Max said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Is it?” Her voice sounded small.

“Probably.” He sighed. “I can’t promise. But you’re doing the right thing, and you’re an incredible police officer.”

“Weren’t you the one that told me to remember that there are people involved here, that it’s not just about the laws?”

Max nodded. “But then, sometimes people get hurt, Till. It’s the nature of life, the nature of the job.”

“Are you telling me that you’d go to Mila’s bookshop and arrest her and her partner?”

Max looked at her and sighed. “Yes,” he said simply. “Yes, if I had to, I would. Because as much as I might not want to, at least I could ensure that they were treated properly, and they got a fair hearing. It’s cold comfort, but I’d do what I had to.”

There was the sound of rumbling from outside.

“Looks like our back up’s here,” Max said. “You ready for this?”

Tilly wasn’t, but she nodded. Max was right. She had to do her job.

They went in through the open front of the garage, shouting and yelling and in the confusion hoping that no one reached for a weapon.

Max himself took down Paul Farmer, grabbing his arm and bringing him to his knees to cuff him on the floor.

Gio spat and swore and ended up bent over the bonnet of a car with a police officer holding his head to the metal as he too was cuffed.

Tilly didn’t know how it happened. One minute she was right behind Max, the next she was turning around and seeing Sophie.Maybe she’d tried to run, maybe she’d tried to fight, Tilly didn’t know. But somehow she’d ended up splayed across the concrete floor, blood coming from her nose.

“Get off her,” Tilly shouted.

The officer who was cuffing her looked up in surprise.