‘Is everything okay, Grace?’

‘What’s it to you?’ Stef didn’t back off. In fact, he stepped forward again, until I was practically in the circle myself. ‘Don’t you want to talk to us tonight, Gracie?’

‘I…’ I began, but Mark put his arm across me, and stepped forward to meet Stef.

‘She’s with us,’ he said. ‘Is there a problem?’

‘No problem.’ Stef pushed his arm away. ‘But I think you’ll find she wants to be with us. She usually does. Just ask her.’

Mark looked at me and I shook my head. ‘I think that’s pretty conclusive,’ he said, putting his arm across me again. ‘Why don’t you just fuck off?’

At that moment, the music died down. It was the end of the song and, as the audience went to clap, Liv shouted out again - ‘Get that fucking cat off the stage!’ - at which, Gav leapt off the stage and pushed his way through the audience towards us.

    Sixteen

Her

From that point on, it was mayhem. Stef punched Mark, who reeled back into Liv, who then pushed him back into Stef. He grabbed hold of Mark, who proceeded to thump him in the chest, sending them both reeling into Chris and the rest of the Aussies, who joined in with abandon.

At that moment, Gav reached us and started yelling at Liv, who berated his musical skills, his sexual prowess and his choice in women at the top of her voice, while Steve tried to intervene. Gav didn’t seem to take kindly to being told to back off by what must have looked like Liv’s new boyfriend, and pushed him away, sending his beer flying. That was enough for Steve to run at him, sending him flying into Mark and two of the other guys, who retaliated by pushing him into more of the Aussies.

I pressed myself up against the pillar, trying to pull Liv away, but she refused to move. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying it, watching proceedings with a look of something approaching glee, and glancing up occasionally at the stage. Celeste stood there in the middle under the spotlight. She seemed rooted to the spot, her mike hanging useless in her hand. She was a study of shock and horror; her face almost as pale as her bleached hair as she stared, transfixed, at the unfolding brawl.

At that moment, I felt a tug on my arm and I went with it, allowing whoever it was to pull me from the fray and over towards the steps. It was Chris, his blond hair sticking to his forehead, the armpits of his tee-shirt dark with sweat.

‘Let’s get you out of here,’ he said, pushing me upstairs. As I looked behind me, all I could see were bodies steaming into each other, bouncers trying to pull them apart. The roars and screams were overwhelming. ‘Fuck me, do you cause trouble everywhere you go?’

‘I didn’t…’ I tailed off, letting him lead me out of the bar and into the relative quiet of the twilight street. It was barely ten o’clock and, already, another night had ended in disaster.

Once outside, he stopped and leaned up against the wall, putting his hands on his knees and panting. After a few moments getting his breath back, he stood up and offered me his beer. I shook my head, holding up my own. I’d barely touched it.

‘Are you okay?’ he said, blowing up onto his forehead. ‘What was that in there?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what happened.’

‘You’re something special.’ He took a gulp of his beer. ‘They’re fighting over you in there, you know that?’

I shook my head. ‘They’re not,’ I said, thinking back to Gav’s face. He’d been practically drooling with rage. ‘Not all of them, anyway.’

‘I’ve never known Stef like it,’ he said. ‘He doesn’t usually give a fuck about girls. Do you know he’s been down here every night, trying to find you?’

I shook my head, looking down.

‘I came too,’ he said, lifting up my hair and looking underneath it at me. ‘I can only hope.’

I smiled, but I could feel it was wan and empty. He sighed. ‘I know, but it was worth a try. You look after yourself, Grace. You’re worth more than this.’

I nodded, and he went to go back in. ‘Chris,’ I said. ‘Would you…?’

‘I’ll tell her you’re out here, don’t worry,’ he said, with an upside down smile. ‘Be happy, gorgeous.’

He went back into the bar, leaving me alone. I stood there, shivering. It must’ve been the shock, because the night was still warm. Be happy. How could I be happy? How could I feel anything but desolation, when the one I loved was out there, somewhere in the London city night, not even sparing me a thought?

I remembered Ronnie’s words. Sometimes you have to take a chance on the ones you love. It was time I took a chance. Otherwise, I’d never know.

I took out my phone and keyed in his name.

  Seventeen

Him

I didn’t notice she’d called until the following morning. I’d been shattered when I’d finally arrived back at the Dominion, and had stopped into the club to update Ronnie, who was holding the fort in the absence of Alex.

‘All sorted?’ she’d said, her face pinched and anxious, as I walked up to her outside the main dungeon. She was overseeing a scene and, from inside, I heard the crack of a whip, followed by a scream of ecstatic pain. ‘You’re going to have to forgive Alex, Nat. It’s not his fault.’

‘Forgive him?’ I couldn’t help a sharp, disbelieving laugh. Again came the crack of the whip. ‘Felicity Flint’s in hospital, in a coma. They don’t know if she’ll make it.’

She gasped, her hands moving subconsciously to her heart, as her eyes glanced quickly towards the interior of the dungeon, and I relented, realising too late how my words would affect her.

‘I’m sorry, Ronnie,’ I said, putting my hand on her arm. ‘I didn’t mean…’

She gave a quick shake of her head. ‘It’s okay, Nat,’ she said, her face shot through with misery. ‘It’s not your fault.’

‘This is, though,’ I said. I felt drained and hopeless. The sight of Felicity, all wired up in that anonymous hospital bed, kept flickering through my mind like a poorly-edited movie. ‘I should’ve known. Hell, I think I always knew, but it never occurred to me he’d go after the kid herself.’

Or had it? I remembered Rick’s words now, on the bridge. I’ve other avenues to explore. I should’ve paid more attention. Much as I hated her, I knew DI Brown was right. I was far too sure of myself.

A sudden volley of cracks came from within the dungeon, followed by shrieks of what were now simply abject pain, and Ronnie’s eyes widened. ‘Nat, it’s Max…in there.’

I pushed past her, and went into the dungeon. Max was standing there, Dominique – otherwise known as Didi – tied firmly to the flogging bench, legs spread wide and buttocks bared. He was lifting up the whip for another crack, seemingly oblivious to the sobs coming from down by the floor. His eyes were wild, fixed on the naked flesh before him, and his jaw was set hard.

‘Max,’ I said, moving towards him and positioning myself between him and the bench. ‘This ends here.’

He looked up at me and, immediately, a sarcastic smile lit up his face. ‘Well,’ he said, irony in every syllable. ‘If it isn’t F…forbes, the f…f…fucking F…F…Filth Monger.’

He drew back the bull whip and went to strike me. I didn’t flinch, just took the length of it as it scorched me across the arm, the end of it wrapping around my back like a snake. I deserved it, and only stood there, as he pulled it back to strike again.

At that point, I was aware of Ronnie, by my side. ‘Give it up, Max,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘What the hell are you even doing here?’

He faltered for a moment, before letting his arm fall to his side, the bull whip trailing uselessly across the stone floor. She took the whip from him, before bending down to undo the bonds holding Dominique in place.