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“I know. This gym has some really dedicated members.” I laugh lightly.
“What about you? You’re petite. What do you do to work out?” she asks as Perry rounds the desk, grabbing his water.
“Cain. She does Cain.” He laughs dirtily, and I go bright red.
“Perry!” I blurt, mortified. Faye laughs, and I grab his bottle, squirting water in his face.
“Hey!” He coughs, lifting his top to dry off. “It’s the best kind of workout.” He grins and rubs his wet hand down my cheek.
“Get off!”
He chuckles and drops down on the desk. “Do you need a lift home?”
“No. Deeks is picking me up.” Cain had arranged that when we returned from Koh Samui. For the past four weeks, Kelvin has been driving me to and from work. It’s nice, but I think Cain is being over-cautious.
“You need to get him and his little band of merry men to sign up.” He winks.
“Could you imagine? He’d dwarf half the people here.” I smirk.
“The bloke is scary,” Perry replies and pushes off the desk. “If you’re sorted for a lift, then I’m heading out. Catch up with you girls later.”
The gym is open from six a.m. until ten at night, with four of us rotating the reception. Cain assured me I could work a standard shift, but I don’t want my new colleagues to hate me, so I’m currently working until closing. We only have another hour left, and it goes by quickly. Classes end, and I do a sweep of the gym, ensuring no one is inside before hanging up a tracksuit top in the lost property.
Over the last month, I’ve started to work out a little, using the facilities before I clock in and once or twice, Cain has watched as I have had a PT session with Mikael. The first two weeks after we returned from our holiday were hard, the press was relentless, and when they weren’t camped outside my flat, they were posting regular updates about our relationship, scrutinising what I wear or my looks. The latest was Lindel in Love and how I was setting myself up for heartache with a man out of my league. Being at the gym, working out, and focusing on getting fit have kept my mind occupied. It’s been a small solace during the chaos.
I collect my belongings and help Faye lock up. Deeks is waiting in his car for me. It's a big blacked-out thing parked diagonally over several spaces. I hoist open the door and climb in. “Hey!”
“How was work?”
“Good, thanks, you?”
“You don't want to know about my work,” he remarks, reversing out of the spot and driving us across the car park. We’ve never discussed his work. I decide to ask.
“I do. What is it you do when you’re not ferrying me about?”
“Nothing good.” He changes gear and checks the mirror, growling lightly. I check my own mirror but see nothing out of the ordinary.
“Oh, do you ever want to do something different, better?” I wonder, relaxing back in my seat.
Kelvin twists to look at me. His bald head shines under the streetlight, and although he views me with kindness, he’s scary, like Perry said. “Feel like I already am.” He winks. Taking on this role and looking out for me—that's his idea of better.
“Do you have any family?” I suddenly find myself asking.
“No, why? Are you in the market for an older brother?” He laughs. “Maybe I can be uncle Deeks.” He regards me with a toothy grin.
“Might be.”
“Then I have a family,” he says soberly. I smile to myself as we drive back to the flats, him checking his mirror more than usual.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, just being over-cautious,” he assures. Henrik’s message is on my mind, and I contemplate mentioning it to him, but I know he would tell Cain, and I want to be the one to do that. I stay quiet, and when he walks me out of the lift and to my door, I thank him and keep my secret to myself.
“I'll see you in the morning.” He yawns as he walks away.
“Night, Deeks!”
I call Cain with every intention of confessing the truth, but when it connects, he is fired up about the case. “You have a court date?” I exclaim. This is great news. Everything has moved at breakneck speed. That's good, he tells me. It means that the evidence he supplied is enough to imprison Royce for a long time. Even if he pleads guilty, he is looking at some serious jail time. Good behaviour won’t have him leaving any time soon. Kat has mentioned that he has aged considerably in the last two months, and whilst I feel bad for her, I want Cain to have everything that was stolen from him. For the most part, we don’t discuss it. There are too many frayed emotions and not enough answers, plus Kat and Cain are trying to hold on to the relationship they are building. “That's amazing!” Henrik slips to the back of my mind, and I decide then and there it’s best to let this all blow over with Royce before I admit anything to Cain.
