“Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for a bit?” Izzy’s eyes are wide with fear as we go down to the hotel basement where my car is parked. I know I’m not in a position to get her level of fear, but I’m going to do everything I can to help her understand I don’t fear him at all and he can no longer hurt her. Ever.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I say gently. “We can’t wait another second to do this.” Unlocking my door, I help her inside. She winces as she leans back. Fuck, I can’t even think about what he did without wanting to beat the shit out of him. Let’s see what a big hero he is when he has to deal with someone his own size.

My head is buzzing as I follow her directions to her mother’s house. My Izzy is with a man who beats her. I have a boy. A son.

She looks around nervously when I park in front of a block of apartments. Other than a few teenagers playing with their bikes there is no one around. We get out and walk to her door. She puts her key through the door and before she can push it open, a woman who looks like an older version of her is standing in the hallway. Her face is white and she looks terrified. At the sight of her daughter her hand clasps her chest.

“I don’t know what I thought when I heard your key,” she mumbles. “I knew you wouldn’t be coming here at this time. I thought … oh God ...”

“It’s okay, Mom. Everything is okay. This is Christopher’s dad, Tyson.”

“Hello, Ma’am,” I greet with a polite nod.

Her eyes skitter to me then back to her daughter.

“He’s going to help us. We don’t have much time though. We have to hurry and get out of here,” Izzy says.

Her mother’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t ask any questions. Just nods her agreement. Almost as if she was waiting for this moment. Hoping somebody would come along and save her daughter.

“Only take whatever you need for tonight. We can buy everything else tomorrow,” I say.

“I’ll get Christopher and his stuff. You go get yours, Mom. Just pack a small bag.”

Silently, Izzy’s mother turns to obey her daughter.

“Please leave any mobile phones or laptops behind,” I instruct.

Her mother nods and scuttles away. Izzy takes my hand and we go upstairs. She opens a door and steps into a blue room illuminated by a night light by a cot. My feet won’t move. I stand stock still at the threshold. All my life I wanted my own family. Brothers, sisters, a father, and I never had it. Even the sad, alcoholic mother I had was taken away from me, but in this little blue room is my family. All mine. Made from my own seed.

Izzy turns back to look at me, her eyes questioning, curious. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I say softly, but I’m so choked with emotion I can barely get the word out.

She tugs at my hand again, and suddenly I can’t get to the cot fast enough. I follow her eagerly. A child is sleeping, his fat arm thrown over his face. I stare transfixed. Gently, she moves his arm away and I see his face. He is, without doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

My son. This is my son. I think of my mother. How she would have loved to have seen him. Something unfurls inside me. Love for him fills my heart until it feels as if my heart will burst. I will die for this tiny life. To think of Tony threatening this innocent angel makes my blood boil.

“Oh, Izzy. I can’t believe I missed everything,” I whisper. My voice sounds broken.

“You won’t miss anything, anymore,” she says softly.

“Never again,” I promise.

She puts her hands into the cot and lifts up our sleeping child. It must have hurt her, because she winces slightly as she adjusts him against her body. Turning to me, she says, “Do you want to hold him?”

I swallow hard. “Won’t I wake him up?”

“It will take an earthquake to wake him up,” she says with a smile.

I don’t smile back. I can’t. I’m too happy. Too proud. Too amazed. “Are you sure about this? I’ve never carried a baby.”

“See how I’ve got him. Fold your arms in the same way, and I’ll just put him in that cradle like space.”

I copy the position of her arms and she lay Christopher into them. Maybe it comes from working with horses, but as soon as she puts my son into my arms, my body instantly loses its anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to do it properly, that I’ll drop or hurt him. He is so tiny my hand can support his whole head. My hands go around Christopher naturally, protectively. I lift our child up to my face and kiss his soft cheek tenderly. He smells of milk and innocence.

I look at Izzy’s face and she is nodding. Her eyes are full of joyful tears as if she just saw the proof she needed that she made the right decision to trust me. The heavy burden of protecting Christopher from Tony all on her own has been magically lifted from her shoulders. As if the sight of me with Christopher in my arms is everything she has ever dreamed for the last two years.

For an eternity we stare at each other, both of us lost in our own joy and the little being we created. Then her phone rings and she jumps like a startled cat. She takes her phone out of her bag, looks at it, and back up to me.

“It’s him,” she whispers.

“Don’t answer it. Get Christopher’s things. Quickly.”

She runs around the room throwing essentials into a yellow overnight bag. In minutes she is ready. We go out of the room and she knocks one of the other doors on that floor.

“Are you ready, Mom?” I hear her ask.

“Yes,” her mother replies coming out.

We go down the stairs and out into the night. The teenagers are still there with their bikes. I curse, but there is no way around it. They turn to look at us. No wonder. We make an unusual sight. We look like we are running away.

I settle my son in his grandmother’s lap at the back and carefully put Izzy in the front passenger seat. I am worried that she might have broken ribs. I need to get her to a doctor in the morning.

“Where are we going?” Izzy asks as we drive away.

“You’ll find out when we get there. You wouldn’t know where we are going even if I told you,” I explain, glancing into the rearview mirror to make sure we are not being followed. Tony’s not the only one with connections. I’m taking them to a gypsy camp.

It will be a shock to Izzy and her mother, but I trust these people implicitly. I have to take my family where even the cops will not dare to tread. It’s too dangerous for them, but not dangerous for me or my family.

Our surroundings start to get a bit dodgy after thirty minutes of driving out of London. We don’t talk much. Finally, we turn off the motorway into Hounslow. I take a dirt road to a gypsy caravan site. Even though it is already dark, children run towards our car.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Izzy’s mother asks anxiously as she sees the caravans.

“It’s the best shot we have,” I murmur as I steer the car over the narrow path.

“Tony, his men or the cops will not dare come here. There is no one here who will betray us. These people are fiercely loyal and protective of their own kind,” I explain as I navigate the car between two stone walls connecting the east and west side of the camp. There aren’t many lights on in the windows, but I still see faces peering out at us. The ladies must see them, too. A look in the rearview mirror shows a very worried looking woman.

“It’s not the Ritz, but it’s temporary and it’s the safest place for the three of you,” I say.

“Won’t you be staying with us?” Izzy asks worriedly.

“No. I need a bit of time to arrange things for us.”

“We’ll be fine here, Tyson. You go on ahead and do what needs to be done,” Izzy’s mother says firmly.

I catch her gaze in the mirror. “Thank you. I promise there is no safer place you can be. I’ve spent more time here than I care to recall,” I say as I park the car between a ditch and a pile of rubbish. It doesn’t do much to settle their minds, I’m sure. I turn to them. “As a boy, I had a lot of friends in this village. I know it like the back of my hand, and the people here know me.”

“You’re friends with gypsies?” Izzy asks, looking around us with a dazed expression.

“Yes. I know. Crazy, right? Rich boy is friends with gypsies. I’m actually half-gypsy. After I ran away from the correction center I lived with them for many years. I wanted to run free, and that is what I did with them. It’s where my love of horses comes from. I know the woman who lives in that house,” I say pointing to the one on my left. “Mariella is a truly terrible cook, but she is a good woman.”

“What if Tony does track us here?” Izzy asks.

“Then God help him. Those people are lovely and very welcoming. They would give you the shirt off their back, all of them, but they’ll also show Tony he’s not half as tough as he thinks he is if he tries to start trouble. Believe me. I’ve seen them handle themselves.”

Mother and daughter look at each other, having a silent conversation.

I add, “It won’t be forever. Just until I can think of something more permanent. My top priority at the moment is keeping all of you someplace where he can’t find you. I need to be able to make my plans without having to worry about what he’ll do to you.”

“No,” Izzy whispers, turning to me. “Now, I’ll have to worry about what he’s going to do to you.”

“He doesn’t even know I exist … yet. But he will.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I can take care of myself, Izzy. You just stay safe here.”

Mariella opens the door before we can even reach it. She comes out with her arms open and envelops me in a warm, soft hug. “Oh, my boy. It’s so good to see you again.”

“Thank you for doing this,” I say close to her ear.

She pulls away from me and looks at me incredulously. “After everything you did for me and my boys? This is nothing.”

I introduce my family to her and she grins widely. “I’ve made a lovely dinner for everybody.” I look at Izzy, and for the first time since she called yesterday to say she won’t be turning up, I smile.

She widens her eyes. “You are staying for dinner, aren’t you?”

I pat my stomach. “Would love to, but I just had food. Couldn’t manage a thing.”

Izzy grins back. She looks happy.

I wait long enough for them to get settled in before I say my goodbyes. Izzy touches my arm. “Please. Come back and collect us quickly,” she whispers. “Not because I don’t like being here or anything, but I do hate being without you.”

I pull her close to me and inhale her scent with my entire being. She makes me feel like a king, like I could do anything. All I want to do right now is to start our life together, but I’ll have to be patient. I’ve waited this long. I can wait a few more days.

“I’ll come back soon. I promise.” I kiss her gently on the side of her swollen lip, and run the back of my fingers on her cheek. I have said goodbye too many times to this girl. If I am smart and play my cards right this could be the last time.