Amber burrowed into her mum. She had stopped screaming as soon as Dominique took hold of her, but then Ruby had taken over, and Benjamin was doing a pretty good job of bawling everyone out.

Was this real? Was Dom trapped in one of her nightmares, and any second now she would wake?

Dom’s ears were ringing, as she took in the scene. Trying to drink in every detail to work out if she was awake or asleep.

That boyfriend of Ruby’s, Harry Porter, was standing bold as brass in his jeans and socked feet. Hands out as if trying to calm everything down. Who was he trying to fool? He wasn’t wearing a top and Dominique could see that although he was scrawny, he was strong, dark skin rippling over ripped physique.

Fiona’s comments leaped into Dom’s mind. Harry was from a rough area. He’d been raised surrounded by drugs, theft, violence; fighting was probably second nature to him. He could lash out, hurt them. He might have a knife – hadn’t Fiona mentioned something about knife crimes being rife? Dom pulled Mouse that little bit tighter against her, protecting her child.

Benjamin stepped right up to him, shoving his nose against Harry’s, every muscle clenched. Dom didn’t think she’d ever seen him so furious. A vein in his temple stood out, and his face was red. Benjamin had once been a powerhouse of solid muscle and he was still impressive when he wanted to be, despite the barrel chest slipping down to his stomach.

‘What the fuck are you doing in my house? If you’ve touched my daughter, I swear to God,’ he growled.

‘No, no! I swear—’

Ruby tugged at her dad’s shoulders with both hands, virtually jumping on his back. Yelling and wailing incoherently, thin legs stamping furiously, fully on show because she was only wearing a T-shirt.

All hell was breaking loose.

Dominique put a hand down to the carpet and wiggled her fingers into the thick pile. Definitely real. She felt Mouse trembling beside her.

This was real.

‘On three, we’ll run out of here, yes?’ she whispered into her youngest child’s ear. A nod of agreement. She took tight hold of Mouse’s hand, then…

‘One, two, three.’

They jumped up and ran from the room, leaving the carnage behind them. In Mouse’s room, Dom snatched up her daughter’s bear and passed him over.

‘I want you to stay here and look after Ted, okay? He’ll be worried by all the shouting, so you keep him safe and let him know there’s nothing to be scared of. Can you do that?’

Mouse nodded, eyes like saucers. She clutched Ted to her, as if her life depended on it.

‘I’m going to go back into Ruby’s room and calm things down, okay? But don’t forget, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Sit tight.’

The last thing Dom wanted to do was abandon her little girl, but the shouting was getting worse; incomprehensible insults punctuated by swearing and scuffling.

Ruby was between her dad and her boyfriend. Jaw jutting forward in stubborn fury. Harry held her back. Benjamin had five lines of red across his face where she had clearly slapped him. He looked about ready to explode. Dominique mustered all her calm, all her ice queen persona, to glide into the middle of the spectacle.

‘Could everyone stop right now, please?’

To her surprise – and by the look of it, theirs – everyone did.

Harry broke the spell first.

‘Mrs Thomas, I know it looks dodgy, but I swear—’

‘Put your clothes on and leave,’ she said. ‘Now.’

He scrabbled around, while Benjamin made rumbles of protest and Ruby started to whine that it wasn’t fair. With a quick backwards glance at Ruby, Harry hurried away.

‘It wasn’t what it looked like,’ her daughter began. ‘Nothing happened. He just fell asleep, that’s all.’

‘He just fell asleep? When you’re both virtually naked?’ Benjamin bellowed.

‘What was he doing here in the first place, Ruby? You’re not even supposed to be speaking, let alone…’ Dominique trailed off and waved a hand uncertainly. ‘We’re not stupid. This is completely inappropriate behaviour.’

‘I should have torn him apart. You’re grounded for so long you will never see the light of day.’ Benjamin was working himself up from red to puce.

‘You’ve both got dirty minds,’ Ruby shouted.

Dom held her hands out. ‘Stop. You are going to stay here and think about what you’ve done. Your father and I are going to discuss what will happen next.’

Ruby didn’t protest. Instead, she folded her arms and slumped onto the bed, throwing murderous looks. Once upon a time Dom might have laughed at how melodramatic she could be, but now she felt a shiver of fear at her own daughter. There was no give to the glare; it was pure, unadulterated hatred.

Dom shook as she left the room, and did her best to hide it behind her usual façade. Harry might come across as polite, and he had left meekly enough, but Dominique wasn’t willing to gamble on her little girl’s future any longer. The time for understanding and waiting for Ruby’s infatuation to burn itself out was over; she was far, far too young to be sharing a bed with someone.

---

She and her husband went to the kitchen and sat at the table. He looked as if he had been punched in the gut, his complexion fading from raging red to ashen. Dominique lay a gentle hand on his arm.

‘I’ll kill him.’ His voice seemed barely a whisper.

‘Not a good idea. But I do think we need to take action.’

‘Too right. I’m going to—’ he stood up again. Dominique’s hand tightened, trying to pull him back.

‘Benjamin, listen for a second.’

‘What? Are you going to say that we should try to understand her? Give her a hug? We’ve been too soft on her for too long.’

‘Actually, I was going to suggest we report him to the police. She’s underage. It’s statutory rape.’

Benjamin nodded slowly, the cogs of his brain turning almost visibly. ‘No, that’s a good idea. Better than me beating the crap out of him and getting arrested myself.’

‘You agree with me?’ Dominique was surprised by how good it felt. For the first time in a long time, they were working as a team towards a common goal.

‘Definitely. Are you going to do the honours, or shall I?’

A quick but frustrating call to the local police station by Benjamin soon revealed that the powers that be weren’t interested in pursuing the claim. Firstly, Ruby would turn sixteen in two months; secondly Harry was also underage; and, most importantly, there was no actual proof of any wrongdoing. Just as Benjamin started to change colour once more, Dominique had an idea.

‘This could work to our advantage. Hear me out. We tell Ruby and Harry that we won’t report him to the police – yet. But that if they contact one another ever again, we will. That way we get to look like we’re not being heavy-handed, we’re giving them the option to behave. They won’t dare risk getting into trouble with the police, and that fear will keep them apart.’

Benjamin thought, then smiled. Took her hand and brought it to his lips. ‘See, that’s why I married you. You’re so much cleverer than I am.’

‘Don’t you forget it.’ Dominique smiled as she spoke, trapping the venom behind her perfect teeth.

‘I’m going to keep the shotgun under our bed from now on, though. I want it on hand to put the fear of God in that boy if he ever does come here again.’

Typical Benjamin, always wanting to use a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.