I check my watch again and sigh. There’s still five minutes to go. Ziggy suddenly screeches and takes off towards the gates. He crashes into a little blonde and wraps her into a hug. Her little curls bounce from the impact and she giggles. “Malia, my daddy’s real name is Finn,” he announces, taking her hand and pulling her towards me. “He brought me to school today.”
Malia stops in front of me. She tips her head back and stares right at me. She has her mom’s light green eyes, which reminds me . . . I glance towards the gate as a harassed-looking Anna bustles in. She has shades covering her eyes and I suspect she’s feeling hungover. “Malia,” she bristles, and the little girl turns towards her. “I told you not to run ahead,” she adds.
The little girl pouts. “But I saw Ziggy,” she says in a little voice. “And look! His daddy brought him to school today. He’s so big!” I smile down at the little version of Anna.
Anna stands a few feet away and stares at the closed classroom door. Maybe she’s willing it to open up, like me. “Sore head?” I ask.
She glances at me and lifts her shades slightly to meet my eyes. I like that she’s showing me no fear. “Are you talking to me?” she asks coolly.
I make a show of looking around at the space around us. The other moms are giving me a wide berth. “Looks that way.”
“My head is just fine, thank you.” Her tone is cold and impatient.
“I thought we could grab a coffee and discuss last night?” I ask.
“I don’t think so,” she mutters.
“You not so brave now that you’re sober?” I ask.
The doors open, and Ziggy’s teacher smiles warmly at me. She’s had a thing for me for the last year, since Ziggy first started in her class. “Oh, how lovely to see you, Finn.” She smiles. “Would you like to stay and look through some of Ziggy’s work? He’s been doing so well.”
“I have a coffee date with Anna,” I say, tipping my head in Anna’s direction. The teacher straightens slightly and looks Anna up and down.
“He doesn’t have a coffee date with me,” mutters Anna. Her face flushes red with embarrassment.
“I do,” I correct. I hand Ziggy his backpack and he runs inside, pulling Malia with him. I turn to Anna and smile. “You can either walk outta here with me or I can embarrass you in front of all these judgy bitches.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she growls.
“Oh baby.” I smirk. “Please don’t wave the red rag. You don’t know me well enough to challenge me.”
Anna squares her shoulders and glances around at some of the other moms who are kissing their kids goodbye at the door. “Fine,” she mutters.
I follow her out of the gates and point her in the direction of a nearby café.
“I don’t want a drink,” she mutters when the barrister comes to take our order.
“Two coffees,” I order, ignoring her eye roll. We sit by the window. “So,” I begin, “how are you settling in around here?”
“You haven’t brought me here to ask that,” she says coldly. “You want to know about Reggie and whether I’m a threat in your part of town. Well, I can tell you that I’m not. I am not with him. He doesn’t have my address and I see him very briefly at Malia’s supervised visits at a contact centre in central London. Neutral ground to both of you, apparently.”
“I guess you went home last night and did some research about my club?” I smile.
“Gang wars aren’t hard to research.” She sighs.
“You like that word, gang,” I point out. “If you’d have done your research properly, you’d know I’m not in a gang.”
She looks uninterested and picks at a white paper napkin. “Look, I’m here to get on with my life. I’m not interested in you or your club and I’m not interested in Reggie or any of his dealings. The stuff going on with you and him has nothing to do with me and Malia. I shouldn’t have come into your bar last night. It was a stupid move and one I didn’t think through properly. I’ll probably move again in a month or two, then you’ll never see me again and the world will go on turning.”
“Why do you move so often?” I ask.
“That’s none of your business and I don’t want to discuss it with you. All you need to know is I’m no threat to you.”
I lean back in the chair as the waitress sets down two coffees. Anna thanks her politely and the smile she radiates is beautiful. I want to see it more. “I don’t see Reggie as a threat, Anna. He doesn’t concern me and neither do you. You came to me about our kids.”
“I was drunk. It was stupid. I’ll speak to the teacher about getting them to play with other kids too.”
“No. They’re happy. Why would you rip them apart? If you leave, then I’ll deal with the fallout from Ziggy. It’s not your problem. Your kid is used to moving on, so I’m sure she won’t ever think of him again. So, why here? What made you move here?”
Anna begins to fiddle again, and I gently place my hand over hers to still her fidgeting. She glances at me and I wonder if she feels the electricity radiating between us too. “It’s safe here.” she says. “He can’t come here without causing himself problems and Reggie doesn’t like problems.”
“And you said that he doesn’t know you’re here?” I ask because I find that hard to believe. Reggie will know exactly where she is, especially because his daughter is here too.
“Not yet.” She glances around the café. “But he’ll find out.”
“And then you’ll run. How long will you run for?”
“Maybe I won’t need to, now that I’m in this part of town?” she shrugs her slender shoulders.
“Why do you run,
