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‘No,’ she smiled ‘A joke is what I need’

She stood and looked at hirabbed hi backwards, feeling their way together along the hallway, until they found the bedroom door and they collapsed onto the bed And this time she didn’t let him stop

49

Lenka lay awake in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the rain pelting down outside Eva clucked and snuffled in her sleep, and she reached out a hand to check she was okay, stroking her soft head and fine hair

The argument she’d had with Erika played heavy on herin the dark living roo, but Erika didn’t return Just after ht, she realised Erika had stormed out of the house without her phone when it had started to ring, but the battery had died er

She knew that Erika had a friend, as a Forensic Pathologist, but she couldn’t remember his name, and she knew Mark’s dad was called Edward Foster, and that he lived near Manchester She worried for her sister, worried what the future held for her on her own

Erika lay with her head on Peterson’s chest and felt his war of his heart He stirred and pulled her close to hi forearuilt that they’d had sex Twice The first tiht away they’d done it again, slow and sensual They’d fallen asleep soon afterwards, but she’d woken up an hour ago, and her ital clock in his bedrooled into the crook of his arm, closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep

Lenka rolled over in bed, picked up her phone from the bedside table, and saas 305 am She flopped back and put her arm over her face She froze as she heard a noise, like the cracking of plastic It caain and then there was a clink, which sounded like a thinthe floor She jumped out of bed and scanned the room, the vacuum cleaner lay in the corner, the pipe coiled round and the h to the living room

The patio door had been pushed open, and she could see where the plastic had been re breeze rushing through the gap She turned with thearound the dark room, and unbelievably, the children were still asleep under the blankets

There was a faint creak and Lenka felt a pair of powerful hands encircle her neck Without thinking she screa the metal pipe up and over her shoulder There was a crack and a yell The kids then woke up and started screa at her She swung brought the pipe up and hit hiave her enough ti with soht it doith full force on his head He fell to the floor and she brought it down again and again battering the

Jakub and Karolina were now screao into the bathroorabbed the landline fro the pipe

‘Lock the door,’ she said to the children She ran past and grabbed baby Eva When she came out the man was still on the floor She joined the kids in the bathroom and locked the door

‘It’s okay,’ she said to thehtened animals in the bath ‘Karolina, I need you to help ulped and took the baby as sleeping through all of the drama