We all turned in unison to watch Em, and as soon as she stumbled trying to shift her weight to lift the heavy tray, I didn’t need to ask the boys again. They fell over each other to get out of the booth and help her. Kieran reached her first and effortlessly lifted the tray and took it to the kitchen.

“I’ll do drink refills,” Liam offered.

“I’m the most likeable one of you ugly fucks, so I’ll take orders,” Tommy offered. Grabbing a pen and pencil from the counter, he walked over to a table of elderly ladies and turned on the charm. “What can I get for you fine and lovely ladies this evening then?” he asked, which made them giggle like schoolgirls.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, Em kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear. “It’s lovely of them to help, but how many orders do you think they’re going to mess up?”

“Don’t worry, love,” I replied. “I doubt many people will argue with them about it.” Between us, we were good at either scaring or charming people. There wasn’t much middle ground. Kissing my cheek, she left me to collect a food order at the ring of Mike’s bell, and I started clearing another table.

Two hours later, I had a whole new appreciation for how damn hard waitresses work. The balls of my feet ached, and I’d had a fuck-full of watching people leave shitty tips for damn fine service. None of us spoke to each other as we studied the menu. We were all going to order the same thing—we always did—but it was good to check it out just to be sure.

A juicy, succulent Daisy burger was placed down in front of me, and three more followed for the guys.

“On the house,” Rhona said, “for getting us out of a jam.”

With a cup of tea and a sandwich in hand, Em squeezed onto the bench beside me. Pulling her closer, I kept one arm around her and used the other to lift up my burger, demolishing a quarter of it in one bite. She giggled as I moaned appreciatively.

“Sunshine, you should never have introduced me to these things. I’m addicted,” I told her.

“A little of what you like now and then does you good,” she told me. Giving her a squeeze, I plowed straight back into my food.

When she froze with her cup of tea halfway to her mouth, I looked up to follow her line of sight. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged, dowdy-looking woman with plain clothes. She nervously clutched an old cloth shopping bag as she scanned the cafe, her gaze only stopping when it met Em’s.

“Who’s that, babe?” I asked, knowing from how she was acting that I wouldn’t like her answer.

“My mother,” she whispered.

* * *

The woman walked slowly toward us in a way that reminded me of Em when I first met her. For a moment, I felt a swell of pity when I thought about her experiencing everything Sunshine had. Then I woke the fuck up.

“Hello, Emily. You look beautiful,” she spoke quietly.

“Hello, Mum,” Em replied.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I said angrily, as I tried to urge Em out of the booth. My huge body was wedged in the seat, and with Kieran and the guys to my right and Em to my left, both unwilling to budge, I was trapped.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, staring at the ground. She seemed to be searching for her words and was visibly shaking. “I know I shouldn’t be here but I was wondering if I could speak to you alone for a few minutes.”

“No fucking way!” I answered without thinking. This bitch had done enough damage. Frank might be behind bars, but the bitch was still messing with Sunshine’s head just by being here.

“It’s okay, baby.” Em soothed me with her hand on my knee. “Let’s just listen to what she has to say.”

I didn’t like it at all, but my girl knew her mind, and she didn’t question any decisions I made about my useless bitch of a mother. I nodded to show I was okay but clenched my jaw shut, trying not to interfere.

“You’ve got five minutes, Mum. The guys will leave but O’Connell stays with me.” This calmed me down slightly, but not by much.

“Okay,” her mum agreed quietly.

Tommy, Liam, and Kieran shuffled out of the booth, taking the last of their burgers with them and shooting daggers at Em’s ma the whole time. Once they’d left, she sat down gingerly at the table.

“What are you doing here, Mum?” Em asked suspiciously. “I haven’t seen you leave the house in years.”

“Frank’s trial starts soon, and his barrister asked me to come down to London so he could go over my evidence.”

“I hope you’re not here to ask me for anything,” Em answered. “If you want to stand up for him and lie in court, that’s up to you but that animal deserves to go away for life, and I’m going to do everything I can to see that happens.” Her spine stiffened as she spoke, and I couldn’t have been more proud of her.

“Yes, no, I mean that’s not why I wanted to come here,” she answered, getting all flustered. “Frank has asked me to give you something but that’s not why I came,” she clarified.

“I knew you were here for him. Just give me whatever that psycho wants you to deliver and leave,” Em said angrily.

“Please, Emily,” her mum pleaded.

“Please what, Mum?” she replied. “Please be nice, please don’t argue, or please forgive you for doing absolutely nothing while that man beat and raped me?” She didn’t shout. She didn’t even raise her voice at her mother. Instead she was eerily calm. Tears were streaming down her mother’s face, and with a resigned sigh, Em rubbed her own tiredly with her hands.

“Just go home, Mum,” Em said softly. The woman pulled a long white envelope from her tattered bag and slid it across the table toward us.

“You have no idea how sorry I am for my part in what happened, and I don’t ever expect you to forgive me, but I’d like to explain myself to you someday, and I’d like the opportunity to know you. I don’t expect you to hear me out anytime soon, but can I come by the cafe from time to time, just to say hello and see you?” she asked hopefully.

“I don’t know. You’ve had years to get to know me. I can’t help feeling that whatever you’re doing is in Frank’s best interest.”

“Believe me, if Frank knew I did anything other than follow his instructions, I’d be beaten black and blue when he next had the opportunity.”