Page 23 of Claim

“Again, what the fuck does that mean?”

“It means he has no real representation. No defence. His case slows to a crawl and as he’s on remand, he could be in prison for a very long time just waiting.”

Lennon scowled. “But he’s entitled to representation.”

“He is. In theory.” I inhaled sharply, my chest rising with the implication. “In practice, cases like his don’t get snapped up.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the names attached to it.”

“Cormac.”

“Among others.” I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to keep inside that the other names were closer to me than they were to Razor. “And this isn’t circulating through the usual routes. The firms that would take it, the ones used to cases like this, expect private funding. Lots of it. And that isn’t on offer here. He’s on legal aid.”

“How come?”

“I’ll assume because he doesn’t have the money to instruct anyone himself.”

Lennon frowned. “So Cormac’s not stepping in.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“Fuck.” Lennon scrubbed a hand down his face. “Kee told me he gave her a load of cash before he was nicked. But that it was for her only.” He heaved out a resigned sigh. “He must have known this was coming.”

I said nothing.

Lennon dropped his voice. “Did he walk away? Try to get out?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “He wanted to. Told me he would try, but that it was difficult. Said he was putting things in motion, then…then he left my bed and walked straight into a raid. Intelligence-led. Planned. They were waiting for him.”

“Jesus.” Lennon dragged a hand over his head. “If that’s true, that puts Kee right in the line of fire. Especially if someone wanted him taken.”

I hated how accurate that was. “Which is why I wanted to talk to you.”

“For what? I ain’t got the cash to pay a brief for him. I’m barely keeping afloat as it is. I’ve got twin babies. Amara’s on maternity. Labouring work dries up in winter. And it ain’t like I can pass a hat round the community.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.” I drew a breath, forcing myself to slow down. To explain what I needed without giving myself away. “There’s a chance I could step in.”

He blinked. “You?”

“It’s not a certainty. I’m not talking about charging in and taking over. I can’t do that.” I scrubbed a hand over my mouth as if trying to keep the words contained. To stop the inevitable fallout from what I was doing. “But if I can get the case reviewed properly, put it in front of my senior, then she can decide whether it’s something chambers should touch. If she agrees, she’d bring in a solicitor to take conduct, and we’d put ourselves forward to act in court. It’s structured. Supervised. Above board. Or it doesn’t happen at all.”

“Ain’t there laws about that?” He cocked his head. “Defending the bloke you’ve been fucking while he’s committing crimes?”

“Yes. There are. Which is why this would only work if everything’s declared and signed off. If it can’t be done cleanly, it won’t be done.” I sighed. Recalibrated. “I’m not trying to save him by cutting corners. I’m trying to make sure he actually has a defence. One that doesn’t collapse under scrutiny. But before any of that…” I took a beat to compose myself. “I need a second opinion.”

“On what? If you can do this?”

“Not whether I can. I know I can. It’s whether I should.”

Lennon stared at me for a long moment. “You asking cause you wanna know how he feels about you?” He cocked his head. “Cause if you’re asking whether you meant anything to him or were just one in a long line of fucks he didn’t talk about, you’re asking the wrong bloke. He kept those cards close. Always did.”

“Yeah. I know.” I closed my eyes for a beat. “And no, that’s not…”

The words tangled. Lennon’s bluntness hit harder than I’d expected. It shouldn’t have. I knew Razor hadn’t told anyone about us; that silence was half the reason I could do this. But hearing myself reduced so cleanly — a long line of fucks he didn’t care about — still cut deep. Even if that was all I’d ever been allowed to be and had to convince myself I was.

Regardless of how I felt about him.