Just Keep Breathing, GS Rhodes [best book club books for discussion TXT] 📗

after all. Maybe one final smooch with Ms Chowdhury before he came back inside, a last little taste. It made him feel a bit sick.

But his appearance sparked a different bit of movement. As Chris made his way across the room and replaced Alexandra Kaye, the two of them exchanging a few pleasantries, a few smiles, someone else had started moving towards them from across the room.

Apart from Kidd, no one seemed to notice a tall man with a buzzcut barrelling across the room at breakneck speed. Without warning, he pushed through the crowd, past the waiting, adoring fans, past Alexandra Kaye, and straight up to Chris Harper, where he threw a punch that landed square on Chris’ nose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The room erupted with activity. Laura let out a howl and hurried away from where the action was taking place, Alexandra Kaye grabbed hold of the man who had thrown the punch while Chris stumbled back a step holding his face, shock etched into every one of his features.

“What the fuck is happening?” Zoe barked.

“Fucked if I know,” Kidd said, immediately heading over to the bloodied Chris and his assailant.

“Stay the fuck away from my wife!” the man bellowed.

“I’m not your wife anymore, Norm. Please, stop this!” Alexandra wailed, but Norm was far too strong for her, yanking his arm away and immediately advancing on Chris again. He threw another punch, one that Chris managed to avoid. It knocked Norm off balance. He stumbled a little to one side, giving Chris a chance to grab hold of him by the shirt.

He yanked the man upright and punched him square on the jaw.

“Fuck’s sake!” Kidd growled, barrelling towards the man that Alexandra had called Norm and grabbing him before he could hit Chris again. DS Sanchez did the same, taking hold of Chris by both arms and managing to wrestle him to the ground. She’d twisted his arm around his back, his face twisted in pain. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Get off me,” Norm grunted, struggling against Kidd’s grip. “Get the fuck off me!”

“Calm down,” Kidd barked. “Take a breath.”

“FUCK! OFF!” Norm tried to break free again, but Kidd grabbed his hand and bent it back, the pain shooting through Norm’s arm enough to ground him.

“I’m Detective Inspector Kidd, that over there is Detective Sergeant Sanchez, and unless you want to spend a night in a jail cell or get convicted for assaulting a police officer, I suggest you calm down.”

That seemed to stop him. He took a few deep breaths, settling down. When he seemed calm, Kidd released him and Norm took a seat on the floor. The people around them had stopped what they were doing to watch the action, all eyes on Norm.

“Alright,” Kidd said, turning to the onlookers. “Show’s over folks, please go back to your night.”

“What on earth is happening in here?” Ms Chowdhury had appeared nearby, her face flushed, her movements jerky, though Kidd couldn’t tell if her being flustered was from the fight that had broken out, or what had happened with Chris a few moments before.

“Could you call the police, Ms Chowdhury?” Kidd asked. “I think we need to take these two in.”

“That hardly seems necessary,” Laura protested.

“I think it is,” Kidd said firmly. “Ms Chowdhury? If you could?”

“I thought you two were the police?” she said, raising an eyebrow before she turned and walked away. Kidd wanted to shout after her that he was off duty and shouldn’t be dealing with two grown men who couldn’t control themselves, or figure out their issues without the use of their fists.

“I don’t think the police need to be involved, Ben,” Laura said. “They’re already doing so much for me and my family, I wouldn’t want to bother them anymore.”

“That’s precisely the reason we need to take them both in, Mrs Harper,” Kidd said, purposely using her surname. “We need to have a talk with them, get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

“Nothing is going on,” Laura said firmly. “Just boys being boys.”

Kidd could smell the bullshit a mile off, there wasn’t enough expensive perfume in the world to cover it up. He simply offered Laura a smile and escorted Norm outside, DS Sanchez following close behind with Chris.

◆◆◆

When the uniformed officers arrived and put the two men in the back of separate cars, DI Kidd and DS Sanchez headed out of the building. The second he stepped out of those doors, Kidd felt like he could breathe again. He hadn’t wanted the night to go this way, of course, but he had to admit it was nice to have a reason to leave early.

He’d told both Mrs Harper and Ms Kaye that they could follow in their cars if they wanted to, that they would be at Kingston station, but neither one of them seemed all that keen. Perhaps this wasn’t the first time their husbands had gone at it like this. Neither one of them seemed particularly shocked by it.

“What was that all about?” DS Sanchez asked as they climbed into the car. Kidd started the engine and quickly pulled out of the car park. It had started raining, just in case the world being like an icicle wasn’t enough.

“That’s not even the half of it,” Kidd replied. “You’ll never guess what I saw when I went outside to find Chris.”

“You’re right,” Zoe replied. “I won’t guess. Tell me.”

“Ms Chowdhury and Mr Harper were a heck of a lot closer than a parent and a headteacher ought to be,” he said as he pulled into the Kingston one-way system, driving under the railway bridge and past the Rotunda. “If you know what I mean.”

“Really? You caught them?”

“Not exactly,” Kidd replied. “I didn’t catch them doing anything, but I definitely interrupted them. And then I had him telling me all about how I don’t understand and that he has needs.”

“Jesus Christ,” Zoe groaned, averting her gaze to the window. “He really tried to justify it?”

“He did,” Kidd said. “And