Page 25 of Claim

Lennon snorted. “Sure.” He worried on his bottom lip. “So what you’re actually asking is whether I think Razor’s guilty. Because you don’t really know Razor.”

“No.” I kept my voice steady even if nothing else was. “Guilt is for a court to decide. I’m asking whether you think he’s capable. Whether he would do it.” I held his gaze. “On demand. If he could flip a switch inside him and not be the man I thought he was.”

Lennon turned away, glancing over to the ring where Billy Amos sparred. The same boy Razor had once begged me not to let turn out like him. I waited, heart hammering, aware this could be the easiest exit I’d ever be offered. Because I knew the law. I would defend murderers one day. Rapists. Monsters. That was the job. Everyone was entitled to a defence.

But loving one of them would fracture that certainty beyond repair.

Lennon finally turned back. “No.”

The air left my lungs in a shaking exhale.

“Could he?” Lennon widened his eyes. “Physically? Sure. He’s capable. Would he?” He shook his head with firm finality. “No.”

My chest loosened.

“He left too many bad men walking to be that man. If he were, he’d have dealt with them. He never went too far. Not even with the man who tried to rape and kill his mum. Not with the blokes who touched up his sister.” He shook his head. “Threats, though? Yeah. He can deliver a fucking good one. Knows exactly how to pitch it so you believe he’ll follow through. Most of the time, that’s enough. And if you want proof of who he is when he gets close to that line, and how he pulls himself back, go see Tyler.”

“Who’s Tyler?”

“Razor’s second. Never left his side when things got heavy.” Lennon sucked in a breath through his teeth. “There’ll be a reason he’s not inside with him. Or been around much.”

“And what reason would that be?”

“You’d have to ask him.”

I nodded. “And where would I find him?”

“Probably wherever Razor used to hang out.”

I pretended not to know. “Okay. Thank you.”

Lennon nodded back, distracted, as if considering whether to say more. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to. I’d come for an answer, and I had it. There was a real possibility Razor hadn’t done the thing keeping him in a cell with the door locked. No charge. No evidence laid. Just gravity and fear and names. I could work with that. Could build an argument around it, and it might let me see him again. In the flesh. Let him know I was still there.

If I could get it granted.

“I’ll let you get back to it.” I adjusted my coat, fastening the buttons, then went to turn away.

Lennon’s voice stopped me. “I never knew the right way to handle him.”

I turned back. He wasn’t looking at me anymore. He fixed his gaze somewhere past the ring, past the boys, past the room. Caught in old days and worse nights.

He turned back to me. “You know about Levi?”

I nodded.

“Him and Levi.”

I swallowed. Nodded again.

Lennon let out a long breath through his nose, shook his head. A wry, broken smile tugged at his mouth, as if something had finally clicked into place. I knew that wouldn’t win me any favours when Razor found out I’d let another thing slip to Lennon, but how could I stand there and deny it when I’d asked too much of Lennon to start with.

“He changed after that.” Lennon sniffed. “And I was so fucked up with grief, I blamed him for a long time. Thought if he’d just left Levi alone, he’d still be here. Levi fucking worshipped him. Idolised him. I did too. For a bit.” He snorted. “Still do sometimes. The shit he’s dealt with. The things he’s lived through. It’s hard not to admire it. Hard man, carrying all that and still trying to keep the streets clean, his gear clean, in East London? That’s not nothing. That’s work.”

He looked at me. “But he’s so fucking vulnerable. And stupid. Bone-headed. He doesn’t know how to walk away. From a fight. A challenge. Threats. He squares his shoulders and goes straight in, just to prove he’s not someone you can fuck with. And that’s what caught Levi. Hook, line, and sinker. I would’ve been fine with it. Honestly. I would. But they didn’t tell me. And I let them keep that secret.” He dropped his gaze. “Then Levi died and, God, Rich took all that guilt. All of it. Painted himself with it. And I thought the only way to get through to him was to… leave him to it. Tough love, right? That’s what people say.” He shook his head, tears falling, but he wiped them away angrily. “Turns out I just taught him what he already believed.”

I stepped in closer, needing to ask. “What’s that?”

“That he’s worth fuck all.” Lennon’s voice broke. “That the only thing he’s good for is this. The only praise he’s ever had came from Cormac. From people fearing him.” He looked at me properly, taking all of me in. “I don’t know if he deserves you. Or if he even understands what you mean to him. But I do know that right now, he’s sitting in that cell telling himself you’re better off without him. That we all are. That this was always where he was headed.”