Page 68 of Replay
Spook didn’t miss that head turn.It took seconds to realise it wasn’t just the Hutton brothers in this bar, but the whole fuckingBang!contingent.Ava was near the door, her back currently towards them, deep in conversation with some woman.
“One who allegedly likes hitting women?”Marshall concluded.
“It’s not like that,” Alle blurted.
“No?”Marshall drawled.“Ronnie was making it up, was he?He,” –he nodded his head in Spook’s direction— “Doesn’t spank your arse so you can live out your daddy fantasies?”
“I don’t have daddy fantasies.”
“No?”
“You always wanted him to thrash you in the same way he did us,” Flynn remarked.“And I note you don’t deny the spanking part.”
“Yeah, but she never did manage to provoke Dad enough.Does she give you the stroppy brat routine until you lose it?”Marshall asked Spook directly.
“Marsh, that’s enough, now.”Flynn stepped between them, which didn’t loosen Spook’s fists, nor ease Alle’s stance.Apparently, brother number two had reservations about the path they were all walking.“Walk away, Alle.You’re both angry.Let’s not have either of you say anything unforgiveable.Spook, please.Get her to back down.”
Interesting that he made that direct plea.
“Alle, please.”Theo joined Flynn.
“He still hasn’t apologised for the interview.”
“I don’t need an apology,” Spook insisted, curling his finger around her arm to loosen her folded arms.Then he slipped his hand into hers.“Crap gets printed about me all the time.It’s no big deal.”It was, but sometimes you needed to employ tactics.“Look, he said he’ll apologise to Ronnie.That’s the important thing.He’s the one that got hurt.”
“Yeah, and now he’s threatening to expose you.”
How could he explain that staying and continuing to provoke him was only likely to make Marshall dig deeper, without explicitly saying it aloud and implying there were things to discover.He’d been on edge enough already over the prospect of him and Ava Leigh sniffing about, this was just throwing them ammunition.The only surprise was that Ava wasn’t yet over here barking her animosity.
“Flynn, if you want me to back down, you need to get this tripe-hound to back off and stop digging into my private life.”
“Alle,” Spook insisted.Wasn’t it obvious to her that her brother was exactly the sort to do exactly what she insisted he didn’t?“You need to let this go.Please.Just let’s walk away.You can address it again in the future.Standing here screaming at one another isn’t going to fix anything.”
“Listen to him, please.He’s right, Alle.”It was Theo, her youngest brother who backed him up, and the one to turn her away from Marshall and Flynn and pull her into the shadows of the plastic hedgerow.“Look, he’s on his high horse at the minute.You’re not going to get any sense out of him.He’s already been reamed by his boss today for tanking theBang!reputation, and Flynn can’t decide if he’s more pissed off that Ronnie got to play with you guys instead of him—” he gave a nod in Spook’s direction.“—or that Marshall thought it was okay to mentally torture one of his friends.He’s pissed Marsh mentioned you by name too.And then there’s all the baggage with Dad.Honestly, there’s so much to unwrap… and this isn’t the place.We all need to sit down together.With Ewan, too.”
“Your youngest brother would seem to be the wisest,” Spook observed.
It earned him a grudging nod of respect from Theo.Alle made an irritated grumbling noise, but then her shoulders slumped and she relented.At once, Theo wrapped her up in a hug.“It’s nice to see you, sis, though I have to say, if I’d known you were all planning a jaunt to the same Swedish rock festival, I’d have volunteered to pick oranges in Valencia instead of litter in Göteborg.”
Alle pouted, her anger seemingly melting.“You don’t mean that.”
Theo gave her another hug.“Yeah I do.Taking a gap year was supposed to get me away from you all.Now I find you’re all following me, utterly determined to cramp my style.”
She made pooh-pooh noises.“I had no idea you were even in Sweden.The last time you messaged you were in Slovakia.”
“For a while,” Theo said.He levelled an odd look in Spook’s direction.“Sis, are you going to be okay with this guy?”
“Theo,” Alle dug an elbow into his ribs.“Lay off.I’m a big girl.And as the world already knows, we’re not fucking.”
Only hitting.Spook swore that Ronnie’s words echoed through all their minds.For certain, something inside of Theo seemed to clench and rear back, like a viper ready to strike.
“Alle, let’s go.”
This time, reluctantly, she came.It was only then that she seemed to notice the car was gone.“The hotel’s right over there.”He pointed ahead at the skyline.
They were almost away free when a screech, like the skid of hot wheels across tarmac, turned every head in their direction.
“Spook!Spook Mortensen!Oh, God, I can’t believe it.You’re my every dirty fantasy.How amazing is it that you’re here?Spook, I love you.”
