Page 66 of Replay
“I can’t sit here indefinitely, mate.”
“No.Yeah, I realise that.”He couldn’t exactly take off and abandon her either.Not when he could see from here that she was about to go supernova on their arses.He was mindful of Sally’s warning to keep a low profile too.Then again, considering the number of rock festival goers in town, in all likelihood no one would look at him twice.He was merely another blond dude in a leather jacket.No one expected to find Spook Mortensen on the streets trawling after his girlfriend, who was about to start a bar fight.
“Shit, Alle.What are you doing?”
Giving her brother the slap down of his life by the looks of it.
Gits deserved it.
“Mate,” the driver grouched.
Sally would have a fit if she found out he’d been hanging around in public.Still, he wasn’t leaving Alle behind.
“Right.Okay, you go.We’ll walk from here.That way, right?”He pointed.Matter of fact, the roof of the hotel was visible, leering over the top of the surrounding buildings like a stern governess.He’d hang back, give Alle a few minutes to say her piece, grab her, and get out of here before anyone was the wiser.
Once back at the hotel, he’d make sure there was enough booze on hand to fell a dinosaur and then he’d tell all.Every.Last.Bit of it.
It was kind of awkward dawdling by a lamppost once the car pulled away.Spook donned the beanie from his jacket pocket and strolled over to the bar.“Hey,” he tapped Alle on the shoulder.“We should move on.”
Both Marshall and Flynn visibly winced at the sight of him.Maybe they figured he was here for round two of the punch up he’d started in Cannes.It was certainly tempting, but really all he wanted was to get out of here.And after Genoa, he really wasn’t interested in being mobbed.There were too many people about.Way too many people.
“How about you don’t get us arrested on a public order charge?”
“Spook,” she glanced back at him surprised.“I thought you’d wait in the car.”
He kinda wished he had.
“But as you’re here, this fuckwit can apologise.”
“I’m not apologising to anyone,” Marshall grunted.
“You bloody will if you want to keep having a sister.Seriously, Marshall, how fucking twisted are you, that you did that to another human being?Ronnie’s a mess because of you.And that article.That fucking article.”
“So I’ll apologise tohim.”
“And to me.And to Spook, for all the shite you went digging for.”
Two Huttons butting heads was quite a sight.They were both as stubborn and hard-headed as each other.Add in the red hair and freckles, and the flush of colour building to a blaze in both of their cheeks, and a major eruption seemed likely.
“What sort of brother sets out to pick apart their sister’s relationship on a live video?A fucking bastard of a one.”
Marshall sniffed and took a swig of his beer straight from the bottle.“Getting to the heart of the big stories of the day is my job, Little Princess.”
“You no longer get to call me that, Marshall.That’s a family thing, and we’re not family anymore.Not if you can’t pull your head out of your arse for long enough to apologise.”
“Don’t be absurd.”
“Who’s being absurd?Why would I want to associate with someone who thinks it’s cool to sell out his own sibling for the sake of his career?”
“Alle, it’s rather a stretch to claim that,” Flynn remarked, attempting to be the voice of reason, but failing.
Alle turned her glare on him, causing him to retreat, arms raised, beer bottle dangling between his curled fore-finger and thumb.“Fuck you too, Flynn, for defending him.Last time I looked, Ronnie was your friend.Do you really think it’s okay to bait and push people until they crack just for the sake of a headline?”
“All I’m saying is how was he supposed to know his questions would have that affect?I’ve known Ronnie years, and I’ve never seen him like that.”
“Fuck off.He knew.Everyone in that tent knew.A blind six year old couldn’t have failed to notice the effect his questions were having.The interview should have stopped long before it did.But no, that didn’t serve your ends at all, did it, Marshall?What did you gain out of it?A nice fat pay rise?The keys to Ava Leigh’s chastity belt?Maybe you think you’ve made a bit of a name for yourself as a hard man interviewer.Watch out world, he’ll be appearing on Question Time next, and booking exclusives with the Royals.”
In the manner of all siblings, she seemed to know all Marshall’s weak points, and how to attack them, exactly as Spook’s sisters knew his.
