Page 33 of Refrain
Ronnie was missing when she returned to Rock Giant’s room. The big guy was sitting up in bed nursing a brew so strong you could probably stand the spoon up in it. Alle averted her gaze from the display of ink and muscle.
“Get what you needed?” he asked.
Alle nodded and started scooping up her clothing. She headed into the en suite to pull them on, where she also borrowed a squeeze of toothpaste. Her finger made a poor brush, but at least her breath tasted minty fresh afterwards. Ronnie had returned by the time she emerged, which made it feel less strange to be pottering around a guy’s hotel room. He’d dressed in skinny black jeans and an equally black T-shirt so tight it made him seem whippet thin. He had a lollipop tucked behind his ear and was winding a strawberry lace around his thumb.
“Not stopping for breakfast?”
“Nah, I’m going to head off. Ewan’s probably wondering where I’ve got to.” She needed to hire a locksmith too. Make sure that neither Flynn nor Marshall would unexpectedly end up in her home again.
“Not sticking around in case we hear anything?” Rock Giant asked.
“I’m not that far away. And you’ll let me know, right?”
“Absolutely,” Ronnie confirmed, without a second of hesitation. Paul didn’t answer. He appeared to be chewing over his thoughts, and she didn’t want to prod him and find out he was on the same page as Luthor.
“Take care of yourself,” he said as she headed for the door. “Call if that prick gives you any trouble.”
She nodded but had no intention of doing so. The last thing that any of them needed was an escalation of matters between the Hutton brothers and Black Halo.
-14-
Allegra
Slow traffic meant it was mid-morning by the time she got home. The house was empty, but Ewan had pinned a note to the fridge.Project meeting. Back about four.
She called a locksmith. They couldn’t come until tomorrow unless it was an emergency. She agreed it wasn’t that. Ewan had cleaned up the kitchen, and his moggy conned some cat treats out of her as she turned her nose up at the contents of the fridge and opened the biscuit tin instead.
She nibbled on a custard cream and texted,I miss youto Spook. He never responded, and there was no indication that any of her messages had ever been received. At least now she could guess why.
An old cardboard box sat by the back door waiting on recycling day. Alle picked it up, meaning to fold it flat, but wound up holding it contemplatively instead.
She took the box upstairs to Flynn’s room. There were still photographs on the wall from when he was ten. She ripped them all down. Upended drawers, throwing things indiscriminately into the box, and then into bin liners once it was full.
It’d never once crossed her mind that he was responsible for what had happened to Spook. It made her queasy to realise he was even capable of such violence. Apparently, she didn’t know her brothers very well at all. Nor could she say that she wanted to. Too many lines had been crossed.
She made a pile of Flynn’s things in the back garden, soaked them in nail polish remover, then tossed a match on it. It lit with a woosh. She was feeding pages from the family albums into the flames when Ewan came hurtling down the garden path, his face a pattern of concern.
“What the hell have you done? Jesus, Alle!” He snatched the album from her hands. Flicked though the empty pages in increasing alarm.
Alle stole it back from him and tossed it onto the flames.
“Shit!” A photo fluttered free, and the wind carried towards the flower bed. Ewan chased it down, grabbing it before it hit the remnants of the old pond. He stuffed it deep into his back pocket before turning back to her. “Are you insane? You need to stop. This is out of hand.”
“I’m out of hand? This is my house, and they have no place in my life.”
“They’re your—our brothers. I know they’ve behaved like dicks, but—.”
“There is no but, Ewan. I’m done. I don’t have to take their shit. I don’t have to accept it. I’m a grown ass woman and if I want to cut the toxic shit out of my life then I can do that. I still haven’t decided if I’ll go to the police.” Not that her statement would lead to anything.
“I get it, A, these last months have been hard, and I’m pissed as you are about what they’ve done, but you’ve fucking lost it. This is extreme. If you wanted their things out of the house, all you had to do was tell me, and I’d have dealt with it.”
“That’s just the problem, Ewan. I don’t want someone else to deal with it. I’m perfectly capable of fixing the matter myself. See? Sorted.” She upended the last few items from the box into the flames.
“Jesus, you’ve got to stop. Think about what you’re doing.”
“I know what I’m doing. I don’t need to think, but maybe you do. It’s time to pick a side, Ewan. Are you my brother, or are you theirs?”
A deep groove formed between his eyebrows. “Don’t make me choose. You can’t expect me to choose.”
