Page 83 of A Long Way Back
“I took Dog out.”
“You look upset.”
“I was thinking…about my brother.”
Tay said nothing, but under the sheet, Ink felt fingers wrap around his.
Be careful. No names. No ages. No places. Nothing that might allow Tay to find the twisted truth before I pluck up the courage to tell him everything.
As if that was ever going to happen.
But some things he could say without risk. “My brother was killed when he was a young boy, but…I…” He sighed. “Everyone thinks he’s dead.”
Tay frowned. “Because that didn’t make sense, I’m assuming you don’t think he’s dead?”
“I do think he’s dead, yet I can’t give up hope entirely. Mistakes are made. People turn up, don’t they? After years? Remember that Margate couple, James and Edith Bannister? When the police found those kids imprisoned in their cellar?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“I wanted so much for my brother to be one of them, even though they’d gone through hell, because at least he’d still be alive.”
“Why does everyone think your brother’s dead?”
“Because my father identified his body.”
“Ah.”
What was left of him. Ink shouldn’t have been shown the images. The police had been trying to shock him into admitting his guilt. “I wasn’t allowed to see him.” Ink sucked in a breath. “Now you’re thinking here’s a guy who’s struggling to come to terms with what happened when he was a child, and you’d be right.”
“Assuming your father made a mistake, if your brother was alive, wouldn’t he go home?”
“Maybe whoever took him twisted his mind, made him think no one wanted him or that we were all dead. Maybe he was taken abroad. Maybe he’s in some other pervert’s cellar.”
Tay sucked in a breath. “Wouldn’t they do DNA testing? Look at dental records? They must have been pretty sure it was your brother they found.”
“There was no need for checks. My dad was sure.”
“Are your parents really dead?”
“Yes.” He clung to that lie.
“What’s your brother’s name?”
Ink so very nearly told him. “I can’t say it.” Even a first name might be enough to let Tay discover what happened.
“Does he have anything to do with why you’re homeless?”
Everything.“No. I want you to fuck me.”
Aneepslipped from Tay’s mouth, a small needy sound that made Ink smile.
“Are you trying to distract me? Because it worked.”
“I want to feel you inside me.”
“Oh God. Stop talking.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
