Page 111 of Dead to Me

But now she needed to save him right back.And fast.

Anna took another step, until the knife was touching Marcie’s back, enough for her to stiffen slightly.

‘You’d better let go of him, Ned,’ Anna said, loudly, ‘or I’m going to stick this knife into your sister’s kidney.’

There was a moment of absolute silence and then Marcie suddenly jabbed backwards with the syringe towards Anna.

‘No!’Anna yelled, because she wasdonewith this woman.She grabbed Marcie’s arm with her free left hand, blocking it.

Marcie twisted round to face her and pushed hard against her grip.She was trying to shove the syringe into Anna’s body, clearly not caring where it went as long as it hit her.

But Anna wasn’t going to let that happen, whether Ned got involved or not.She might not be at her best, but she hadn’t spent all those hours at the gym to be overpowered by a forty-something woman who looked like she might break in a strong breeze.

Orto let Reid die at the hands of an ex-military psychopath, for that matter.

She held Marcie’s wrist back and started to twist it.The expression on Marcie’s face was extraordinary.It was like every ounce of civility had been peeled back.She just kept trying.Pressing forwards with her whole body.

‘Fuck– you!’Marcie yelled, her arm now in an impossible position.‘You and that little slut Holly can die!’

Anna gave a roar and dug her fingers into the tendons of Marcie’s arm.The syringe clattered to the ground.

‘You know what?’Anna said, staring her down with her grip still in place.‘I amsotired of women blaming other women for their husbands being cheating assholes!Go and talk to Philip and stop killing innocent girls!’

She zoned back in on the fact that Ned could take her down in about ten seconds.But James’s uncle was staring at them both, his face strangely blank.He was still holding on to Reid, but his grip had finally slackened and Reid was getting his feet back under him.

‘It wasn’t Philip’s fault!’Marcie spat.

Anna was still holding Marcie’s arm, while the woman tried to tear it free.

Does she just not give up?

Anna looked past her, to Ned.‘OK.You need to let him go now,’ she said.‘Do it!Or I really will…’

It was only at that point that she realised she’d basically lost track of the knife.It was still in her hand, but it wasn’t loosely held out in the air.In trying to force the syringe into Anna’sflesh, Marcie had driven her abdomen onto the blade.It had sunk into her somewhere above her hip.Anna could even half remember feeling it happen, but she’d been so fixated on Marcie’s arm and that needle.

The weirdest thing was that Marcie didn’t seem to realise it had happened, either.She was still staring at Anna with her eyes full of rage.Was still trying to twist her wrist free.

Even as Anna faltered and stumbled slightly backwards, Marcie didn’t wince.

‘Crap,’ Anna said.‘Just… stay there.We need to keep the blade in and get you some bandages.’

But instead of staying there Marcie pulled backwards, away from the blade.Annafeltthe horror of it sliding free, but Marcie just turned to her brother like nothing had happened.

‘You have to stop them,’ she said, her voice shaking.Pleading.‘Please, Eddie.She’s just as bad as Holly.She’s just as bad.She’s been sleeping with Philip, too.’She began crying, while Ned’s wide eyes went from her stomach to her face and back again.‘Please stop them.’

There was a momentary pause while Anna thought frantically about what she could do.And then Ned said, quietly, ‘You told me it was James.’

Marcie rubbed her eyes, roughly.‘It… doesn’t even matter.’

‘You said he’d killed her by accident,’ Ned said, more loudly.‘You killed her?Deliberately?’

‘Wouldn’t you have wanted to help, even if you’d known?’Marcie asked, pleading.

Ned shook his head.And then he stepped away from Reid completely.Reid slumped the rest of the way down the wall to the floor.

‘Reid!’Anna ducked past Marcie and skidded to her knees on the floor next to him.

‘I’m OK,’ he said, making an effort to push himself off thefloor, and she half turned to see whether Ned was about to punch one or other of them.But he was still staring at his sister.