Page 54 of Indie

“Why?” He whispered, and for a second, I thought he was asking himself that question.

“I told you he won’t ever let me go.”

“But what kind of man does this to his own kids though, Emmie? Answer me that?” Indie paced the bedroom, stroking a hand through that thick greying hair. “No, don’t answer, Spuggy. I know what kind of man. I was raised by one.”

“Did your dad ever hit your mother?” I asked, shocked at the insinuation.

But Indie shook his head. “No, he didn’t.”

“Then you don’t really know what kind of man Gary is. Your Dad may be a lot of things, Indie. A lot of things I don’t know about. But is he a woman beater?”

Indie shook his head again. “No. No, he’s not.”

The bed dipped where he sat down beside me and for a little while we stayed there in silence, both of us staring at the smashed glass and broken ornaments on the floor.

“Mr Morris! Mr Morris!” The tortured screams got closer, the broken little girl with her broken pink unicorn running into my room. “They’ve hurt him,” she wailed.

Lily thrust the bedraggled stuffed toy towards me, the white stuffing hanging out from where his stomach had been sliced open. Tears spilled down her face and welled in her eyes, and the back of my throat burned again.

“Shush, little one,” Indie’s voice was gentle.

He reached out for the unicorn, and she placed the thing in his hands. He turned it upside down, inspecting the damage.

“I know just the person who can fix him, Lily. Shall we go see her?”

I looked at him, not following the words, watching Lily nod sadly. Then he reached for me, grabbing my hand, his fingers entwining with mine.

“Come on,” he said, getting to his feet, tugging me to mine. “Pack some clothes for you and the kids. Stay with me a couple of nights till we get this place tidied and secure. My boys will sort it out. I’ve got plenty of rooms, Emmie,” he added, seeing the hesitation on my face.

“I can’t leave the dog, Indie.”

“Then she can come too.”

*****

“I thought you said we were going to your place?” I asked, staring out at the pub we’d just parked in front of.

“This is my place.” He grinned, a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.

“What isThe Dog on the Tyne?” Luke asked from behind us.

“It’s my pub. But it’s also my home.”

“Look at all those bikes!” I could hear the excitement rising in Luke’s voice.

He was right. That was a lot of bikes. The same type that Indie had ridden. And the same type that had pulled us over on the way back from Holy Island.

“It’s also the Northern Kings’ clubhouse. So, there’s already a few of us here.”

And now I felt nervous. But Indie was already climbing out of the van and sliding the side door open to let Luke and Lily out. Lily looked as nervous as I felt, hugging the half-gutted unicorn into her chest and staring up at the building, whose paint work had seen better days. Indie had noticed too and dropped to his haunches at her side.

“There’s a lovely lady in there that’s going to fix Mr Morris for you. Would you like to meet her?”

Lily nodded. “Will she hurt him?”

“No, little one. She’ll take good care of him. He’ll feel so much better when he’s whole again. You ready?”

Lily nodded again and Indie rose to his feet, towering over the little girl. But he smiled down at her, holding out his hand, and as she slid it into his, her entire hand disappeared.