Page 88 of Indie

“You’re so fucking pathetic. The kids will stay with me and before you fucking say it, the police are gonna blame him. They’re gonna think that he’s the one that’s done it to you.”

He waved a leather cut in front of me, the back patch on the back a blur. Then he stuffed it into my face, moving it left and right, making sure he’d covered it in my blood, before throwingit on the floor behind him. The foot came at my face this time, dull, heavy, full of force. Then a second time. My head whirled, everything going black. But the blows stopped.

I thought I saw him move away, but it was hard to tell among the shadows that collected in front of my eyes. It had gone quiet. It was calm. Somewhere nearby a dog whimpered.

Chapter Forty

Frantically, I scrolled my contacts, the first attempt not connecting.

“Fuck!” I shouted, moving into the kitchen and trying again.

The phone beeped at me, the signal bars showing a cross.

“Fuck’s sake!”

Throwing open the door of the cottage, I ran out into the street. One bar. But it wasn’t enough to connect. I ran further, out into the dark, away from the houses, out into space. Two bars. Come on, come on.

“Hey Indie,” Fury’s voice was calm.

“I need you to get the boys and get to Emmies,” I shouted.

“What? Why? What’s going on?”

“Just fucking get there, Fury.”

“Indie. You need to tell me more than that. I need to know which ones to bring.”

“Fucking all of them.”

“Where are you?”

“Stuck on the Island. Tide’s in. There’s no way I’ll reach her in time. Just get over there. She’s being attacked.”

“By who?”

“Fury…” I warned.

“I need some intel. By who?”

“I dunno. Probably her ex. But I don’t know. Just get to her, Fury. Please.”

The phone went dead.

I jogged back to the cottage, my chest tight and my heart pumping, and a red-hot anger bubbling over. Mam hadn’t closed the door behind me, but she was standing in the doorway when I got to it.

“What’s going on, son?”

“Move, please. I need to pack.”

“Indie.” Her tone was sharp enough to stop me in my tracks. “You can’t go anywhere until the tide goes out. So, you may as well tell me what is going on.”

She ushered me inside, closing the door behind me.

“Emmie. She’s being attacked.”

“What? How do you know?”

“That was her number that rang me. I could hear her in the background, crying and screaming.”