Absolution(51)

But this was different. He hadn’t had time to think about it at the funeral, but watching him now gave him chills. Jack fought like a pro – he knew where to hit, when to hit and when to dodge. His body moved differently. He seemed calm, even when he delivered a blow. He was calculated. It was chilling.

Jack hauled Andy to his feet yet again and pushed him out into the street. Andy staggered, hunched over with his arm held close to his ribs. He glanced up at Callum briefly, blood pouring from his nose, dark in the streetlight, before stumbling down the street towards his car.

“Why’d you do that?” Callum asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jack cradled the knuckles of one hand in the palm of the other. “He deserved it.”

Callum stared at him, trying to read him.

“I heard what he said, about Ally,” Jack added. “He’s an *, nailed to a pair of feet.”

Callum smiled in spite of himself. That was Tom’s expression and they both knew it.

“I don’t know about you,” Jack said finally. “But I could do with a drink.”

Callum nodded slowly, the blood still rushing in his ears. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn it was nerves. He had no idea what had happened to Jack in the last four years, but the guy standing in front of him wasn’t the Jack he thought he knew. This guy could hold his own in a fight. This guy had an almost dangerous air about him, hidden right beneath the surface. This guy had some explaining to do.

“Yeah,” he said. “I could do with a drink right now myself.”



Jack sat in a booth inside Barney’s, rubbing his aching knuckles. Callum waited at the bar, while Harry poured their drinks.

The bar was almost empty, except for a guy Jack thought he recognised propping up the bar, and a couple of guys he didn’t know playing pool across the other side of the room. One of them laughed loudly and Jack cringed as the sound echoed through the room. He couldn’t help but think that he and Callum used to spend hours in here playing pool, just like them. Life seemed to be split into two distinct chapters: before the accident, and after the accident. It seemed like it was a defining moment, for all of them. After that, everything changed.

Callum walked towards him with two beers in one hand, and two shot glasses in the other. He set them down on the table and sat down opposite him. Without a word, both men picked up the shot glasses and downed them in a single gulp. Jack glanced up at Callum as the fiery liquid burnt its way down his throat, wondering what was supposed to happen next.

He had come in here with a plan, but the fight outside the bar had upturned everything and he wasn’t sure what to do now.

He rolled the empty shot glass between his palms on the table. “Who was that guy?”

“Andy McLeish. Works at the mill.”

“He’s got a mouth on him,” Jack set the shot glass aside and picked up his beer instead, taking a quick swig.

“He has.”

An ice pack appeared on the table in front of him and Jack glanced up to see Harry walking back towards the bar.

“Thanks,” he called after him, picking it up and easing it onto his knuckles with a wince. “What was he talking about out there – something about me being sorry, like you were?”

“That’s part of his charm,” Callum said sarcastically, before taking a mouthful of beer and setting the bottle down on the table again. “If being a dickhead was an Olympic sport, he’d be a gold medalist, several times over. He said something about Ally a while ago and I pretty much reacted the same way you just did. He pressed charges, I ended up in court. I’m on probation and he knows it. It was worth it, though.”

“Probation?”

“Good behaviour bond. And some anger management bullshit.”

Jack couldn’t help but smile. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Callum took a hurried swallow from his beer bottle. “So enough about that. I thought you’d be long gone by now. Why are you still here?”

The smile faded. “I heard what you said the other night, and I get it. I messed up and there’s no changing that. But I meant what I said – I’m not going anywhere. And if that means you want to take a swing at me again, fine. Go for it, I deserve it, and a hell of a lot more besides. Shit, if it’ll make you feel better, beat me to a pulp. I won’t stop you.” Callum raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth to interrupt. Jack beat him to it. “But we’re still gonna have to talk about this when you’re done.”