ASBO: A Novel of Extreme Terror(43)

Andrew swung the towel rail at his shaven head.

The blow connected.

Frankie stumbled backwards and the rear of his thighs hit the lip of the room’s bathtub. He lost his balance and tumbled into the tub.

Andrew took advantage of the situation and made a run for it. But Jordan and Dom blocked his escape; twin slabs of granite extinguishing any hopes of safety.

Before the twins had chance to react, Andrew swung the towel rail at them. The blow missed both targets and struck the battered frame of the doorway. It was enough to make the two boys flinch and step aside.

Andrew suddenly found himself facing an open doorway. There was no place he could think of running that would be any safer than the bathroom, but at least for now Andrew was no longer trapped. He had options again.

He was just about to race out into the hallway when something bit into his calf muscle; a white-hot jolt that travelled up his entire leg.

Andrew fell down onto one knee and glanced over his shoulder to see what had pierced his flesh. He saw Frankie standing over him, grinning, and licking blood from a nasty-looking knife.

“What are we going to do with you?” he said, before stamping on Andrew’s face and sending him swirling into unconsciousness.





Chapter Sixteen


Davie sat in the living room listening to the ruckus upstairs. The women were sat beside him and both shuddered with every sound.

“It will be okay,” Davie told them. “They’ll all be gone soon. My brother’s just having a laugh.”

Rebecca looked at him like he was an idiot. “A laugh? Are you insane? Someone is going to end up dead and you’ll be just as much to blame as your psycho brother.”

Davie shook his head. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Wake up, you dickhead. Your brother’s dragged you into this. You’re the one keeping an eye on us – that makes you one of the kidnappers. You’ll rot in jail unless you let us go right now.”

Davie wanted to make her see sense, but managed only to choke on a mouthful of words that never formed into sentences.

“You’re in a mess and you know it,” Rebecca stated. “You don’t want any of this, do you? You don’t want to end up a worthless thug like your brother.”

“Shut up,” Davie told her. “I won’t hear you talk shit about Frankie.”

Rebecca shook her head at him in a way he did not like. It looked like pity. “Stop defending him, Davie. You’re not like him, I can tell. You’re a good person.”

Davie ran both hands through his hair and let out a long breath. His head still ached and now he felt dizzy as well. The banging and shouting from upstairs didn’t help the situation. How had things gotten so crazy? Did it start when he was hit by Andrew’s car, or was the whole turn of events inevitable even before that? Davie had a feeling that Andrew and Frankie were destined to reach this point regardless. He just hoped his involvement hadn’t made things worse.

“Let us go,” Rebecca said calmly. “This is the point where you decide whether you want to be part of this or not. If you let us go now then it will be clear that you just got caught up in something. Keep us here, though, and you’re proving that you’re as happy to go along with this as the others.”

Davie stared down at the carpet, down at a chunk of browning cod meat that jutted out from beneath the sofa. He thought about things long and hard, then looked Rebecca in the eye. “He’ll kill me if I help you. You’ll have him arrested, and when he gets out he will literally kill me. Frankie is all I have so why would I want to make him hate me?”

Rebecca stared back at him with deep, soulful eyes. “Because you know that this is wrong, Davie.”

Davie nodded. He didn’t want to see this girl get hurt – in fact he could hardly bear it. “Okay,” he said to her in a hushed whisper, already regretting what he was about to do. “Get out of here. Quickly, before I change my mind.”

Rebecca put her arms around Davie and squeezed him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear. Then she stood up and grabbed her mother’s hand. “Come on, mum.” Rebecca tugged hard at her mother’s arm, trying to snap her out of the daze she was in. “We can go and get help now. It’s all over.”

Davie knew the decision he’d just made was the right one – could tell by the love and concern Rebecca had for her mother – but it didn’t make him feel any less apprehensive. Frankie was indeed going to kill him.