And all for what?
For money to make his life easier. To get him out of trouble.
Well, hell fucking no.
Not on my watch, you fucking arsehole.
Rage exploded inside me, fifty-five years in the making, and I was inside the hut before I knew it.
Austin’s eyes blew wide as I blasted through the flimsy door, breaking it free of its hinges and sending it crashing across the room. He leaped to his feet and reached for the open duffle, but I got there first, kicking the table aside and sending the bag flying.
A large knife fell from inside and skittered across the floor. I grabbed Austin’s shoulders and slammed him against the wall before he could snatch it. The back of his head cracked on therotting timber and his eyes rolled back. Dust clouds fanned into the stale air and the entire wall trembled from the impact.
“Jesus Christ—” Austin choked out, his hands rising to cover his face. “Get off me.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” I jerked my knee straight up into his balls.
He let out a wail and dropped to his knees, whimpering between bouts of coughing and dry retching.
I glared down at him, then glanced to Chloe. “What the fuck have you done to my mother?”
Austin wheezed and hacked until his face turned puce. “I can’t—” He choked and waved a hand frantically in the air. “—I can’t... breathe. She’s—” He broke into a coughing fit again.
I put a boot to his hip and shoved him onto his back on the floor, leaving him to gasp for air while I checked on Chloe.
She hadn’t moved an inch; her face so fucking pale I wasn’t sure she was even alive. I tried for a carotid pulse but my fingertips met ice-cold skin. I moved her head and tried the other side, sliding my fingers up and down until I finally felt... something. Thready and weak, but there. Yes. She had a pulse.Thank Christ.
“Chloe.” I reached for her hands only to find them bound behind her back in padded cuffs. I glanced to where Austin was struggling to get to his knees. I shook Chloe by the shoulder. “Wake up, Mum. Please. Wake up. I’m gonna get us out of here. I need you to—oof.”
Austin barrelled into my side, sending us both tumbling to the floor. Arms and legs tangled as we both scrambled to find our feet before the other beat us to it.
I was fast, but Austin was quicker, feet planted and ready to have another go while I was still finding my balance.
He body slammed me again, sending me reeling backward against the stone fireplace. White heat lanced through my shoulder and chest, my lungs catching fire.
I lost the battle to stay upright and sank legless to the hearth, scrabbling for a handhold. Instead of stone, my hand wrapped around the cold metal of a poker and I clung to it like my life depended on it. Reaching the floor, I braced my feet against the hearth and waited for my chance.
“You spoiled everything.” Austin’s sneer drifted in and out of focus as he stood over me, swaying on his feet. “You just couldn’t leave things alone, could you?”
I shook my head to clear my vision, snapping, “And just let you murder my mother? No fucking way.”
Austin grunted something in reply, but I didn’t hear. I was already moving, pushing up and off the hearth, spinning on my feet, the poker circling with me, gathering momentum until it finally connected with Austin’s ribs in a sickening crunch.
He bellowed and fell to his knees, cursing and wailing, his arms wrapped around his chest.
I staggered to my feet, knees almost buckling as the room went into a slow spin and the floor rolled under my feet. Stumbling, I dragged the chair across to where Austin knelt and put my boot into the side of his knee. “Shut the fuck up and sit!”
He didn’t move so I hooked a hand under his armpit and hauled him upright. “I said sit.”
He screamed and toppled sideways, his arm flailing for the back of the chair. When he found it, I let him go and he eased himself down, fighting for every breath, his face ashen. He pressed his hand to his side and winced. “You broke my fucking ribs.”
“Like I could give a shit.” I tried rolling my injured shoulder and regretted it immediately. I couldn’t tell if it was broken or just plain fucked. But hell, if it didn’t hurt.
I was about to lay into Austin again when he stilled, his lips curving up into a thin twisted smile. “Oh, man. You are so fucking done for.”
I pressed the sharp end of the poker against his sternum and pushed him back in the chair. “Seeing as you’re the one with the broken ribs, I think I’ll take my chances.”
Austin’s smile broadened. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His attention shifted from my face to something over my right shoulder. “Well, you took your damn time.”
