BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. About the Author
  4. Title Page
  5. Intoroduction
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EITHT
  14. NINE
  15. TEN
  16. ELEVEN
  17. TWELVE
  18. THIRTEEN
  19. FOURTEEN
  20. FIFTEEN
  21. SIXTEEN
  22. SEVENTEEN
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. THIRTY
  36. THIRTY-ONE
  37. THIRTY-TWO
  38. THIRTY-THREE
  39. THIRTY-FOUR
  40. THIRTY-FIVE
  41. THIRTY-SIX
  42. THIRTY-SEVEN
  43. THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. THIRTY-NINE
  45. FORTY
  46. FORTY-ONE
  47. FORTY-TWO
  48. FORTY-THREE
  49. FORTY-FOUR
  50. FORTY-FIVE
  51. FORTY-SIX
  52. FORTY-SEVEN
  53. FORTY-EIGHT
  54. FORTY-NINE
  55. FIFTY
  56. FIFTY-ONE
  57. FIFTY-TWO
  58. FIFTY-THREE
  59. FIFTY-FOUR
  60. FIFTY-FIVE
  61. FIFTY-SIX
  62. FIFTY-SEVEN
  63. FIFTY-EIGHT
  64. FIFTY-NINE
  65. SIXTY
  66. SIXTY-ONE
  67. SIXTY-TWO
  68. SIXTY-THREE
  69. SIXTY-FOUR
  70. SIXTY-FIVE
  71. SIXTY-SIX
  72. SIXTY-SEVEN
  73. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  74. CLIMATE EMERGENCY
  75. Copyright

He doesn’t. ‘Five men lost their lives because of me. Five members of my family. Every time I see one of those people it makes me so angry. The people who kidnapped my family, cut their throats on camera and broadcast it to the world like they were cattle, like they were animals. Well, they’re less than animals to me. All of them. We should be smashing all their windows in. Ripping down everything they’re trying to build in this country. Our country. They’re trying to take it away from us.’ Carl’s eyes are hard, cold.

Alan is growing jittery, shaking his head and his body from side to side. Each bounce of his leg rocks the car, sends more stabs of pain through my hand and up into my shoulder.

‘So I know how you feel to have lost someone, OK? I know what it’s like to be responsible for it. We’re connected by that, Josh. There’s a link there. We’ve both suffered, you and me, because of being responsible. And so I don’t like doing what I had to do this evening. But I had to. Martin called it. And he’s in charge. You understand that, don’t you?’

Again, just a single nod.

‘One more thing. There’s another guy, another Lion, someone I should have been able to trust. You met him. He bought you a drink.’

The man in the blue jumper. Kind face. Lost eyes. Dan.

‘He wasn’t committed. He wouldn’t show his loyalty like you did today. He was more likely to do a runner. Tell the police. Well I won’t tell you what I did so you won’t have to lie. Suffice to say he won’t be running off anywhere for a while.’

‘Running off, yeah.’ Vince laughs. A terrible, low growl of a laugh.

Alan is fiddling with the door handle, the window button, a thread on the knee of his jeans.

‘I’m glad I didn’t have to do that twice.’ Carl points a finger at me. ‘You find a way to keep in touch, so we can avoid this happening again.’ He turns in his seat, reaches awkwardly behind, and places a hand on my shoulder. ‘Especially as we’re all doing this for you.’ Then he turns back towards the road, starts the engine and places both hands tightly on the wheel. ‘Now, out.’

For the third time that day, the roar of the engine, the squeal of tyres in the cold air.

*