Page 20

I shuddered at the thought, all set to go back downstairs and take Logan out again. The door to their bedroom flew open, and there stood Brian, completely naked, a used condom hanging from his limp dick.

If I was surprised, he sure as hell was, especially when the woman who followed wasn’t Mum but the girl who lived a few doors down.

She was my age. We went to school together, not that we’d spoken much, and she said even less now.

I blinked a few times, not quite believing what I was seeing, but it wasn’t until Brian raised his hand that I knew it was time to go. How the fuck was I going to handle this? Should I tell Mum?

“Frankie, get back here.”

I thundered down the stairs, not wanting to be around for what he’d say or do.

“Change of plan, Logan. Did you want a burger or nuggets for dinner?”

“Why was Dad upstairs? Shouldn’t he be at work? Isn’t that why you’re looking after me? Wasn’t that Stacey’s coat on the sofa? Was she with Dad?”

Logan asked too many questions. Questions a seven-year-old boy didn’t need to know the answers to.

For the first time since Brian had come into our lives, a spark of hope flickered in my chest. I had something on him. Something I knew he wouldn’t want Mum to know about. How would she react if I told her? More to the point, how would Brian react if I told her?

The walk to Maccie’s was short, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what I saw. What the fuck did I do now?

Not wishing to dwell on it any further, I ordered Logan his lunch and grabbed a coffee for myself. The disturbing vision of a naked Brian refused to leave my brain, and I gagged slightly, wondering what the hell I was going to do.

When my phone rang again, I let it. Brian’s name flickered across the screen. No way I was talking to him. Not now, and how could I go home knowing what I knew? Blackmail had seemed a good idea, but now I wasn’t so sure.

I watched as Logan ate, barely stopping to breathe. “You’ll get indigestion if you wolf it. Gran says so.”

I smiled as I remembered telling Mac the same thing last night as he’d crammed the kebab into his mouth.

“What are you smiling at?” Logan asked, a question on his face.

“Nothing. Eat up, and we’ll go to Gran’s for the rest of the day.” The last place I wanted to be was home.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MAC

“Frankie,” I yelled. The screech of tyres had drawn everyone’s attention, mine and my sister’s as well. What the fuck was he doing walking into the road without looking?

He could have got himself hurt, or Logan. Did he see me? I didn’t know, but I had to check he was okay.

I called several times, but to no avail.

“Who was that?” Tilly asked, concern on her face. “He almost got himself killed.”

“Just a friend. I treated his brother a while back.” I craned my neck, trying to see where he went, but he’d fled the scene.

“Do we need to go find him? Check he’s okay?” That was Tilly. Always full of compassion for others. It was why she’d make a great vet. She had some wonderful empathy, but her talent lay with animals and not people. Dad had encouraged her to enter the medical field as we had, but she wasn’t having any of it.

There was always a dog or a cat that needed saving, occasionally a bird or a hedgehog, and she was always there with a kind word and a helping hand.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” But I made a mental note to check on him again later. There had to be a reason he ran. “So, what brings you here? I thought you were busy working at the practice?”

“I’m worried about Dad,” she said. By now, we were sitting in the local cafe with pots of tea and toasted sandwiches.

“What’s wrong with him?” He seemed fine the last time I visited. Positively cheerful. What could have happened in the past two weeks?

“He’s… forgetful.” She poured tea for us both, set the pot down, and looked at me. “I think he has dementia.”