Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
A t The Rising Moon, Luke went to the bar and ordered three pints from Seren. He didn’t want Hammer to leave and thought buying a drink would keep him for a few minutes at least. He didn’t know why he wanted Hammer there, and didn’t have the time or headspace to examine it.
Seren’s eyes were wide and sparkly, her face alive with interest. ‘Is that your twin?’ Her voice wasn’t quiet enough and Luke felt a jagged sting of irritation. Still, this was small community life and, besides, he liked Seren, so he managed to squash the words ‘no, just a random stranger who happens to look exactly like me’. He carried the drinks to the table where Lewis and Hammer were sitting in silence. Lewis had one arm stretched over the back of the chair next to him and his long legs were sprawled out. Hammer looked, as always, like he was ready to pummel something.
Having spent so many months imagining the moment of finding his brother, Luke was disconcerted to find he didn’t have anything to say. The obvious questions – where had he been for the twelve months before Dean Fisher had taken him prisoner, why hadn’t he been in touch, and how the hell was he suddenly here – seemed stuck in his throat.
‘You’re angry,’ Lewis said.
And you’re a fucking genius, Luke thought. He took a sip of the pint he didn’t even want.
‘Ask me.’
That was it. The calm self-assurance. The nerve of him. He wanted to throw a punch, to be rolling around on the pub floor kicking and flailing at each other until one was in a headlock. But they weren’t kids now. They were grown men and he should use his words.
‘I think it’s sweet that you’ve been worried,’ Lewis said, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth.
Luke lunged across the table and found himself held back by Hammer. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Not in here.’
Luke shrugged off Hammer and left the pub. Outside, he sucked in lungfuls of freezing air, so cold it made his chest burn.
Lewis appeared, closely followed by Hammer. Which meant he was handily placed to create a soft (ish) landing for Lewis when Luke launched himself at his twin, fists flying.
He landed a decent starting punch, but then Lewis got one on his jaw, which snapped his head back. It gained him a few seconds and Luke found his legs swept out from under him. They went down on the ground, hard, and were grappling in the ungainly wrestling style that had characterised most of their youthful disagreements.
‘Fucksake.’ Hammer was watching them in disgust, but not intervening. Luke didn’t blame him. He felt ridiculous. And furious. And currently, the fury was still winning.
After some more tussling, Luke felt some of the energy drain away and some clarity of thought returning. This was not dignified. He imagined Esme walking along the street and seeing him like this. Rolling around, grappling with his long-lost brother, grunting and stupid. In a moment he saw two grown men fighting and realised that Esme might find it threatening. The physical violence of it. That was like a bucket of cold water being emptied over his head and he released his hold from around Lewis’s neck.
He might have decided to stop fighting, but Lewis hadn’t got the memo and he took Luke’s going slack as an opportunity to flip on top of him and wrap his hands around his throat. Looking up at his brother as he felt his chest burn and the grip around his neck tighten, Luke wondered whether this was still like the fights they had had as teenagers or whether Lewis had changed. Before the dart of fear could lodge itself, Lewis was pulled violently backwards and his grip on Luke’s neck released. Luke took a gasping breath and sat up.
Hammer had hauled Lewis backward and had him immobilised a few feet away. He had wrapped his thick arms around Lewis’s chest and was managing to keep him up on his tiptoes. ‘Enough.’
It was one word, but it seemed to break through Lewis’s fugue and he saw his face relax, the manic look slink away behind his eyes to hide.
After a moment, Hammer judged him to be calm enough, and he let him go. Lewis turned and openly appraised the other man. ‘Bet you’re useful in a proper fight.’
Hammer stared back at him implacably.
Luke was on his feet now, and he nodded his thanks to Hammer.
‘That’s two,’ Hammer said, holding up two fingers.
Luke knew he meant he now owed the man two favours. In that moment, it didn’t seem the worst thing in the world.
‘Pub?’ Lewis said.
It was cold outside and Luke didn’t know what else to do, so he shrugged and they trooped back inside The Rising Moon.
‘I’m waiting,’ Luke said, once they had sat back down.
Lewis opened his mouth and, from his expression, Luke knew he was going to say something smackable. Instead, he closed his mouth and shrugged.
Seren arrived at their table. ‘I’ve run out of venison, but there’s fish.’
‘We’re not eating,’ Luke said, still glaring at Lewis.
‘Fuck we’re not,’ Hammer said. ‘Fish and chips, please.’
‘All round?’ Seren asked, gesturing.
‘Yes,’ Hammer said, draining his glass. ‘And three more pints.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll come and get them.’
Luke expected Seren to snap at him, but she shrugged and walked back to the kitchen. Hammer ducked around the bar and began pulling pints.
Lewis was staring at the tabletop.
‘Where have you been? Why haven’t you been in touch?’ Luke gritted his teeth for a moment and then forced himself to breathe in and out slowly. He consciously forced his shoulders down. ‘I thought you were dead.’
For a long moment, Lewis didn’t answer. Then, addressing the table, he mumbled. ‘It’s complicated.’
‘I should fucking hope so. Unless you want an audience, you should tell me now.’ Luke watched Hammer pulling a second pint. He was taking his time, but he would be back with them soon.
‘I wanted to tell you,’ Lewis said in a rush. ‘But it was too dangerous. I needed to keep you out of it. Out of it all. You’re a dick, but you’re my brother.’
Luke’s guts twisted. ‘Tell me.’
‘I got in a spot of bother with Dean Fisher. You know the name?’
‘I’m aware,’ Luke said dryly. ‘And you owed money.’
Lewis’s eyes widened for a split second before he smiled knowingly. ‘Easy guess.’
‘Very easy. I met a few of your old pals. Looking for their cash.’
Lewis absorbed this for a moment. ‘Shit. Sorry.’
Luke shrugged. ‘I handled it. With his help,’ he jerked his head in the direction of the bar where Hammer was working on the third pint.
‘Wait. They came here?’
‘There was a rumour that you were hiding out on an island off the north-east coast. That’s what brought me here in the first place. I was looking for you.’
Lewis leaned back in his chair. ‘I think I might know how that rumour started.’
‘You?’
He shook his head. ‘I was detained for a few months. Guessing my landlord put it out that I was in hiding.’
‘Dean Fisher. I know this part. He’s been holding you for the last six months, after he caught you skimming funds. But I want to know about the year before that. Where the hell were you? Why didn’t you call? Send a message. Anything.’ The words ‘I’ve been worried sick’ flashed into his mind. They sounded like something he had heard on the TV or in a book. Something a concerned parent would say.
Lewis didn’t answer for a beat, then he looked directly into Luke’s eyes. ‘Do you remember how things were? We weren’t exactly best mates. We had our own lives.’
‘Radio silence,’ Luke said stubbornly. ‘You disappeared. You didn’t reply to my messages, you didn’t answer your phone. You must have known I was freaking out.’
Lewis looked at the table, shoulders hunched. ‘There was a lot going on for me. A lot of serious stuff with serious people. You wouldn’t understand.’
‘Try me.’
‘Look. You weren’t exactly top of my list. I had a lot going on. I don’t know what else to say.’
‘That’s it? Charming…’
‘I might have been in touch, I was thinking about it, but then I got locked up by my psycho boss…’ Lewis trailed off.
The reality of it was beginning to seep into Luke’s consciousness. His brother was here. Alive. And he had been kept god-knew-where by Dean Fisher. What had it been like? ‘Six months,’ he said. ‘I can’t even imagine being held…’
‘You don’t need to exact revenge,’ Lewis said quickly. ‘There’s no retribution here. Trust me.’
‘I’m not about to rock the boat. But someone kidnapped you. I’m surprised you are willing to just let that go… Does this mean you’re finally growing up?’
A small smile. ‘I hate that word.’
‘Kidnapped? How about man-napped?’
‘That’s not better.’
‘No.’ Luke didn’t want to smile. He couldn’t shake the image of Lewis in a grimy bed or tied to a chair. A bucket in the corner of the room. Hungry. Frightened. Trapped.
‘I brought it on myself, really,’ Lewis said. ‘Dean didn’t have much choice. And he was being nice. He could’ve just buried me in the foundations of a carpark.’
Yuri wouldn’t have liked that. Luke decided to keep the thought to himself for now.
‘I’ve been out of it,’ Lewis said. ‘Dean’s people kept me drugged up a lot of the time, which was probably for the best. I don’t really remember leaving, either. I was in a car. Then I was here.’ He spread his hands. ‘Surprise.’
Hammer had finished and had moved to the other side of the bar to pick up the full beer glasses.
‘Look,’ Lewis said, shifting forwards and putting his elbows on the table. ‘It was a bad time. It’s over. I’m out. And I don’t want to discuss it.’
‘Right,’ Luke said, his eyes on Hammer as he brought their drinks. ‘That easy.’
He picked up a glass as soon as they landed and drained half of it.
‘Family reunion going well?’ Hammer said in his rough voice. Luke could swear he was enjoying himself. ‘Causeway closes at four, so you’d better hurry up and say what you need.’
‘You’re not leaving,’ Luke said.
Lewis shrugged. ‘Got nowhere to be.’
‘You’re not staying, pal.’ Hammer’s expression closed down and Luke remembered the man looking at him in exactly the same way. It made him realise how much Hammer had mellowed toward him over the last couple of months. But he had something else on his mind. Turning to his brother, he asked: ‘What did you mean?’
‘What? When?’ Lewis drank some of his beer and wiped his mouth.
‘You said I was a dick.’
Lewis smirked. ‘Well, you are.’
‘I know why I’m pissed off with you. You disappeared, you bastard, and I’ve been going through seven shades of hell as a result.’ Luke put his elbows on the table and looked his twin straight in the eyes. ‘But what the fuck did I do?’
Lewis met his gaze. ‘You know.’
Luke started to say ‘I really don’t’, but then he stopped. Lewis couldn’t be talking about that… There was no way he was still upset about that. ‘Freya?’