All Fall Down: A gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will take your breath away (28 page)

M
ilo was back within seconds
, and told Kyle, ‘She broke the window.’

‘She was meant to be cuffed to the bed!’

‘I know. I don’t underst—’

‘Get out there and find her.’

Milo went, leaving Kyle and Lara to guard the family. Wendy knew this was by far the most dangerous point of their captivity. Kyle looked skittish, unfocused, aware that his plans were falling apart and yet unable to accept it.

Anything could set him off now, but Wendy still felt she must speak. ‘Please don’t let them hurt Georgia.’

‘Forget it,’ he said coldly. ‘Her choice to escape.’

‘But she’s your family, remember?’

It was a mistake. Kyle rounded on her, shouting, ‘She’s a fucking interloper. She had the life I should have had. So whatever happens to her now, it’s her own tough luck.’

K
neeling on the mud
, Georgia was hidden by the tall grass. Above and around her, the mist drifted in from the sea; it was damper than before, like a drizzle, soaking through her t-shirt. A lonely bird sang from somewhere far away.

It’s only you and me
, Georgia wanted to tell the bird.
There’s no one else in the world.

She tried not to look down, but at some point it had to be done. Carefully, cautiously. Choosing what she saw, and what she didn’t.

She might be alone now, but there was a chance of someone coming along. If they saw her, she couldn’t imagine what they’d think—

No, that was a lie. She
did
know. She knew all too well.

After this, the whole world would see her for what she was. Council estate scum, brought into a world she didn’t deserve, that was never rightfully hers. . .

Only one place to put Georgia the Savage, and that was a prison cell.

She picked up the knife, wondering if it would be better to kill herself. But within a few seconds she knew she wasn’t capable of it. Not brave enough.

And there was her family to think about. She had to save them, or this had all been for nothing.

She couldn’t phone the police. The nearest house was too far away. Her ankles hurt – her whole body hurt – and she could hardly turn up on someone’s doorstep looking like this.

She stood up, with difficulty, and started back towards the garden. Almost immediately she heard loud, ragged breathing, and ducked into the cover of the long grass.

‘Ilsa!’ a voice hissed. ‘Ilsa, where are you?’

It was Milo. He came towards her, calling out in a way that made her think he didn’t actually want to be heard. Crouched in the grass, she could see the tracks she’d left in the mud, and even a few bright drops of blood. Any moment now he was going to spot them.

She tightened her grip on the knife. Milo took a couple more steps, then let out a juddering sigh. He was very close, close enough to attack.

Then she heard him whisper: ‘Fuck this.’ He turned and strode back towards the garden. Once he was through the hedge, Georgia crept on to the path and followed him.

R
ob stretched
, gingerly, and decided that the pain in his back was receding. He didn’t feel quite as sick any more. Leaning close to Wendy, he whispered, ‘We’ve got to pray she gets away.’

‘Don’t,’ Wendy moaned. ‘I can’t bear to think about it.’

‘She’s a smart kid. She’ll do it.’ He nodded towards Kyle. ‘That was amazing, how you dealt with him. I couldn’t have done it.’

‘He’s horribly insecure. Confronting him wouldn’t have achieved a thing.’

‘But do you buy any of the. . .’ he felt awkward, suddenly ‘. . . what he’s claiming to be?’

She shrugged. ‘Well, I suppose it’s not impossible. But it’s a conversation for another time.’

She was right. At that moment, someone came trudging through the kitchen. Kyle leaned into the hall and said, ‘Have you found her?’

They heard Milo’s response: ‘Neither of them.’

‘Where’s Ilsa, then?’ Lara approached the door. ‘Don’t say she’s run off? That witch could do more damage than Georgia.’

Milo joined them in a huddle around the doorway. ‘If we stay much longer, we’re in deep shit.’

Lara agreed. ‘We can’t leave any witnesses.’ They were discussing their predicament as though Kyle wasn’t present. Only now did Lara include him: ‘We’ve got to do it, Kyle. Kill them, and get out of here.’

G
eorgia caught
the tail end of the conversation. She’d followed Milo back to the house and crept into the kitchen. From there she heard Lara’s suggestion, and then Kyle said, ‘Come in here.’

She risked a glance and saw Kyle leading the other two across to the dining room. It was basically suicidal to go any further, but Georgia put that thought aside and moved along the hall. Kyle was only just inside the dining room, keeping an eye on the hall, so it was almost certain that she’d be seen. And the knife she’d taken from Ilsa was no match for a gun.

The instant that Kyle turned his head away from the hall, Georgia sped up and entered the lounge. She’d seen or heard nothing of Gabriel, which struck her as very odd, so she half expected to walk in on him now. Instead, she nearly fainted with relief to find her family sitting together on the floor. The twins looked battered, but no one appeared to be badly injured. Her mum’s face lit up, but Rob was staring at her with a strange expression that immediately reminded her of what she had done. The evidence was there in the blood all down her front.

Now Wendy was registering the same thing, as Georgia crouched and held out the knife. ‘Are you hurt?’ her mum asked.

‘Just my ankles. I’m okay.’

‘But you’re covered—’

‘It’s mud, a lot of it.’ Georgia slipped the blade into the gap between her mum’s wrists and applied some upward pressure, the knife jerking dangerously as it cut through the plastic.

‘Careful,’ Rob said. She turned to him next, heard him whisper, ‘Well done, darling.’

Wendy was already moving aside so that Georgia could reach the twins, and Rob had torn the cuffs away from his wrists when a voice called out from behind her: ‘Hey!’

K
yle was in the doorway
. The sight of Georgia, splattered with blood and holding a knife, seemed to throw him off balance. That gave her another precious second. As she cut Evan free, Wendy moved in front of her daughter, in case Kyle tried to shoot, while Rob was pushing himself unsteadily to his feet.

‘Get away from them!’ Kyle advanced on Georgia. ‘Drop the knife!’

She ignored him. Wendy heard a gasp as Evan was cut free. Kyle raised the gun, aiming for what he could see of Georgia, but Wendy was the easier target. Fighting an instinct to shut her eyes, she froze, just as Milo and Lara came in and spotted Georgia.

For a brief moment Kyle was distracted, his gaze shifting away from the family. Rob must have seen a chance to redeem himself, breaking away from Wendy, but he had barely moved when he was pushed aside by someone faster and more determined.

Josh.

He was the only one whose hands were still bound, and yet he sprang forward with incredible speed, head down, hands thrust out with the palms open, like a fielder preparing to catch a fast ball. Kyle sensed the blur of movement but had no time to react before Josh struck him. He fell back and Josh went with him, his cuffed hands grappling with the barrel of the gun. Milo and Lara jumped back in alarm, while Rob moved to support his son. But before he had a chance to pile in, Josh tried to wrench the gun from Kyle’s grasp, and there was a sudden explosion of noise.

The gun fell away as a spray of blood hit the floor. Josh screamed, his body jerking as Kyle rolled him aside and jumped up. Rob lunged but Josh was in the way, blood pouring from a wound to his leg. At the sight of it, Rob faltered, and that was all the chance Kyle needed to turn and run.

‘Help Josh!’ Wendy yelled, knowing that Kyle would have to be forgotten for now. The imminent danger came from Lara, as the gun was lying practically at her feet. Wendy was able to kick the gun out of reach, even as she saw that Lara’s focus was on a quick escape. The girl managed a couple of steps before Wendy grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to the floor.

Rob was at Josh’s side, so Evan and Georgia advanced on Milo, who took one look at the knife in Georgia’s hand and meekly surrendered. Evan found the cable ties and used them to cuff Milo and Lara. Wendy then rushed over to Josh, who was in pain, but still conscious.

‘Where did it hit?’

‘Caught the outer thigh. I don’t think the bullet penetrated.’

Rob had removed his shirt and was pressing it against the wound. Wendy ran to the kitchen, found the medical kit and a pair of scissors.

‘It’s nothing,’ Josh said when she returned. ‘Just a graze. Don’t make a fuss.’

‘I think it looks worse than it is,’ Rob agreed.

‘I hope you’re right,’ Wendy said. ‘But it still needs to be disinfected.’

‘Are you okay to take over?’ Rob asked her. ‘Evan can help.’

‘Of course. Why?’

There was a look in his eyes that made her shiver. ‘I’m going after him.’

‘Rob, no—’ she began, but even as she spoke she knew it was futile.

He was gone.

A
s he ran
out of the house, Rob had to tell himself that pursuing Kyle made sense, that it wasn’t just a salve for his bruised ego.

He felt humbled by Josh’s bravery, but also ashamed that he hadn’t been quick enough to tackle Kyle. If Josh’s injury had been any more severe, Rob doubted if he would ever have been able to forgive himself.

The back door was open, and it seemed logical that Kyle had taken this route. Rob crept through the garden, alert to any movement. The mist that had clung all day was turning to rain. Hearing the distant whine of an outboard motor, he was struck by the parallels with last Sunday. Almost exactly a week ago, he had left Wendy giving first aid to an injured man while he ran out, alone, in search of the man’s assailants.

On that occasion it might have been wiser to leave it to the police, and perhaps that was the case here, too. He hoped that by now one of the others had called the emergency services.

A sudden bolt of pain over his kidney made him gasp. Stopping for a second, he heard the unmistakable clunk of a car door.

It had come from the lane. Kyle must have run out here, then sneaked along the side of the house. Rob followed, the pain made worse by every movement. He was expecting to hear a car start up and roar away, but the silence held.

Rob crossed the drive and went out through the gates. There was a Mini hatchback in the lane, facing away from him. No sign of anyone inside.

Then, from behind, came the scrape of feet on concrete, and a blow to the head that knocked him out.

T
he bullet had cut
a thin groove across Josh’s thigh. Appalled but intrigued, Georgia had leaned in for a closer look, then immediately regretted it. Feeling slightly faint, she turned away and kept her eye on their prisoners instead. Milo and Lara were sitting in a miserable silence.

And then another shock: Gabriel was dead. Something to do with Kyle, apparently, but her mum hadn’t been able to explain properly. She and Evan cleaned out Josh’s wound and applied a dressing, then wrapped a bandage around his leg and taped it up tightly. Georgia could tell from his breathing that Josh was really hurting, though he insisted he wasn’t. A sip of water, a couple of ibuprofen and he’d be fine.

‘Rubbish,’ Wendy said. ‘You’re going to a hospital. In fact, I daresay we all need some medical attention.’ A worried look at Georgia here, as though she assumed terrible things had been done to her. ‘Find the phone, will you?’

‘They ditched the landline,’ Evan said. ‘One of them told me last night.’

Wendy sighed. ‘Mobiles are useless out here – even if we knew where they were.’

‘Use one of theirs,’ Josh suggested, indicating Milo and Lara.

‘I can run to the end of the lane,’ Evan said. ‘Should be able to—’

‘I’ll do it,’ Georgia cut in. They all stared at her, and Josh snorted.

‘Bloody hell, Squirt. Volunteer for nothing – that’s the rule.’

‘Yeah, well. . .’ She shrugged, while inside she was shrivelling up with guilt. ‘Need some fresh air.’

Wendy looked dubious. ‘I don’t know. It’s bad enough that your dad’s gone out there. . .’

‘It’ll be all right,’ Evan assured her. ‘Look at what she’s already achieved.’

Georgia was in no state to accept compliments. She focused on searching Milo, who was too scared even to meet her gaze. Having found a phone, she picked up her knife and hurried out before Wendy changed her mind. The fact was, Mum and Evan had enough to do, looking after Josh and watching the prisoners. Much better that Georgia be the one to make the call.

Or
pretend
to make the call.

R
ob swam back to consciousness
. He didn’t think he’d been out for more than a few seconds, but he couldn’t move. He was lying face down in the lane, the concrete cold and damp beneath his bare chest.

Someone was kneeling on his back. A familiar voice spoke very close to his ear. ‘What a shame. Thought I’d killed you.’

As Rob bucked, letting out an incoherent growl, Kyle took a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his throat. Rob felt a knife sliding beneath his chin, coming to rest against his neck.

‘Got this from the car.’ Kyle chuckled. ‘Could be fun to use it now, but I’m not going to.’

Again Rob tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t form.

‘The thing is,’ Kyle went on, ‘you’ve got under my skin, and I’m going to get under yours.’ He smacked his lips together, moving so close that his mouth was almost touching Rob’s cheek. ‘I’ll come back for you all, that’s a promise. It might be Georgia first, it might be Wendy, or one of the twins. Who knows?’

The blade was pressing harder.

‘It could be weeks, months, years,’ Kyle said. ‘And all you’ll know is that it’s going to happen one day, but you’ll never know when.’

The blade moved and Rob gasped, every muscle tensing as he imagined a jet of blood hitting the road; then the pressure lifted from his back and Kyle was up and running; too fast for Rob, who tried to rise but was overcome by a wave of dizziness.

He retched, spat, then slowly got up on his hands and knees, feeling weak and very old. As the car started, there was a cry of alarm. Georgia rushed over and again he tried to stand, wanting to reassure her; but the world was spinning, his vision a mass of exploding stars.

‘Dad!’

‘I’m okay. Honestly.’

‘You’re bleeding, at the back of your head.’

‘Am I?’ He dabbed at it, felt the blood sticky in his hair. ‘Doesn’t feel too bad.’

‘What happened?’

Rob gestured to the lane; time must have slipped, somehow, because the car had gone.

‘Kyle got away.’ Dazed he might be, but Rob had already decided not to mention Kyle’s threat. ‘In one of those Mini hatchbacks. Did you see it?’

‘Uh, yeah. A red one.’ She winced, guiltily. ‘I didn’t get the number, though.’

‘Don’t worry. Neither did I.’ Deciding that he felt a little better, he made it to his feet, but wasn’t too proud to let Georgia take his arm. ‘Why are you out here?’

‘The landline’s down.’ With a knife already in her hand, she had to let go of him to take a mobile phone from her pocket. ‘Mum said to call 999 from the main road.’

‘Okay. Well, I can do that.’ He took a step, stayed upright, and grinned.

But Georgia, looking stricken, said, ‘Dad, I’m sorry. . . I don’t think we can.’

‘What do you mean? We have to.’

Georgia looked unhappier than he had ever seen her. ‘It’s Ilsa,’ she mumbled.

‘Ilsa?’ Rob realised he’d barely given the woman a thought. ‘What about her?’