Finders Keepers Edie Baylis (phonics readers .TXT) 📖

‘Why do people always puke?’ Saul muttered uninterestedly. ‘It pisses me off.’

Moving to Gwen, he smiled at her petrified face. ‘And now onto my favourite. Save the best until last, don’t they always say?’ His smile was replaced with a snarl. ‘Like my father did.’

He rubbed the remains of Joe’s tongue along Gwen’s cheek, leaving a thick smudge of blood. ‘Did he lick your face while he screwed you? Or was his tongue too far down your throat? LIKE THIS?’ Saul rammed the tongue into Gwen’s mouth, shrieking gleefully when she spat it onto the floor.

Saul span towards Keith standing like a statue, his expression void. ‘Get me a spoon – a teaspoon. There will be one in the dresser in there.’ He nodded towards the dining room.

‘I think you’ve done enough now. This is out of order, Saul. Just like you forcing yourself on that girl in the flat. It ain’t right!’

‘What the fuck do you know about being right?’ Saul roared. ‘I don’t give a flying shit about your opinions. Now, get me the fucking spoon!’

Robotically, Keith moved into the dining room, hating himself even more for his weakness and retrieved a silver teaspoon from the drawer of the Welsh dresser. He knew what Saul was planning to do. He’d seen it done before. It had been quite funny the last time, but only because the bloke on the receiving end was a Grade A tosser. This wasn’t funny though. And all done in Jonah’s house too? This was one hell of a fucking mess.

Finding a resolve he didn’t think he had, Keith replaced the spoon back in the drawer. He wasn’t being party to this. He turned around to return to the hall empty-handed only to walk straight into Saul.

‘You ended up a pointless bastard, Keith. Such a waste. Hey ho, not a problem, I’ll get it myself.’ Saul said slowly. Retrieving the spoon, he pushed past Keith and moved back to the square hall, knowing the man was following him like the puppy he was. He grinned. ‘Time for Ms See-No-Evil.’

Pointlessly struggling from within her bindings, Gwen whimpered through the gag.

Forty Six

JONAH KNEW SOMETHING was very wrong the second he turned into his driveway and clocked the cars. ‘What are they doing here?’ he muttered.

His heart pounded. Had something happened to Lena or the baby? His clammy hands slipped on the handle as he scrambled to get out of the Range Rover, unwelcome thoughts of what had befallen his mother during pregnancy crowding his mind. Life wouldn’t be so cruel as to replay a similar situation with his own child, would it?

He turned to Robert lifting Teagan out of the back seat and looked at the poor girl; her head lolling against Robert’s chest. He felt sick to the stomach that Saul had done this. Knowing that, judging by the black beamer, his brother was inside his house at this very moment, wasn’t doing anything to calm his rage.

But as much as he wanted to go for Saul, his priorities had to firstly be whether Lena and the baby were ok and then getting this girl settled and on the way to recovery.

‘Take her straight upstairs. Put her in the third room on the right,’ Jonah said to Robert as they moved towards the front door. Lena would undoubtedly have an issue with the sudden presence of a strange woman up to the hilt on heroin, but it was his responsibility to take ownership and put it right. If that was possible?

Frowning at the ajar front door, Jonah’s unease increased. Pushing it open, he moved quickly in the large square hallway, the sight all but knocking him for six. He’d seen and done many things over the years, but this...

‘What the fuck is this?’ Jonah screamed. Rushing forward, he yanked at Saul’s arm, the spoon clattering to the floor out of Saul’s hand.

Saul’s face twisted, his manic expression worsening seeing Robert and Teagan. ‘That’s the Adams bloke! What the fuck are you bringing a Pointer cunt in here for? You’ve brought one of those bastards into your own house?’ His eyes narrowed further. ‘And the girl. That girl is mine!’

Nero stood in the doorway looking at the stranger tied to a chair and covered in blood. The man, panting heavily paid no attention to their entrance. He looked barely alive. He’d also seen what Saul had been about to do to Gwen. His stomach rolled. And then he saw Lena. Oh shit.

Flicking his head around, he looked at Robert, standing transfixed, his mouth agape in horror. ‘Get her upstairs. Now!’ he hissed, jerking his head in the direction of the staircase. ‘And stay up there.’

‘Did you not hear me, Jonah?’ Saul raged. ‘That’s a fucking Pointer. And the girl? Why have you got the girl?’ His eyes traced to Keith. ‘Is this you? Is this something to do with you, you two-faced bastard?’

It was only as Saul moved that Jonah saw Lena – or what had been Lena. His eyes scanned the massive amount of congealed blood, her sightless eyes staring through him, her face twisted into a grotesque mask. A muffled howling escaped from his throat. Lena was dead. His baby?

‘NOOOO!’ Jonah roared, cold dread replaced by white hot fury. He lurched towards Saul. ‘What have you done?’ he screeched, pure hatred enveloping him.

Saul took the brunt of Jonah’s tackle head on and using his shoulder, sent his brother sprawling to the floor.

Relieved that Robert had now got the girl upstairs whilst Saul was distracted, Nero’s urge to go to Jonah’s aid was unbearably strong, but also knew at this stage, it had to remain between the two brothers. He glanced at Keith the other side of the room. He’d been party to all this? He’d been working behind everyone’s back with Saul? That would not be forgotten.

Moving to Gwen, Nero’s fingers fumbled to