Deep Water by Mark Ayre (best free ebook reader txt) 📗

that impression? Why was he so close to his step-grandson?”

Abbie didn’t need to answer these questions. Alice was still staring at her eldest daughter.

"Angel," said Alice. "Tell me it isn't so."

Letting out a long breath, Angel looked from her mother to Abbie to her siblings to her son. Back to Alice.

Shrug. "Come on, mum. It's not like I didn't warn you about him."

"Oh, God," said Alex. Tony stood back in revulsion.

“Look how appalled you all are,” said Angel. "It was a couple of times. Meant nothing, and look what came of it. I don't jump your husband's bones; you don't get Ollie. Surely that's worth the trade." She turned and looked at her son on the floor. "Then again…”

"You vile creature," said Tony.

"Sticks and stones, brother."

Abbie turned to Alice. "I'm so sorry."

"Not for long," muttered Angel. "I've had enough."

Stepping back, she raised her heavy handgun, pointed it at Abbie's back, and pulled the trigger.

Her mistake had been throwing in a final line, like in a movie. The moment she started speaking, Tony sensed what she was going to do. As Angel raised her gun, her younger brother cried out and dived at Abbie, knocking both her and Alice, who had been inches behind Abbie, to the ground as the gun went off.

Abbie's ears rang as the shot exploded in the small barroom; her head span as it cracked against the cliff.

Above her, Angel had turned her gun on her sisters.

"Move," she said.

"You screwed my dad, then killed him," said Ariana. "You gave me another brother and never told me. You murdered my sister."

"Correct on all counts, now get out my way."

Ariana screamed, dived at Angel. At the same time, Ollie launched at his mother's feet, and the three of them went down in a heap.

On the bar floor, they rolled. A stool was knocked over then a bottle shattered.

Looking a little confused but wanting to do something, Alex charged in and dived onto the pile.

Untangling herself from Tony and Alice, Abbie rose.

Angel’s gun went off.

The floor to ceiling window between the bar and the balcony shattered, cascading into thousands of pieces that littered the cliff.

Angel was still waving the gun. Ollie had fallen aside, and the swaying weapon cracked Alex's skull before Angel tossed her sister away.

Stepping forward, Abbie kicked the gun from Angel's hand, sending the weapon flying across the room. She'd lost her own gun when Tony had tackled her.

Screaming, Angel drove an elbow into Ariana's stomach, rolled the younger woman off, and rose. Staggering, she went for her gun. Abbie grabbed her before she could make it two paces, yanked her back, spun her around, shoved her towards the balcony.

Stumbling, Angel tried to steady herself as she took one, two, three quick steps back. On the fourth, her foot caught between the end of the carpet and the beginning of the cliff. Tipping, she waved her arms in the air but was unable to stop herself from going over. One second, she was glaring at Abbie, the next, she had crashed to her back.

Alice cried out. "Tony. Anthony, listen to me. Don't close your eyes."

Frightened, shocked, Alex was rising. Her eyes flicked between Angel and Tony.

Crossing the room, Abbie collected Angel's gun. Returning, she lay a hand on Alex's arm.

"Go to your brother."

Alex looked to Abbie, tears in her eyes. Nodding, she turned and rushed for the door.

Still clutching her stomach, Ariana was tugging herself to her feet using a table. Ollie remained on his behind, his back to the bar, his arms pulling his knees tight to his chest. He was sobbing.

Stepping forward, Abbie pointed Angel's gun at its owner. The eldest of Alice's present children lay on her back in starfish position. Her eyes were semi-focused on the sky.

"End it," said Ariana. "Kill her."

"I don't have to," said Abbie. "And now might be a good time to say I haven't forgotten what you tried to do to Jacob and to me. Your consistent failure to carry out your horrendous plans doesn’t make them any more forgivable."

Ignoring this jibe, Ariana gestured to Angel. "What do you mean you don't have to?"

Abbie looked at the younger woman. Her skin was bruised all over and darkening by the second. She would already be in plenty of pain. By morning, each limb movement would bring fresh agony.

Abbie wouldn't feel much better.

"Good job, surviving the fall."

Ariana looked at Abbie, saw similar markings. "You as well?"

Abbie nodded. "Sorry about your boyfriend. Although he was an arsehole and probably deserved to die; for what he was prepared to do to Jacob if nothing else."

Ariana didn't know what to say to this, so she looked back at her sister. Gesturing with the gun, Abbie said, "Look beneath the torso, at her sides."

It was dark, and Ariana was not as experienced at looking for signs of injury as was Abbie. Taking a step forward, leaning in a little, she spotted it. A growing trickle of blood on either side of Angel's body. Every second it spread a little further. In a couple of minutes, it would be unmissable.

"That's what happens when you try to make a snow angel in shards of glass,” said Abbie.

Ariana chuckled, then pointed at her sister in response to Abbie's raised eyebrow.

"Angel..."

"Ah." Abbie smiled. “That’s clever.” She turned from Ariana to the doorway, across which lay Tony, shrouded by his mother and Alex. "How is he?"

"I thought he might be..." Alice stopped, took a breath, moved on. "There's a bullet lodged in his shoulder, but it's not gone deep. He's on the verge of unconsciousness, but the blood loss isn't major."

"Can you deal with it here?"

"I should be able to remove the bullet," said Alice. "If so, yes. I'll need my kit."

Alex started to rise, but Abbie said, "No." Turning, she looked to Ariana. "Take Ollie, bring the kit."

"It's not a two-person job," said Ariana.

"I know."

Ariana met her eye. Abbie didn’t know what Alice’s youngest living child was thinking. She imagined it had to do with Ollie’s part in Aurora’s