Hard Return by Rosie Claverton

Author:Rosie Claverton [Claverton, Rosie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912563036
Publisher: Crime Scene Books
Published: 2018-10-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31: Bed Rest

‘I’m all right,’ Jason said for the hundredth time, but no one was listening.

‘Sure you are,’ Lewis said, again, and helped him into the bed that had belonged to Anchor.

Above him, Joe was motionless inside his sleeping bag, giving a bad impression of sleep, but Jason didn’t give a shit. Anchor had dug out some strong painkillers from a first aid kit and iced his ankle until it came out all pink and purple bruises. He was relieved of all his duties, because an elite who couldn’t walk was useless and the kitchen was still underwater.

As Lewis was zipping up his sleeping bag, Jason caught sight of his friend’s face.

‘What the fuck happened to you?’

He leaned forward to reach for Lewis’ split lip, but he jerked his head back.

‘Fucking Nikolai,’ he said under his breath. ‘Leave it.’

‘I will not—’

‘Stoker has it in hand.’

Jason hadn’t heard any disturbance at the bottom of the ladder, but that at least accounted for Lewis and Nikolai, maybe Stoker too. That left Dreadlock, Bo, and Gareth able to climb the ladder and punch him, assuming that someone else hadn’t snuck out of the building to do it. Manning the ladder and the door wouldn’t have been a high priority for them if there was a fight breaking out. Perhaps Nikolai had caused the disturbance on purpose, as a distraction.

‘Get some rest.’

Lewis left him alone before his mouth could catch up with what was happening. His body was humming with adrenaline and really good painkillers, but he was struggling to think it through. Someone had tried to kill him, or at least injure him seriously enough that he would be removed from this place. The attacker hadn’t counted on him grasping for a ceiling tile to break his fall, only landing awkwardly on his ankle and sparing the rest of him more than scrapes and bruises.

It had to be linked to Mole’s murder. Had he been asking too many questions? The only person he'd really spoken to was Gareth, though he supposed anyone could’ve overheard him talking to Lewis in the kitchen. Or did someone think he was out of place, out of sync with the brainwashed culture, and think he was a copper or a plant? All were possibilities, but his head was spinning too fast to consider any of them.

Jason was jolted from his thoughts by what sounded like crying. Or, rather, someone trying to pretend they weren’t crying because they didn’t want anyone to know. He had heard its like in prison and had tried his hardest to forget the pitiful sound.

‘You’re all right,’ he said, the words almost automatic from his times consoling Amy.

The sound died away.

‘No,’ a voice said, surprisingly strong. ‘I’m not.’

It seemed to be coming from the bunk above and, as the rest of the room looked empty, Jason assumed it was Joe speaking to him – the man who thought he'd been poisoned.

‘Is it the poison?’ he asked.

‘You must think I’m a wanker,’ Joe said. ‘Faking poison or whatever.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.