Free Without Consent by Kathryn Fox Page A

sort of guy you wouldn’t look twice at, the kind who stood with his arms crossed to make himself seem bigger. Carrot—red hair, freckles; used to be a dickhead when he worked in the boat shed. By the way he sat down with a dopey grin on his face, he still was.
    “How’s it going?” Luke held out a hand to shake.
    “It’s past dinnertime.” The table scored another divot.
    “Don’t mind him,” Nick explained, “he’s got the shits because a girl from the local Vinnies shop gave him the brush-off.”
    A plate of steak and chips arrived, along with a bowl of pasta.
    “Thanks, darling,” Gazza said, winking at the bargirl.
    Geoff noticed her face and smiled. “Are you Pat? You look just like Daisy in The Dukes of Hazzard. She’s really pretty.”
    The young girl blushed and grinned while she rearranged the salt and pepper shakers. “No, I’m Maddie.”
    “Well, mate.” Luke stood up. “I better be off. If the wife asks, I was at work late again. All right?” He stood up, scraping the floor with his chair. “It’s the only way I get a leave-pass these days.”
    Nick started on the spaghetti. “No worries. Thought a baby on the way would give her something else to focus on.”
    “Hell, with these pregnancy hormones, she’s a mess. Suddenly she wants me there all the time when I’m not at work. Even worse, she’s obsessed with washing everything—curtains, floors, clothes. I can’t even fart without her wanting to clean up the smell.”
    Nick laughed. “She’s nesting.”
    Badger chimed in, “You’re under the thumb, mate. Have been from the moment she got her hooks in. You ought to show her who’s boss.”
    “It’s not that easy. Marriage is like living with your mum.”
    Geoff looked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Nick licked some sauce from his upper lip. “Nothing. Mate, he didn’t mean anything. Want another coffee?”
    “No.” Geoff put down his knife and fork and thought about the girl in the picture. She was pretty. Long dark hair, big brown eyes and bright red lips. Then he had to take another piss.
     
     
     
    Luke tapped his fingers on the table and leaned over Nick.
    “Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on your cousin? After what he did to that girl, aren’t you worried he might just cut up another one?”
    “That was a long time ago. He was just a kid himself, and Eileen Randall was a fucking bitch to him. She had it coming.”
    “He’s never been the full quid, and he sure as hell is weird. Look at the way he reacted when I made a crack about my mum.”
    Nick nodded. “I know, but he’s paid for what he did.”
    “All I know is I wouldn’t want him hanging around my sister.”
    “Badger’s bad news with women but we let him hang around.”
    A couple of tables away, voices got louder. The pair turned to see Geoff, head down, blocked by a group of men.
    “I’m talking to you. Hey, aren’t you that fucking child-killer? The one who’s been on all the news?”
    Geoff clenched both fists by his sides and sidestepped back to his seat at the table.
    “What’s this? A meeting of the child-fuckers’ union?”
    Luke spoke first. “We don’t want trouble. We were just leaving.”
    “I haven’t finished my dinner,” Nick said.
    “You have now.” The angry one tipped the remainder of the meal on Geoff’s head. Deftly, Geoff seized the man’s outstretched arm with one hand and threw Nick’s drink in his face. The man reeled, grabbing his eyes, as Geoff leapt to his feet.
    The other men at the table stepped back. Badger landed a right-cross on the guy with the drink in his eyes. Someone knocked Luke to the floor and he felt a foot connect with his side, just as a bouncer intervened, grabbing the kicker in a headlock. Nick was standing between Geoff and another man who was being held back by a second security guy.
    “Break it up,” said a loud voice. The gawking crowd dispersed.
    On the floor, Luke realized his father’s crucifix was missing