Free Keeping with Killers (The Salingers Book 1) by Adam Nicholls

until Blake's body contorted and left him hanging just above the cold marble floor. 'I said let go! ' Feeling the grip loosen, he broke free of the arm lock and pushed open the door before he was even fully on his feet.
    As soon as he entered, all the red caught his eye. The floor looked like a painting, swirling pools of blood brushed in thick strokes across the canvass. What have you done? He took slow, unsteady steps around the dining table until the body came into view.
    Blake felt sick. He had never seen a dead body before, and he didn't expect it would ever have to be the woman who had stolen his father's heart. His knees gave way and hit the floor with a bone-crunching clunk , and his hands went straight to his head. No, he thought as the tears began to well.
    No, no, no!
     

Chapter 11
     
    'Get the fuck away from me!' Blake screamed at him, knelt by Marcy's unmoving body. He didn't know where to put his hands. When he put them softly on her chest, sticky red blood covered them. He felt ill, dizzy.
    'Kid, I didn't have a choice.'
    Blake had his back to the man, but immediately shifted away from the discomfort, landing on his arse with Greg to the side. 'You had… no right. No reason…' He stared at the floor. He couldn't look at her and he sure as hell couldn't direct his gaze towards Greg. There was a fire in his blood, and looking at his stepmother's murderer would only add fuel to it.
    Even though she had set him up for a murder that he hadn't committed, even though his current situation was all her fault, he couldn't see how she had deserved this. When he looked at her, all he saw was the always-cheery face that had cared for him in the past.
    Greg inched closer, pulled the cigarette pack from his breast pocket and fingered through it. He must have realised the pack was empty so he crushed it in one hand and tossed it across the room. 'Fucking hell.' He placed his hands on his hips, took a deep breath and looked down at Blake. 'I had to do it. She would have called the police.'
    His vision was a blurry cloud through thick tears. 'So? We could have talked to her. I could have talked her onto our side. She would… she would have understood.'
    The silver-haired man laughed. 'Not a chance. You're aware that this woman is the reason you were in the police station to begin with, right? If it weren't for her you would probably still be at work sniffing after that Robin lass.'
    'It's Rachel! ' he said through gritted teeth.
    'Whatever.' He huffed. 'Look, let's get this all cleaned up in case anybody comes by here. You'll be surprised how normal this feels when it doesn't look so messy. It might even put some hairs on your chest.'
    This man was now a totally different person to Blake. He had always considered him dangerous, but for some reason it had felt more protective than aggressive. His true colours were coming to light–that is, if these really were his colours. One could never trust a spy.
    'Come on,' Greg pressed, lowering his tone. 'Let's tuck her up somewhere quiet and then we can get what we came for and get the hell out of here.'
    It was hard for Blake to recount why they had come here in the first place. He knew it was for the sake of a clue as to where his father was, but if he knew Marcy's life was the price then he wouldn't have wanted to pay it. For all he knew, Greg was lying about her involvement in the entire police fiasco. But what choice did he have but to trust this man? Without him, he would be on his way to jail, or worse. 'There's… there's room in the basement.' He told him. He would have to cooperate. For now.
    'I didn't even know there was a basement.'
    Blake clambered to his feet, dusting off his knees and swiping at his eyes with his sleeves. 'You're not supposed to. It was Dad's retreat. I'll show you.' He slipped out of the room, his breathing heavy. Out in the hallway, under the stairs, he pushed a dark, varnished wooden panel in the wall, which popped open to reveal a simple bolt