Dark Fragments: a fast paced psychological thriller

by Rob Sinclair

  Cara rolled her eyes at me. ‘Yeah, but I’m worth it.’

  ‘I’ll remind you of that later,’ I said.

  With all the tables and chairs taken we perched in a small alcove and steadily worked our way through a couple of rounds of drinks as we people-watched, chatted and flirted. I could feel Cara becoming more loose and easy with me as time wore on, and as the expensive alcohol worked its way through my veins, my fiery lust for Cara began to grow.

  ‘Why did you come here?’ I asked.

  ‘This bar?’

  ‘No, I meant why did you leave Ireland?’

  ‘No reason in particular. I love it back home but I wanted to try something different. My brother had moved to London and wouldn’t stop raving about it. I wanted to get out there too, live somewhere new, but I didn’t want to follow directly in his footsteps. My aunt and uncle lived here and were happy to put me up while I looked for work. I’m not sure I ever intended to stay so long but I loved it. And then I met Dean.’

  ‘And the rest is history,’ I added.

  ‘Yeah,’ Cara said, before letting out a long sigh.

  We both went quiet for a few moments and for the first time in the evening there was a genuine awkwardness between the two of us. I was trying to think of something funny to say, a quirky remark to get her mind back on track, but as I looked away from her, over to the other side of the bar, a familiar face caught my attention.

  Shit.

  I quickly looked away and down at my drink.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Cara asked.

  I smiled and shook my head. ‘No, nothing.’

  Cara turned to where I had been looking. I looked over again. It was a crowded bar, but all of a sudden everything around me became a blur. Except, that is, for the hard and ugly face of Mickey Egan. His being there surely wasn’t a coincidence.

  I grabbed Cara’s arm to pull her attention back to me. Just as I did so, Egan’s stare fixed on me and I froze.

  ‘Who is it?’ Cara asked, the anxious look on her face surely mirroring mine.

  ‘Nobody,’ I said.

  ‘The bald guy, with the wonky nose? That’s who you were looking at?’ she said. She quickly turned her head to look over again and then back at me. ‘The one who’s now staring over at us? Both him and his buddy, in fact.’

  I cursed, and as much as I wanted to resist, I just couldn’t help but take another split-second glance. Sure enough, the man Egan was with, who’d had his back to me before, had now turned too. Dani Coonan. Another of the O’Brady clan.

  ‘You know them?’ Cara queried.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘What’s the big deal?’ she said, sounding way more relaxed than I was. ‘Are you ashamed to be out with me or something?’

  ‘No, no, it’s not that. They’re not friends. Far from it.’

  ‘Then why is it an issue?’

  ‘I think we should probably go,’ I said.

  ‘Seriously? What’s the matter with you? Who are they?’

  ‘I’ll explain later. Come on, we really should go. Let’s get back to yours. I’ve got a busy night planned for you.’

  I tried to give Cara a relaxed, playful look, but I could tell from her response that I hadn’t really pulled it off. Seeing Egan and Coonan, their dark scowls when they registered me, had shaken me.

  Even if bumping into them really was just by chance, I was absolutely certain that following my antics at the Full Spread I was a marked man one way or another. Unless something gave, O’Brady would only tolerate my existence as long as he was still looking for his mole. And even if I really did have some breathing space, the last thing I wanted was to be running into his goons in the meantime. O’Brady would be punishing each and every one of them as he rattled through the ranks to find the informant. I was likely about as popular as a floating turd.

  I looked over at the two men one more time, then took hold of Cara’s hand. ‘Please?’

  She looked at me quizzically but relented, and we moved away from our spot. I chaperoned her out into the street, managing to refrain from looking over at Egan and Coonan as we went.

  Once outside, we set off back toward the city at pace. Cara struggled to keep up with me as she hobbled along on her three-inch heels. We’d made it only a few yards when I heard a booming voice behind me.

  ‘Stephens!’

  It was Egan. And he did not sound happy.

  CHAPTER 52

  ‘Stephens, you piece of shit! Stop right there.’

  Of course I didn’t. I just kept going, though I could sense that Cara was falling behind me. I half-turned and slowed my pace just a little to let her catch up, then grabbed her arm and pulled her along with me. As I was turned I spotted Coonan and Egan about twenty yards behind. They were running.

  ‘Fuck,’ I uttered.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’ Cara pleaded.

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say. We just had to get away from them. I knew if I went into an all-out run, I could lose those two lumps. But what about Cara? I assumed Egan and Coonan had no idea who she was, so they may well ignore her and carry on after me. But I couldn’t just leave her and take that risk.

  I couldn’t. Could I?

  I was still debating the option when a sharp tug on my arm brought me to an abrupt stop. I turned and looked down and saw Cara crumpled on the ground. I tried to haul her up, but she whipped her arm away and cradled her ankle. I saw that the heel of her shoe had snapped. She shouted out in pain as she tried to stand.

  It was now or never. I looked back toward Egan and Coonan, just ten yards away.

  ‘Cara, come on. We have to go.’

  ‘Go where? Why?’

  If I was going to run, leave her there, I had only a couple of seconds left to do it.

  ‘Please,’ I begged, holding out my hand to her.

  I looked at Cara and noticed the tears in her eyes, then looked back up at Egan and Coonan.

  I wanted to leave her. But I couldn’t.

  A second later, the choice was taken away from me.

  ‘What do you want?’ I said to Egan when he was almost within touching distance, my hands up in surrender.

  He took no notice. Without breaking stride, Egan bundled into me and shoved me hard. I stumbled backward, lost my footing and tumbled to the ground. My elbow and then the back of my head smacked painfully on the pavement, taking the brunt of the fall. I cringed in pain and my vision spun wildly. Before I knew it, Coonan had grabbed me and was hauling me back to my feet.

  ‘What did you do that for?!’ Cara screamed at Egan.

  Her feisty character was one of the things that attracted me to her. She was a fighter and I loved that. But on this occasion she really should have kept her mouth shut. She should have taken the opportunity to get out of there. And what she did next only confirmed her fate.

  Egan had his back to her when she launched herself toward him. She lashed out with her fists, smacking him on his back, his neck and his head. Egan barely flinched. He was shorter than me, I guessed five nine or five ten, but he was thick and muscular and probably more than twice the weight of Cara. He turned around and grabbed both of her wrists, then arched his head back before delivering a head-butt right onto the crown of Cara’s nose.

  Blood immediately streamed down Cara’s face and onto the ground. The blow had the desired effect of subduing her attack. Luckily for her, Egan hadn’t put his all into butt. If he had, it would have been game over for Cara right there and then.

  ‘Up there,’ Egan said to Coonan, pointing over toward an alley that led behind the terraced buildings of the main street we were on.

  ‘Leave her out of this,’ I pleaded. ‘Please. Just let her go.’

  Neither of them responded.

  Coonan began to pull me. I tried to resist, digging my heels into the ground. I took a weak swipe at him with my free arm. It caught Coonan on the back of the head. He stopped and turned, snarling, and delivered a fist to my stomach that caused
me to double over in pain.

  Without giving me a second to recover, Coonan then twisted my arm around behind my back until the shoulder and elbow joints were strained to bursting. He began to pull me toward the alleyway.

  Egan dragged Cara along too by the arms. She cried and called out, but it was no use. We were both helpless.

  They pulled us along the deserted street and then down into the dingy alley. Industrial waste bins lined one side and the stench of rotten food came and went as we were taken down into the bowels of the alley.

  ‘Here,’ Egan said, letting go of Cara and pushing her away from him. She stumbled into the brick wall behind her. Coonan released his grip on me and flung me toward Cara.

  I grabbed her. Held her. Her head was bowed and she was sobbing. I looked over at Egan and Coonan and saw hatred in their eyes, but also twisted amusement at the sight that lay before them.

  ‘Leave her out of this,’ I said to them. ‘Whatever this is about, she’s got nothing to do with it.’

  ‘She’s with you,’ Egan said, a wicked smile on his face. ‘She’s part of this.’

  I let go of Cara and moved in front of her, trying to shield her from the two thugs. It was one last show of strength, though really I knew I had little chance of fighting back against whatever attack was coming.

  ‘Does O’Brady know about this?’ I queried, my tone defiant.

  ‘O’Brady?’ Coonan scoffed. ‘You think he gives a shit about you?’

  ‘No, maybe not me personally. But he might not be happy if you beat up his business partner. You could lose him a lot of money.’

  ‘O’Brady knows we’re here,’ Egan said. ‘He sent us to follow you.’

  ‘You’ve caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people with your lies,’ Coonan snarled. ‘O’Brady’s giving everyone grief because of you. There’s no informant. Just you. The truth will come out sooner or later.’

  ‘There is! I swear there is. I’ll help you find who it is.’

  ‘No chance,’ Egan said. ‘It’s time for a little payback.’

  He took a step forward. I readied myself. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  ‘Stop!’ Cara screamed. And for just a second she had everyone’s attention. ‘This is crazy. Whatever you’re about to do, just think about it.’

  ‘You shouldn’t be with him,’ Egan spat. ‘You’re one of us.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘You’re one of us,’ Coonan said. ‘Irish. You should stick with your own.’

  Something inside me snapped.

  I launched myself at Coonan, catching him completely by surprise. I smacked into him and we collapsed to the ground.

  My mind took me back to the attack on Dove, where I’d floored my foe in much the same way and then happily delivered blow after blow, completely in charge.

  For just a second I thought I had the better of Coonan too. But although I’d had the element of surprise, Coonan was quite a different prospect.

  As I wrestled for control, Coonan spun around, out of the hold, and somehow got back on top, wrapped an arm around my neck and squeezed it like a vice. I was lying flat, Coonan pinning me down with his weight. I clawed at him, trying to escape the hold. It was no use.

  Coonan delivered a fist to my nose with his free hand. The shockwave spiralled out across my whole body as my head went into a daze.

  I heard Cara screaming. The distant sound brought a sliver of clarity back. Coonan laughed and pulled me around to face her.

  She was grappling with Egan, lashing out at him again with everything she had. At first Egan took it in his stride, an arrogant look on his face. But Cara’s attack was relentless. She was fighting with pure desperation.

  Egan’s demeanour soon turned. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a long knife. The blade glistened even in the dull light. When he thrust it up onto Cara’s neck, her hopeless fight suddenly waned.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ he said. ‘Nothing like cold, hard steel to show who’s in charge.’

  ‘Let her go!’ I shouted. Egan didn’t flinch.

  Before I knew it Coonan had thumped me twice, hard, in the kidneys. The searing pain in my sides caused my whole body to stiffen.

  Egan leaned in close to Cara. ‘I said you shouldn’t be with someone like him,’ he whispered. ‘Just look at the mess he’s got you into.’

  Cara’s eyes met mine. I didn’t know what to do or say.

  ‘Please,’ was the only word I managed. I wasn’t even sure to whom it was directed.

  Perhaps I should have made sure it was to Cara. Maybe it would have prevented what happened next. She turned to face Egan, pursed her lips and spat in his face.

  The look of shock and disgust on Egan’s face … it was the last show of strength he would allow her.

  Egan punched Cara hard in the face. Her head snapped back. The blow split her lip to add to her already bloodied nose. He smacked his knee into her stomach twice in quick succession. Cara doubled over.

  With her head still bowed, Egan thrust an uppercut onto her jaw. Cara’s eyes rolled and her head wobbled loosely as Egan spun her around and pinned her up against the wall.

  ‘No!’ I shouted out.

  I tried to buck and squirm, tried to throw Coonan off, but it was no use. Every time I found the strength to fight back, I was quickly subdued by Coonan’s fist or by the tightening of his vice-like grip around my neck.

  Cara began screaming and sobbing as Egan lifted her skirt and used the knife to snip off her lacy knickers. He then sliced through her blouse, before pinning her head against the wall using the knuckle of his fist, which he ground into her neck.

  With his other hand Egan clumsily undid his trousers, then he thrust himself toward Cara, who let out a harrowing scream. I tried once more to fight back, but there was nothing I could do.

  I shut my eyes and willed it all to be over. Willed Egan to leave her alone. To not go through with it.

  My wish wasn’t granted.

  ‘You shouldn’t be with him,’ Egan purred into Cara’s ear as he aggressively thrust his hips back and forth. ‘You need a real man.’

  ‘Jesus, Mickey,’ Coonan said, revulsion in his voice.

  ‘Shut it!’ Egan boomed.

  ‘Just get it over with. We need to get out of here.’

  ‘Stop him,’ I pleaded to Coonan, my voice weak. It was the only chance I had left. Coonan was the only one who could help her now. ‘Please stop him.’

  But no help came.

  When Egan was done, he shoved Cara away from him, discarding her like a piece of filth. She fell to the ground and curled up into a ball.

  Egan turned back to me. He was panting. There was wrath in his eyes but a smile covered his face.

  ‘Let him go,’ Egan said to Coonan.

  Coonan hesitated, but then released his arm from around my neck and got to his feet. I moved onto my side and went to stand up. I never got the chance. Egan strode up to me, lifted his foot and drove the heel of his boot down onto my face.

  A second later, I was out cold.

  CHAPTER 53

  I couldn’t remember how I ended up in the hospital. From what I could gather I had only been unconscious for a short while before Cara had brought me around and called the police. They’d arrived in tandem with paramedics and rushed us both off to Birmingham City Hospital.

  My mind had blocked from me the period from losing consciousness on the cold, hard ground of that alley and the hours that followed. Instead, the story was relayed to me by a young policeman by the name of Powell as I lay sprawled on a hospital gurney.

  I wasn’t seriously injured. I’d needed four stitches to a gash on the top of my head, and I had severe bruising on my torso and a concussion. I was achy, I was weak, my head was a mess, but I didn’t want to stay there a second longer than was necessary.

  ‘Can I see her?’ I said to Powell, who was sitting on a chair next to my bed.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘It�
��s not down to me. She was worse off than you. I understand they’ve admitted her to a ward. Internal bleeding I think I heard a nurse say.’

  I cringed at his words. At knowing that Cara was suffering. I had to see her.

  ‘Am I free to go then?’

  ‘I don’t think that’s the best idea, do you?’

  Powell had already spent the best part of two hours getting a download from me of the attack. I knew I’d have to make a more formal statement at some point, but I couldn’t see any reason I needed to stay in the hospital any longer.

  ‘I’m not staying here if I don’t need to,’ I said. I propped myself up in the bed and then groggily got to my feet. I’d been given painkillers as well as a mild sedative that hadn’t yet worn off and my body felt heavy and somewhat detached.

  ‘Mr Stephens, I don’t think this is a good idea,’ Powell said, getting to his feet and looking flustered.

  I guessed he was probably in his early twenties, and I sensed a naivety and general lack of confidence about the situation he found himself in. He’d clearly been given orders to stay with me and find out what I knew, but it seemed his instructions hadn’t stretched much further than that. He was unsure what to do now that I wasn’t going along with his simple plan.

  ‘You can’t make me stay here,’ I said, my tone firm but not confrontational. ‘I’ve given you what you need. If you need another statement, I’ll come down to the station, but right now I want to go and see Cara. And then I want to go home.’

  ‘I don’t know … but –’

  I didn’t wait for another response. I headed out, moving toward the A&E reception, dragging my leaden legs as best I could. I barely received a glance from the many busy nurses scuttling about the place. They’d probably only realise I was gone in a few hours when it was time to fill out their next set of checklists.

  As I reached the reception I looked around to see whether Powell was following me out and was pleased there was no sign of him. I moved up to the receptionist’s desk and was greeted with an awkward smile from the middle-aged woman on the other side.