The Final Curtain by Deborah Abela Read Free Book Online Page A

manacles. The metal spikes pricked at his skin.
    Blue sighed. ‘Your loyalty to a man who left you to live overseas with his new wife is astounding.’
    â€˜He went to Hollywood for work. He would have stayed with me if he could.’
    â€˜Face it, your dad’s a very clever man. If he wanted to stay with you he could have worked out a way to do it.’
    â€˜Leave Max alone,’ Linden said.
    â€˜What do you care,’ Max shouted. ‘You think my dad’s a criminal, so don’t pretend to be my friend now.’
    Linden recoiled from Max’s words as they echoed around the room.
    â€˜Children, let’s not fight.’ Blue was enjoying every moment of their arguing.
    â€˜Why should we listen to you?’ Max cried.‘You’re a snivelling excuse for a man. You wouldn’t know the first thing about loyalty or truth.’
    Blue slowly lowered his head while keeping his eyes trained on Max. ‘I’ve warned you before about pushing me too far.’ He had a barbed-wire edge to his voice and his reddened eyes glowered at Max. ‘And now you’ll see why. Release him.’
    One of the goons moved towards Linden and pulled a lever that opened his manacles and slowly tipped the iron maiden towards the pit.
    Max stared. ‘Linden?’ she whispered.
    Linden didn’t say a word as he gripped the cold steel of an opened manacle. His legs flayed the air as the goons sniggered like mangy hyenas.
    â€˜Nothing to say, Maxine? Pity. I guess we’ll just sit back and enjoy the show. And Linden, I hope you don’t take this personally, it really is just business.’
    Linden’s hold slipped as the iron maiden dangled him over the pit.
    â€˜Linden!’ Max cried.
    The room echoed with Blue’s receding steps.
    In a soundless, desperate moment, Linden caught Max’s eye. One by one his fingers came away from the steel until, silently, he fell with nothing more than a quiet, sickening

    Max’s eyes flung open. Her breath heaved in and out of her chest, and her brow was mopped with sweat. She lay still for a few seconds in her hotel room before she threw off her blankets and switched on the lamp. The clock beside her bed said 2.30 am. She sat up and sighed, letting her head fall into her hands.
    A dull thud sounded from outside her door. Max switched off the lamp and crept out of bed. She grabbed her room key and a small pot plant from the dresser and inched towards the strip of light seeping in beneath her door. She looked through the peephole but saw no one. Clutching the handle, she swung the door open and leapt into the corridor, brandishing the pot plant above her head.
    â€˜Don’t hit me,’ Linden crouched with his hands shielding his head, his backpack sprawled beside him.
    â€˜Linden? What are you doing?’
    He straightened up and pulled his bag onto his shoulders. He was dressed in a floppy jumper and jeans. ‘I dropped my pack. Sorry.’
    â€˜I thought someone was breaking into my room.’ Max lowered the pot plant. ‘What are you doing up so late?’
    â€˜I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to wake upToby, so I thought I’d go for a walk.’ Linden smiled. ‘Only it was close to being the last thing I ever did.’
    â€˜It’s a little late for a walk. Are you okay?’
    â€˜Yeah, I think I need to work off all that food I ate at the party.’
    â€˜It’s unlike you to eat too much.’ Max lifted an eyebrow.
    â€˜Yeah, I thought so too.’ Linden nodded. ‘We missed you after you left.’
    â€˜I figured it was safer for everyone if I asked the driver to bring me back here.’
    â€˜Max, you were doing what you thought was right. It’s not your fault you didn’t recognise the paintball guns.’
    â€˜But I ended up ruining everything.’
    â€˜Not everything. Frond and her team managed to clean up most of the outfits, and the