Instead, Miller stumbled and fell to the pavement just in front of where Curtis was standing.
For a moment, Curtis thought Miller had tripped. Then he saw the blood seeping out of a dark hole just above Miller’s ear. He was dead.
Glancing left, Curtis saw that Shaun was holding a handgun in his gloved hand. He didn’t even know that Shaun owned a Beretta.
Thank fuck for that! He just saved my life!
‘Come on, let’s get out of here!’ Sparrow yelled.
Curtis watched as Shaun stood defiantly, pointed the gun into the air above the partygoers and fired three more shots.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
‘Now fuck off back to Toxteth. Cos if you come to Croxteth again, I will shoot the fucking lot of you!’ Shaun yelled, before turning and jogging over to the car where Curtis was waiting for him.
‘Happy New Year, lad,’ Shaun said, patting Curtis on the shoulder as they slammed the car doors.
The car pulled away with a screech of tyres.
Llancastell, North Wales
31st December 1999
Nick, now aged eighteen, was dressed in a smart shirt and jeans. His right eye was swollen from playing rugby the day before. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was gone eleven and The Refuge, a bar in the middle of Llancastell, was bouncing. The DJ was playing ‘Turnaround’ by Phats and Small and everybody was singing and dancing. Nick’s mate Robbo was handing pints in plastic glasses back from the bar. It was three deep and there was barely any room to move. Laura, Nick’s girlfriend, pinched his bum from behind and Nick reached behind and gave her hand a playful squeeze.
Jesus, it’s boiling in here.
Nick took a pint of cider from Robbo and just about managed to turn and pass it to her. Laura said something but Nick couldn’t hear. The music was thumping.
Turning to the bar, Robbo handed two pints of lager back to Nick. ‘I got you two otherwise you’ll be back here in five minutes,’ Robbo yelled.
He was right. Nick had a reputation of being a ‘beer monster’ and he loved it. His rugby mates would marvel at his ability to sink a pint in three seconds by opening his throat. It was his party trick.
Laura gestured and they made their way to a table where some of their friends were sitting. It was still noisy and busy. Nick’s friend Huw had overdone it and was now asleep.
‘You all right?’ Laura asked, looking at Nick.
‘Yeah. It’s the new millennium,’ Nick replied before singing along to the music. Laura didn’t like it when he drank too much. He had wet the bed at her parent’s house about three months ago and had promised to calm down on the drinking. But tonight was New Year’s Eve and a new millennium so all bets were off.
At that moment, a thick set bloke with a shaved head bumped into Nick, spilling both his pints.
Nick looked round, fully expecting the man to apologise. He just glared at Nick as if daring him to say something before walking away.
Great. That’s just what I need.
‘Prick!’ Nick said under his breath, feeling a mixture of fear and anger.
‘Just leave it,’ Laura said as she smiled at him.
‘He’s probably on drugs,’ Nick said. Nick hated anything to do with drugs. They were dirty and dangerous.
Nick put what was left of the pints down on the table as Laura leaned up and kissed him full on the lips.
‘What was that for?’ Nick asked, raising his eyebrow.
Laura shrugged and they danced for a moment, Nick taking her hand and twirling her around. Robbo came past with a tray of shots and handed them out.
Laura drank the shot and pulled a face as she closed her eyes. Nick laughed at her as she grinned.
God, she really is beautiful, Nick thought.
The DJ put on ‘Red Alert’ by Basement Jaxx. Nick pulled Laura closer to him.
‘You sorted out next year?’ Nick asked.
Laura was in Year 13 and planned to go to university.
‘Liverpool. They do a brilliant Marketing degree,’ Laura said.
Nick nodded, but there was part of him that didn’t want to think about Laura going, even though it was months away.
Suddenly, someone’s shoulder hit Nick in the back. It sent him and Laura flying and their drinks ended up all over them and the floor.
Spinning in fury, Nick saw the shaven headed man walking away. He knew he’d done it deliberately.
‘Oi! Twat!’ Nick shouted at him. It was loud enough for others to turn around.
It had been just what the man was waiting for. He turned and took two steps back towards Nick.
‘You talking to me?’ the man growled.
‘What the fuck d’you think you’re doing?’ Nick said, feeling his heart pounding.
Laura took his arm, ‘Nick, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just leave it.’
‘You wanna listen to what your slag said 0r you’re gonna get hurt,’ the man said as his body started to tense.
For a moment, something told Nick to walk away and lose face. It didn’t matter.
But then the red mist descended.
No one calls my girlfriend a slag, you cunt! Nick thought as he began to lose control.
Nick took two steps forward before taking a swing at the man’s head. He missed. Suddenly they were grappling and wrestling each other. Nick felt the buttons of his shirt rip. He put his arm around the man’s throat but was thrown to the ground.
A moment later, Nick and the man spilled out of the bar, wrestling and throwing punches. They fell onto the pavement. The man kicked Nick in the head but he managed to get up. He was feeling dizzy.
‘Leave him alone!’ Laura screamed.
People were crowding around.
The man turned to face Nick, who had blood coming from a cut on his lip. Reaching to the floor, the man picked up a glass beer bottle, smashed it in half and then pointed the jagged glass at Nick.
‘First I’m gonna stick this in your throat and kill you,’ the man yelled and then pointed at Laura. ‘Then I’m gonna kill that bitch.’
Nick
