If you could save someone's life, would you? Anyone's? Ali's older brother has a swastika tattooed on his knuckles, a prison ID number for nearly beating an immigrant to death, and spent his teenage years ruthlessly persecuting Ali for being gay. Blood may be thicker than water, but Ali has spent most of his life desperate to prove he is nothing like Tony. A committed vegetarian, charity-supporter, and blood donor, Ali would do anything for anyone. Ali may share parentage with Tony, but he’s determined not to share anything else if he can help it. So when Tony contracts leukaemia, and Ali is the only match for the urgently-needed bone marrow transplant, Ali is caught between two equally awful choices: to refuse and condemn a man to death, or to donate. And in donating, save the life of the man who nearly murdered Ali's Iraqi boyfriend?

Thicker Than Bone

“Ali,” Jo tried again. “I don’t like all this distance.”


Ali exhaled and squeezed Yazid’s hand. “Yaz,” he said, very deliberately. “Can we have a couple of minutes?”


Yazid rolled his eyes, but leaned over to kiss Ali on the cheek. “You’ve got ten,” he said. “I need the gents, and then I’ll go and find a vending machine. Want anything?”


“Just get me some chocolate.” Ali watched Yazid lope out of sight before turning on Jo. “You told an entire courtroom that Tony would never have hurt Yaz.”


“I didn’t,” Jo protested. “I told them he didn’t mean to kill him. And he didn’t, Ali, he’s not a murderer.”


“There’s not much difference between a murderer and someone who’ll beat a cancer patient with a crowbar until he stops moving!” Ali hissed furiously. His blood was starting to burn with an old fury he’d never quite shaken off.


“Yazid’s fine, there wasn’t any—”


“He’s fine now, and we’re lucky for that!” Ali spat. “Tony could have killed him!”


Chapter 25