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

And Ali wanted to understand her—he desperately wanted to—but surely…if you were going to stop loving your son for anything, surely racially-aggravated attempted murder was that something? Right?


“I cannot turn my back on my son,” she hissed in his ear.


The first hot tears escaped. Yazid shifted, setting the paper aside entirely and turning to pull Ali into a tight hug. Ali let himself be pulled, closing his eyes and sagging into Yazid’s chest, his mother’s voice still crackling in his ear.


“I love my children unconditionally, Alasdair, and that you won’t do a thing to help your own flesh and blood…”


Ali screwed up his face. “He hurt Yaz,” he breathed painfully.


Violet made a noise between a cough and a snort.


“I love him, Mum,” Ali croaked. His throat hurt. His entire face hurt. Yazid’s arms were both snaked around his shoulders and back. “I love him,” Ali repeated. “More than anything. You don’t…”


Chapter 69