Backstabber. Kimberley Chambers

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СКАЧАТЬ expression. ‘When? How? Who told you? Why didn’t you tell me?’

      Eddie moved over to the sofa and put an arm around his daughter’s shoulders. ‘Because you’d only just got the kids back and had enough on your plate at the time.’

      ‘Did you kill them?’ Frankie bellowed.

      ‘No,’ Eddie replied honestly. ‘But I can assure you they’re both dead.’

      Tears of anger streaming down her face, Frankie pummelled her father’s chest with her fists. ‘Why did you only tell me you’d scared them away for good? Don’t you know how many nights I’ve laid awake wondering if and when Jed might come back? I will never believe another word that comes out of your mouth. You’re a liar. A wicked, evil liar.’

      Eddie grabbed her wrists. ‘Got some front, you have. Talk about pot calling kettle! Slipped your mind to tell me that evil toe-rag you were shacked up with brutally murdered your grandfather, didn’t it?’

      ‘I explained why I never told you, and you said we’d never mention it again,’ Frankie screamed.

      Eddie’s father Harry Mitchell was a legend in East London, and a notorious underworld figure. Until 1988, when he’d been battered to death whilst tucked up in his bed. His killer had never been caught and it only came to light on the day Jed died that he was the one responsible. Frankie knew, by all accounts. She’d heard Jed and his cousin Sammy joking about it. That’s why Frankie had stabbed Jed and ended up in prison. She knew at that point Jed was beyond evil and she needed to get him away from her children. She’d meant to kill him, but unfortunately failed. Frankie hadn’t told her father the truth at the time because she was worried for his safety. She was also scared her dad would get locked up for life and Georgie and Harry would be taken away from her by the authorities. Looking back now, Frankie cursed her stupidity. Even if the authorities had stepped in, her children could not have turned out any worse than they had. And her father was more than capable of looking after his bloody self.

      ‘You mustn’t tell anybody about Jed and Jimmy, babe. Only I’ll be in trouble too. We all will,’ Stuart warned.

      ‘Joey was there, wasn’t he? He saw Jed and his old man die.’ Frankie’s twin brother hadn’t been the same person since that night. Though he’d refused to confide in her, she’d known something must have happened to him. ‘No wonder he gave up his bloody job. He’s haunted by what he saw, I bet,’ she cried.

      Eddie and Stuart shared an awkward glance. Joey had been the one who pulled the trigger and killed Jed and Jimmy, but Eddie would take that piece of information to his grave with him. So would the other men who’d been there that night: Stuart, Raymond, Terry and Eddie’s eldest son, Gary. His second eldest, Ricky, was already dead when Joey turned up, and the rest of them were tied up and about to die. Joey had saved them all, and saved the day. ‘Joey never saw sod-all. None of us did, OK?’ Eddie growled.

      Frankie was about to interrogate her father some more, when Georgie’s screams stopped her. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked, leaping up off the sofa.

      ‘Longtails! Loads of ’em. Hate ’em, I do. Nanny Alice says they’re evil and a curse like magpies. She’s frit to death of them,’ Georgie gabbled.

      Eddie was bemused. ‘What’s she on about?’ he asked Stuart.

      ‘Longtails are a gypsy word for rats. The kids have a phobia of them,’ said Stuart, ‘I saw one yesterday. Think there’s a family of ’em living under the decking.’

      Harry put his hands on his hips. ‘’Orrible, they are. Granddad Jimmy once put a dead longtail in Old Man Macca’s bed when he knocked him for a horsebox. Nanny Alice said the curse of the longtail would rub off on Old Man Macca and it did. A week later the old shitcunt crashed the horsebox and died.’

      Eddie felt his complexion change colour. Given that Vinny Butler had more skeletons in his closet than a full-to-the-brim graveyard, he’d been sure the dead-rat delivery had been aimed at his partner. Now that seemed unlikely. Too much of a coincidence. Perhaps the remaining O’Haras had tracked him down and sent the rats to the casino?

      ‘You all right, Ed?’ Stuart asked. At thirty-four, Stuart often got mistaken for Eddie’s younger brother. Both were tall, dark and broad-shouldered. Eddie had taken Stuart under his wing in prison. A strong friendship had developed which had since resulted in Stuart becoming a part of Eddie’s firm.

      Rubbing the stubble on his chin, Eddie nodded. ‘Yeah. I was just thinking about what Frankie said earlier. That home-tutoring lark might be a good idea after all. For now, at least.’

      ‘Why the sudden change of heart?’ Frankie snapped, her tone as cold as ice.

      Not wanting to worry his daughter, Eddie casually replied, ‘I just want what’s best for the children. That’s what we all want, isn’t it?’

       CHAPTER TWO

      Gina Mitchell was awoken by her husband’s naked arm and leg entwining with her own. She rolled over. ‘Not again. I’m sure you have a sex addiction,’ she smiled.

      Eddie Mitchell kissed Gina on her naturally luscious lips. ‘Never. I’m just more hot-blooded than most men. Don’t knock a good thing, darlin’. You don’t know how lucky you are. Women are queuing up to be in your position,’ he joked, tantalizingly circling Gina’s vaginal lips with his middle finger.

      Gina chuckled, then sighed as Eddie’s finger finally made contact with her clitoris. He was a joker, her man, but as loyal as a guide dog. He’d never cheated on his previous wife Jessica, and Gina knew he would never betray her either. Eddie Mitchell was a one-woman man, that was his finest attribute, as well as being permanently horny, charming, funny and incredibly handsome.

      Eddie entered Gina then allowed her to take charge by riding him. His wife was forty-two, seventeen years his junior, but nobody ever guessed there was such an age gap. Gina was of Irish origin, had a mass of dark wavy hair, the longest legs Ed had ever seen in the flesh, and was incredibly beautiful. He, however, did not look a day over forty-five. Many people told him so. He’d started training while serving time in prison and had kept the gym sessions up on the outside. His body was lean, and the only sign of Eddie’s true age were the grey hairs that now mingled with his dark-brown.

      Gina quickened her movement and ran her hand down Eddie’s battle wound. The scar ran from the outside of her husband’s left eye to the corner of his mouth and Gina had always found it quite a turn-on. It was a reminder of what he’d once been. Before they’d got together, Ed had run a pub protection racket and been a loan shark, and this particular scar had been given to him back in the seventies by Jimmy O’Hara. There were few secrets between them. A lot of Ed’s past had come to light in court, and the rest he’d told her in person.

      ‘I love you,’ Ed whispered, his orgasm nearing.

      ‘I love you too,’ Gina responded, running her fingers through her man’s hair to smooth it down.

      Eddie still had a full head of hair and wore it in a short-back-and-sides style. It was a standing joke between him and Gina that once it got to a certain length it would start to curl, and it was in desperate need of a cut at present.

      ‘I’m nearly there. You?’ Eddie mumbled, his face reddening with desire.

      Before СКАЧАТЬ