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Back Brutal Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. BRUTAL
  3. Dedication page
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. Prologue
  6. PART ONE
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. PART TWO
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. PART THREE
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. Epilogue
  55. BRUTAL
  56. By Mandasue Heller

‘It will be if it gets on the news,’ Keegan said pointedly, holding Jordan’s gaze as he waited for his words to sink in.

It took a few seconds, but Jordan eventually got it, and a slow smile spread across his handsome young face. Getting a few views on Instagram and YouTube was nothing compared to being hailed a hero on national TV, and he was already imagining the attention he was going to get from Chloe at school tomorrow.

‘Yeah, man.’ He nodded. ‘Do it.’

PART THREE

42

‘Fuck!’ Nick muttered, watching as the girl’s eyes rolled to the back of her head.

On the bed beside her, their own eyes glued to the syringes he hadn’t yet used, their track-marked arms wrapped around their skinny, naked frames, their lips flicking over their dry lips, the other girls were waiting for their fixes. But they would have to wait a bit longer, because Nick had a disaster on his hands.

Yanking the syringe out of the crook of the girl’s elbow, he grabbed her by both arms and shook her roughly, then dropped her back onto the bed and slapped her face twice. Her rolled-back eyes didn’t correct themselves, and her body moved as a result of the slaps, but there was no reaction to the pain.

Nick put his ear to her mouth.

Nothing.

Shoving his distaste aside, he blew air between her lips, and then pressed down hard on her chest several times before putting his ear to her lips again.

Still nothing.

Jumping up off the bed, he rushed out of the room, ignoring the other girls when they started whining that they wanted theirs.

Karel was sitting in the kitchen, with his new plaything on his lap and a rolled-up banknote inserted into his left nostril, hoovering up a thick line of coke.

‘One of the tarts has OD’d,’ Nick announced.

‘What?’ Banknote still in place, Karel looked up at him.

‘I’d just given her a fix, and her eyes rolled back,’ Nick explained. ‘I’ve tried mouth to mouth, and all that shit, but she ain’t responding.’

‘I will go,’ Irena volunteered, dropping the tea towel she’d been using to dry the dishes Frank had washed.

‘You can try, but it won’t do no good,’ Nick said, reaching for an open bottle of whisky and taking a swig.

‘How the fuck did you manage that?’ Karel demanded, unceremoniously dumping Viktorya on the floor when he leapt to his feet and slapped the bottle clean out of Nick’s hand.

‘It ain’t my fault,’ Nick complained as the bottle flew across the room and shattered against the wall. ‘I give her the same amount as last time, and she didn’t fuckin’ die then, so how was I supposed to know she’d kick it this time?’