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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

Happy that he’d decided not to let the situation with his dad cast a cloud over the day, Marie let the dog in and followed Evan into the living room.

PART TWO

19

‘So, here’s the plan . . .’ Karel said.

He, Nick, and Irena had eaten, and they were now in the living room with Frank: the men lounging on the sofa with glasses of Frank’s whisky in their hands; Irena perched on the arm beside Karel, a large glass of wine in hers.

‘You’re going to marry Irena.’

Conscious of Maureen smiling down at him from the photo on the mantelpiece, every fibre of Frank’s being revolted, and he couldn’t prevent himself from blurting out a horrified, ‘No!’

‘You what?’ Karel narrowed his eyes.

‘I can’t,’ Frank spluttered, thinking on the spot. ‘She’s in the country illegally; we’d never get away with it.’

‘Is she fuck illegal,’ Nick snorted, picking a piece of turkey out of his teeth with his fingernail and examining it before eating it again.

‘I don’t understand.’ Frank switched his gaze onto Irena. ‘You said he’d taken your passport.’

‘She says a lot of things, but it doesn’t mean any of it’s true,’ Karel said, placing a proprietorial hand on her knee. ‘Now as I was saying . . . you’ll marry her, and then you’ll make a will leaving everything to her.’

‘My kids would never accept that,’ Frank said, guessing that they planned to kill him as soon as they got their hands on his money. ‘My daughter used to work for a solicitor, so she’d definitely contest it. And there’s nothing here of any value, anyway.’

‘Your daughter is on the other side of the world, and by the time she hears about this it’ll be too late,’ Karel countered smoothly. ‘And there’s plenty of value here.’ He waved his hand, indicating that he was talking about the house.

‘And plenty of privacy, an’ all, now we’ve got rid of that nosy old bint from the cottage,’ Nick added.

‘She’s not dead,’ Frank muttered, sickened to think that these thugs had attacked that defenceless old woman in her own home.

‘Ah, well, you know what they say,’ Nick smirked. ‘If at first you don’t succeed . . .’

It was clear to Frank that these people had targeted him in order to take his house off him, but why choose this crumbling old wreck when there were so many better farmhouses in the area?