‘Yes, Nathan. It was all me. Stupid, little Grace. Are you proud of me? You should be. You taught me well. And while you’re burning to death, I want you to remember that this is all your fault. This is payback for all of the horrible things you’ve done to me. For every time you’ve humiliated me, hurt me, raped me, threatened my son. I was happy for you to move on, but you would never let me go, would you? And this is the only way I can be free of you. The only way we can all be free of you.’

‘All?’ he slurred.

As if on cue there was a knock at the door to the flat.

‘It’s open,’ she shouted. She knew who it was. She’d sent him a text twenty minutes ago to say everything was going according to plan.

‘Grace,’ Ben said as he kissed her cheek.

‘Where’s the gun?’ she asked him anxiously.

‘It’s wiped clean and I’ve left it with your Aunt Helen.’ He smiled.

‘And has everyone gone?’

‘Yes, the pub is all locked up. There’s no one down there. It’s time for you to go. Is everything sorted?’

‘Yes. We’re all set.’

‘Then get going. I’ll finish everything off here. I’ll wait for an hour, give you time to get home.’

Taking hold of Ben’s hand, she told him to be careful.

‘You too, babe. And don’t worry, everything will be fine.’ And then he kissed her full on the lips. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Nathan was watching the exchange open-mouthed as Grace picked up her handbag to leave.

‘Goodbye, Nathan,’ she said to him and walked out of the door without looking back.

‘What the fuck is he doing here?’ Nathan demanded, although his speech was slow and thick. ‘What are you playing at, Grace? Ben? What the fuck is going on?’

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Nathan could hardly move. He tried to stand up, but he couldn’t. His brain was screaming at his legs to stand the fuck up, but they wouldn’t co-operate. His head was swimming, his heart pounding. Blood screamed in his ears.

What the fuck had she done? That traitorous, evil fucking bitch. He felt like he was wading through treacle inside his head. The whole world had slowed down, and he felt like he was watching a scene being played out in slow motion. Oh, thank fuck, Ben was there. His Ben. His best mate. But why were he and Grace acting like they were best fucking buddies? In fact, like they were more than that?

‘What the fuck is going on?’ Nathan demanded, and he could hear that his own speech was slurred.