BooksBarbecue
Back The Jump
Chapters (52)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. BOOK ONE
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. BOOK TWO
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  46. BOOK THREE
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Epilogue

‘Now that’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard all night! Between us, me and you, we could kick that arsewipe off the face of the earth. Think about that, Brunos, instead of your Kentucky Fried friend. I’m going to sleep. There’ll be hell to pay in the morning while the guards question us and pretend they knew nothing at all about the events of today.’

He lay back in his bunk and Georgio settled himself on the floor of the cell on the thin blanket.

The smell of burning was still acrid and the faint stench of the tetrachloride pricked his nostrils. The thought of Timmy’s pain as the tolly burnt into him, and the rubber melted into his face, into his eyes and mouth, made Georgio feel sick to his stomach. Timmy didn’t deserve that.

He hadn’t done anything worth that.

As Chopper said, it was Lewis showing his strength once more, and the thought made Georgio see a dull red behind his lids.

That bastard Lewis needed taking down a peg, and after Timmy’s maiming and Chopper’s words, Georgio thought he just might be the person to do it.

He finally slept . . . and he dreamt about Timmy, Timmy’s wife, Timmy’s kids . . . and Sadie.

He felt no better for the sleep, his dreams so vivid and disturbing. He finally vomited into the toilet bowl at four-thirty in the morning.

He wasn’t sure but he could have sworn he heard a dull chuckle come from Chopper’s bunk.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

At four-fifteen in the morning, Alan pulled up outside his flat in Soho. He turned off the car engine and stared at Donna who was sleeping gently beside him. He watched her for a few moments in the muted light of a street lamp, her face sweet in repose, dark eyelashes casting long shadows across her cheeks. He put out a hand tentatively and placed it on her shoulder. Donna opened her eyes and smiled trustingly at him, then, memory returning, she sat up abruptly.

‘Where are we?’ Her voice was still full of sleep and Alan grinned in the half-light.

‘Outside my drum. We’re back in the Smoke. Come on, I’ll make you a coffee, then you can freshen up and drive yourself home.’

Donna grabbed her bag and followed him into the tall building. Inside the flat, she was surprised to see it was almost too tidy. Even the telephone pad on the hall table was neatly placed alongside the phone with a pen and a pencil either side of it like a dinner setting. In the comfortable lounge she sank gratefully on to a well-upholstered blue silk sofa and closed her eyes. Sleep was still threatening to envelop her. She was both physically and emotionally exhausted. Alan looked at her with pity and put on the electric kettle for some coffee.