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

Alan nodded. ‘Before I say anything else, can I ask you something, Mario? What do you think is going on out there, yourself like? What do you think the score is?’

Mario took a sip of his wine before answering. ‘Off the record?’

Alan nodded once more, afraid of what he was going to hear, but needing to hear it anyway.

Mario took a deep breath. ‘If Stephen’s involved it must be women or porn or both. That’s his forte, his business. Talkto is a slut-line. He also runs hostesses and rent boys. I know all this for a fact, have known it for a long time, actually. He deals with both ends of the market, the rough trade and the high-class ladies. He is a forty-two-carat pimp.’

Alan lit one of his large cigars before he asked his next question.

‘Do you think Georgio is involved in the same things?’

Mario laughed outright. ‘Never! I’d lay money on that one. I know that Georgio wanted into the hotel industry, I think everyone knew about that. But porn, no way. Whatever Stephen’s doing out there, it won’t be to do with Georgio. For all my brother’s faults he ain’t a beast. No, I think Stephen has a few games up his sleeve and he’s using Georgio and his contacts as a blind. According to Donna, the hotel businesses were fucked ages ago, which is why Lewis is on his back. Stephen’s using Sri Lanka and Georgio as a front.’

‘So why do you think Donna is in trouble?’

Mario raised his eyebrows and said deliberately and forcefully, ‘Because Donna owns what’s out there, Alan, and she’ll go in with her usual breakneck speed laying down the law. If Stephen’s setting up a deal, then the last thing he’ll want is her on his back in front of his contacts. I shouldn’t say this, I know, but Stephen is capable of killing her, he hates her so much. He always did.’

Alan shook his head. ‘But why? Why does he hate her?’

Mario shrugged. ‘Who knows what goes on in someone else’s mind? Stephen’s always been strange, even when we were all kids. He takes against people, it’s in his nature.’

‘So what do you think Stephen’s setting up then? What’s the score with him?’