BooksBarbecue
Back The Nursery
Chapters (45)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. Part One
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Part Two
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Part Three
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Part Four
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Chapter Twenty-Two
  31. Part Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Three
  33. Chapter Twenty-Four
  34. Chapter Twenty-Five
  35. Chapter Twenty-Six
  36. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  39. Chapter Thirty
  40. Chapter Thirty-One
  41. Chapter Thirty-Two
  42. Part Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Three
  44. Acknowledgements
  45. About the Author

Parenting books had taught me that boundaries were important. I may be desperate to get back to sleep but a tense twenty-minute negotiation now was worth it for the future nights of unbroken sleep and a bed to ourselves. It was going to be tough but it was going to be worth it.

Will rolled over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. ‘It’s OK, we’re here, Gigi. No bad dreams in this bed. You sleep tight, little girl.’

Or there was that tactic.

Surrender.

I couldn’t be the bad guy now. I listened as Will seemingly drifted straight back to sleep. Gigi swiftly followed suit.

I stroked her cheek and cuddled up to her. Soft skin and washing-powder scented Paw Patrol pyjamas. I felt her warm body beside me and listened to the gentle sound of her breathing and tried to forget about the stresses of work, the dangers that lay ahead, and the fact my husband was receiving text messages in the middle of the night.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: $$$ MAKE MONEY FAST $$$

MISSION: #80521

UNIT: WHISTLE

DATE: Tuesday 1st October

ALERT: PENG ARRIVES TODAY

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

I WALKED INTO HEATHROW’S WINDSOR SUITE to find a thin-faced woman with greying hair.

‘Good morning . . .’ I peered at her name badge, ‘Pam. I’m Alexis from Demon Communications. I’m meeting Johnnie Mac off his plane.’

She looked down at the paperwork on her desk.

‘Please follow me.’ Pam stood up and slipped on a hi-vis vest on top of her trouser suit.

We headed down a corridor before she led me to another room. Inside was a small X-ray scanner belt. ‘As you’re going airside you’ll need to have your bag checked.’

‘Of course.’

I placed my bag onto the belt and watched as it moved through the scanner. The screen lit up with the image of an iPad, an iPhone, a small toy robot, an Ella’s Kitchen smoothie pouch, a thick pink headband, a Frozen camera and three fidget spinners. The security guard’s face didn’t move from the monitor.

‘Thanks,’ I said to no acknowledgement as I picked my bag back up. I walked through the security door. Nothing beeped and Pam ushered me out the door leading to a car park.

During the five-minute drive in the chauffeured BMW, Pam gave monotonous one-word answers to my attempts at small talk. She wasn’t the chatty type.

We parked up alongside the waiting bus that would be transporting the non-VIPs to the terminal.

Johnnie Mac was the first off the plane. He lolloped down the stairs and walked straight towards us. His trademark long hair was now short. It suited him. A battered canvas holdall was slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a pair of baggy black trousers and a Pink Floyd T-shirt. A black leather jacket and sunglasses completed the off-duty rockstar look.

‘Hello, Alexis.’