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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  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. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Her head jerked to one side as Lloyd slapped her cheek with the back of his free hand. She shrieked in shock at the sudden violence, and Naomi fought against her restraints as fury rose in her chest.

‘You stupid little bitch.’ Lloyd spat, balancing his gun as it slipped from the crook of his arm. ‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ He paused to check his watch. ‘No matter. Time to get this done.’

Stamping her feet, Morgan screamed at the top of her lungs.

‘No one can hear you,’ Lloyd said, raising his voice over her screams. ‘Make all the noise you like.’ He pointed the rifle at Morgan’s head, taking two steps back.

‘Take me,’ Naomi cried, in an effort to protect Morgan. ‘Just let her go. Please. She won’t say anything. Please!’

‘Damn right, she won’t say anything. Neither of you will,’ Lloyd announced, flecks of spittle punctuating his words. His eyes were empty as he took in Morgan’s snivelling form. ‘This is your stepmother’s fault. She’s left me with no choice. If that stupid bitch hadn’t poked her nose in . . .’ Lloyd swayed the barrel of the gun towards Naomi’s forehead as he staggered a couple of steps. ‘Age before beauty.’ His finger tightened on the trigger as his internal demons cheered him on.

In the grip of terror, Naomi squeezed her eyes shut as he prepared to take the shot.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

The moment played out in slow motion as gunfire shook the room. Naomi’s ears rang from the blast. She forced a sharp inhalation, her nostrils assaulted by the stench of charcoal and sulphur. Her eyes shut tight; she had already forecast the aftermath: Lloyd picking each of them off, then John, their so-called handyman, making a panicked call to the police. The villagers spreading gossip about the love triangle that turned to murder. But as she forced her eyes open, a different scenario became clear. One in which Lloyd was twisted on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

‘Joel!’ Morgan seemed to choke on the name as the man stood before them, his dark eyes glittering with intent. He was breathing heavily, his designer tracksuit stained with blood. In his hand was a hammer. He watched them both, a salacious smile on his face.

‘Joel?’ Naomi said, as shock and confusion hit her. Wasn’t that the name of Harmony’s boyfriend? This was not what she’d imagined when Morgan had spoken about him. With his overgrown stubble and bulging muscles, he was an intimidating man.

‘Jesus!’ He laughed, his brows shooting upwards. ‘Did you see that? I sorted him good and proper. He went down like a sack of shit!’

Joel kicked Lloyd in the stomach, checking for signs of life. ‘Look at that! I’ve killed the bastard!’ he said, dipping his hand into the blood pooling on the floor.