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Back The Woman in the Wood Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by M.K. Hill
  3. THE WOMAN IN THE WOOD
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Epigraph
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author
  62. An Invitation from the Publisher

He threw himself through the door and raced into the middle of a small group of people, pointing at his own face. ‘Do you know me?’

‘Oh my days.’ A girl’s face lit up. Her eyes were slack with drunkenness, and a pint slopped in her hand. ‘It’s Abs, from Laid In Essex!’

‘That’s right, darling,’ he told her, trying not to sound petrified. ‘And right now I’m doing this show in which I’m chased.’

‘Celebrity Manhunt,’ she said. ‘I love that.’

‘That’s it. And there’s going to be a couple of fellas coming through that door at any moment.’

‘Are we going to be on the telly?’ she asked, incredulous.

‘Do me a favour, love, and tell them I went out the back.’

‘We could just give you away and claim the reward.’ A guy draped his arm over her shoulder to show Abs she was his girl. ‘They give away reward money on that show if you turn the celebrities in.’

‘Why would you do something so mean?’ The woman was annoyed with her boyfriend. ‘The celebs do it for charity.’

‘Yeah,’ said Abs desperately. ‘It’s for the kids.’

The boyfriend looked around. ‘Where’s the camera?’

‘Where’s the what?’ Abs didn’t know what he was talking about.

‘Where’s the camera crew doing the filming?’

Abs pointed to the zip on the front of his hoodie. ‘It’s a micro-camera.’

Staring at his chest, the woman subtly rearranged her hair. ‘Course we’ll do it.’ She held up her phone. ‘If you give us a selfie.’

‘They’re coming.’ Abs tried not to explode in dribbling panic. ‘Any second now.’

‘It’ll only take a moment.’ She and her boyfriend squeezed into the shot and Abs hunched in with them, grinning hideously into her phone. As soon as it flashed, he threw himself over the end of the empty bar and huddled behind it, shutting his eyes to make himself extra invisible, just as someone came in the door of the bar.

Abs clamped a hand over his mouth, convinced his own frantic breathing would give him away. He heard the girl’s boyfriend say, ‘Are you looking for the guy who ran in here?’

‘Yeah.’ The Welsh accent made Abs tremble.

‘He ran out the back exit, didn’t he, Gary?’ Abs heard the girl say.

‘Yeah,’ said the boyfriend reluctantly. ‘By the toilets.’

A moment later, footsteps ran past the bar. Abs heard a door slam at the rear. Thanking his lucky stars, he climbed to his feet.

‘Wait,’ called the girl as Abs flew out the front. ‘When’s the show on?’

13

‘Danny Cruikshank is waiting to see you,’ Ajay told Sasha as soon as she arrived, later than she had intended, in the office. ‘He claims he was kidnapped last night and his life threatened.’

‘Abs? Is he hurt?’