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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

But even as he finished the call, his positivity, the feeling that everything was going to turn out for the best, began to evaporate. Because there was still the little matter that someone was trying to kill Abs, and if they were trying to kill him, they were likely trying to kill Jez and Tony too.

Because of what happened on that night, the worst of his life, when everything went horribly wrong.

15

Three years ago

The girl clung to him all the way back to the cottage. Every time Abs removed her arm from his waist, it would creep back, or she would try to hold his hand as if they were sweethearts, and it made him feel very uncomfortable.

‘Looks like you’re going to have to sleep in my room tonight, Jez.’ There was a nasty smirk on Deano’s face, and his words were slurred. ‘Abs has pulled. Bloody celebrities, they get all the luck, so there’s none left for the rest of us real men.’

The girl giggled.

Swigging the last dregs of his Scotch from the bottle, Deano threw it into the dark. They heard it land somewhere with a thud. ‘They should call your own show Laid In Taffland!’

‘Which way is it now?’ Abs tried to change the subject. He was feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation. He didn’t want the girl to come back to the cottage, but it was pitch black and if she didn’t help them find their way, he knew they could be wandering around all night.

As soon as they got back, he would go straight to bed, and there was no way she was going to climb in with him. One of the lads must have mobile reception – he’d call her a cab and shove her in, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They came to a lane that Abs vaguely recognized, despite the fact there were no street lights and even the light of the stars was blotted out by the canopy of trees pressing in on every side, and despite the fact that he felt very drunk and tired.

‘It’s this way,’ Rhiannon told them.

‘How do you know where we’re staying, anyway?’ asked Tony.

‘I’ve been here before, with my aunt and uncle,’ she told him. ‘When you described the holiday home, it was obvious the one you meant.’

Deano hung an arm around Abs’s shoulders. The big man’s weight made him stumble, and when Deano leaned close to his ear, his breath stank. ‘I’ll have some of those leftovers if you’re not hungry.’

‘She needs to go home,’ Abs told him.

‘Here it is.’ Rhiannon ran into the wood. Abs could just about make out the familiar outline of a cottage in the trees. ‘Told you I could get you home.’