Breaking Dead: A stylish, edge-of-your-seat crime thriller (The Sophie Kent series) by Corrie Jackson

Author:Corrie Jackson [Jackson, Corrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2016-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

18

By the time the buttery sun rose above the rooftops, my body was rigid with exhaustion. I dragged myself into a scalding shower and out of the front door where the cold morning air slapped me awake. Shuffling up the King’s Road, everything seemed detached and far away, as though I were looking at the world through the wrong end of a telescope.

I passed the end of Sloane Gardens on my way to the Tube station and glanced along the tree-lined street. A throng of paparazzi loitered on Lydia’s steps, their collective breath thawing the air in white streams. I recognised a large figure leaning against the railings, smoking a roll-up. It was Jurassic Jones, so called because he chased celebrities with the ferocity of a T-Rex hunting lunch. JJ had been in my speed-dial for years. Paps made great sources; they were sharp-nosed with loose morals, a crime reporter’s dream date.

JJ glanced up from his camera screen as I approached. ‘Come to slum it with the guttersnipes, Sophie?’

I laughed and pulled the collar of my coat up. ‘Any action yet?’

JJ swung the camera strap over his neck and sighed. ‘S-l-o-w. A snooty blonde arrived twenty minutes ago.’ He held his camera out and I saw Cat Ramsey, wearing dark glasses and a grim expression on her tight face. ‘They’re bunkering down but Lydia’s doing Burberry at eleven so she’ll be out of there in an hour, tops. She’s got to get to Somerset House and the traffic is grid-locked. Indiana is in town for the Brits and the streets are teaming with girls on heat.’

I frowned. ‘Indiana?’

He flicked his cigarette onto the ground. ‘Boy band. Sounds like five colicky babies howling in a bath. But they’re bigger than One Direction, so it’s ker-ching for anyone who snaps them.’

My phone beeped and I moved away from JJ, shielding the screen from the sun’s glare. It was a text from Eva.

He is outside again.

A bad feeling coiled in my stomach. That was two sightings in two days. What did Alexei Bortnik want with Eva?

Suddenly a loud shout went up. In the distance, Lydia’s door opened and the paparazzi fell on a figure leaving the house. I glimpsed a blonde head, pushing herself through the fireworks of flashbulbs with surprising grace for a woman her size. At first the paparazzi followed, but they gave up once they realised Cat wasn’t going to break.

When she spotted me, a shadow passed across her face. ‘I might have guessed you’d be here.’

‘I was just passing, actually. Saw the paps.’

Cat glanced over her shoulder. ‘I hope they freeze to death.’

I slid my phone into my pocket. ‘How is Lydia?’

‘No comment.’

‘Come on, Cat. I saw her last night. She was a mess after that fight with Liam.’

Cat’s eyes flashed. ‘Don’t mention that man’s name to me. Honestly, if you knew what it took to get Lydia back in favour with everyone. And now she’s refusing to get out of bed. Christopher at Burberry will go ape-shit when Lydia doesn’t show.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.