Closer Than Blood
Page 24
“I’m not asking you to stop being that man,” she replied, pressing her arm against mine as we cleared the students and crunched down the pebbles to the edge of the sea, “that take-the-bull-by-the-horns attitude is part of the reason I love you. I’m just asking you to be more careful. Losing your job aside, there’s a very real chance that one of these days someone you’re up against is going to get lucky and I’ll end up staring at your coffin while people say nice things about you.”
“Would you say nice things?”
“Depends on your will.”
“Ouch.”
She stopped again and turned to look me in the eye.
“Seriously though, Gareth, promise me something.”
“Go on.” Her solemn tone made me nervous.
“If anything, anything like this ever happens again, tell me about it. I know you have this desperate need to keep me safe, endearing and misguided as it is, but I’m a big girl. We’re supposed to be partners, and partners share.” She paused and took a deep breath. “So, here’s the deal. From now on we have total, complete disclosure about everything, no matter how big or small, or we cut our losses now and walk away. Which is it?”
“Can I phone a friend?”
“Gareth!”
“Sorry, it’s just kind of a curve ball.”
She nodded but her expression didn’t waver. Despite the seriousness of her ultimatum, I couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her. The sunlight made her hair into a soft halo and her eyes glow a light, vibrant blue. Right then, there was nothing I wanted more in the world than to be with her, and I found myself nodding before I realised what I was doing.
“I’m in,” I said, leaning forwards and stealing a kiss. “Complete disclosure, no secrets, no stupid decisions.”
“Steady on,” she said with a laugh, “you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t occasionally do something stupid. So we’re really doing this then?”
“We are,” I confirmed with a nod, then glanced over her shoulder and frowned.
“What?” she asked, following my gaze until she saw the pair of scruffy looking men following the group of students, one of them trying to match pace with one of the stragglers so that he could reach into the top of her open rucksack. “Oh come on, Gareth, call it in. You’re off duty.”
“And where,” I said, jogging back up the pebbles towards the men as they managed to lift a purse and began to hurry away, “would be the fun in that?”
Author’s note
In some ways this has been the hardest book I’ve ever written.
When I wrote the first draft of The Follow, back at the end of 2008, I followed the great advice of ‘write what you know’ and based Gareth’s dad on my own.
Sadly, my dad died of pancreatic cancer in 2015 after a very short but hard-fought battle, and so it seemed fitting to honour him by having the same thing happen to Gareth’s dad in this book.
What I didn’t count on was how hard it is to write when you can’t stop crying …
He is also the inspiration, in a strange way, for the National Crime Agency characters in the book, as my dad actually worked for the NCA. I hope any of his ex-colleagues reading this forgive me, as never have I met such a kind, caring group of people utterly dedicated to keeping their fellow citizens safe. I remember walking into Dad’s room at the hospice one day to find about ten of them sat around his bed, chatting and drinking tea with him, and to be clear not one of them stole a flash drive, worked with Russian mobsters or shot anyone (I hope).
So in summary, this book bares more of my soul than any other I’ve ever written, and I very much hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.
Keep Reading …
Loved Closer Than Blood? Try the previous book in the Gareth Bell series …
He knows the man is guilty. And he will do anything to prove it …
PC Gareth Bell watches the psychopath who stabbed Bell’s partner stroll out of court a free man. Somebody on the inside tampered with the evidence, and now one of Brighton’s most dangerous criminals is back on the streets again.
Bell’s personal mission for revenge takes him onto the other side of the law and into the dark, violent underworld of the glamourous seaside city. Soon he faces a horrifying choice: risk everything he holds dear, or let the man who tried to kill his partner walk free …
Click here to order a copy.
Also by Paul Grzegorzek
Closer Than Blood
The Follow
When Good Men Do Nothing
But for the Grace of God
Flare
Subversive
About the Author
Paul Grzegorzek joined the police in Brighton in 2002. He trained as a riot medic and method of entry specialist, policing riots and demonstrations and enacting drug warrants, and then moved on to plain clothes work on undercover drug operations around the city. While in the police he met Peter James, and became an advisor on the Roy Grace novels. He lives in Brighton with his wife and young son.
@PaulGlaznost
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com