‘Beech was preparing me to take over from him one day. Like his father did with him.’
I’m in an unknown location, where political criminals are kept. I’m being considered highly dangerous. But because I have no hope of escape, they’ve given me the file and I’ve read it over and over. Seeing what they did to turn me into their perfect sleeper operative is difficult to take, but the more I read it, the more in control of myself I feel.
Mia is a problem for them. She’s also Beech’s child, by a different surrogate, and we were born within hours of each other. Almost twins. They brought her in and interviewed her. She doesn’t remember anything of those visits to the house. I didn’t tell Archive what I know about her involvement; she will be guiltless unless activated. She has a beautiful baby daughter now, who is only a few weeks old. They showed me photographs, and seeing that tiny innocent creature brought me to tears. I hope that everything I’ve done will help to protect her and the child in the future. The Network will not be getting my niece. Come hell or high water, I’ll make sure of that.
When he visits, I ask Ray about the children we rescued.
‘I can’t tell you much,’ he says. ‘But we found the recent kids and they are relatively unharmed. There were seven teenagers though. Four boys and three girls. They are undergoing intense psychiatric help. I have no idea if they will ever be let out into the real world at this point, but we’re doing what we can.’
Then he tells me that the parents are still under observation. Some they were able to prove were involved. But the majority do appear to be innocent. Perhaps Beech had trouble buying the children from these people after all? Maybe Simone Arquette was a rarity. Either way, they are safe and sound and happy to be home, even if social services will be in their lives until adulthood. Better that than they are taken away again, this time never to be found.
‘The file on Amelie gave us the location of her grave,’ Ray tells me. ‘She’s been returned now to her father and given a proper burial.’
The thought makes me cry again. I’m so emotional these days; the pain of it all can no longer be held in check.
I think about Neva a lot – who she is, where she’s going, and what her future holds now. It’s worrying that there are operatives out there still. Some, like myself, may be sleepers. Others are trained killers with no direction now that their leadership is gone. I hope they feel they can be free, as Neva did, as Olive learnt.
I find the two of them in dreams sometimes. They lie on a beach like two friends without a care in the world, the sprawling sand pale as bone, kissed by silver waves. It’s a hope-filled fantasy that I want to believe in.
‘Good for you!’ I say when I wake.
Ray says I shouldn’t concern myself with them. I need to think about me, and they have me in therapy to help with the trauma of everything. The counselling helps, but the truth is, I’ll always be a child of the house. What they did, who they made me, will never leave me. With time, however, I’ll learn to live with it.
Ray says the work I’ve done, the efforts I’m still making, have gone a long way to securing my future. But the job at Archive, high classification, probably won’t be open to me after this. I don’t blame him for his caution. I’d say the same if it was him, or Beth, or Leon.
I don’t think they will ever trust me again, but I hope that one day, one distant impossible day, I’ll be lying on a beach of white sand and Neva will find me.
THE END
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Michael and Neva will return in Kill or Die…
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Acknowledgments
What an exciting, and terrifying, day it was when I sent The House of Killers to my lovely agent Camilla Shestopal for her thoughts. I knew that The House of Killers was a very different novel and for that reason I was somewhat apprehensive. So, I was thrilled when Camilla came back to tell me that she ‘loved’ it and that One More Chapter wanted to not only publish this one, but were invested enough in the series to commit to the next two also. Hence The House of Killers series was born.
Huge thanks go to Camilla as always for being such a wonderful support and for the amazing guidance she gives me on my writing and career. And for absolutely being a friend too, whom I love to just chat with and see whenever we get the opportunity.
A massive thank you needs to go to my editor Bethan Morgan, whose amazing and insightful observations of character, plot and setting have helped me immensely to focus this novel into the work it is today. I’ve never been more excited to read feedback on one of my works because it had such energy and enthusiasm as well as helping me clarify everything I wanted to achieve within these pages. I was delighted by how completely Bethan ‘got it’. And I’ve absolutely loved the editing process, which is always a joy at HarperCollins. I feel like I learnt so much from the process that I could then carry forward into the next two books.
Thank you to Charlotte Ledger, who with Bethan, thought I was worth taking a chance on and who also got the vision for this series. And also to the fantastic marketing team, Claire Fenby and Melanie Price, who never let a good opportunity pass by when it can help the authors at One More Chapter promote their books. Seriously, what a team!
And of course I will not forget Holly Macdonald and Lucy Bennett for such fantastic cover design, all of which helps to show The House of Killers in its best possible light.
Final thanks must go to my friends Tracey Herod (what an appropriate name) and Andrew Beech, who happily let me use their names to become such great villains in the series. You guys rock!
Thank you for reading…
We hope you enjoyed The House of Killers!
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You can also add the paperback edition to your collection!
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Don’t miss Kill or Die, the second explosive instalment in The House of Killers series, coming in May 2021.
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And be sure to nab your copy of the nerve-shredding conclusion to the trilogy with Kill a Spy, coming in July 2021.
You will also love Samantha Lee Howe’s debut The Stranger in Our Bed, a page-turning thriller exploring the dark secrets at the heart of a picture-perfect marriage…
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Be sure to follow Samantha on Twitter @SamanthaLHowe, on Facebook @SamanthaLeeHoweThrillers, and check out her website at samanthaleehowe.co.uk for all the updates on her latest work.
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You will also love Secrets of a Serial Killer by Rosie Walker, an utterly addictive psychological thriller following a notorious murderer who has been terrorising the streets of Lancaster for decades, far longer than should ever have been possible for a single killer…
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And don’t miss the intoxicating Maggie Jamieson series by Noelle Holten, in which the relentless titular detective of the Staffordshire police must contend with secondment to a specialised unit as well as the savagery of arch nemesis and brutal serial killer Bill Raven, all the while trying to protect Irish criminal psychologist, new friend, and instant crush Dr Kate Moloney from any and all harm.
Happy reading!
USA Today-bestselling author Samantha Lee Howe began her professional writing career in 2007 and has worked as a freelance writer for small, medium and large publishers, predominately writing horror and fantasy under the pen name Sam Stone.
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Samantha’s breakaway debut psychological thriller The Stranger
in Our Bed was released in 2020 by HarperCollins division One More Chapter. The book rapidly became a USA Today bestseller.
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To date, Samantha has written 19 novels, 3 novellas, 3 collections, over 40 short stories, an audio drama and a Doctor Who spin-off drama that went to DVD.
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A former high school English and Drama teacher, Samantha has a BA (Hons) in English and Writing for Performance, an MA in Creative Writing and a PGCE in English.
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Samantha lives in Lincolnshire with her husband, David, and their two cats, Leeloo and Skye. She is the proud mother of a lovely daughter called Linzi.
samanthaleehowe.co.uk
Also by Samantha Lee Howe
The Stranger in Our Bed
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The House of Killers, Book 1 Page 30