by Zoe Sharp
“She can have the divorce uncontested! I won’t fight her on anything.”
“Too late, Jack.” I looked at him, cold-eyed as the mud sucked at his clothing, plucked at his hair. “Ask yourself which is worse—the long, slow death of drowning? Or the even longer, even slower, death of life behind bars?”
He was still for a moment longer, then he began to thrash, grunting with effort. His actions agitated the Mire beneath him, so that it drew him under ever more quickly. After less than a minute he’d driven himself below the surface, which continued to bubble and heave for a while, then returned to malignant stasis.
I slid the 9mm back into its rig and glanced at the screen of the GPS, stepping carefully onto the patches of solid ground in the direction of the cottage.
The sky was beginning to lighten, and a breeze had sprung up to disperse the remaining fog. I reckoned I’d just time to pack my gear and walk to the station in time to catch the London train. Beryl would be safe in the hands of Dr Watson and Dr Mortimer.
And not even Sherlock Holmes would be able to say, with any certainty, what fate had befallen Jack Stapleton.
More to Read!
If you liked this, then you may also like the later Charlie Fox novels, where she is in full-blown professional bodyguard mode. Why not take a look at Charlie Fox: Bodyguard eBoxset of books 4, 5, and 6? And please check out the rest of the series here, including Fourth Day, which sees Charlie on another rescue mission—this time inside a secretive California cult.
Afterword
Liked it?
If you’ve enjoyed this collection of stories, there is no greater compliment you can give the author than to leave a brief, honest and heartfelt review on the retailer site where you made your purchase, on goodreads, or social media. Doesn’t have to be long or in great detail, but it means a huge amount if you’d write a few words to say what you thought about it, and encourage others to give my work a try. Thank you so much for taking the time.
I’m only human…
We all make mistakes from time to time. This collection has gone through numerous editing, copyediting, and proofreading stages before making it out into the world. Still, occasionally errors do creep past us. If by any chance you do spot a blooper, please let me, the author, know about it. That way I can get the error corrected as soon as possible. Plus I’ll send you a free digital edition of one of my other short stories as a thank you for your eagle-eyed observational skills! Email me at [email protected].
Please Note
This book was written in British English and UK spellings and punctuation have been used throughout.
About Zoë Sharp
Zoë Sharp opted out of mainstream education at the age of twelve and wrote her first novel at fifteen. She created her award-winning crime thriller series featuring ex-Special Forces trainee turned bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox, after receiving death threats in the course of her work as a photojournalist. She has been making a living from her writing since 1988, and since 2001 has written various novels: the highly acclaimed Charlie Fox series, including a prequel novella; standalone crime thrillers; and collaborations with espionage thriller author John Lawton, as well as numerous short stories. Her work has been used in Danish school textbooks, inspired an original song and music video, and been optioned for TV and film.
Zoë is always happy to hear from readers, reader groups, libraries or bookstores. You can contact her at [email protected]
Visit Zoë’s Amazon Author Page
www.ZoeSharp.com/vip-mailing-list
The stories so far…
the Charlie Fox series
KILLER INSTINCT #1: Charlie Fox teaches women to defend themselves against rapists and murderers—just like the man who comes looking for her.
RIOT ACT #2: Charlie is supposed to be dog-sitting, not leading the resistance, but what else can a girl do when her housing estate turns into an urban battlefield?
HARD KNOCKS #3: Does Major Gilby’s school in Germany specialise in training bodyguards—or killing them? When an old army comrade dies there, Charlie is sent undercover to find out.
Books 1–3 are also available as eBoxset #1
CHARLIE FOX: THE EARLY YEARS
FIRST DROP #4: Charlie’s first bodyguard job in Florida should have been easy—until people start dying and she and her teenage charge are forced on the run.
ROAD KILL #5: When a motorcycle ‘accident’ almost kills her best friend, Charlie promises to find out what really happened. Even if that paints a huge target on her back.
SECOND SHOT #6: New England. A young child is in danger and Charlie will risk everything to keep her safe. But this time she’s in no state to protect anyone, herself least of all.
Books 4–6 are also available as eBoxset #2
CHARLIE FOX: BODYGUARD
THIRD STRIKE #7: What’s Charlie’s worst nightmare? A ‘bring your parents to work’ day. When her surgeon father falls foul of a pharmaceutical giant, only Charlie stands in their way.
FOURTH DAY #8: A man joins the Fourth Day cult to prove they killed his son. By the time Charlie and Sean get him out, he’s convinced otherwise. Then he dies...
FIFTH VICTIM #9: How can Charlie protect the daughter of a rich Long Island banker when the girl seems determined to put them both in harm’s way?
DIE EASY #10: A deadly hostage situation in New Orleans forces Charlie to improvise as never before. And this time she can’t rely on Sean to watch her back.
ABSENCE OF LIGHT #11: In the aftermath of an earthquake, Charlie’s working alongside a team who dig out the living and ID the dead, and hoping they won’t find out why she’s really there.
FOX HUNTER #12: Charlie can never forget the men who put a brutal end to her army career, but she swore a long time ago she would never go looking for them. Now she doesn’t have a choice.
BAD TURN #13: Charlie is out of work, out of her apartment and out of options. Why else would she be working for a shady arms dealer?
TRIAL UNDER FIRE #prequel: The untold story. Before she was a bodyguard, she was a soldier...
FOX FIVE RELOADED: short story collection. Charlie Fox. In small bites. With sharp teeth.
Where to Start?
If you enjoy reading about Charlie Fox right in the thick of it, working in close protection and travelling all over the world, I’d recommend you start with FIRST DROP: #4, or CHARLIE FOX: BODYGUARD eBoxset #2.
If, however, you want the full story of what happened to Charlie after she left the Army, and how she found her way into close protection, you’ll want to start at the beginning, with KILLER INSTINCT: #1, or CHARLIE FOX: THE EARLY YEARS eBoxset #1.
the Lakes Crime Thriller trilogy
DANCING ON THE GRAVE: #1 A sniper with a mission, a CSI with something to prove, a young cop with nothing to lose, and a teenage girl with a terrifying obsession. The calm of the English Lake District is about to be shattered.
BONES IN THE RIVER: #2 Driving on a country road, late at night, you hit a child. There are no witnesses. You have everything to lose. What do you do?
standalone crime thrillers
THE BLOOD WHISPERER Six years ago CSI Kelly Jacks woke next to a butchered body with the knife in her hands and no memory of what happened. She trusted the evidence would prove her innocent. It didn’t. Is history now repeating itself?
AN ITALIAN JOB (with John Lawton) Former soldiers Gina and Jack are about to discover that love is far deadlier the second time around.
NEW: the Blake & Byron thrillers
THE LAST TIME SHE DIED (Oct 2021) She came back on the day of her father’s funeral, ten years after she vanished. But she can’t be who she says she is. Because we killed her. Didn’t we?
for Martin Edwards
who persuaded me to write my first
Charlie Fox short story
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This collection first published in Great Britain 2021
by
ZACE
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Registered UK Office:
Kemp House, 160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX
[email protected]
Copyright © Zoë Sharp 2021
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A Bridge Too Far copyright © Zoë Sharp 2003 Green For Danger
Postcards From Another Country copyright © Zoë Sharp 2007 First Drop
Served Cold copyright © Zoë Sharp 2007 A Hell Of A Woman
Off Duty copyright © Zoë Sharp 2009 Criminal Tendencies
Truth And Lies copyright © Zoë Sharp 2011 Fox Five
Across The Broken Line copyright © Zoë Sharp 2012
Kill Me Again Slowly copyright © Zoë Sharp 2015 Murder Under The Oaks
Risk Assessment copyright © Zoë Sharp 2017 Strand Magazine
Hounded copyright © Zoë Sharp 2018 For The Sake Of The Game
The moral right of the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author, nor otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published.
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ISBN-13: 978-1-909344-98-3
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All characters and events in these stories, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
