by Zoe Sharp
Epps didn’t show surprise but he came close to it then. “I can neither confirm nor deny that allegation,” he said, very formal. The corner of his mouth cracked into the hint of a smile. “But we did shit on them from a great height during Desert Storm.”
“So you’re happy for him to sell them chemical weapons?”
“If that’s what he’d sold them, no I wouldn’t be happy about that at all. Fortunately, his deal with the Kurdish forces involved vaccines, antidotes and NBC protective equipment, not the weapons themselves.” Epps rose, reached for his coat and looked almost disappointed as he said, “All in all, a positive outcome.”
I hovered. “May I take it, from all this, that you’re not about to have me deported?”
“You may. What you choose to do with it is up to you.” He turned up his collar, buttoned the front of the coat, and called over his shoulder. “OK, she’s all yours.”
The kitchen door opened and closed and a second man stepped into the room.
“Hello, Charlie.”
“Parker,” I said. My heart had begun to settle. Now it kicked off again. We stood there for a week or so without saying anything else.
Parker cleared his throat. “Would you give us a moment, Conrad?”
“I’ll wait outside.” Epps nodded to me. “You did some good work, Fox.”
Don’t spoil it now.
I heard the words as if he’d spoken them, and wondered how he considered I might do that. I wasn’t about to ask.
When the front door closed behind him, Parker said, “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you made it through.”
“So am I.”
Another week passed. Or maybe it just felt that way.
I sighed. “Why are you here, Parker? What do you want?”
“What I want…is for you to come back.”
“To the agency?”
“To me.”
I took a deep breath. “I…can’t do that. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. It’s too soon. Maybe—”
“No, you don’t understand. You…me… I can’t do any of it. I’m not saying I don’t want to. Jesus, Parker, you caught me at a moment of weakness and I gave in to it. But that doesn’t mean it would work, mixing professional and personal. Not day to day.”
“It worked for you and Sean.”
“No… No, I don’t think it did. Not in the end.”
“Oh, come on, Charlie! He was shot in the head. His whole personality changed.”
“Even if that hadn’t happened, too much other shit went on. Trust issues. Bad stuff that would always be there between us, eating away. Eventually, there wouldn’t have been enough of the good left to hold us together.”
Parker’s smile was bitter. “So, it’s not me, it’s you, is that what you’re saying?”
“It’s both of us. I can’t bring myself to trust you a hundred percent, not after what you did.”
“I thought we went over this already. I didn’t tell you any lies about Sean.”
Yeah, but you held back truths, and that still counts…
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about evicting me from the apartment, blacklisting me, then being only too ready to believe I’d turn criminal.”
“Even you have to admit it looked pretty bad.”
“To an outsider, maybe. But to someone who knew me well—someone like you? It shouldn’t have done. You should have trusted me, and you didn’t.”
“I was worried about you—what I might have inadvertently made you do. And I’m sorry. More than you’ll ever know.” He moved closer, smoothed my hair back from my face with gentle fingers. “Let me make it up to you, hm?”
I stepped back and his hand fell away. “Actually, I’ve decided to go home for a while.”
“Back to the UK? You’re kidding me. I thought the whole reason you agreed to work for Epps was because you didn’t want to leave?”
“I didn’t. But not wanting to be thrown out is not the same as going of my own free will.”
“Sometimes I think, if there’s a stubborn option, you take it just because you can.”
“Free will is a wonderful thing.”
“Not if it forces you to make decisions that are not in your best interests.”
“Not in my best interests, Parker, or not in yours?”
He gave a rueful smile. “Can’t they be both?”
“They can. But, in this case, I don’t think they are.”
“Come on, Charlie. You know how it is between us. Even you have to admit it was good—too good to throw away, hm?”
I shook my head. “What happened in Geneva…well, it was probably a long time coming. But it was more like an end than a beginning. It has to be, if either of us are going to move on from this. I’m sorry.”
“You’re wrong.” He stepped back. Something hardened in his face, around his eyes. It sent a trickle of unease down my spine. “This isn’t over between us, Charlie. And sooner or later you’re going to realise that with me is where you belong…”
Afterword
Liked it?
If you’ve enjoyed this book, there is no greater compliment you can give an author than to leave a review on the retailer site where you made your purchase, or on 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 liked about it, and encourage others to give my work—and Charlie Fox—a try. Thank you so much for taking the time.
* * *
I’m only human…
We all make mistakes from time to time. This book 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 short stories as a thank you for your eagle-eyed observational skills!
Email me at [email protected].
About the Author
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. Find out more at www.ZoeSharp.com
Acknowledgements
Barbara Zilly
Caroline Moir
Derek Harrison
Eric Kincaid
Dr Heather Venables
Helena Hoare
Hermann Schade
Jane Hudson
Jeffrey Siger
Jill Harrison
John Lawton
Lewis Hancock
Libby Fischer Hellmann—US-to-UK translation
Liz Graham-Yooll
Mo Heedles
Pippa White
Robert Etherington
Tim Winfield
Tony Walker
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 was 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.
FIRST DROP #4: Charlie’s first bodyguard job in Flor
ida 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. Her late principal’s baby daughter is in danger. Charlie will risk everything to keep her safe. But she’s in no state to protect anyone, herself least of all.
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 #0: The untold story. Before she was a bodyguard, she was a soldier... (Coming soon)
FOX FIVE RELOADED: short story collection. Charlie Fox in small bites, with sharp teeth. (Coming soon)
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 innocence. 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.
DANCING ON THE GRAVE 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.
Dedication
For Gillie Goodman
actor and friend
* * *
First published in Great Britain 2019
ZACE
Registered UK Office:
Kemp House, 160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX
Copyright © Zoë Sharp 2019
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.
ISBN-13: 978-1-909344-55-6
All characters and events in this novel, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Contents
Jacket copy
Also by Zoë Sharp
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Epilogue
Afterword
About the Author
Acknowledgements
The stories so far…
