Payback

Edie Baylis

Description

The gritty, addictive gangland thriller from bestseller Edie Baylis!

Revenge will come at a price…

With his once thriving casino business now in ruins, Seb Stoker is certain about two things: One – he will rebuild bigger and better than ever. And two – someone will pay for torching his club.

But until that day comes, Seb has bigger things to worry about and a business deal that could make or break them all…

Sam Reynold knows Seb is out for revenge, and she’ll do anything she can to help him. But Sam has her own enemies and battles to fight – ones much closer to home.

With pressure mounting for both of them, tensions run high.

And payback will be deadly.

A gripping new gangland story perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Heather Atkinson and Caz Finlay.

What people are saying about Edie Baylis!

'From start to finish, fast paced and gripping. Gangland fiction at its best! Bestselling author Kerry Kaya.

'Shocking and thrilling at the same time. It will take your breath away!' Bestselling author Gillian Godden.

'Edie Baylis has produced another fantastic gangland read. I loved the characters and was gripped from the first page. A massive 5 stars!' Bestselling author Caz Finlay.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Policier
• Mashups
• Thrillers
• Women
• Suspenso
• General officer
• Woman
• The Women
• City Life
• Organized Crime
• General
• Crime
• Family Life
• Suspense
• Thriller
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 03 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781802801880
• Langue: English

Extrait

PAYBACK


EDIE BAYLIS
For Tanya x
CONTENTS




Prologue



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



Epilogue




Acknowledgments



More from Edie Baylis



About the Author



Peaky Readers



About Boldwood Books
PROLOGUE
13 FEBRUARY 1996

Seb Stoker stared with impatience at the sweating, shivering man cowering beneath him. ‘I won’t ask you again, so I suggest you think very clearly before you answer.’
He casually inspected his fingernails, frowning at the hint of dirt underneath a nail on his right hand. Something else to put on the list of things to get straight. ‘I’d also suggest you do so quickly. I’m a busy man, so time spent on you is limited.’
Seb’s green eyes flicked over the back of the large Erdington lockup to the wall where the rack of metal cabinets that housed his firm’s collection of safes had once stood.
His fists clenched. As instructed, the area was now cleared. He didn’t need a constant reminder of what the firm – or rather, he , had lost. Or, more accurately, had been stolen .
And if the theory was correct, the theft was aided by this lowlife.
Seb returned his glare to the trembling man. The mere sight of this loser – a paid member of their firm, who, it seemed, had made the unforgivable error of opening his fat gob to cause this disaster, boiled his piss further.
He was acutely aware that his brother, Neil, had been lax for leaving the safes’ codes on his mobile phone long enough for this yellow-bellied turd to learn of them, but gross stupidity had not warranted or forced this piece of shit to take it upon himself to wander around flapping his gums.
And flapping his gums to a certain somebody who’d turned him over.
This runner, Simon Parker, may not have physically lifted the contents of the safes whilst the Stokers’ casino had burnt down around them, but his big mouth had certainly enabled the act.
And for that he would pay.
Seb glanced at his twin brothers, standing either side of the runner, waiting impatiently for the nod to start work on information, Andrew more so than Neil. But Seb had already decided that this time, he would do the job himself – if only to release some steadily festering pent-up bitterness and frustration that had mounted up during the rapid chain of events over the last month.
At this precise second, the firm had lost its spare stash of millions, his casino was razed to the ground, half his staff were being temporarily employed at the Violet Orchid, courtesy of his fiancée, Samantha, and, if he didn’t sort this shit out, his and Sam’s home would be the next thing to cop it.
And that he drew the line at.
Someone would suffer, and this wanker made a decent starting point.
Seb’s eyes narrowed back to the man in front of him, his swift turn towards one of the many workbenches causing a gibbering sound to escape from the trussed-up man’s mouth.
Yeah, this bloke knew what was coming. Everybody knew what happened if you fucked with the Stokers. Or at least they had… But being as someone believed they’d escape retribution after pulling a robbery and arson, the city needed a fast and sharp reminder.
And Simon Parker would be the poster boy.
Yanking a pair of pliers from a holdall, Seb dropped to his haunches in front of the bound man, making sure to balance his weight more on the leg that hadn’t taken a bullet the night everything hit the fan. It might not have been long since Andrew had fished the metal from his thigh, but thankfully, short of it still being a bit stiff, there were no ongoing problems. He’d been lucky.
This man, however, would not be so lucky…
‘Still nothing to say?’ Seb’s teeth glinted in the illumination from the bank of fluorescent strip lights overhead as his eyes rested on Simon Parker. ‘Try thinking about what you did after nosing through my brother’s phone whilst you sat all comfy-like in the van. Remember? The night you were instructed to bring him here to drop off money?’
Simon’s eyes darted to Neil and Andrew as they moved to flank Seb. ‘I didn’t… I…’
As Simon tried to move away from the jaws of the pliers, Seb grinned. The prick couldn’t move anywhere, the gaffer tape securing his arms to the chair put paid to that.
It also held them in the perfect position for this …
Clasping the tips of the pliers over Simon’s right thumbnail, Seb ripped the large nail clean off its bed with minimum effort.
The howl of pain was pleasurable, but if the man found that painful, he was in for a rude awakening.
‘Now, let’s think about this carefully,’ Seb smiled coldly. ‘After going through my brother’s phone and getting the codes, who did you deem it wise to pass them to?’
Simon howled again as the next two fingernails were removed. His shaking increased. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe Seb Stoker had even warmed up yet. ‘I – I didn’t nose through the phone. Neil dropped it… I mean, Mr Stoker dropped it. I just picked it up from the footwell and…’
‘Let’s not be finicky,’ Seb said, his rage a simmering timebomb as he glared at Neil for good measure. Dropped the phone in the fucking footwell? Christ! ‘How you got the code is irrelevant, but who you gave it to isn’t!’
‘I – I didn’t give it to anyone. I…’
The crack to Simon’s jaw from Seb’s fist echoed around the storage unit. The chair rocked unsteadily whilst Seb stared at the blood trickling from the man’s mouth. ‘We paid you good money to work for us. We employed you for fucking years and this is how you repaid us?’ he screamed, his controlled demeanour deserting him.
Grabbing a fistful of hair, Seb wrenched Simon’s head back. ‘Andrew? Sort the teeth!’
Andrew stepped forward with a wide grin. It had been a while since he’d removed anyone’s teeth and he was looking forward to it.
Simon’s eyes widened at the long-nosed pliers in Andrew Stoker’s hand. ‘No! Please! I…’
Jamming the pliers into the man’s mouth, Andrew yanked out a front tooth, the scream going straight through his head. ‘Urgh, these are fucking rotten. They’re like cottage cheese!’
Seb snatched the thin pliers from Andrew’s hand. ‘Give me those! I might as well lift the whole fucking lot, being as this prick has nothing to say.’ He tugged harder on Simon’s hair, scowling as the man fruitlessly tried to close his mouth, rivulets of blood cascading down his chin.
‘Ygggh! Nhhgh!’ Simon squawked.
‘What? What did you fucking say?’ Seb roared. ‘I can’t understand you. Oh, fuck this! Grab the bolt cutters, Neil. Do this wanker’s fingers whilst I do his fucking gob.’
‘No, noguggh!’ Simon wailed, the chair jumping around despite Andrew’s firm grasp of his shoulders.
Seb released Simon’s hair and slowly walked around the front of the man. ‘Two seconds is what you’ve got to talk.’ His eyes narrowed malevolently. ‘Which firm did you sell us out to? Who paid you?’
‘I – I didn’t sell them!’ Simon gabbled, his mouth a sea of pain. ‘I didn’t, I swear, Mr Stoker. The only thing I think I did was I said something. I was pissed up and I…’
‘You were pissed up and you think you said “something” to “someone”?’ Seb raged incredulously. ‘Are you taking the mick?’
‘He’s talking shite!’ Andrew barked. ‘Let’s just get on with it.’
‘No! I did! I’m sure I did. No, I know I did!’ Simon blathered, sweat running down his brow to mix with the blood dripping onto his T-shirt.
Seb pushed himself into the runner’s face. ‘Well?’
Simon racked his brains. It was true that he hadn’t sold the codes, but he had said something once. He might as well say, because he had nothing to lose. The Stokers appreciated honesty. Everyone knew they were fair. ‘It… it was this bloke…’
‘Which. Bloke. Did. You. Tell!’ Seb spat each word through clenched teeth. Whoever was told was the crux of the shit he was now dealing with – the shit put on Sam and the shit he was about to unleash on all of them to dig them out of this mess. And it was all down to this waste of fucking oxygen.
‘I was in the Whistling Pig having a drink with a bird called Marlene when some geezers called me over.’
‘What geezers?’ Neil pressed, the weight of his part of this disaster weighing heavily on his shoulders.
‘I – I don’t know. No one important – just blokes. But there was a guy with them asking about the poker tournaments. I – I said I could get him a VIP pass…’ The words spilt from Simon’s broken mouth. He could still save himself, he knew he could.
His eyes darted between the three Stoker men pleadingly. ‘Please, you’ve got to believe me. I never meant to say anything out of turn. I was drunk and showing off.’
‘The name of this man?’ Seb flexed the pair of bolt cutters now in his hand.
Simon couldn’t move his gaze from the jaws of the vicious-looking implement. He’d lose his fingers and probably his toes if he didn’t talk. He’d heard they’d done this before. ‘I… I think his name was Dan. No, it was, I’m sure of it.’
Andrew rolled his eyes. ‘Dan? Dan fucking who?’
‘I – I don’t know. I’d never seen him before. I said I was a trusted member of the firm and could prove it because I knew the codes for the safes…’ Simon’s face bur