Backstabber: The No. 1 bestseller at her shocking, gripping best – this book has a twist and a sting in its tail!. Kimberley Chambers

be chucked out the house, had she?

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

      ‘Happy birthday, darlin’,’ Vinny Butler said.

      Felicity Carter-Price excitedly put her hand inside the gift bag and pulled out a small Cartier box. Inside was a stunning pair of diamond drop earrings. ‘Wow! They’re amazing, Vinny. I love them. Thank you so much.’

      ‘Only the best for my girl,’ Vinny said, before urging her to try them on. This was all new to him, buying gifts for a girlfriend. It felt weird, but kind of cool at the same time. If somebody had told him a year ago that he’d be all loved up and buying Cartier earrings for his woman, he would’ve laughed in their face.

      ‘How do they look?’ Felicity asked.

      ‘Gorgeous, just like you. Nah, don’t take ’em off. I wanna look at ’em while I give you your other present.’

      Felicity grinned as Vinny dragged what they referred to as ‘Pandora’s box’ out of the walk-in wardrobe. He liked it rough and she aimed to please. That was why she trawled the internet regularly, looking for outrageous sex toys and props.

      ‘Do you want me to answer that?’ Felicity asked.

      ‘Give us it,’ Vinny said, snatching his phone out of her hands.

      Felicity smiled as she thought of the evening ahead. All Vinny’s family would be at the opening of his new casino, and she couldn’t wait to meet them at long last. Ava despised her, she already knew that. But she was hoping to make a good impression in front of the others, his mother especially. Vinny was a dark horse, and Felicity was eager to find out more about the man she virtually lived with now.

      ‘That was me mother. Reckons she’s got nothing to wear tonight. Three wardrobes she’s got, full to the brim. Yous women will be the death of me,’ Vinny joked, before ordering Felicity to turn over.

      Handcuffing his girlfriend’s wrists to the bedposts, Vinny stroked her long dark hair. She was a very beautiful girl and he was a lucky man.

      Over in Essex, Georgie and Harry O’Hara were having a count up.

      ‘How much we got now?’ Harry asked his sister.

      ‘Thirty pound, eighty pence. We need at least a hundred pound, perhaps even two.’

      Harry tutted. Their mother wouldn’t give them any pocket money as such because she was scared they’d try to run away again. They’d managed to nick a few quid. Harry had swiped a tenner out of Stuart’s wallet when the police had given it to their mum, and they’d also nicked some coins out of her purse when she left it lying around, but other than that they had no way of getting or earning any cash. ‘Why do we need more? That’s enough for food and drinks, and Scotland ain’t that far away. We can easy bunk the trains without a ticket.’

      ‘We can’t. They’ve got barriers and people watching ya. When Nan and Mary went shopping in Glasgow that time, they nearly got arrested. Nan was frit to death when she came home, don’t you remember? She never got on a train again, said she’d rather walk and wear her shoes out.’

      Having never been on a train or bus in his life, Harry knew very little about how public transport operated. Whenever he’d left the site back in Scotland, it had been in a car or van with his dad, uncle, or granddad behind the wheel. ‘Why don’t you ask Calum to help us? He well likes you, I can tell. I bet he’d give you money if you show him your titties.’

      ‘I will ask him to help us, but not yet. We need to find out where we’re going first, and how to get there. Our site weren’t near any stations, and say nobody’s there any more? If our dad and granddad are dead, Nanny Alice won’t be there.’

      ‘Ryan’ll still be there. His dad owned the land,’ Harry reminded his sister.

      ‘We don’t know that for sure. Ryan’s dad probably came to rescue us with the others, and he might be dead too.’

      ‘Cheerful, you are, ain’t ya, Georgie?’

      ‘I’m just stating facts.’

      ‘Well now I’m stating facts. I hate Frankie and this shitty house, and if you won’t come with me, I’ll run away on my own.’

      Vinny Butler shot his load up Felicity’s backside, unlocked the handcuffs and then rolled on to his back.

      ‘What time should I be ready for this evening? I’d rather not drive, if that’s OK? Are we getting a cab?’ she asked.