Caz Finlay - The Boss

A division of HarperCollins Publishers www.harpercollins.co.uk

KillerReads

an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Caz Finlay 2019

Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com

Caz Finlay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008340674

Version: 2019-05-01

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page The Boss CAZ FINLAY A division of HarperCollins Publishers www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright KillerReads an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019 Copyright © Caz Finlay 2019 Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019 Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com Caz Finlay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008340674 Version: 2019-05-01

Dedication For Jude, Fin and James. You inspire me every single day

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Five

Chapter Sixty-Six

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Chapter Seventy

Chapter Seventy-One

Chapter Seventy-Two

Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Four

Chapter Seventy-Five

Chapter Seventy-Six

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Chapter Eighty

Chapter Eighty-One

Chapter Eighty-Two

Chapter Eighty-Three

Chapter Eighty-Four

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

For Jude, Fin and James. You inspire me every single day

Grace Sumner steeled herself against the bar, her fingers splayed against the cool, polished wood as though it could ground her somehow. It was the moment she’d been expecting for a long time and finally there he was – Nathan Conlon, or Nate as she’d once affectionately called him. The pub was as busy as usual for a Friday night in Liverpool; but from the moment she saw his face, it was as though there was no one else in the room but the two of them. The constant chatter, the laughter – the incessant din of the place – faded into the background, until she could hear nothing but the blood rushing in her ears. She knew he’d make his way back into her life one day. His arrival was no surprise. She’d thought about nothing else for days.

But nothing could have prepared her for seeing that man’s face again.

He scanned the room quickly as he entered. Was he looking for her? For a moment, she thought their eyes met, but perhaps she’d imagined it? There was no recognition from him if they did. She took a moment to appraise him; he still had those incredible blue eyes and that smile that could make you forget your own name. He had a beard now too, and not one of those ridiculous hipster ones which seemed to be in fashion, but a neat one, which framed his strong jawline. It looked good on him. The dark grey suit he was wearing fitted him perfectly. He’d always looked good in a suit. He was bigger than she remembered. No doubt all that free time he’d had to work out in the gym.

It had been a long time since she’d seen him, but the image of him was burned into her retinas like the negative of a photograph. He was still the best-looking man she had ever seen. Gliding through the crowded bar effortlessly, he smiled at everyone. Friends, acquaintances or strangers – it didn’t matter to Nathan, who was always equally comfortable in anyone’s presence. He was one of those people that everybody loved to be around – well almost everybody.

He was the first man she’d ever loved, the first man she’d ever made love to. The irony of that didn’t escape her. Because he was also the man who’d given her nightmares for the past nineteen years, the man she feared more than anyone or anything else in the world: her ex-husband, and the father of her only child. A shudder ran down the length of Grace’s spine as she remembered what he was capable of and what he would do if he ever found out about the things she’d done.