Alex Walters - Trust No One

Trust No One

Alex Walters

Copyright Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph Prologue Part One - Summer: Preparation Chapter 1 Part Two - Winter: Operational 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 Part Three - Winter: Outside Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 An Interview with Alex Walters About the Author About the Publisher

AVON

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1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Copyright © Michael Walters 2011

Michael Walters asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for 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 nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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.

Source ISBN: 9781847562852

Ebook edition © AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 9781847562982

Version: 2016-02-17

Dedication Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph Prologue Part One - Summer: Preparation Chapter 1 Part Two - Winter: Operational 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 Part Three - Winter: Outside Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 An Interview with Alex Walters About the Author About the Publisher

Of course, this has to be dedicated to Christine, with thanks for everything. And to James, Adam and Jonny for their continuing love and support.

I’d also like to thank all those, necessarily nameless, who gave me advice and information about various aspects of undercover work. And thanks to Sammia Rafique, my excellent editor at Avon, and to Peter Buckman, as always a wonderful agent and an astute critic.

Epigraph Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Epigraph Prologue Part One - Summer: Preparation Chapter 1 Part Two - Winter: Operational 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 Part Three - Winter: Outside Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 An Interview with Alex Walters About the Author About the Publisher

This has to be for Christine, of course. For everything.

Au revoir , love, wherever you are.

Contents

Cover

Title Page Trust No One Alex Walters

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Prologue

Part One - Summer: Preparation

Chapter 1

Part Two - Winter: Operational

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

Part Three - Winter: Outside

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

An Interview with Alex Walters

About the Author

About the Publisher

Prologue Contents Cover Title Page Trust No One Alex Walters Copyright Dedication Epigraph Prologue Part One - Summer: Preparation Chapter 1 Part Two - Winter: Operational 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 Part Three - Winter: Outside Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 An Interview with Alex Walters About the Author About the Publisher

The last time she saw Jake, Marie found herself awake, sometime after midnight, staring into the darkness. She told herself it was because they’d eaten late, because she’d drunk too much wine. Because tonight, after their conversation in the restaurant, after what had been said and not said, their lovemaking had left her restless rather than relaxed. All that was true, but she couldn’t fool herself that it was the whole story.

She rolled over in the bed. Jake was asleep, on his back, snoring softly. She was tempted to wake him, caress him, hope that more sex would calm her tense nerves. The logic of the addict. A second impulse, maybe more rational, was simply to slip away, now, in the small hours. Put an end to all this before it was too late.

Jake deserved better. This was her mess, not his. Whatever she did, she had to do right by Jake. She’d sit down and talk to him properly. Tell him what she could. Not the whole truth. Probably not much of the truth. But something. Enough. Enough so he’d understand. One day soon.

She pushed back the duvet and sat up, for a moment enjoying the small-hours chill of the bedroom on her naked body. Beside her, Jake stirred, rolled over, but didn’t wake. She eased herself out of bed and reached for the old dressing gown that Jake had loaned her. It was too small to have been Jake’s, and she assumed that it had belonged to some past girlfriend. Fair enough. Jake’s business.

Moving quietly across the room, she paused to gather up her handbag and the clothes she’d left neatly piled on the chair by the door. There was no point in staying in bed. She’d only toss and turn till she woke Jake, and despite her earlier impulse, that wasn’t really what she wanted. She’d do what she often ended up doing these days, here and in her own flat. She’d make herself a hot drink, read a mindless magazine or watch some content-free television, or just sit out on Jake’s balcony, listening to the distant ripple of the water and the sounds of the night. Calm herself to the point where she could sleep again.

And if that failed, she told herself, she’d wake Jake and give sex another shot after all.

With a kettle boiling in the kitchen, she dressed quickly, more conscious of the cold now. They’d had a quiet evening – a few drinks in the pub, an Italian, a bottle of wine between them – and her outfit was practical rather than decorative. Jeans, a sweater, smart boots.

She’d never doubted that she’d stay over again tonight. It had been inevitable long before she’d knocked back her first large red. But, as usual, she’d brought no change of clothes, reasoning that she’d have time in the morning to get back to the flat, to shower and change, before she needed to get to the shop. She told herself that it was because she wanted nothing taken for granted – but whether by herself or by Jake, she didn’t know.