Jacqui Rose - Taken

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2012

This ebook edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2018

Copyright © Jacqui Rose 2012

Cover design © Alison Groom 2018

Cover photograph © Shutterstock

Jacqui Rose 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.

Source ISBN: 9781847563224

Ebook Edition © August 2013 ISBN: 9780007455720

Version: 2018-05-01

For my three wonderful children who are the air I breathe and the heartbeat of my life.

And for my wonderful agent, Judith Murdoch, who saw something in me I didn’t see in myself – thank you.

And finally for Keshini Naidoo, who was my editor before she stopped being my editor, but best of all, she then became my friend.

Contents

Cover

Title Page JACQUI ROSE Taken

Copyright Copyright Published by AVON A Division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2012 This ebook edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2018 Copyright © Jacqui Rose 2012 Cover design © Alison Groom 2018 Cover photograph © Shutterstock Jacqui Rose 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. Source ISBN: 9781847563224 Ebook Edition © August 2013 ISBN: 9780007455720 Version: 2018-05-01

Dedication Dedication For my three wonderful children who are the air I breathe and the heartbeat of my life. And for my wonderful agent, Judith Murdoch, who saw something in me I didn’t see in myself – thank you. And finally for Keshini Naidoo, who was my editor before she stopped being my editor, but best of all, she then became my friend.

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

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

In conversation with Jacqui Rose

Keep Reading

About the Author

Titles by Jacqui Rose

About the Publisher

‘Soho’ – derived from a 17th-century hunting cry

‘Dean Street please.’

Casey Edwards sat in the back of the black cab and sank her body against the grey faux leather seats. She was exhausted but knew it was pointless trying to get some sleep; she was too wired and decided after she’d settled in, she’d dump her bags and go for a well-needed drink.

‘Here on business or pleasure, love?’

It was a simple question from the cab driver, who stared intensely at her with his watery blue eyes in the driver’s mirror, but it was one Casey didn’t know the answer to. She wasn’t here on business and she certainly wasn’t here on pleasure; the driver was as much in the know as she was. Not being put off by Casey’s silence, the cabbie continued to talk whilst weaving in and out of the traffic on the invariably busy Euston Road.

Casey gazed out of the window, watching the passing cars absentmindedly as she thought about the events of the morning.

Casey opened her eyes and looked down, wondering who the naked man fast asleep on her leg was. She moved her body slightly to the right and groaned audibly as her head began to pound and the sticky residue of semen between her legs betrayed the fact that once again, she’d had sex with a complete stranger.

Her life had become a series of alcohol-fuelled sexual encounters and now for the first time last night she’d added cocaine to the mix.

Getting off the small double bed, she took a second look at the man, who momentarily opened his eyes before turning over and letting out a loud fart. Casey grimaced, trying to remember the events of the previous night, but her head hurt and trying to think made it ache even more.

Vaguely she recollected getting ready; unwashed skinny jeans, a white Gap t-shirt and black leather jacket, before heading to Luigi’s wine bar on the corner of Station Road. She recalled ordering an overpriced scotch on the rocks – the first drink was supposed to give her the courage she needed, but instead it became the first of many. The taste of the burning whisky on her lips was as far as her memory took her; she couldn’t think how she’d ended up in a shabby hotel room having had sex with a man who had a clear case of flatulence.

Going over to where she’d thrown her clothes, Casey saw the remaining cocaine cut neatly into lines on the tatty brown dresser. Picking up the rolled-up twenty-pound note, she bent over, greedily snorting up the fine white powder and feeling the coke immediately cutting the back of her throat, leaving an acidic taste followed by a tingle as the buzz hit her head and body.

Looking round the room, Casey noticed her suitcase was slightly open and her eyes were immediately drawn to the battered red journal which lay amongst her crumpled clothes.