Escape To Love

This book was given to JOANNA Rączkowska on Instafreebie. www.instafreebie.com

Escape To Love by Emma Calin

ESCAPE TO LOVE First published 2013 by Gallo-Romano Media copyright © 2013 Emma Calin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Author. Your support of authors’ rights is appreciated. All characters in this compilation are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 A message from Emma

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Escape To Love

Chapter 1 Maria knew for herself the fear of sirens. Now a helicopter hovered over woods at the edge of the estate. On the air of deepening dusk, she caught the sound of dogs. Outside in the strange darkness there was trouble. She shuddered, feeling even more alone and glanced at the clock. Lucy had not come home from school. All day there had been a storm and now beyond her in the unfamiliar landscape, some drama was playing out. She held back the urge to panic and sat down in the bare lounge of her new home. She had had very little to bring and as yet there were no curtains. Lucy was thirteen and despite everything, was old enough to walk home from school. It was early days and she had not made any friends, but she had begged her mother not to wait at the gates. All the experts had said she could handle a mainstream school. And she had not come home. Now it was dark. Police vehicles sped along the main road outside that led around the estate and towards the woods. Their blue lights strobed out a merciless tension. Any minute she would come home. Any minute the door would open, her bag would be thrown on the floor and her shoes kicked off across the room. Any minute now, this fear would end. She had not paid her mobile bill and there was no phone in the house. She knew no-one nearby and was a universe away from all she had ever known in North London. Her mouth was dry and her heart pounding. Something had happened. And Lucy had not come home. Looking from her bare front window she saw a police car at an angle across the road. Officers were

setting up signs and creating a roadblock. Maria threw on an unflattering anorak and went outside. A policewoman about her own age was talking on a radio, her face alternating dark then ghostly blue in the flashing lights of the police car. ‘What’s going on?’ asked Maria. The officer looked round, unsmiling and with an air of impatience. ‘Escape at the prison – one’s a rapist murderer—a psycho.’ ‘What prison?’ ‘Blackmarsh—over the other side of the woods.’ ‘I didn’t know. I just moved.’ The officer shot Maria a glance. ‘You all right, Love?’ she asked. Maria shook her head and began to cry, hating herself for her softness. ‘It’s my daughter, Lucy—she ain’t come ’ome.’ ‘How old is she?’ asked the officer. ‘Thirteen. She’s at the Comprehensive—Saint Margaret’s. She don’t know the estate.’ ‘She’ll be with some mates, just hanging out. I’ll be moving them on later and she’ll be giving me cheek.’ ‘She ain’t got no mates here. What if that psycho’s grabbed her?’ ‘Look, I can see your worries but she’s not going to be in the woods on the way home from school is she?’ Maria thought for a minute. No. She wouldn’t come home through the woods. ‘I just dunno,’ she said. Suddenly she could not hold it all

together, ‘There’s only me and Lucy. She has problems and that’s all our life is. I’m alone here. Now there’s some murderer out there and she ain’t come home.’ The policewoman had stepped out into the road and was checking inside a vehicle with a torch. ‘Give me a few minutes. I’ll have to get a relief and then I’ll come over. Don’t worry. She’ll be OK.’ Maria watched the officer stop another car and then take out her radio. ‘There’s a woman here with a girl not come home. I need to talk to her. Can I get a relief?’ Maria heard the distorted response. ‘You’re not thinking old psycho’s got her are you? He’s on the run. He ain’t got time for torture and rape.’ ‘The mother is right here beside me,’ said the officer with a tone of exasperation. ‘OK. Yeah, we’ll get someone to you,’ came the voice on the radio. ‘I’m at 320—the house with no curtains,’ she said. She walked back. If anyone had harmed her child—if anyone ever did that again…. The house seemed colder than the street outside. There was a fireplace but she had not lit a fire. She heard a sound in the kitchen at the other end of the hall. ‘Mum! Mum!’ It was Lucy. Oh, dear Lord. Thanks to everything in this world and beyond. It was her child and she was home. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Only a mother knows. Lucy had come home.

She ran though to the kitchen. ‘Lucy—’ The first thing she saw was a man, perhaps a foot taller than her and as broad as a door. She heard water dripping on the floor. This was crazy. ‘Madam—I don’t know your name. Lucy is safe. She’s not been hurt but she’s freezing and needs clothes.’ said a deep male voice. ‘Who the fuck are you?’ said Maria. ‘I’m Alan—’ ‘Don’t fuckin’ move. There’s a copper outside.’ ‘Mum—I was in the river because of other girls and the water was pushing me and Alan—this man Alan—this man here came in and the water didn’t pull me down the tunnel. He’s my friend, Mum. Alan’s my friend because there are bad people, aren’t there, Mum?’ said Lucy. Maria held out her arms as her child ran to her. ‘You’re that prisoner on the run—that fuckin’ rapist aren’t you.’ ‘There were two of us. There was a break and I just ran. If you go to the police outside I won’t stop you. It was a dumb idea,’ he said. His voice sounded gentle and educated. What sort of villain called you ‘Madam’? ‘There were girls wanting me to go thievin’ at the shops. I said No and they hated me and said I was a retard, Mum. I went over the sports field to get away and got lost in the trees. I tried to cross the river because that’s where home and happiness is—it’s always across a river isn’t it, Mum? The cows in Africa on the television cross and the babies

get eaten by the crocodiles, Mum, and if you can cross you’re OK with all the others and you’re not retarded,’ said Lucy. Maria was crying. ‘You’re my baby, my baby.’ Maria gripped her in her arms. Still she could see the outline of the stranger against the bare kitchen window. She reached behind her and clicked on the light. This was a big guy, tall and strong. For some reason she felt no fear of him. ‘Did you get her out of the river?’ she asked. ‘I suppose so. God knows how she got there.’ ‘There was another man and he ran off and Alan shouted at him to help but he didn’t,’ said Lucy. Despite herself Maria questioned the stranger with her eyes. ‘Look. I saw her in the river holding on to a tree and dragged her out. Anyone would have done the same. She said she’d show me where she lived and I’ve not done a lot of thinking since,’ he said. ‘I’m thinking for all of us…. ’ ‘The girl’s freezing.’ ‘D’ya think I don’t fuckin’ know that?’ ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…. ’ he said. His tone was genuine, but she’d made some misjudgements along the way. Apparently he had saved her child when he could have kept running. She was coiled like a snake, ready to run to the police outside. She watched him watching her. She held his eyes and he responded with a kindness. She saw no anger or

violence there. Something was passing between them but she could not get this wrong. He sounded calm and sane—but how did murdering rapists sound anyway? ‘What’s your name? ’ he asked. ‘Fuck off mate! You’ve got a cheek. You’ve come in here and ask my name, like this was normal. ’ He nodded. ‘That’s fair. I’ll slip away out the door. Give me five minutes if you want to.’ ‘Is Alan going, Mum? He’s got white teeth and he was in the water and I could only see his head but he wasn’t a crocodile,’ said Lucy. Maria started to sob. ‘This ain’t our problem Luce. We’re on the bloody run ourselves. We don’t need all this.’ She knew that if he ran now the dogs and the helicopter would get him. She studied him for a minute. His eyes were deep and intelligent. She had a warm feeling about him but she could not trust it. ‘It’s wrong of me to involve you and give you all this trouble. I’ll slide out the door and you can get on with your lives,’ he said. ‘You’ll freeze out there,’ ‘I’d worry about the girl,’ he said. ‘D’ya think I ain’t worried mate? I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.’ He nodded and held her stare. Then he turned, opened the door and stepped out.

Chapter 2 Maria grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Lucy. ‘Let’s get you in the bath – I’ve got three quid credit on the electric card.’ ‘Are you going to the police, Mum? Why are some people prisoners and some aren’t?’ ‘Some people are bad and do crimes. Anyway a policewoman’s coming over in a minute. There’s a killer on the loose out there and as far as I know it could be him,’ said Maria. ‘He was kind to me. You should be kind shouldn’t you?’ ‘How d’ya get in the river?’ ‘I started to slide down a bank and it was just wet mud and I couldn’t grip anything. I got swept along and grabbed a branch and then the two men ran across a bridge where the water went into a dark tunnel and I thought I was going in there,’ said Lucy. Maria ran a bath and hugged her child. If that guy had been up to his neck in the water it sounded like things had been pretty desperate. There had been rain and floods for days but she hadn’t got her TV yet. ‘What did Alan say to you?’ ‘He said he’d come from Blackmarsh. He said the other bloke had hit the guard and that’s why he hadn’t stopped to help.’ Bloody hell, they were in trouble now. One was already a murderer. That bloke Alan—if he had saved Lucy, then

she owed him that forever. ‘We don’t know what’s true Lucy. That bloke could be dangerous.’ ‘Mum, he’s not like Dave. He was a criminal wasn’t he?’ That was true. He was nothing like her ex-lover Dave. He would have punched first and thought after, if at all. She knew the merciless hardness in a man’s eyes and whatever he was, that guy on the run, had kindness in his look. There was a knock at the door. Maria went down stairs. She could see the outline of the policewoman through the frosted glass. ‘He could have died couldn’t he, Mum?’ called Lucy. Maria opened the door. ‘I was just coming over. She’s just this minute come home.’ ‘I’m pleased. That’s good. I thought she’d only be hanging about with some friends.’ ‘They don’t think, do they?’ The officer laughed. ‘Tell me about it. I’ve got two myself. I’m glad it’s all OK. Goodnight.’ ‘You caught ’em yet?’ ‘No, there’s two of ’em. One’s a right hard-nut. The other’s a tag-along.’ ‘What they look like?’ asked Maria. ‘One’s big and one’s small—both mid-thirties and wearing prison overalls. Just keep your doors locked. My guess is that they’re long gone. If they’ve gone to ground

in the woods the dogs will get them.’ Maria nodded, aware of her pounding heart. She hadn’t locked that back door. She still had the chance to say something. She could hear Lucy at the top of the stairs and knew she was listening. He had saved her child. ‘Goodnight,’ said Maria, closing the door. The hallway and the kitchen at the far end were dark although she knew she had left the light on. She had an intuition of eyes on her back. ‘Get yourself some clothes,’ she called to Lucy, trying to make everything sound calm. She knew though that there was someone in the darkness behind her. She knew. She could still run out to the police, but Lucy was undressed upstairs. She edged along the hall and stopped at the kitchen door. She hadn’t locked the bloody back door! ‘You’re there aren’t you,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to frighten you. There’s police dogs all over the place out there. I put the light off because there are no curtains.’ ‘You tricked me. You said you’d go.’ ‘The dogs will shred me if I run.’ ‘I don’t fuckin’ care, mate.’ ‘You sure?’ ‘What’s this? Some sort of fucking quiz? I ain’t gotta answer your questions.’ There was no response. She wanted him to go but there was some little insect of curiosity swimming in her sea of fear.

‘What you in the clink for?’ she asked. ‘Stealing, I suppose. The posh words are false accounting, deception and fraud.’ ‘You didn’t just bust your gas meter then?’ ‘Well, my parents told me that if a job was worth doing…. ’ Maria almost smiled and she could hear a smile in his voice. ‘Fuck off. How much did you steal?’ ‘A bit over two million.’ ‘How much over?’ ‘Seven hundred thousand.’ ‘Jesus Christ!’ she said. ‘He wasn’t involved. Do you want to talk about it?’ ‘I want you to fuck off.’ ‘You said to Lucy you were on the run. What’s that about?’ ‘None of your business mate.’ ‘I wish I knew your name. I’m Alan Johnson and I am not a murderer or rapist. You might think I’m worse than that.’ ‘What’s worse than that?’ ‘I was a banker.’ ‘Now you’re a prisoner on the run.’ ‘No. I’m an ex prisoner. Prison was harming my health so I gave it up.’ Maria laughed. She actually laughed and as she did she realised that she hadn’t laughed for months. Just what the hell was she doing talking to this man? But she knew

didn’t she. Her loneliness was like a still mountain lake, reflecting only her. He had crashed into the stillness and now a voice came back which was not just an echo of her own mind. This man needed her. And he had saved her child. ‘I want to believe you’re the good guy, I do,’ she said. ‘Let’s agree I’m not the bad guy,’ he said. ‘I’ve trusted before…. ’ Now some dam of tears had broken and she could not stop. ‘I’ve trusted and trusted and I’ve been fucked up and cheated ev’ry fuckin’ time,’ she sobbed. ‘I won’t ask you to trust me.’ She took some deep breaths and gathered her strength. His gentle voice in the darkness had opened her and she knew he was soaked and freezing but still talking to her with respect and kindness. ‘They’re gonna get you. You must know that. How long were you in for?’ ‘Six years, but with good conduct it would only have been another two years and nine weeks. That’s before I ran off.’ ‘Why did you?’ ‘Oh, I wish I knew and I wish I knew your name.’ ‘My name’s Maria.’‘Maria—I just wanted freedom, simply to be free.’ He had called her by her name. She was a woman and a person called Maria. She enjoyed the sound and his possession of it.

‘I understand that,’ she said. ‘I think you do, Maria.’ Still he was just a voice in the darkness while she remained motionless in the hallway. She had to make decisions and get a grip. This man had blundered into her life and she had no need of more trouble. She heard Lucy calling from upstairs. She needed help to find clothes. ‘You’re shivering. Get in the front room and wait there while I sort out Luce. You can get a dip in the bath if you don’t mind second-hand water.’ He moved out of the shadows. He must have been about 6‘4”, a foot taller than her. His broad shoulders almost filled the doorway as he stepped out of the shadows. She let him pass. He smelled of man-sweat, mud, and wet clothes. She watched him crawl under the level of the bare window and sit on the cold tiled floor. ‘There’s a rail. I could fix some kind of curtain if you’ve got a blanket or something,’ he said. ‘Right little handyman aren’t ya?’ She saw his even white teeth as he smiled in the dark room. He was a handsome guy with kind, dark eyes. She looked out the window. The police roadblock was still there. ‘Don’t move,’ she said. In a few minutes she had found clothes for Lucy. Everything was still in bin bags and cardboard boxes. ‘He’s come back. I’ve got him in the front room. I won’t let him hurt you Luce – I think he’s OK,’ she whispered.

‘Mum, that man Alan, he’s a kind man. Dave was a criminal, wasn’t he? My dad was a criminal, wasn’t he?’ said Lucy. Maria didn’t answer but led her into the bedroom. She pulled a box from under the bed and took out a sawn-off shotgun. ‘Mum! That’s a gun!’ Maria put her finger to her lips while she loaded cartridges into both barrels. ‘Mum?’ ‘Sssh. It’s Dave’s gun. It’s just a bit of insurance, Luce.’ She went to a chest of drawers and hid the weapon under her knickers. ‘Right. He’s gonna jump in the bath water while it’s warm. The gun’s a secret. OK?’ Lucy nodded while Maria called downstairs to their new house guest. ‘You can get a bath.’ He came up the stairs. She saw Lucy smile at him and he smiled back. Now she had a loaded sawn-off she felt better and she relaxed a little. ‘I’ll throw you in a tracksuit. It might be a bit small. ’ ‘That’s my street-cred gone then,’ he said. He stopped outside the bathroom. She looked into his eyes and he looked back for just a little too long. Oh God no! There was just a little surge there, just that little feeling a woman gets. ‘Thank you, Maria.’ His voice was deep but gentle. She glanced at him once

again and looked away. ‘Don’t get used to it mate,’ she said. There was a lot to do. For a start she needed food and she couldn’t leave Lucy in the house with him. She couldn’t be certain he wasn’t the psycho. If she left him alone, probably he would search the place. By good fortune there was a key in the bedroom door lock. She checked it out. It worked. She dug out one of Dave’s track suits. She knocked at the bathroom door although she knew there was no lock inside. ‘I’ve got some clothes here.’ She cracked open the door. He was sitting up. His body was strong and in good shape. There were no tattoos from what she could see. She had never had a man without pictures. Dave had been more ink than skin with the names of all his kids written round his neck. Her own tattoos were discreet and he sure wasn’t going to see where they were. She threw in the clothes. ‘There’s no underwear. Keep yourself out of sight. We’re going to the shops.’

Chapter 3 She drove with Lucy in her old Astra. She had no documents but on this estate that was normal. Dave had got the car from somewhere and had fixed the ignition switch to start with a screwdriver. He had changed the plates but she didn’t care. She was glad of the chance to chat. ‘You getting bullied at that school or what?’ ‘They’re like fighting girls, Mum. They’re doin’ weed.’ ‘What d’you know about weed?’ ‘It’s in fags and there’s like two types. There’s top dogs and then there’s bitches and if you wanna be a top dog you thieve stuff and smoke weed.’ Jesus bloody Christ. She had known Luce could not survive in a jungle sink school. A surge of anger passed across her. Why the fuck had she agreed to send her there? ‘I don’t want you thievin’ or smokin’ weed and I don’t want you fighting.’ ‘There’s a top dog girl who’s a kick boxer. She’s getting an Olympic medal but there’s this other girl what’s OK to me—and she says someone will cut her throat before the next Olympics. Will she still get her medal, Mum?’ ‘Yeah. They try to be fair if you get your throat cut.’ Maria fell silent. Whatever happened she had made one decision. Lucy was never going back to that school. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as if to

strangle it. No one would hurt her child. No one. ‘Do you like Alan? He’s got all his teeth and they’re nice. He’s got thirty-two teeth and that’s an even number isn’t it, but if you add three and two you get five don’t you?’ ‘Sure, I like him. He’s got nice teeth.’ ‘Three two means thirty-two and three two means five as well. Say yep, Mum. Yep.’ ‘Yep. Yep,’ said Maria. Lucy was interested in teeth. Alan’s teeth were expensive but Maria couldn’t be bothered to explain. It was nearly six o’clock and she clicked on LBC radio for the news. The car radio was all she had to connect her to the world. She parked up and waited for the bulletin: ‘In our top story tonight a prison officer dies as two prisoners escape from Blackmarsh Jail on the southeast edge of London. Our reporter on the scene has the latest….’ ‘It was mid-afternoon when two prisoners attacked a guard with a spade as they dug ditches outside the prison to cope with flooding. Faced with the threat of evacuation because of rising water, prison authorities used prisoners to clear drainage ditches outside the walls. An officer was killed by a single blow to the head with a spade. Two men are on the run. The first is Timothy Huddart, known as Tiny, serving life for rape and two murders. He is thirtyeight years old. The second man is thirty-six-year-old Alan Johnson serving six years for fraud. Police have swamped the area with tracker dogs and helicopters are above as I speak.’ This was bad news for Alan. He could be looking at a life sentence even if it wasn’t him who hit the guard. She

knew plenty of men in prison for just being there at the wrong time. With a prison warder dead, the system would put a spike through his heart. But why should she care? She still couldn’t be certain he wasn’t the psycho. A cunning villain would use the other guy’s identity. She had nothing but her own judgement and the guy on the run hiding in her house. And he had been kind to her child. Money was tight. She had enough cash for some ovenchips, six eggs, a pack of sausages, a loaf of bread, some milk, and a litre bottle of Spanish plonk. If she hadn’t bought the wine she could have afforded a bag of logs from the Tesco service station. As it was, she would have to improvise. She parked the car up the road and walked back. She was wearing a hoodie top and pulled it up. Odds were that the CCTV would spot her but she’d be long gone. The logs were outside. She kept walking with a fluid motion, picked up a bag of logs and carried on back to the car. There was no pursuit and she didn’t look back. Probably she would never make pension age. She was taking her winter fuel welfare in advance. She needed fire lighters but now she had a man in the house. She had a feeling he’d been a nice little boy scout and knew about songs round the camp fire. The car radio was still on. The U.S.A. had been rescued from something called a “fiscal cliff.’ Stock markets were soaring. Traders had bought cheap and were selling dear. The Prime Minister was giving a speech on the future of Europe. Maria smiled. She was going to have a log fire and a man to talk with. She had taken her profits on a rising market and if she could, she would, enjoy them. ‘When we get in don’t say anything about that prison

guard, OK?’ said Maria. ‘Is Alan your new boyfriend?’ asked Lucy. ‘Of course not. He helped you and so I’m helping him, that’s all.’ ‘If someone helps you does that mean they can’t be your friend?’ ‘Life ain’t that simple.’ ‘He’s got thirty-two teeth, and that’s an even number,’ said Lucy. The house looked different as they stopped outside. There was some sort of curtain at the window and chinks of light shone through. ‘So you are a handyman,’ she said, looking at the blanket held up with clothes pegs. ‘I’ll need a new career. You can give me a reference Maria.’ ‘You any good with fires?’ she said, putting down the bag of logs. ‘I’ll try rubbing two sticks but a match is handy.’ She threw him a lighter from her bag. She was so broke she’d stopped smoking. He didn’t sound like a smoker and for the first time she felt glad to have stopped. To herself she admitted she was glad to have him there. Poor sod. Once he knew about the guard there could be no peace or happiness. For now she would leave him to his innocence and freedom. As it was, he was making a fire and they would eat and drink wine together. For these few hours all of her past was of no account. Tonight she was not alone. Tomorrow, this night would never have been.

By the time she had cooked the meal, the fire was warming the room. He had plugged in a couple of table lamps and the light was mellow. She watched him eat hungrily. She had poured them both wine and she began to feel the hit. ‘You were brave to help me. Sometimes it’s only crocodiles that come for you in the water,’ said Lucy. Alan laughed and looked at her. Maria watched them out of curiosity. Lucy didn’t do conversation with other people. ‘I wasn’t brave. I didn’t have anything else to do this afternoon,’ he said. ‘I thought you had to get away from the prison,’ said Lucy. Alan looked at her. ‘Ah—that’s not a proper job though is it?’ he said. ‘Isn’t that a proper job, Mum?’ asked Lucy. She smiled and shook her head. ‘No. That’s not a proper job,’ she said. Maria was sitting on a tired beige fake leather sofa. Lucy was at the other end. She could see her daughter was exhausted. She was so vulnerable. There was no way she could really justify taking a chance on this man. ‘Alan got in the water, Mum. It was so cold. That’s right isn’t it Alan?’ ‘Um yes, Lucy, it was cold.’ ‘Say yep,’ said Lucy. He glanced a question at Maria.

‘Say yep what? ’ ‘Say yep. Yep,’ said Lucy. ‘She needs you to say it twice. It’s a pattern,’ said Maria. ‘Yep. Yep,’ he said. ‘In America water freezes solid at thirty-two degrees and that’s how many teeth you’ve got. In America they’ve got pints and gallons for water and there’s eight pints and four times eight is thirty-two so that’s the ice and teeth number,’ said Lucy. ‘Yep. Yep. You could be a banker,’ he said. Lucy smiled, went to her mother and kissed her. ‘Sleep with me in my bed tonight,’ she said.

Chapter 4 She could hear Lucy in the room above. She was conscious that she was alone with a guy she didn’t know. She kept her eyes away from his and stared at the glowing log and the pattern of the flames. This moment of her life was as real as any other. She had to admit that her attitude towards him was influenced by his attractiveness and her own need. She knew her own hard edges and soft centres. If the right man walked by he would see the meadow beyond the barbed wire. Maybe she wouldn’t close the gate or have the will to try. ‘Lucy is special needs—she’s autistic—on the “spectrum.” She’s got some learning issues. She knows and sees it all but she’s not always seeing our picture,’ she said. ‘She’s a cool kid. What’s your way of seeing things, Maria?’ She let out a deep breath. How strange it was to be sitting with a man and talking about herself as if she mattered, as if she were someone real in herself. Her answer came out guarded and cautious. ‘You know, getting through day to day,’ she said. ‘Getting through what? ’ ‘Money. Lucy….’ ‘Are you going to tell me about being on the run?’ She looked him in the eyes, then leaned forward and poured more wine. How she longed to open up, how she longed to share her story with him. She could go to a

certain point but no further. ‘OK. I had a man, Dave. He’s not Lucy’s father. Dave was decent for a while but you could always sense an anger in him. He was a villain but trying to go straight. I think he resented me for that. A villain’s mates are villains. That’s like the battery behind their light—that respect and daring. He started bashing me. Luce and me ended up in a refuge and after a bit they housed us out here on Alaska Park a few days ago.’ ‘And then I walked in,’ he said. She met his eyes again and saw a kindness there that troubled her more than a fist. The warmth was pulling her, like the face of a sunflower on a summer morning and she couldn’t stop. The light from the fire flickered on his handsome face. She knew by the way his eyes studied hers he liked what he saw. She put another log on the hearth, composed herself on the sofa and swung her legs up so that her toes touched his thigh. He glanced at her feet, smiled and let a hand drop nonchalantly to his leg so that he touched her. She flicked a glance and smiled too. ‘So how d’ ya get locked up?’ ‘Got caught,’ he said with a shrug. Maria almost giggled. She was not used to wine. ‘Dave always wanted to rob a bank. You know, Bonny and Clyde. All he ever did was a betting shop.’ ‘There’s not a lot of difference, Maria.’ ‘Hmm. You’re a naughty boy with your fingers in the till, eh?’ His hand had advanced above her sock and under the fabric of her jeans. She had no desire to stop him while

he abstractedly stroked her skin. He leaned back, surveyed her face and let out a sigh. ‘Here’s the story, my kind counsellor Maria. I’m no lost innocent or unlucky posh boy. But—the bloody system is essentially crooked and you get swept along. While you’re winning, you’re a winner. When you lose you’re not even a loser .You’re nothing. Once you start dancing you can’t stop before the music ends—and it doesn’t.’ ‘It was like that with Dave. It all started when he put a fake quid in the church poor-box.’ He laughed and she prodded his thigh with her feet. ‘You’re a one-off, Maria. You’re off the radar to someone like me.’ ‘Beep. Beep,’ she said as he squeezed her ankle. She hadn’t talked to a man like this since she was at Art School, before she got pregnant and married. ‘I was working at Universal Trans-Globe. You know the TV slogan, “Your cards. Our wallet.” I was looking after what they called special accounts.’ ‘Laundering money from drugs, weapons, and world shit,’ she said. He nodded, conceding her analysis. ‘I processed money out into apparently legitimate business accounts that I set up. I had a tip on a big corporate takeover. I set up an account for me, paid in three million, and bought shares.’ ‘Just sounds like a day at the office,’ she said. ‘You’re right, but the deal fell through when too many insiders got greedy and the share price soared. The regulators snarled and the bank threw them a juicy joint

to chew on.’ ‘So what? Didn’t you blow the whistle on the special accounts?’ ‘God, Maria, you should be a banker or a cop. Let’s just say they stuffed the whistle with enough incentive to keep it in my pocket,’ he said, looking at her with slightly narrowed calculating eyes. ‘So in the end it’s all about money, greed, and nothing else?’ ‘Yep, yep. It’s a pattern,’ he said. Maria smiled and pushed him again with her foot. She knew she was flirting and it was delicious. The way that he had picked up on Lucy’s manner was a sudden bond that she had not expected. ‘And now, you’re a jailbird on the run. What ya gonna do?’ ‘Easy, my dear. I’ll pop back to my flat in Notting Hill, apply for some top jobs, and refuse to answer the door to police.’ His jaunty answer saddened her. He could never ever go back to what he knew. That guard was dead and probably he would face a murder trial. She looked at his face. It had not taken many punches. He was a different social class from her but circumstances had pulled down all those fences. She closed her eyes, thinking of how she held in her hands his last hours of hope and relative innocence. Then he spoke to her. ‘I’ll never forget this evening.’ ‘Nor will I and I’ll never want to,’ she said, knowing that she had said too much by saying anything at all.

He leaned forward, poured the last of the wine and poked the log. As he moved back she knew they would kiss. She felt that weight of a kiss not yet kissed on her lips. A warm surge of joy and excitement ran down through her breasts and belly. She was aware of the seam of her jeans pushing against her and let the pressure remain. She watched him as he turned and saw his gaze on her lips and a question in his eyes. She could kill this now by speaking or moving away. She pushed her lower lip forward a little. She saw his eyes record the movement. Her focus was steady on his lips. He reached out a large hand and placed it on her cheek, edging her forward. His eyes posed a last question and softened before they closed and his lips came to hers in a wave of tenderness. She too had closed her eyes. His hand had moved a little, to behind her neck so that he held her in his control. She could hear the crackle of the fire and feel its warmth. She let go all of her resistance as he kissed her. She could feel his need as he caressed the essence from her. She willed her woman love into the man in him. His lips left hers and explored her cheek, brushed along her jawline and returned to a searching kiss. If he touched her now she would let go completely. Now she did move back and open her eyes. He shook his head. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘I can’t, Alan. You’re on the run. I can’t.’ ‘You just did,’ he said smiling. This time her lips went to his. He made a deep male sound and pulled her to him. She was weightless and timeless and if the universe had any meaning it was this kiss. She reached out and touched

his hair and felt as if it were her own and that they had become one being. This was just too strong. ‘Alan—this is impossible—I still don’t know for sure that you’re not the murderer or bloody rapist or both.’ ‘It’s not on my CV, ’ he said, his eyes still soft from the kiss. ‘CVs are all bloody lies.’ ‘I won’t ask you for yours then,’ he said. She looked at him, shaking her head. The situation was surreal, but her emotions were not. Many men had kissed her and she had always believed she had kissed them back. She knew now that she had not. She swung her legs away from him, swivelled around and lay her head on his lap and looked up to see him smiling. ‘Cost me a fortune to get these roots dyed dark,’ she said. He laid his hand on her head and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes. She had not dressed up or made up her face. Her short cut hair had been neglected. He was taking her as she was and she could give no more. She cursed and hated the prison guard for dying. If he could just go back, say sorry and get a bit of extra jail time, she could wait. She would wait. She glanced up into his face to find him watching her with dreamy eyes. ‘What are you gonna do, Alan?’ ‘I wish I knew…. ’ ‘Say Maria—please,’ she interrupted, wanting him to hold her by her name. ‘Maria, there are ways of getting away, but it would be

best to give up and go back. I’d do my time and then— well and then—oh you know, Maria, I’d not planned any of this.’ Poor bloke. Poor fucking innocent. If he went back they’d throw the book at him and he didn’t know. And she did. ‘Just supposin’—how would you get away?’ ‘Abroad. In a car boot to France, then overland to Spain. Take a freight boat ride to Ecuador…’ ‘Ecuador? Bloody Ecuador?’ ‘Yeah. It’s the in place for fugitives; ever since Julian Assange holed up in their embassy. I’m a follower of fashion.’ ‘God, Alan, why do things have to be this way?’ ‘Because they are this way, Maria. I’ve learned a lot in jail believe it or not. You play every hand you get and if that’s your hand and I’m alive, I’m ahead.’ ‘My hand?’ ‘You’ve not held back on me. You’ve helped me when I had no one and no chance and you didn’t have to,’ he said. She smiled, reached for his hand and kissed the palm. ‘What about the dark roots?’ ‘At least I know there’s a choice.’ ‘You don’t think you’re choosing my hair do you?’ ‘It’s sunny in Ecuador. The sun would bleach it out.’ He always had a bloody answer. She lay relaxed while he stroked her hair and cheek. ‘I don’t want this ever to end,’ she said.

‘It will when the fire goes out. Anyway, Maria, what happens if your man Dave finds you?’ She stiffened and sat up. ‘He’s not my man, right! He’s not going to find me either.’ ‘They’ve moved you here. Someone must think there’s a risk.’ ‘Social workers don’t want their names in the papers for getting it wrong. All that’s over.’ He looked at her as she stood up. She could see she hadn’t convinced him. Dave’s name and the thought of him had broken her mood. Lucy was in bed above and probably needed her. The fire was dying and it was getting late. ‘I’ll get you a duvet,’ she said.

Chapter 5 She scampered upstairs, pulled the duvet from Lucy’s bed and grabbed a spare toothbrush from the bathroom. When she came back he was sitting calmly, watching the embers of the fire. Probably this was to be their last innocent moment together. Tomorrow, the world would swirl them up like helpless leaves in the wind. He would have to know that the guard was dead and that he was a man on the run from a life sentence. He didn’t move and she stood in front of him, taking his head and cradling it against her body. For this moment he was hers. Nothing could be. Nothing could stop the dawn. Already it was day for half the world and half the seas had left their debris on half the sands. A tide was coming in and would take him. ‘You married or fixed up?’ she said. ‘No. There was a partner but she wasn’t the type to wait at the prison gates.’ ‘Kids?’ ‘No. Maria….’ ‘Don’t worry mate. I’m not lining you up.’ He answered by pulling her to his face, his strong arms wrapped around her thighs. Still she was standing over him as he sat on the sofa. Without her awareness he lifted her top from the waist of her jeans and kissed the slight swell of her flesh. A thrill wave shot down to her thighs. She gripped his head as the shock of pleasure warmed and dissolved her. Oh no. He had hardly

touched her and she knew he felt her response. She took a deep breath and stood back. He looked up into her eyes and she did not look away. Her took her hand and kissed her fingers. ‘Maria.’ ‘Oh God,’ she said. ‘Look, I shouldn’t have run off. I know that. But then I wouldn’t have met you.’ ‘You wouldn’t have met me if you hadn’t dragged Lucy out of the river.’ ‘My lucky day then,’ he said. She sat down next to him and looked into his face. Was that what he really thought? Maybe just here in this moment when he was alone and there was nothing in his life, he felt that way. In the morning…. He caught her thought. ‘In the morning, I’m going back. Then, then—when I’m free….’ She looked down. He couldn’t do that and the poor guy didn’t know it. ‘Sleep on it, eh,’ she said. ‘When you’re free you’ll still have money and you’ll have your pick of women.’ ‘Maybe Dave will show up before I’m free, ’ he said searching her eyes with his. ‘He’s not in the picture and he ain’t gonna be,’ she said, aware he was picking up on her tension. She wanted to distract him. ‘Once you’re out, you’d be Mr Big Banker again. Tonight you’re a helpless guy on the run and it’s little nobody me with the power.’ He held her eyes and nodded calmly.

‘You’re not just a pretty face are you, Maria? I’ve learned a lot you know, but money means freedom and opportunity. If you had the cash would Lucy be facing bullies in some shit-hole school?’ ‘Of course not. You know that.’ She smiled. Did he really think she was pretty? With everything that was ahead, the question was trivial and yet it melted her again. Her look was enough for him to home in on her emotion and pull her to him once gain. As they kissed his hand ran down her side, brushing her breast. A surge pulsed down to the woman nub of her. Maybe there would be no other chance for them beyond this moment. Firstly she was a mother and she had to remain in control this night. Nothing was certain. She could risk for herself, but not her child. ‘I’m on your side, Alan,’ she said, standing up and stepping away. ‘I don’t deserve that,’ he replied. She reached up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. ‘See you in the morning,’ she said. She locked the bedroom door and crept into bed. Of course she could not sleep. Lucy was calm and at peace beside her. The after-tingle of desire played around her mind. He had awoken her senses and she squeezed a fold of duvet with her thighs, kissing the pillow of his lips. She knew this ache of joy but thought it had died. Then her mind turned to Lucy. She needed to go to a special school, but she would have to fight for that. She needed work and money. She needed to gather up all her scattered possessions and build a new home here. She

needed to cope with the escaped prisoner she was harbouring in the room below. And she needed to cope with her own feelings about him. In a few hours he could be no more than a dream on her lips but yet she knew it was a dream that could sustain her through a long desert. In herself, she was a low-hanging fruit, heavy with her season as a woman. If he reached out for her, she would fall ripe into his hands. And then there was Dave. She would forever be in his shadow and all that he had done to their lives. Perhaps she had slept a little. She got up in the cold bare-windowed room and dressed quickly in her Pink Panther ‘onesie’. She made tea and took him a cup. He looked at peace, in need of a shave and vaguely comical, under Lucy’s fairy and unicorn duvet. If he still liked her in this state, she knew they had some sort of chance. He peered out. ‘Where’s Clouseau?’ he asked. ‘In the kitchen. I grassed you to the coppers,’ she said. He sat up, looking uncertain. ‘I was joking….’ She needed to check the news and the situation outside. At least for now he had no way of knowing what had happened. ‘Me and Luce are going to the shops. Just chill-out here. Whatever you do just keep your head down and we’ll talk before you make any move, OK,’ she said. ‘Yes, OK, I’ll be a good boy.’ She left him with the tea, despite her wish to stay. She used the last credit on her electricity meter key and took a bath. She brushed her hair, fixed her makeup and

dressed in black leggings, blue denim shorts, a red longsleeved top and an Adidas zipped hoodie. Her leopardskin ankle boots completed the look she wanted. She was grateful that her bedroom door had a lock. She slipped the key into her pocket, collected Lucy, and met him in the hallway. ‘Oh my,’ he said, holding his arms out from his sides with open palms. She knew she had connected. ‘Stay out of sight. I won’t be long. We’ll chat when I get back,’ she said. She felt his eyes on her back as she walked down the path. She turned to see him standing in the door behind her. As a villain he was a complete dork! She gestured him to get inside. He smiled and closed the door. She switched on the car radio. The LBC news would be at 10 o’clock. ‘He smiles at you. He smiled four times didn’t he,’ said Lucy. ‘I didn’t count.’ ‘It was four, Mum, wasn’t it? Say yep.’ ‘Yep, yep.’ ‘It was four times. Did you see him smile four times, Mum?’ ‘Yep, yep. It was four times,’ said Maria. Sometimes Lucy could wear her down. Was there a man who would see her as she did? Would a man stay once the gloss and thrill of first … of first what? Maybe lust and no more. It took a while to know her daughter. If a fair man loved her child, that man would share her soul

and she would give her very blood for him. To love a man absolutely was perhaps another country and the maps still to be drawn, but there was a tease of land ahead. She drove to the shops and parked the car on wasteland where no wardens would patrol. The parade was bleak and run down. A kebab takeaway and a betting shop looked the most prosperous. Several units were boarded up and sprayed with gang tags. She told Lucy to stay locked in the car. She needed cash and had the means to get it. In her pocket she had a bank card taken from Dave’s wallet. If she even put it in the slot there would be no way back because it would link him to this location and her to him. The withdrawal would show up almost at once but would only mean that someone had been there. She went to an ATM, pushed in the card and checked the balance of £743. She withdrew the permitted maximum of £300. She could do the same tomorrow. And after tomorrow—who knew what would matter? She walked on to the Paradise Food Market where they sold newspapers. On the front page of the Sun was a picture of Alan and another guy. She scanned the headline. Death at Blackmarsh. Killers on run as officer slain with spade. Reward of £20,000. She bought a copy and walked steadily back to the car. It was nearly time for the news. The paper spelled out the story. The other guy was some killer called Tiny. Alan was dubbed as the one time ‘Blizzard Wizard.’ In his magical rise to the top of City earners, his trades were as white as snow, and even harder to see through. A tip to police from a jealous rival had set the hounds on him and his

snow had turned to slush. At least her judgement had been sound. The news bulletin came on: ‘Mass death and bombs in foreign places…. Soldiers killed…. Horse-meat found in burgers…. Breaking news— one of the prisoners wanted for the murder of a prison officer captured at a private address in Coventry. Tiny Tim Huddart, serving life for rape and murder detained by armed police in the early hours. The search for Blizzard Wizard Alan Johnson goes on. Sources say the disgraced ex-school friend of top politicians may have masterminded the escape and already be out of the UK, heading for Ecuador. Interpol has been called in.’ Maria sucked in air with her lips tight on her teeth. The reward had been enough to get the psycho locked up. Lucy had spotted the pictures. ‘It looks like Alan, but he’s got more bones,’ she said. ‘More bones?’ ‘In his face. He’s got more bones in his face. You can see more bones, Mum.’ It was true. He had lost weight in prison, but he looked good on it. ‘Shall I feed him up, Luce?’ ‘He could be your BFF, Mum. You haven’t got a BFF have you?’ ‘BFF?’ said Maria. ‘Best Friend Forever. It means best friend forever. Can you say that, Mum?’ Maria repeated the phrase. Yep. Yep. A girl needs a BFF.

Chapter 6 She left Lucy to read ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ upstairs. She took a deep breath and went into the front room. He had re-lit the fire and obviously had risked going out to the back garden. Part of an old collapsed shed was now a pile of wood on the hearth. ‘We’ve gotta talk, Alan,’ she said, handing him the paper. He sat down on the sofa to read it. She sat beside him watching his face. ‘I’m in the shit,’ he said. ‘The paper doesn’t say, but they’ve nicked your “Psycho” mate.’ ‘Thank Christ for that. He’s one dangerous bastard. He hit that guard like he was killing a snake.’ ‘Did anyone else see who did it?’ ‘I don’t know, Maria. It wasn’t me.’ She could see a wave of realisation sweeping over him. ‘Alan, I believe you but he’s gonna say it was you ain’t he?’ He shook his head and slumped forward. ‘Well. Yeah, that’s how life is. I’m not a real criminal. I don’t know how these things work.’ There was desperation in his voice. She was making choices for him on the spot and she had the insider knowledge of this market. If he gave himself up and told how he had just run out of panic and opportunity, it might help him. If she explained how he was a hero and had

saved Lucy from the river, maybe it would help. She had spent her adult life in a criminal world. She was the trader with her finger on the riches and glory button. ‘There’s a law called ‘Joint Enterprise.’ If you’re there and involved, then it’s equal blame. I know loadsa guys locked up for being in the wrong place with the wrong psycho,’ she said. ‘I didn’t think he would die.’ ‘You didn’t stop to give First Aid did ya?’ He shook his head. ‘I just saw a chance to be free, that’s all, Maria.’ ‘Look mate, we can’t change anything in either of our lives before five o’clock last night. You can walk out now and I’ll do everything I can to help you,’ she said. ‘If they knew you have hidden me they could charge you couldn’t they?’ She nodded. That was true and she knew it. The last thing she wanted was police on her case. ‘Then, what fate has joined together let no man put asunder,’ he said. She stared at him, tears already running down her face. ‘It’s me and Lucy. I’d die for her first and if I’m still alive after, I’ll die for you,’ she said. ‘That’s what I call female multi-tasking,’ he replied. She laughed and shook her head. He was cool and a risk taker. ‘How can you trust me and be so sure I won’t dob you in and get the reward?’ she said. He didn’t answer but pulled her to him and kissed her.

This time he laid a hand on her thigh, his fingers teasing her desire. ‘Because you don’t kiss me and I don’t kiss you. We are a kiss,’ he said. She watched him thinking. He was intelligent and brave. She stroked his hair, happy to let his mind work while she soothed him. ‘I’ve got a place in Benissa, Alicante in Spain. I’ve got cash in banks out there. Everything is in a company name and I’m not shown on any deal. I’ve got an identity as a French-Canadian guy and I can do the accent. The papers can arrive there. Once I’m out of sight, I’m just one of the guys on the moon with Lord Lucan that no one’s looking for,’ he said. ‘How did you set all that up?’ ‘It’s called asset-management, hedged-investment and total fucking theft,’ he said with a smile. ‘You know Lucy has problems. She’s not always easy,’ she said, watching his face carefully for his reaction. ‘Yep, yep. I’ll fix tutors. The best there are.’ ‘You sure I’m coming?’ ‘If you don’t I’ll dob you in for aiding and abetting a criminal,’‘ he said. ‘I thought we were going to Ecuador.’ ‘So does Interpol, but I’ve not kissed them and they’ve never made me sausage and chips, or risked everything for me just on a hunch,’ he said with almost a wink. ‘You didn’t plan this did you?’ she asked with a quizzical glance. ‘Not the details. There’s devils in there they tell me,’ he

answered, looking deeply into her. ‘There’s something I want to tell you, Alan. There’s something I’ve not ever ever said and it’s pushing out like springtime in me and I can’t say it and it’s in these stupid stupid tears….’ ‘You’re saying it, Maria. Believe me, I’m picking you up on my radar now. Spring comes early in Spain and there will be time.’ By nightfall she had found passports, used Dave’s card to pay her iPhone bill and booked a shopping day-return to Calais for herself and Lucy. She knew a guy could fit in the boot of the car. This was the real point of risk. She would look like a half-bleached girlie on a fag-and-booze run. No one would look at her going out and the French wouldn’t care. If she was stopped, she had ways of dealing with men. But, nothing was foolproof. ‘What if we get stopped?’ she said. ‘Then the good guys win and the bad guys lose,’ he answered. He was calm with risk. She respected him for that. ‘We are the good guys,’ she said. He shrugged. ‘Then we can’t lose.’ She ordered a takeaway from the Wun Tun of Solace Chinese restaurant. The delivery guy was Polish and dressed as James Bond. She loved England and all it had become. Living with a sexy fake-Canadian in Spain would seem dull, but she would cope. Lucy had gone to bed, in her own room. Maria sat next to

him on the sofa as the fire glowed, as if burning all her past—except that shadows never burn. She knew he was picking up her mood and let herself flow intuitively into him, willing his kiss onto her lips. Minutes later she spoke as she stared into the flames. ‘I think that’s a bridge burning on there.’ ‘I crossed the bridge last night, Maria. There’s no going back for me.’ As he answered her his hand had slipped under her top and was stroking her skin. In an impulse she reached behind her back and set free her breasts from her bra. Her eyes sent a permission and a longing to his. She felt the soul of herself sigh out a release as he caressed her. His strong hold was on her thigh as his mouth searched for her nipple. His hand moved to her core. She needed him with a craving buried deep in her innocence—before the world had ever smacked her face. She was ready to give with the desire of a girl and the body of a woman. Now he was her man and it was all she had or had ever wanted. That night it was natural that he shared her bed. Never had she loved like this. He found her with his lips and with his body. She felt his joy and kissed the softness of herself deep and deeper into his soul as he abandoned the rock of himself to her. She shared with him her joy and he took it as her gift to him, holding as precious what no other man had drawn from her. In the dawn, this love was unexpressed in words, like a child not yet named. And yet it drew a separate growing life from her breast and she knew, beat in the pride of his heart.

Chapter 7 The dusty old Astra looked out of place and suspicious in front of the villa, in the late winter sun of Alicante. Once the electric gates had closed behind them, she closed the door and recovered her package from under the seat. Maybe now its work was done. She tucked it under a bench and walked out into the sun which even now was warm on her skin. ‘We need to get rid of the car,’ she said. ‘I’ll fix it,’ he said, taking her waist possessively in his big hand. Lucy was already scrabbling in her suitcase to find her swimming costume. The heated pool was as blue as the sky. Maria looked up the steps that led to the terrace and the main entrance to the villa. He pulled her to him and kissed her. Without losing contact he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the top as if she had no weight. And here in this moment she knew that he too was free and that their lives began now. ‘I love you, Maria. I love you,’ he said. ‘And I love you, my man, and my love is older by several hours and always will be,’ she said. ‘You had no need to say that, to surrender that,’ he said. ‘I know. I know, but true love is hands up when no one has a gun,’ she said. He kissed her lips tenderly, as if each one were a being in itself.

Lucy played in the pool and Maria joined her. She watched his eyes on them and thrilled to their touch as she flirted back with her smile and body. Later, before dinner it was still warm enough to drink wine on the terrace looking out onto the Mediterranean. He seemed tense and looked at her before he spoke. ‘You know, the one thing that worries me is that your ex, Dave, would track us here,’ he said. She kept her voice gentle and neutral. ‘Alan, he won’t. He’s got no reason.’ ‘You are reason enough, Maria. A man would never lose you—would never bear the thought of you with another guy. I could not accept that now.’ ‘It will never happen. I can promise you.’ He shook his head. ‘I know men. I know the soul of you and what you have for a man. I know myself and I know jealousy.’ She looked into his face and saw a darkness there that troubled her. ‘I knew him more and I can tell you he won’t be around.’ He seemed to catch the steel in her tone and studied her face. ‘It’s impossible to be so sure?’ She had not wanted to play this hand, but yet she could see the shadow of it in his eyes. She knew she had to destroy it or it would come for them. ‘Cos he’s fuckin’ dead, Alan. He beat me and beat me and I took it time and time again. He touched Lucy once and I shot him with his own gun. I killed him. And I’m proud OK. That’s the woman you’ve got. I took my

bruised face to the refuge and told the police he’d fucked off. They shrugged and I’m here. I love you and I never wanted to tell you this because I feared you’d never want me.’ She sobbed and found herself cradled in his arms. ‘Hey—Maria, respect, my lover, respect,’ he said. ‘Is that cool with you?’ ‘Where’s the body and who knows about it?’ ‘He’s part of the footings in the Cross Rail tunnel at Bond Street station. My brother’s a concrete truck driver on night shifts. In five thousand years they’ll dig him up and he’ll be an exhibit of primitive man,’ she said. ‘We’ll still be kissing then,’ he said, brushing her wet cheek with his lips. FIN

Message from Emma

Hello and thank you so much for reading ‘Escape To Love’. I hope you enjoyed it. You’ll receive another of my stories for free shortly, as you have signed up to my mailing list. I’ll be sending you a free copy of my prize-winning short story SUB-PRIME. As a member of my reader list you’ll be one of the first to hear about my new book releases, special offers and news. No spam I promise – you may of course unsubscribe at any time. If you would like to buy and read more of my stories, you can find them all here on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EmmaAmazonWorldwide If you enjoyed ‘Escape To Love’ and you have time, please post a review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long or complex – just one sentence will do. I cannot compete against the muscle of the big publishers’ advertising budgets – your reader review is valuable since it helps other readers find and enjoy my writing. Thanks in anticipation – I am grateful for your support! If you would like a personalized message and signature for your e-book, follow this link: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/EmmaCalin ARE YOU A VIP? I’m currently looking for fans of my work to join my ‘VIP

Crew.’ This is a special group of readers keen to be part of my launch team for new books. You’ll NEVER have to buy any of my books again – you’ll get free Advance Review e-copies of every book I publish before they are on public release. You’ll get the chance to win free signed copies of paperbacks, launch swag and gifts, as a thank you from me when a new book comes out. In return, I would ask your opinion on new book cover art, comments on new stories and if you have time, an honest review of new books I send you. I may also interview you about your favourite books for my reader blog features. I’d love you to join me. Click this link to become an Emma Calin VIP: http://www.emmacalin.com/passion-patrol-vip-crew-signup Many thanks. Take care.

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More Books by Emma Calin

Passion Patrol 1 – (formerly published as KNOCKOUT!)

Passion Patrol 1 is a steamy suspense-romance novel featuring a sassy female cop, Interpol detective, Anna Leyton. Sent undercover to spy on a world-class boxer involved in an international mafia-controlled drugs and match-fixing syndicate, she finds her job increasingly difficult as she falls for the enigmatic and super-fit suspect. Can she keep her bosses satisfied at the same time as her man? Can she maintain the deception and keep her lover, as violent criminals close in? Available in print and e-book formats at booksellers worldwide. http://www.smarturl.it/PP1

Passion Patrol 2 - (formerly published as Shannon’s Law)

A sexy aristocrat. A wild-child inner city cop. A crime wave of passion. (Previously published as Shannon’s Law) http://www.smarturl.it/PP2 A steamy romance novel introducing a sassy female police officer who locks up criminals and always gets her man. The second book in the Passion Patrol series featuring hot cops, hot crime and hot romance. Following the success of Passion Patrol 1, the drama in this novel revolves around another feisty female cop - Shannon Aguerri. Moved out from the city after one-too-many maverick missions, Shannon discovers there’s more going on in the sleepy country village than meets the eye. The son of a local aristocrat arouses suspicion of drug crime activity… but his widower father arouses more animal instincts! Could she really mix with the British royal family? Can

she risk her heart and career on yet another high risk unauthorised investigation? Can she get justice for an innocent boy? Dare a kid from the gutter dream of being a countess? Wild child inner city cop Shannon Aguerri walks a dangerous line between her methods and justice. When the bosses lose their nerve, she is transferred to green pastures to play out the role of a routine village cop. In Fleetworth-Green she encounters signs of people and drug trafficking and homes in on serious millionaire criminals. As a loner she has attracted men but nothing has stuck. When she meets Spencer, the hunky and widowed Earl of Bloxington, there is an immediate rapport between them. Their social differences mean nothing to their passion and need. Already in the mix is an upper class female rival who has long plotted her way into the Earl’s bed. The jealousy is an evil shade of green and the anger is a violent scarlet. Often inhibited by a sense of duty and honour, Spencer is slow to reveal his feelings. When Shannon confronts him with the need to choose between her word and that of her rival, he does not immediately support her. All the same, when they are forced together to carry out a desperate rescue mission, their love is stronger than everything ranged against them. Please note: This book contains joyful sex between adults in a consenting relationship. There is also strong language in high-stress police confrontations with criminals. 5 Star Reviews from Passion Patrol 2 (when published as Shannon’s Law) “Move over Mr Grey there’s a new Earl in town! Dramatic,

mesmerizing and incredibly sexy. The ultimate fairy-tale.” Jenny Marston, UK. “Will draw you in from page one and hold you fast, immersed in the love and suspense until the end.” Anneli Purchase, Canada. “A fast-paced and intense story where two different social worlds collide in a vortex full of love, hatred, intrigues and passion. Emma Calin has done it again. A book hard to put down before its end.” Petra Rovere, Slovenia. http://smarturl.it/PP2

Cop’s Kitchen

Hot Cops. Hot Crime. Hot Romance….. Hot Food? http://www.smarturl.it/CopsKitchen Cop’s Kitchen is the companion cookbook to the hot romance novel Passion Patrol 2. A total of thirty one recipes from appetisers and main courses to suggestions for sandwich fillings at a traditional afternoon tea. Late night suppers and romantic meals for two. Food is the music of love. It sets the tone and the pace. It provides those moments when tastes and textures shared at the table form a metaphor for the physical appetites of love and lust. As tough girl cop Shannon abandons herself to love with a sexy aristocrat, many meals are shared. From the finest cuisine fit for royals to the big power passion patrol fuel served in police canteens, Cop’s Kitchen gives you the recipes. You won’t want to put the novel down. With the cookbook you can tickle your taste buds as Emma Calin’s full on total Romance tickles your mind. If it touches the lovers’ lips in the story, you can experience that moment with a meal cooked for your own special lover, be they a cool cucumber or a passionate pepper. Read the romance, feel the passion, taste the love! http://smarturl.it/CopsKitchen

SUB-PRIME (#1 in the ‘LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION’)

Two powerless beings are swept together in a transient struggle for survival. Could the human spirit transcend the brutality and indifference of their brief experience before they are once again swept helplessly apart? Far more than a love story, this is a story about love. Sub-Prime: a short story of our times. Available as an e-book worldwide. http://www.bookshow.me/Subprime

THE CHOSEN ( #2 in the ‘LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION’)

A woman, a man, a van, and a plan. When the luck runs out, the lucky walk away. A short story set in the extremis of every day. Available as an e-book worldwide. http://www.bookshow.me/Chosen

ANGELA (#4 in the ‘LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION’)

A short story. The final pick up is from Heathrow. A mysterious passenger may not be what she seems. Available as an e-book worldwide.

http://www.bookshow.me/Angela

LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE (#5 in the ‘LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION’)

A mature woman finds the truth of herself. She cannot go back even though physical and emotional violence erupt around her. Dare she give in to love? Will sexual passion and fear overwhelm her stable life? Who can she trust to love her for herself? Available as an e-book worldwide. http://www.bookshow.me/LIAHP

THE LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION

A bargain collection of all five of Emma Calin’s short stories and novelettes. Every stranger on the street is a separate story. Their clothes, age, and posture reveal some of it. A collection of short stories allows us to illuminate an overall narrative through the rainbow prism of disparate experience. To this we can add our own sense of empathy or even disgust. On the bus that just passed by and inside the building across the street, these unconnected stories are unfolding. It is the unknown secrets and truths of others that form the background on which we unwittingly paint ourselves. The characters who feed the boilers and push the brooms, the individually powerless. All the same, they struggle to assert the human imperative of love, whether or not that be sexual or even available. THE LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE COLLECTION comprises two novelettes and three short stories that explore this universal quest for acceptance and respect, our need to love and be loved. Social realism for the 21st century. Available as a paperback and as an e-book worldwide. http://www.bookshow.me/boxed

Children’s Books by Emma Calin The ‘Once Upon a NOW!’ series

The ‘Once Upon a NOW!’ books form a series of illustrated, interactive children’s stories, in the true fairy tale tradition with modern-day settings. Each is available in paperback, Kindle and audio book formats. Digital versions come with clickable links to bonus video clips, photos and drawings to colour. The paperback has QR codes to scan and take you to the same bonus material to enrich the stories. http://smarturl.it/OUANAmazon

Alf The Workshop Dog

How could a scruffy dog in a bus depot and the call of crows, link back to another world of power and love? The ancient Kingdom of Zanubia and a stray dog looking for scraps in an inner-city repair garage, hold the secret. A wicked king, a beautiful girl, a young prince and the struggle between right and wrong maintain the fable tradition. http://www.smarturl.it/Alf

Isabella’s Pink Bicycle

There’s something strange in the woodshed… A poor little girl in a faraway land dreams of riding a pink bicycle. When she meets a strange animal, her dreams come true. Her happiness turns to sadness when a tragedy occurs in the town and her father doesn’t come home. Maybe her new magic friend can find him? http://www.smarturl.it/IsabellaPink

Kool Kid Kruncha and The High Trapeze

Charlie finds it tough when his parents divorce - but Auntie Kate helps him overcome his greatest fear. When Charlie has to move from the country into the city, he leaves behind his home, his mates and his beloved football team. He will need to make new friends. With his small size and red hair, some people aren’t kind to him. He wonders if he can face another day at school. A trip to the circus gives him the strength to see himself and others in a new way. http://www.smarturl.it/Kruncha

About Emma Calin

Novelist, philosopher, blogger, poet, would be master chef. A woman pedaling between Peckham & Pigalle, in search of passion & enduring romance. Emma Calin writes romance novels, gritty short stories and children’s fiction about love and survival in the 21st century. She has published a number of digital, paperback and audio books which are available from Amazon and other good bookstores worldwide. She blogs about her dual life in St-Savinien sur Charente in South West France and Romsey, a market town in southern England. She feels extremely lucky to be able to experience the world and life through these two, very different, lenses. She spends any time she can, when not writing, on her tandem exploring the countryside. Emma also records and produces audio books and plays the trombone (although not at the same time).

Contact Emma If you’d like an autograph for any of my books, there is a cool digital service called ‘Authograph’ where you can say hello and get a personalized signature from me. http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/EmmaCalin Website: http://www.emmacalin.com Blog: http://emmacalinblog.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/EmmaCalin Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emma.calin Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4915751.Emma_Calin Amazon Author Page: http://smarturl.it/EmmaAmazonWorldwide

Publisher This book was published by Gallo-Romano Media. For details of other books and authors or if you would like to submit your book for publishing: [email protected] http://www.gallo-romano.com