Lazarou Maria - Escaping The Shadows Anthology: Shenanigans19 @ The West Midlands Book Signing

Escaping The Shadows Anthology

Sienna Grant, Manda Mellett, Jennah Thornhill, Paula Acton, Toni Bolton, Martin Tracey, TA Andrews

Copyright

Copyright 2019 Sienna Grant, Manda Mellett, Jennah Thornhill, Paula Acton, Toni Bolton, Martin Tracey, TA Andrews.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Disclaimer: This book contains mature content not suitable for those under the age of 18. It involves domestic violence, strong language, and sexual situations.

Cover Design: Maria Lazarou ~ Obsessed by Books Designs

Editor; Maria Lazarou ~ Obsessed by Books Designs

Kate Clark & Claire Ledger-Shaw

Formatter: Maria Lazarou ~ Obsessed by Books Designs

Blurb

A collection of hard-hitting stories from some of the most talented of todays authors, written for the

Shenanigans @ The West Midlands Book Signing.

Short stories that show the side of men which is all too often hidden.

Based on subjects that include Survival, Depression,

Suicide, Loss and Overcoming fear.

Delve into a world that will open your eyes to the

unspoken and forbidden lives of men.

All proceeds will go to Calm. The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is an award-winning charity

dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single

biggest killer of men under the age of forty-five in the UK.

Surprisingly on average, in 2015 76% of all UK suicides were male - let's work together to change this.

https://www.thecalmzone.net/

***Disclaimer- Some of the content in this book can cause triggers for some. Also, contains profanity, erotic scenes and only suitable for readers 18+***

Moral Compass

By

Martin Tracey

Blurb

The four corners of Birmingham are being run by gangsters.

So, who would be brave enough, or stupid enough, to pick them off one by one?

DCI Judd Stone aims to find out. Just like the gangsters,

Judd lives in a world where bravado is king. Inner demons must never be allowed to surface and all too often this can end badly.

Judd has a habit of being a survivor but this time is there simply too much danger for him to survive?

Chapter One

Fucking hell, what a way to die, said DCI Judd Stone as he entered the crime scene.

Its got to be the worst, answered Detective Sergeant Sabita Mistry.

Worse than drowning?

Thats a tough one. How about being buried alive?

Oh fuck, being buried alive. Yeah, thats got to be the worst, Judd exaggerated a shiver as he spoke. However, being set on fire while youre not yet dead is still a pretty rough way to go, even when it happens to a low-life like Joey Logan.

Joey Logan? How do you know the identity of that charred body? I mean just look at the state of it, asked Sab.

See that woman sitting over there?

The one clutching a handkerchief, wrapped in the shiny blanket being comforted by the paramedics.

The very same. Theyve wrapped her in that tin foil blanket thing because shes in total shock. However, she was able to tell us that just before this piece of shit croaked, while he was all lit up like Guy Fawkes on Bonfire night, he was shouting the words, Dont they know who they are fucking dealing with? Im Joey Fucking Logan.

Isnt Joey Logan one of Birminghams most notorious gangsters? Enquired Sab.

He was. He ran the west side of the city.

Blimey, someone was brave to set him on fire.

Or stupid. Thing is he was pretty stupid too because he didnt bother to shout out who had set him on fire with his dying breaths. He was always a narcissistic prick.

Assuming he knew who had set him on fire.

Someone like Joey Logan made many enemies thats for sure, but there were very few who would have dared to carry out this type of act. Im convinced he must have known who did this to him. Anyway, now Ive got to head up an investigation to find out who actually did us all a favour and got rid of this nasty piece of scum off the streets of west Birmingham.

Like you say, a man like that cant be short of enemies. Another gangster perhaps?

Its possible but Logan, as far as I know, kept to his side of the deal.

Deal?

There are four families that run the four points of the city. Have done for generations. The Pentelows run the North, the McDaids the South, the Glaziers the East, and the Logans the West. Once upon a time, the four families used to engage in very vicious warfare indeed, but they made a pact long ago not piss in one anothers territory. So, unless our overcooked friend here has broken the rules this is going to be one hell of a mystery to solve.

Chapter Two

The disused warehouse in Digbeth was an ideal meeting place for the four sets of Gangsters. Standing in their zones, facing one another, a birds eye view would have given the impression of a St George cross less a small gap in the middle where the dialogue was to take place. It was Zayn Glazier who stepped forward first.

So, which one of you pair did it? Who broke the decades old code of conduct between us?

You dishonour my family even daring to ask that question, Glazier, snarled Zack Pentelow.

Mine too, echoed Seb McDaid.

How do we know it wasnt the Glaziers that broke the code? asked Zack.

As you have clearly forgotten who you are addressing Mr Pentelow, perhaps that makes you the prime suspect. Youre way out of line.

Zack Pentelow looked unperturbed as Zayn Glazier spoke.

The Glaziers have always dutifully respected the contract which our fathers signed. The wars between the families were to stop as long as the Pentelows stayed in the North, the McDaids stayed South, we stayed East and the Logans controlled the West. We as the eldest sons continued that code of conduct but it appears one of us has broken it and left Joeys younger brother, Robin over there, the difficult task of stepping into his big brothers shoes.

Zack turned his attention to Robin Logan.

Robin, you have my word that the Pentelows had no part to play in the death of your brother. I am truly sorry for your loss. The Pentelows have too always respected the pact that our fathers signed up to.

Robin Logan silently nodded, acknowledging what Zack Pentelow was saying and actually finding it difficult to disbelieve him. Robin knew of Zacks reputation of course, he could be as vicious as any gangster could be, but he also knew that Joey had once described him as one of the most honourable men whom he could never be friends with.