Hello and welcome to Release day for Behind The Makeup. It’s so nice of you to drop by
and celebrate with me.
I’m here to talk about my new release, Behind The
Makeup, which is out TODAY. I have been so excited about this story. It has
been a thrill for me to see how the story and characters all evolved from a
simple makeup advertisement on T.V. Well, they do say inspiration can strike at
any time.
So this is the cover:
Blurb:
Elizabeth Rhey is a world class singer who has come
home to North West London to complete the final dates of her last tour. Then
her way word brother gets in trouble with the police again, and she is about
ready to wash her hands of him. Only he’s dead. She finds herself caught up in
a police investigation, where her past secrets catch up with her.
Gareth Buchanan is Beth’s bodyguard. It wasn’t his
chosen career, just one he landed on after taking a break from the police
force. When Beth’s brother is killed and the investigation around his death
unravels, he finds himself getting very close to Beth. With a desperate need to
protect her, Gareth is forced to confront is own ghost.
Both their lives are turned upside down as they find
out who is behind her brother’s death. Can they face their past to find peace
for their future?
Chapter
One
PC Duncan Smith hung onto the handle bar
as his partner expertly navigated the patrol car down the dark winding roads
toward the address they had been given. The blue flashing light of the siren
intermittently lit the way, before they were plunged back into darkness,
relying on their full beamed front lights to guide their way. Usually they
would do the blues and two’s (as they were more popularly known) on the way to
a suspected burglary. On this occasion however, the call had come from an
occupant inside the house, so for their safety, they needed to get there
urgently but quietly.
“Hold up, what’s that?” PC Paul Newman
asked from the driver’s seat. His gaze brought Smith’s attention to fast-moving
shadows up ahead. As they neared the house they were looking for, two white
males dashed out in front of them and scrambled into a waiting red hatch back
car. They were dressed in dark clothing and both had their arms full, carrying
obscure objects, along with a sports bag. The car sped off up the road before
the last person had the chance to close the back passenger door.
“I’ll call it in,” Smith said, reading his
partner’s mind. “Control, this is Quebec Delta four nine two, we are in pursuit
of what we believe to be the intruders of Belleview Road. The roads are dry and
light with traffic. Do we have permission to proceed?”
“Quebec Delta four nine two, you have
permission to proceed.”
Newman flicked on the siren and started to
give chase to the getaway car.
“We are in pursuit of a red Vauxhall
Corsa, registration Lima Echo 04 Foxtrot, Hotel Lima. Current speed forty-seven
miles per hour in a forty speed zone.” Smith continued to give the control room
details of which roads they were traveling down and the speeds both cars were driving
at. It was important to give as much detail to the driving conditions of both
vehicles, for both safety and accountability, should anything go wrong. Sadly,
in his experience, it usually ended up with the failing to stop car causing an
accident.
“He’s heading out onto the North
Circular.” Newman stated, as he predicted where the car was going to head next.
Duncan swallowed down the fear of his experience. The North Circular was a busy
road. Though this time of night traffic would be light, it was still used as it
is the main circular road to get from one side of London to the next. Some of
the corners are tight, and travelling at excessive speeds… Smith tried not to
think about it as they carried on driving at a safe distance down the Harrow
Road toward Wembley. True to Newman’s prediction, the Corsa jumped through the
red lights, and turned left down onto the North Circular toward the A40.
Visibility was much better due to the
street lights that lit up the road ahead. Their driving speed was now in excess
of eighty miles an hour at times, with hard breaking around some of the tight
turns the road offered. The car in front swerved across two lanes and slammed
on the breaks to avoid hitting another car. Smith pushed his feet down on the
foot-well of the car and leaned back in his chair as if he was willing the car
to stop. Fortunately it was a near miss. “This is going to end in tears,” Smith
said out loud to Newman.
Newman backed off from the red car to put
more stopping distance between them, hoping it would encourage them to reduce
their speed, as the pressure to get away would be reduced. He drove behind the
Corsa in the left hand lane, anticipating them to exit, but the red car
suddenly sped up and drifted across the lanes to the right side.
“The A40 is up next.” Newman stated his
prediction once again so that PC Smith could relate back to control. They could
see the traffic lights ahead that indicated the crossroads of the North
Circular and the A40. They were red. Both officers looked at each other as
Newman instinctively slowed his car. The red Corsa carried on at high speed
with no intention of stopping for the red lights. There were a few cars
drifting past, but not few enough. The sounds of horns and tires screeching were
enough to chill any warm-blooded animal. Both Smith and Newman had no option
but to watch and report back to control, as the red car floored it through the
red lights. Cars traveling from the left swerved to avoid the Corsa. Amazingly,
the red car made it through the junction without getting hit. None of the other
cars had collided with each other. But it wasn’t over. Newman increased his
speed to follow the red car once more as he meandered his way through the now
stationary cars on the junction.
“He’s lost it,” Newman said as they
watched the red car veer left and right as the driver fought to control the
car. The driver pulled the car off to the left much too quickly, causing the
Corsa to skid sideways across three lanes of traffic, up onto the bank and wrap
itself around a tree.
“Control, we have an RTC on North Circular
Road Southbound just after A40 junction,” Smith said as he spoke into his
radio. He hopped out of the car just before Newman had brought it to a complete
stop.
Newman pulled the hand break up with such
force, you could hear the gear mechanism grind together and then jumped out of
the car to follow Smith.
Smith reached the back of the red car and
could hear soft moans from the back passenger side. As he opened the door, a
young man was slouched across the back seat, his head was oozing a crimson
river and he wasn’t conscious. Smith felt for a pulse, it was faint. Newman was
busy assessing the front passenger so he made his way to the driver.
The front of the red Corsa was crumpled,
steam from what he presumed to be the radiator rose into the night sky. Smoke
from the air bags joined the steam as they danced their vapour in the street
light rays.
The driver hung half out of the windscreen,
his head at an awkward angle. Smith reached for a pulse, already knowing there
wouldn’t be one.
“Control, this is Quebec Delta four nine two.
We have one unconscious male with a head injury,” He looked over to Newman for
the condition of the front passenger. Newman just shook his head. “And two
fatalities.”
If you would like to read
more, you can purchase a copy from here:
Get to know me:
I live in Bedfordshire with my
husband, three children and our dog. Our oldest children are nine and seven and
both go to school. Our youngest is two and a half and full of energy. Too much
at times if you ask me lol. He also loves to cook. I mean really cook. He helps
chop veg and stir in sauces. Sometimes he even makes ‘special recipes’ but
grabbing my pots and using herbs and spices. To run off his endless energy, we
often visit the woods and fields across the road. The bluebells are one of my
favourite flowers. I will miss them when we move.
I love hearing comments from readers, so please leave
a message and tell me what you think. Or you can find me
You can find me on:
Twitter @jpstevens79
Until next time, take
care.
Jessica
xXx
[SBS1]The way this reads might be a bit unclear. Was this intended to be
“with Marcus”?
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