When he wakes di olivia.., p.1
When He Wakes (DI Olivia Austin Book 11): A fast-paced crime thriller, page 1
When He Wakes
DI Olivia Austin - Book Eleven
Nic Roberts
Copyright © 2022 by Nic Roberts
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‘When He Wakes’
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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, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Some may be used for parody purposes.
Any resemblance to events, locales, business establishments, or actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Contents
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Prologue
Chapter 1
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
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Book Twelve
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When He Wakes
A brutal attack, a dangerous family and a race to find the murderer before they do.
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After wrapping up the twisted underwater case, Detective Inspector Olivia Austin has barely had a chance to breathe before she’s thrown into solving her next.
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A brutal attack on two brothers leaves one dead, the other fighting for his life and a dangerous family on a hunt for the murderer.
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Liv and her team have to find them before they get a chance to exact their revenge.
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But then they discover the brother’s special skill and If he wakes up, it could be carnage…
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Prologue
He wondered if he’d died and gone to heaven.
The feeling swelling inside him was pure euphoria.
In the short time that he’d known her, she had become his everything, the centre of his world. She was better than he could have ever hoped for, certainly better than he deserved.
He thought about what he was forsaking. But it wasn't a one-off decision; it was one he made over and over, every time she smiled, every time she laughed, every blissful moment they shared together reminding him that there were good things to be found in life.
He’d been waiting for something to go wrong, whether that was something in his personality or family history, anything that could screw it up. It was like knowing that there was a bomb under the table and not knowing when it was going to go off.
That was why they’d already started making plans.
They were going to go far away from here. They’d already saved up a bit of money. Not a fortune, certainly not by his family’s standards, but enough to live comfortably for a while and be free of his family’s toxic influence.
So much in his life had been about endings. Now, he was looking forward to a new beginning.
And together they walked hand in hand, breathing in the night air as they made their way back home from the cinema.
His cousin, the only family member he could marginally tolerate, walked ahead slightly, ear glue to the phone as always, most probably talking about all the shit their family had going on. All that was bad with this world.
He pulled his girlfriend closer into him, but her body tensed.
She’d been the first to hear the footsteps. He didn’t notice them until they were close, and by then it was too late.
He slowed to a stop at the same time his cousin looked back and realised something was wrong.
A group of young teenagers had them surrounded.
Fuck.
They must have been following them for some time.
Instinctively, he pushed his girlfriend behind him, wanting to shield her as he always had done.
“Look, we don’t want any trouble.” He hoped this declaration would be enough to make them lose interest. He’d heard a theory that some teens went out looking for a fight, and if they thought they weren’t going to get one, they’d get lost.
“You’ve got no chance!” a tall kid, presumably the leader, snorted.
Then, he discovered he had his theory all wrong.
“Why don’t you guys just back off?” His cousin attempted, stepping forward, clearly used to playing the role of the peacemaker when he was out with his friends.
But this time, it didn’t seem like enough.
He tried to tell himself not to engage. He wasn’t like the rest of his family. This was a mentality he had always maintained in times of adversity, though there was a small part of him that hoped his name would offer some type of protection at least.
The teens flinched at them, testing their boundaries, but Sam remained firm.
“I said back off now before it’s too late!” he shouted, and Tom admired the fire in him, the firmness of his voice, and how sure he was in what he said.
“Or what?” one of the teens called out, testing him further.
His cousin clenched his fists, an evident intimidation tactic. But the youths didn’t seem fazed by it. If anything, it only made them more determined.
Tom had never been in a real fight before. He’d always made sure he stayed out of trouble, opting to keep his head down and carve out a future for himself rather than get to know the power of his fists, which was why the first punch completely winded him.
He doubled over, clutching his stomach, eyes bulging as he gasped for air.
Seeing what had just happened, Sam instantly flew into action, trying to land a few blows himself, but he was quickly overpowered.
Angry voices filled what once was a peaceful night, but the sound that chilled him to the core was his girlfriend’s scream.
She begged for them to stop, the fear in her voice loud and clear, but she was met with a slap to the face in response.
Fire blazed behind Tom’s eyes as he tried to fight back, but they grabbed him by his hair.
“Not so tough now, are you?” one of them hissed in his ear, so close to him that he could feel the droplets of spit on his cheek.
Before he had a chance to speak, another blow came, this one connecting to his head, blurring his vision.
Tom tried to look through the hazy fog and could just about make out his girlfriend’s fearful features, the look of panic in her eyes shooting right to his core. He wanted to be able to reach out to her, tell her it was going to be all right, but he couldn’t find the strength for the words.
Despite his unsteadiness, the assault continued. He tried to fight back, tried to get control of the situation, but he was outnumbered.
Whoever these fuckers were, their intention was to kill, and he felt a sense of weightlessness as he was struck again in the head. The sound of Sam’s groans and his girlfriend’s screams felt distant now. As though he’d been picked up and flown away from them.
And just as he felt his body start to give up, the beating stopped, and through the stillness and the throbbing in his ears, he could just about make out someone saying, “Shit, do you know who that is?”
Then, fading from the outside in, everything went black.
1
Detective Inspector Olivia Austin was stood by the window of her cottage, a fresh cup of coffee in her hands.
Dawn had only just broken, and already her neighbours were moving about the street, ready to start their day, oblivious of the darkness that others had to endure, and Liv found herself envying many of them as they went off to seemingly mundane and simple jobs.
She thought about their ease of knowing, for the most part, what the day would bring. It must have felt comforting to lead a life that wasn’t constantly on the verge of ending.
From the safe confines of her cottage, she watched one of them already beginning to snip a few leaves and twigs off their prized hedge, who, in turn, was watching a young couple manoeuvring their toddler into the car for the nursery run.
The couple were the newest on their little street, enchanted by the social media portrayal of shimmering Cornwall lives, but she knew they were struggling to adjust to the pace of life, and she understood that.
After her move back from London, she’d struggled too, desperately trying to find some kind of balance amongst the worlds.
She craved the fast-paced action and adventure, the constant humdrum of faces and people at ‘whatever-o’clock’, and the simple routine she had with Rhys.
Rhys.
Just thinking his name set an ache in her chest that spread instantly.
Would there ever be a time when she could think about him and
Maybe what she really struggled with was missing her life with him—the late-night bar just round the corner from their flat where they danced to live music until they could barely stand, the supper clubs they attended with friends, or the deli where they picked up their meats to make Saturday lunch.
Moving away from London had not only taken her back several paces, but she’d had to find herself all over again.
The young couple glanced over in her direction, and for the briefest of seconds, their eyes met. Olivia jumped back from the window, almost spilling her coffee as she did.
She wasn’t pleased with how easily flustered she had become. Ever since her former colleague, Detective Sergeant Leah West, had paid her a visit.
Her stomach still twisted when she thought of it because she’d wanted to believe that her friend was mistaken, that someone couldn’t possibly get that close to her without her knowing. But the proof was there in the photos, depicting her in her most unguarded moments.
There was no denying it. Someone had been watching her. Or was still watching her. She wasn’t entirely sure, but ever since, she’d been on edge, and it had stripped her of her sense of ease and privacy. Not to mention her rational thinking.
Only two days ago, Olivia had been out running along the coastal path when she’d heard the shutter click of a camera. All the red flags flared up in her imagination, and the following altercation had left her red-faced as the tourist blurted out expletives in her direction.
Everyone in Newquay was a potential spy to her, and until she knew exactly what Rhys had been doing or planning, she couldn’t rest. She couldn’t take her eye off the ball, or drop it for that matter.
But she also couldn’t keep living like this. She wasn’t going to hide away from the rest of the world or wait for this demented bastard to come to her. She’d have to go out and find them.
She was pulled away from the window by the sound of her mobile ringing, and she crossed to the other side of the room to answer it.
Archie.
Olivia smiled, the ache and frustration forgotten. DS Archie Elmhurst was fast becoming one of her favourite people. He always called at the exact moment she needed cheering up, and she was convinced this was some kind of sixth sense he’d developed.
“How are you?” she asked, trying her best to sound cheerful and disguise the anxiety plaguing her.
“I’m okay, I can’t complain. Well, I can, but then I’d be here all day!” he joked, before adding, “You aren’t still at that bloody window, are you?”
Okay, definitely a sixth sense.
“…No,” she lied slowly.
Archie sighed on the other end of the line.
“Liv, you can’t keep living like this,” he answered. “You do realise if anyone was out there, you probably would have spotted them by now.”
She glanced back out at the street as a car drove past.
“This bastard has been trailing me when I was none the wiser,” she protested, angry with herself and feeling like she wasn’t operating at the top of her game.
“So, what’s your plan?” DS Elmhurst asked pointedly. “Stand vigil 24 hours a day?” He softened his voice before continuing. “I get that this is a shitty situation to be in. If it’s any consolation, I’d probably be pissing myself.”
She smiled slightly at his words.
“Well, you’re welcome to trade places,” she offered sardonically.
There was a momentary silence between them before Archie spoke.
“Listen, Liv,” he said gently in a tone that made her want to believe anything he had to say. “We’ll find this person soon, I promise. People like that, they all slip up eventually. And when they do, we’ll be ready for them.”
But that wouldn’t be the end for Olivia. There was a trail of breadcrumbs that Rhys had left behind, and she had no idea how long it went on. For all she knew, the whole thing could have been a chain reaction so far from the source it might never be traced back to them, allowing for complete deniability.
If her own lover had been capable of taking part in such… deception… then his successor could really have been anyone. The thought brought on the memory of what she once thought was sexy and artistic—waking up in the middle of the night to Rhys taking photos of her sleeping.
They’d looked at the images the next morning and amidst hours of sex, and it had been one of the sexiest things a man had done with her. Funny how a memory that had once brought her comfort now made her shudder.
But the world kept turning. And as far as Olivia was concerned, there was always a case to be solved.
“Shall I come and pick you up?” Archie asked tentatively.
For her part, she was tempted to take him up on that offer, if only to enjoy the pleasure of his company.
But Liv was worried that this could be seen as a sign of weakness. And the last thing she wanted was to give her superiors the latest in a long line of reasons why she might be unstable.
“I’m good for now, thanks,” she answered, wondering how long a shower she could take in the time she had left. “I’m on my way.”
2
Olivia walked into the briefing room to meet a sea of her colleagues faces. They were all none the wiser as to her predicament, and part of her wondered whether bringing them up to speed would help her close in on the culprit, but she didn’t want to waste precious police time chasing after a hunch.
Leah was just as invested as she was. She’d let her do her thing and put her powers of persuasion to work.
Across the room, PC Andrew Shaw gathered her attention in a slight wave. It was a simple gesture, but the added familiarity was comforting. It also meant that whatever had happened, it was serious.
Her boss only called police officers into the briefing room alongside them for important cases, and ever since he’d had Shaw do some undercover work for him, the constable had been a favourite.
Superintendent Collins entered the room just as Olivia took her seat on the opposite end of the table, much to Andrew’s disappointment.
Good timing.
“Could I have your attention, please?” he called, silencing them.
All eyes turned towards him.
“We have a new case on our hands. Three people attacked last night only fifteen minutes shy of the cinema. We’re led to believe it was a gang of youths, and things somehow got out of control.
“In the altercation, there have been three victims identified. One IC3 female and two IC3 males, all of which are in their early-twenties—Tom Knightley, Louisa Blyton, and a Sam Knightley. They’ve been admitted to hospital with serious injuries.”
Olivia tapped her pen on her chin before making notes.
“Do we know the current status of these injuries?” she asked, her mind racing, secretly grateful for the distraction.
“We don’t know yet,” Collins started, but he stopped as one of the assistants knocked on the door to the briefing room. He walked over and took a piece of paper from her, reading it whilst nodding before returning to the detectives and officers. “Their injuries left them all in various states,” he continued grimly. “Tom’s beatings were so severe they had to put him in a medically-induced coma. Louisa suffered a broken arm, heavy bruising to the torso, and some considerable concussion, but it looks like she’s going to be okay.”
This was followed by a silence, and everyone instantly knew the fate that had befallen the final victim.
