‘This is how painful it felt, Kyle,’ she said, pushing the knife slowly into his cheek till the blood spurted out and Kyle screamed. Then she carved the flesh, slowly, painstakingly, reminding him all the while of what he did to her when she was just a kid.
‘It fuckin’ hurts, doesn’t it?’ she said. ‘And the hurt doesn’t stop when the wound heals. Because then you’ve got the fuckin’ scar and all the pitying looks, and the comments, and the whispers that come with it. Then there’s all the time spent trying to cover it with makeup, hoping people will stop noticing it. But they never do,’ she said, a scowl forming on her face as she allowed the memories to resurface.
When she had finished, she pulled the knife out and stood back, watching him bleeding and howling in pain and self-pity.
‘And now you’re probably wondering what it will feel like to go through your life with a scar like that, aren’t you?’ she asked.
Kyle shook his head, all attempts at macho now abandoned as the tears flooded his cheeks. Then his head tilted to one side. He was growing weak as the blood from his various wounds streamed from him; the pool of urine now reddening as it oozed along the ground.
Ruby grabbed his hair and yanked his head back once more. ‘Now you know how it fuckin’ feels!’
Despite his fragile state, Kyle began yelling abuse at her once more, then screaming for help. Ruby felt his shrill and strident screams pierce through her ears. A final assault. And Ruby couldn’t allow that. She sought the exposed part of his gut, plunging the knife deep into his side and slicing through his vital organs till he was silent. Then she withdrew the knife and watched his body slump against the stocks.
Sudden realisation of what she had done shot through her and Ruby broke down. Her mind was a frantic maelstrom of emotions: grief over her family and devastation at the scene in front of her. Earth-shattering cries escaped from her lips. She was trembling, her heart pulsating and her eyes and nose streaming.
When she’d been in that state for several minutes, Ruby heard her phone ping. The sound cut through her sorrow and brought her to her senses. She lifted the phone and pulled up a message on her screen. Then she stared at the text through tear-filled eyes. It was from her cousin Josh, just four words, but it told her all she needed to know.
The job’s been done
It was over.
Acknowledgements
It is so amazing to think that the second book in The Working Girls series, Ruby, is already out there. The time has passed so quickly since I thought of the idea for this series of books.
Ruby was a tricky one to write due to the dual timelines and I did get myself into a bit of a muddle at one point. Fortunately, feedback from Hannah Smith, my excellent developmental editor, was extremely helpful and she enabled me to get back on track with the novel and make substantial improvements.
Big thanks go to all the staff at Aria. I’d particularly like to mention Hannah Smith, Victoria Joss, Nikky Ward and Laura Palmer who do a lot of work behind the scenes both in terms of publication, and marketing and promotion. Thanks also to my copy editor Claire Rushbrook, and Geo Willis for doing a great job with the proofreading.
I couldn’t let the publication of Ruby go by without mentioning the wonderful Sarah Ritherdon. She was my original editor who welcomed my ideas for The Working Girls with boundless enthusiasm and was a great source of support and encouragement. I wish her well with her future career.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Writers Bureau again for their excellent creative writing course and for featuring me in this years’ advertising campaign as one of their success stories.
Thank you to all my dedicated readers for continuing to buy and review my books and to the many of you who have purchased copies of The Working Girls series ahead of publication day. Thanks also to the book blogging and book reviewing community who take the time to review books and bring them to the attention of readers.
Last but not least I would like to thank all my family, friends, and friends of friends many of whom both buy my books and recommend them to others. Your continued support has been touching.
About Heather Burnside
Heather Burnside previously worked in credit control and accounts until she took a career break to raise two children. After ten years as a stay-at-home mum, she decided to move away from credit control and enrolled on a creative writing course.
She started her writing career twenty years ago when she began to work as a freelance writer while studying for a writing diploma. As part of her studies, Heather wrote the first chapters of her debut novel, Slur. During that time she also had many articles published in well-known UK magazines.
Heather later ran a writing services business, but eventually returned to her first novel, Slur, which became the first book in The Riverhill Trilogy. Heather followed The Riverhill Trilogy with TheManchester Trilogy then her current series, The Working Girls.
You can find out more about the author by signing up to the Heather Burnside mailing list for the latest updates, including details of new releases and book bargains, or by following any of the links below.
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