Page 1 of Wistful Whispers

Prologue

Twelve-years ago

Jake

The muscles in mylegs are burning, as are my lungs from the cold air I’ve been greedily sucking in. I just need to get tothe next corner then I can rest for a second. The streetlight has been knocked out so the darkness provides some cover for me.

I lean against the cold house wall, panting. At the end of the road to my left I see a light falling through a window in the otherwise dark street. At two in the morning most people are asleep, but not my brother or his gangmates. I pull my hood lower and spy around the corner down the road I’ve just come from. Nothing.

If the police are following me, they’re not making it obvious. I know it’s stupid because I might be leading them directly to Sean but I have to at least warn him that they’re onto them and I can’t trust that our phones aren’t being monitored.

When five Met police officers turned up at our family’s flat earlier this evening we didn’t say much. I could see that my mum’s heart was breaking when she found out Sean was still involved with drugs, but she cussed the police nevertheless. Growing up in the same East London estate we live in now meant that she learned to distrust the police early on. There is no love lost between the diverse community and the Met police.

Of course I knew what Sean was up to. He’s my baby brother after all.

Can you call a twenty-four-year-old, fifteen-stone lad a baby brother? Maybe not, but for me he’s always been someone I need to look out for since Mum placed the tiny baby in my arms when I was just three years old. We’ve been through too much together. I hate that he’s chosen the dark side of drugs and crime. I’ve begged him to give it up and even offered him a job at the gym I’m working at. But he just couldn’t walk away froma life with easy access to money. I still wouldn’t give him up to the Met. And even if I wanted to, snitching on these gangs isn’t something you do lightly—not if you value your life or the safety of your family.

I take another deep breath and sprint the remaining few metres to the house with the illuminated windows. I hear mumbled voices when I knock on the door, then nothing but silence.

“Sean, it’s me,” I call out and knock again.

The door swings open and strong arms pull me in.

“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?” a harsh voice barks and I’m pushed into the living room. I lose my footing and crash to the floor.

“Stop it, Grant!” Sean shouts, before helping me back to my feet. “What are you doing here?” he asks me concerned. He knows I wouldn’t have come if something wasn’t seriously wrong.

“The Old Bill was over at the flat earlier. Asked me and Mum a thousand questions about you and—”

“Fuck. And you thought the best thing to do would be to lead the rozzers straight to us?” Grant barks at me. “Twink, check the street,” he demands from a skinny looking guy with greasy hair.

“I’m not stupid. Nobody followed me,” I reply stubbornly, even though I really can’t be sure. What do I know of police surveillance? Nothing.

“You knobhead wouldn’t know that they’re onto you if they crawled up your arse.” That latest bark from Grant makes Sean and the fourth member, a bold guy with crooked, yellow teeth, snort.

“Can’t see anyone,” Twink replies, sounding almost bored as he slouches back into the living room.

“Sean, you need to come home,” I try to convince him to leave with me. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until the police find their hide out. The questions they asked me earlier made me realise that they must have been watching the gang for a while.

“Hey, brother, what do you think this is? A kids birthday party? Sean works for me. He can’t just saunter off into the sunset because you’re shitting your pants. We have deals lined up so you can fuck right off!” Grant glares at me. His eyes are the epitome of evil, setting off a ball of fear in my stomach.

“Sean?” I plead but who am I kidding. Did I really think Sean would just come home with me?

“Jake, go home. I won’t be long. We’ll talk when I’m back.”

“Yes,Jake, go home to mummy,” Grant tries to provoke me. I could easily take him. I’m a fitness trainer and tower over him by at least six inches. But before I can even consider that he casually opens a drawer and pulls a gun out and directs it towards me. My heart starts racing.

“Put the gun down,” my brother hisses and positions himself between me and Grant.

“I think it’s time for him to leave. And if I see his face again or if find out he opened his big gob you won’t be able to help him.” Grant stares my brother down before lowering the gun and leaving the room.

“You shouldn’t have come!” Sean paces the room.

“Sean—” I don’t get to finish my sentence as there’s a loud bang from the front door. Before I can even move, the door flies open and chaos descends around us. Shouts echo around me, accompanied by the thunder of heavy boots storming in; the noise is so overwhelming, I can barely make out what everyone is yelling.

My heart’s racing and I freeze, too scared to do anything. The people who burst in are all in black, helmets, masks, guns, the lot—I can’t tell if they’re police or something worse. They barge past me, pushing me to the floor and shouting for everyone to stay down. Twink and the guy with the crooked teeth end up lying next to me but I can’t see Sean. I try to turn my head but the guy pinning me to the floor shouts at me and pushes my face into the carpet. Panic rises in me and I can’t think straight.

“I have nothing to do with this. I was here to talk to my brother,” I try to explain myself but it sounds ridiculous and nobody pays any attention to me. There is a lot of commotion coming from the back of the property.

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