Page 1 of Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 1

Maddox stepped out onto the pavement, shut his eyes, and savoured the free air. Twenty-four hours had turned to forty-eight, and when they’d hit seventy-two, he’d thought there was no hope—he was going down for Lewis’s murder.

“You owe me big time.”

The voice cut through Maddox’s calm, and he gritted his teeth before turning to the man beside him. He owed James, but that didn’t mean his smug face didn’t irritate him. He looked down his long nose at Maddox, then lifted his eyebrow. The lawyer had been in his element inside, his smug attitude directed towards the floundering detectives, but outside the police doors, he hit Maddox with the same confident look. Maddox didn’t blame the detectives for getting red-faced and yelling when James led them through loopholes with ease.

“You’ll get paid.”

James tutted, then dug inside his pocket for his packet of cigarettes. “That’s not what I’ve heard.”

He offered one to Maddox, and despite hating the cheaper things in life, he slid one from the box, then popped it between his lips. James lit Maddox’s before his own, and they both dirtied their insides with a satisfying inhale.

“And what have you heard?” Maddox asked.

“Your business ventures are ashes, no profits coming in, so how exactly are you going to pay me?”

“And I’m yet to claim the insurance on my clubs.”

James pursed his lips. “So you will be able to pay me?”

“Very generously, if you disappear out of my sight in the next minute.”

James’s lips curled upwards around his cigarette. He took it from his mouth, then glanced back at the police station. “I’ve bought you some time, that’s all. You’re still the prime suspect—They’ve only let you out to gather information. You’ll be under surveillance.”

“Then I’ll be as boring as possible for the next few days.”

“Weeks, Maddox. Months even, maybe years. They’re gagging to lock you up.”

Maddox breathed out a cloud of grey. “Whatever. Your minute is almost up.”

James raised his hands. “I’m going, I’m going.”

He strolled down the street, and Maddox glowered at his confident strut. He wouldn’t have looked out of place if he’d been whistling and twirling a cane.

“Smug bastard.” Maddox growled.

He dropped his cigarette to the floor, then snuffed it out. He glared at his feet and flared his nostrils. The plimsoles he had been given looked like they’d been chewed on by a pack of wolves, and the joggers and T-shirt were no better. They smelled stale, and the coffee stain on the T-shirt made him shudder. He hadn’t slept in three days, thanks to officers banging on his cell door throughout the night, and although he hadn’t cast his gaze on a mirror, he knew he looked awful.

“Not so high and mighty now, are you…”

The hairs on the back of Maddox’s neck bristled, and he narrowed his eyes slightly as he tried to place the man’s voice.

“I haven’t been charged with murder, so I’m feeling pretty good.”

The man stepped forward until he was level with Maddox, but Maddox didn’t turn to him. He could tell he was tall out of the corner of his eye, but no memory sparked of who the man was. Freakishly tall with a shrill voice…Maddox pursed his lips as he thought.

“It’s only a matter of time. Everyone knows it was you.”

“Beyond reasonable doubt.” Maddox smirked. “There must be some doubt if I’m stood here.”

“I’ll hand it to you, you played the system well, but we’ll play it better.”

Maddox finally turned to the man and looked him up and down. The prominent feature on the man’s face was his crooked nose, and it was the final clue Maddox needed to place him.

He’d confronted Maddox near Desmond’s burning house, and if it hadn’t been for Amber, the officer’s nose would’ve been reshaped by Maddox’s fists.

“And you are?”

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