Dangerous Thrills

By JH Nelson

Elizabeth Mason has finally got her life out of the gutter and going in a respectable direction... So why does something feel like it’s missing?
Returning home to look after her ailing mother, Elizabeth finds herself drawn back into the dangerous crowd of stolen cars and fast money - a world she worked so hard to escape. So why isn’t she walking away?

They say that time heals all wounds but Peter Jones knows it’s a lie. He’s done his best to sober up and stay out of trouble but he knows better than most... trouble always finds you.
That’s why he needs to do this one last job. To be free from his past he needs to return to the dark side and finish what he started. There’s only one thing that could possibly distract him...
Elizabeth Mason is back in town...

• Language: English
• Publisher: JH Nelson
• Release date: Mar 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9780645131505

Book preview

Dangerous Thrills

by

JH Nelson

Dangerous Thrills

It happened in an instant. One minute he was filling the car with petrol, the next, Peter was ten years old again, plucking up the courage to kiss her soft lips while she sat cross-legged, eyes closed on the grass in his mother’s front yard. It ripped through him like a bolt of electricity. How long had it been? Why was she back? How long was she staying? Questions hounded him, each one succeeding the last.

As she finished refuelling her own vehicle, Elizabeth's gaze lifted and Peter spun away from her, focusing on his own petrol nozzle, worried she'd spied his grimy-self. Sweat broke out along his hands. What the fuck? What was going on? He wasn't the same pimple-faced schoolboy who'd fallen in love with her. How the hell was she able to invoke such a response, after all these years?

With his eyes glued to the car he was filling — another one for his mate, Tommy — he pondered how best to play this out without her seeing him. The pump was about to stop and then he'd have to go in and pay. He hadn't seen her fancy SUV drive off yet so she was obviously still inside. Click. He was out of time. It was inevitable that he was going to cross her path. With a quick breath, he hung up the hose and hoped she wouldn't recognise him. It could happen. Maybe.

Passing her SUV, Peter couldn't help but notice the badges. Cars were his thing after all. It was top of the line. Of course it is… some things never change! Inside the shop, Peter glanced around searching for her but the place was empty besides the cashier. He paid for his petrol feeling a mixture of relief and annoyance that he was escaping detection when the pivot door to the public restrooms opened.

Like metal to a magnet, his eyes were lured to hers and he saw her falter. Everything about her screamed ‘confidence’. If it weren't for her miss-step he wouldn't have even known he'd affected her. But he did see it.

Pete? Oh my god. Is it really you?

Beth. Wow. Long time no see. What brings you back to Hellhole-Ville? Play it cool, Pete. He thought to himself.

Elizabeth laughed. I haven't heard it called that in about ten years. It's Liz these days.

Peter offered a small nod of his head and tight smile. It was exactly like her to change her name to fit in. So. That your fancy beast I see parked out there? That model's got the turbo, hasn't it? They're s'posed to go like shit off a shovel, I'm told.

Again, Elizabeth laughed. That it does. Sadly though, not mine. It's a rental. I'm staying at mum’s. Maybe we could catch up sometime and I'll show you what she can do. There was a teasing glint in her eye. It lit a fire in Peter's belly.

Drive it like you stole it, hey, Bee? He hadn’t meant to use the old pet name and cursed internally after it slipped past his lips.

Elizabeth glanced at her feet. With a soft smile, she replied. That was a long time ago. I wouldn’t know that girl if I saw her. No longer clinging to bad boys on the back of their motorcycles. Nor stealing their motorcycles out from under them. Thank goodness, I got smarter with age… Well, that and the community service sentence might have played a solid part in my coming-of-wisdom as well. She chuckled sarcastically.

You know that wasn't me right? I would never’ve dumped you in it, I swear. Peter's chest tightened with the ancient anguish, rising from the dead. Elizabeth rested a hand along his arm.

"Relax, Pete. I knew then that you'd never stitch me. We were solid. Truth is, it doesn't matter anymore. Whoever squealed did me a favour. If it weren't for the threat of being locked up in prison, I'd