Free The Kill Zone by Chris Ryan

you say the street value of that would be now, Kieran?’ she mused. ‘A few hundred thousand? Half a mill? Enough to keep your uncle very comfortable for a while, anyway. Worth a bit less once he’s laundered it, of course, but still . . . I wonder how much of that you’ll be taking home, Kieran. Doesn’t seem quite right, does it? You take all the risk, and he takes all the profit.’
    She smiled at him.
    ‘We’re very close to nailing him, Kieran. But when we do . . .’ She held up her hands in a gesture almost of apology. ‘When we do, it will be difficult to keep your name out of it. So the way I see it, Kieran, you’ve got two options. Prison, or not prison.’ She put one hand to her head. ‘You know what, there’s something I forgot. I took the liberty of transferring a grand into your bank account. It won’t take much for me to make sure the details of that little transaction end up in your uncle’s hand. I’ll wait till you’re banged up, of course, but I suppose that if Cormac thinks you’ve been doing a bit of work on the side, your sentence might be shorter than everyone thinks.’
    She didn’t take her eyes from him.
    ‘Of course, if you go for the prison option, well that’s fine by me. But if you go for the not prison option, I’ll need a little something in return.’
    He looked as if he might hit her.
    ‘I’m not a grass,’ he whispered.
    A pause.
    ‘I’m sure you’re not,’ Siobhan replied. ‘People like you never are. At least, not at first.’
    ‘ I said, I’m not a grass. ’
    He sounded like he meant it. She felt her stomach sink, but did everything she could not to show it. Instead she just shrugged. ‘Well then,’ she said, starting to gather up the photographs. ‘I guess that’s that.’ She turned round and made for the door. ‘You can show yourself out, can you?’
    Siobhan was glad that her back was turned. This was it – the moment when he would make his decision – and she didn’t know whether she’d be able to keep the nerves from her face.
    ‘Wait,’ he said.
    She turned.
    He looked like he was deliberating.
    ‘It won’t be like the Maze, you know, Kieran,’ she purred. ‘You won’t be with your own. You’ll be with rapists and kiddie fiddlers. It’s a long time to spend with—’
    ‘You know what my uncle will do if he finds out?’ Kieran interrupted. ‘You know what will happen to me?’
    Siobhan shrugged. ‘It’s your choice. But you need to make it now. The offer won’t be on the table in ten minutes’ time.’
    He turned and walked to the ancient kitchen units that lined the back wall, clutching on to the edge of the sink. His head was bowed, his shoulders hunched. For a brief, irrational moment, Siobhan wondered if he was going to cry.
    ‘What do you want me to do?’ he whispered.
    Siobhan felt a small surge inside. ‘Well now,’ she said. ‘Why don’t we just sit down and talk about it?’
    Kieran turned. ‘I don’t want to sit down. Just tell me what you want, woman, and be done with it.’
    Siobhan inclined her head. ‘Information, Kieran. Good information. Gossip is no good to me. I need information that will put your uncle behind bars. You deliver the good stuff and maybe – maybe – I can keep you out of jail. Do we have a deal?’
    Kieran O’Callaghan looked at her with hatred. ‘Yes,’ he murmured. ‘We have a deal.’ He finally took a seat at the table, looking totally dejected.
    ‘OK, Kieran,’ Siobhan said. ‘I’m going to tell you what I know. It’s all about heroin. The price on the street is down and there’s more high-grade product than we’ve seen for years. Your uncle is at the centre of all this.’
    She paused and surveyed his face for any sign of acknowledgement. There was none, so she continued.
    ‘I’ll give him this, Kieran. Cormac is smart. I know about his building business. I know about his restaurants. They’re all clean, all legit, but he’s using them to launder his drug