Sex. Money. Power. Control. Benjamin wants it all.
He is Bennie, a loving husband and father; Benjie, a beloved son. He climbs the ladder as Ben, a corporate banker, and rakes in money as a bestselling author. And when he wants to escape it all, Benjamin styles himself as Jamie — the lover of a beautiful musician.
His life, in a word, is perfect. But after years of keeping his separate personae a secret, cracks begin to appear in the façade.
When an unexpected series of events topples Benjamin’s carefully crafted world, his separate lives collide with dire consequences.
Ring Fenced by Zach Abrams was published in 2015.
As part of the Blog Tour, organised by Rachel's Random Resources I'm delighted to share an extract from the book with you here today on Random Things
Intro
Benjamin’s wife, Natasha has been
blackmailed by a former boyfriend, Clive, using erotic photos taken when he’d
known her many years earlier. In this excerpt, Clive has recently returned to
his flat after collecting ransom money.
Leaving the room he turned his key in the door
and then checked and rechecked to make certain it was properly locked. He went
down to surprise Harris and make his day. A few minutes later, he returned to
his room and used his mobile to phone round the three dealers whom he owed
money to and then looked out the cash he’d allocated to pay them. He did this
as three separate trips as he wanted to be careful not to be seen having more
money than he was paying across to each one. On each occasion he carefully
locked and checked his door when he went out.
He had enjoyed the celebrity of being welcomed
by each of his creditors in turn. Normally none of them would bother to pass
the time of day with him but today he had money and they all wanted to be his
friend.
Returning to the flat, Clive was feeling
really happy and pleased with himself. He rolled himself a joint and lit up,
inhaling deeply. It had been a great day, the best he could remember for a long
time. He found a dirty mug and gave it a wipe out with an old towel, not
bothering to wash it first. He poured a large measure of vodka topping it with
a drizzle of coke and gulped back the liquid. He thought about Natasha. It was
a real pity she didn’t agree to come home with him. If only she had, it would
have made the day just perfect. She’d moved on to bigger and better things and
he’d just have to find someone else. He wanted a woman. He hadn’t had sex for
weeks, maybe months. He thought of going out and seeing who he could pick up.
Thinking again, he didn’t want to bring anyone back to the flat or they might
find his money. He was feeling tired and mellow. He hardly slept last night and
he hadn’t eaten all day; the vodka and the dope was making his head cloudy. No,
the woman would have to wait. He swallowed down the remainder of his drink and
poured another, this time sipping it more leisurely, relishing the taste. He
prepared another joint and casually flicked through his magazine. There were some
very attractive girls in the pictures and the poses didn’t leave very much to
the imagination, but Clive longed instead to be looking at his photos of
Natasha. It was her he really wanted. He switched on his computer and linked up
to the net. It was a warm evening and Clive closed his curtains and stripped
off. He topped up his drink and logged into his account on the sexy stories
website. He was now pretty drunk and stoned, but what did it matter, he was
having a celebration. He sat naked in front of the screen, his vision a bit
blurred but he increased the font size and was just about able to read. He went
through story after story learning about fictional entanglements comprising
many different erotic permutations of sexual grouping and fetish. In every one
of them he played out in his imagination the events described on the screen. In
every one of them he pictured Natasha as being the sometimes enthusiastic but
more often unwilling participant. As he read, he played with his genitals and
continued to drink and smoke late into the evening until he collapsed
unconscious onto the floor, the screen saver replaced the words on his monitor.
At 5.00 am he was rudely awoken. At first he
thought it was his imagination, perhaps a replaying of one of the stories which
he’s read. But no, the hammering was real.
“Open up, this is the police. Open up or we’ll
take the door down.”
Clive forced his eyes open. He could hardly
see and his head was thumping, even without the banging on the door. “Wait, I’m
coming,” he called back. He opened the door and saw the plain clothed officer
standing staring at him with a look of total disgust, which helped him realise
he was still stark naked.
Having the background of a successful career in
commerce and finance, Zach Abrams has spent many years writing reports, letters
and presentations and it's only fairly recently he started writing novels.
"It's a more honourable type of fiction," he declares.
Writer of the Alex Warren Murder Mystery series, set in Scotland, Zach has also written the psychological thriller 'Ring Fenced' and the financial thriller 'Source', as well as collaborating with Elly Grant on a book of short stories.
Zach is currently producing a non-fiction series to help small businesses -using the collective title 'Mind Your Own Business'. The first, 'So, You Think You Want to be a Landlord' is already available.
Writer of the Alex Warren Murder Mystery series, set in Scotland, Zach has also written the psychological thriller 'Ring Fenced' and the financial thriller 'Source', as well as collaborating with Elly Grant on a book of short stories.
Zach is currently producing a non-fiction series to help small businesses -using the collective title 'Mind Your Own Business'. The first, 'So, You Think You Want to be a Landlord' is already available.
Social
Media Links –
Website : http://zachabrams.wix.com/zach-abrams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zach-Abrams-author-463346010364540/
Twitter: @authorway
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zach-Abrams-author-463346010364540/
Twitter: @authorway
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