Chapter 1.

HM Prison, Low Newton, located in the village of Brasside, County Durham is an all female maximum security establishment.

Myra Giradino's cool gaze levelled on the face opposite her in the prison's visiting room. She pressed her fingers to her lips, then placed them on the transparent partition separating her from Bobby Tortini, her young, ex lover. Myra was 45 years old, Bobby just 26.

He'd be her age when they finally opened the gates to let her out.

She sighed as memories of their passionate lovemaking flashed in her mind.

"How are you Bobby?" she asked, her husky voice turning him on as it never failed to do.

"Missing you baby," he replied, covering her fingers with his on the tough perspex between them." I miss you like hell."

"Yeah, I know." she said. "I miss you too, but there's nothin' we can do about it."

"I know that!" he replied, irritably. "but I can get justice. I want justice on those two cops who put you in here!"

Bobby Tortini, for all his young years, was a killer and a ruthless one at that.

His life had been nothing but crime-filled, running with the gangs on the east side of New York since he was 9 years old, eventually being recruited by the Giradino Mafia crime family as a hitman.

When Raphael Giradino had finally been indicted as a drugs baron he'd been banged up for 20 years. It wasn't long before Myra, Raphael's wife, had taken Bobby as her lover.

And, so long as the job got done, he didn't care who he murdered, be it a punk kid, old grandma, young mother or whoever.

"You got some muscle over here with you, Bobby?" asked Myra.

"Yeah, Gino and Mikey are here with me."

"Good." replied Myra."'cos you're gonna need 'em. Those two cops, Dempsey and "little Miss Twinkletoes" Makepeace make quite a team. They put me in this goddam place. I always thought I was untouchable. So did Coltrane. But those two sonofabitch's proved us both wrong. They must pay Bobby."

"They'll pay, make no mistake!" he said, eyes blazing.

Lieutenant James Dempsey and Sergeant Harry Makepeace were crime busting partners and invaluable team members of SI-10, a clandestine Government department spanning both MI5 and MI6 and run by Chief Superintendent Gordon Spikings, an irascible character who didn't suffer fools gladly.

Dempsey often (and usually deliberately) rubbed him up the wrong way!

Unbeknown to him and the rest of SI-10, Dempsey and Harry were now lovers.

Their relationship, although rocky at the outset gradually developed through a combination of mutual respect and a sixth sense that was unique to them.

They were tuned into each other, a wave length invisible to anyone else but one that inevitably and inextricably drew them into a strong, devoted connection and eventually turned into a deep love for one another.

They were also physically attractive.

He, dark and handsome with soft brown eyes, jet black wavy hair and a lithe, trim physique, she an abject beauty who often took his breath away.

He drowned in her ocean blue eyes and loved stroking her natural blonde hair, cut into a bob and which circled her lovely face. She was slim, fit and naturally tanned. Their desire for each other was fathomless.

And, to cap it all, Harry (Lady Harriet) was a high born heiress to her father, Lord "Freddy" Winfield, owner of Stately Home, Winfield Hall and a retired high ranking officer in the British Secret Service. Despite his daughters initial disparaging description of Dempsey when they were first paired up by Spikings, Freddy liked him enormously when they met and this had, over time, gone some way to melting the ice that Harry felt for her new, brash Yank partner.

It was a beautiful, clear sunny morning in early May when Dempsey and Harry stirred and woke up, still cuddled up together from the night before. Dempsey gently disentangled himself from her, slid out of bed and strolled over to the large gabled window, drawing the curtains back and flooding the bedroom with bright sunlight.

"Hey, nice day Princess." he said to the dishevelled, but beautiful head that peeped over the covers, those blue eyes narrowed to shield them from the brightness.

"Mmmm, so it is." she agreed."come here and kiss me good morning."

Needing no further inducement, he did as he was told, a wide grin on his handsome face as he lowered his lips to hers.

"What time is it?" she asked, as he raised his head to look at her.

"7.30." he said."God you're beautiful!"

"Ah, good, time for a bit of breakfast then?" she offered, her eyes smiling as she mischievously ignored him.

"Sure honey. Spikings isn't expecting us till 10.30." he said, then raising an eyebrow." you really wanna have breakfast right now?"

"Are you never satisfied Dempsey!" she answered, her eyes shining with laughter.

"Never!" he said. "never with you."

"Hmmmm. Well there isn't time for that." she said, gently pushing him away. Hell fire she wanted to drag him into bed there and then, but they had work to do.

"Temptress!" he said, reading her mind."Ha, I'll get you in the end!"

"You've already had me, you insatiable monster!" she chuckled." now move! Breakfast calls, then shower, etcetera, etcetera."

When they walked into SI-10, they'd hardly sat at their desks when a familiar roar from Spiking's office bounced around the walls.

"Is that you Dempsey!? Makepeace!? In here NOW!" he shouted.

They peered round his office door as they walked in, trying to gauge what might be coming next. Something was up, that was for sure.

"Sit down, both of you." ordered Spikings.

Never one to do as he was told, Dempsey remained standing then leaned nonchalantly against the wall, hands in his pockets. Harry sat down.

"What's up sir?" she asked.

Spikings was looking grave.

"I've had an intelligence report from Low Newton where Myra Giradino is locked up."

"Yeah? So?" said Dempsey.

"I'm about to tell you Lieutenant if you'd allow me!" said Spikings, glaring at him."She's had a visit from one Bobby Tortini. You heard of him Dempsey?"

"Yeah, I've heard of him. He's a killer. Hitman for Giradino's mob. The NYPD've after him for a long time. But he's a very clever cookie, despite his age!"

"Well." said Spikings." there's probably only one reason he's over here. To get you two."

Dempsey recalled the parting shots Myra had given him when being bundled into a police car, following the capture of her and Coltrane a year or so earlier.

"My family are very powerful, Dempsey and they'll come after you. One day, and you'll never know when, but one day they'll get you for today!"