Stand By Stand By by Ryan Chris

Author:Ryan, Chris [Ryan, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital
Published: 2009-12-22T16:00:00+00:00

In bed that night we were still lying entwined, with Tracy’s back towards me, when she said, ‘Geordie, what are you doing?’

I was half asleep, and muttered, ‘What?’

‘Out there, with that gun.’

‘What gun?’

‘The pistol. I found it under that pile of clothes.’

‘Oh, that. I need it for self-protection. That’s all.’

She went quiet for a minute, then said, ‘You’re going after someone, aren’t you?’

I tried to keep myself relaxed. If I let myself tense up, she’d be bound to feel it. I was in a real spot. If I tried to bluff it out, she’d know I was lying – she had a tremendous sense for that. And if I did start telling lies, I’d undermine our relationship right at the beginning.

‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘It’ll be all right.’

‘It’s the person who killed Kath, isn’t it?’

‘Trace!’ Now I did tense and pull away from her. ‘How the hell did you know that?’

‘I guessed it. I’ve had the whole afternoon to think about it. I reckoned, Either he’s on leave, or he isn’t. He can’t be half-working. I know you lot don’t work alone. It’s always in pairs, isn’t it?’

I nodded. My forehead was still against the back of her head, and, although she couldn’t see me she could feel the movement.

‘Well? You’re trying to kill him?’

I nodded again.

‘Why?’

‘He killed Kath. That’s why.’

‘I don’t suppose he meant to.’

‘He sent the bomber to kill somebody. He’s killed plenty of others, too. He’s a murdering bastard.’

‘An eye for an eye.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Why not just leave him?’

‘Trace, this is nothing to do with you.’

‘Of course it is!’ She suddenly turned over to face me and said angrily, ‘If we’re going together, I’m part of everything you do.’

I wanted to tell her gently that she couldn’t be, that my profession made any such arrangement impossible. But I sidestepped, and said I’d reconsider things when we were fresh in the morning.

‘The trouble with you,’ she said, ‘is that you’re a loner. You know that, don’t you? You’re always wanting to do things on your own.’

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