Sharp Turn - Marianne Delacourt [19]
I began to purr. And then giggle.
‘Tara, let’s get inside,’ he said helplessly. ‘Remember. Inside.’
I saluted and giggled again. ‘Yes, sireee, Captain Ed.’
Then I ran my fingers down his muscled torso. He sucked in his stomach and Hello Kitty grew.
‘Tara,’ he said more urgently. ‘In!’
Before I could turn back towards the door, it slid open and a body barrelled out, taking us down like a pair of bowling pins. I landed on Ed, and another body landed on me. A cool hard object dug into my neck.
‘Freeze,’ said a familiar voice.
I did just what the man said, sobering up in less than a gulp.
‘Wal,’ I whispered. ‘It’s Tara and Ed. Put the gun down.’
‘Fuckin’ wankers. Sneakin’ up on a man when he’s sleepin’.’
‘Wal,’ I said. ‘It’s Tara. I’m coming home. Into my flat. You’re staying with me. Remember?’
The pressure on my neck eased a fraction. ‘Teach?’
‘Yeah. That’s right.’
Wal began to mumble; a slur of disjointed words I couldn’t understand. Something about his voice sounded odd, like he was half-drugged or dreaming.
OMG, Wal was sleep-assaulting.
‘Tara?’
Ed quivered underneath me. I could sense his urge to try to fling both Wal and me off. He was big and strong enough to do it, but Wal knew how to handle himself. And he had a gun.
‘Don’t move!’ I whispered in Ed’s ear. ‘He’s on medication and he’s sleepwalking. God knows what he’ll do.
Let me try to wake him up first.’
We lay there, the three of us, in an unpleasant human sandwich. I felt all the warm fuzzy sensations brought on by a good meal, a little too much grog and some foreplay draining away. They were replaced by a knot in my gut, a pounding heart and an unwelcome desire to pee.
‘Wal,’ I said more firmly, ‘it’s Tara Sharp. Put the gun down and get off me.’
‘Dirtbag!’ he growled in response and dug the muzzle deeper into the back of my skull. ‘Gonna blow your brains to shit kingdom.’
‘Tar-ah!’ Ed sounded a tad hysterical.
I didn’t blame him. Our dates never seemed to go well. The first one had ended in us nearly being caught in a police bust. I wanted to say I was sorry but a sudden cold wet sensation kept my apology unspoken. Water spray drummed into my side and splattered my face.
Wal, shocked out of his sleepwalking mind-state, shifted his weight.
Ed and I rolled, tossing him sideways. I dived for his shoulders and Ed crashed across his legs. As I dropped my considerable bulk onto Wal’s forearm, a heeled boot came down on his hand, forcing him to release the pistol with a yelp of pain.
I grabbed the weapon and leaped away.
The light from a mobile phone flicked on, showing me the owner of the boot: a dark-clad figure with a pale face and heavily made-up eyes. Who the hell . . . ?
‘Cass? Is that you?’
‘Yeah. Sorry about the water. Thought you could use some help.’
I took care to point the pistol at the ground while I grappled for something sensible to say in the circumstances. Cass was a kid who’d helped me out when I was doing some undercover work in the Bunkas, a less than salubrious area of Perth. I’d told her to call me if she ever needed help, but I never expected to see her in my back yard in the middle of the night.
‘Boss?’ That came from Wal, along with a groan. ‘Whass goin’ on?’
Cass directed her phone light at the tangle of arms and legs that was Wal and Ed.
‘You’ve been sleepwalking,’ I said. ‘You attacked Ed and me when we were coming in. Lucky Cass here turned the water on you. Woke you up.’
‘That my piece you got?’
I nodded. Water dripped from my chin and nose. I really wanted to wipe my face but I wasn’t letting go of the pistol until I was sure Wal was properly with us.
‘You awake?’ I said.
He shook his head like a dog shedding water and extricated himself from underneath Ed. Then he stood up and reached out his hand in apology.
‘Sorry, man. Musta been them sleepin’ pills the doc gave me.’
Ed got to his feet and accepted the handshake. ‘S-sure, Wal. Wouldn’t be taking them again though.