Page 125 of Tell No One
“Shit,” Delaney said.
“No, you’re not allowed to say shit. You have to say—that little bruise? It’s nothing. Don’t be a baby. God, I knew I could find a way to get you to call me baby. Getting shot in the chest is definitely it.”
“Let me go and get the first aid kit. I think we need to amputate.”
Tag laughed and groaned in pain. “What are you going to amputate? My chest?”
“You need to go to hospital. I should have sent you with the Frenchman.”
“I don’t want to go to hospital. I want to stay with you.”
“Let me look at your back.”
Tag turned and screwed up his face in pain when Delaney couldn’t see.I feel so ill.
“Shit.”
“Not again.” Tag tried to make himself sound brighter than he felt. “You’re not very reassuring. Good thing you’re not a doctor. Can you imagine? Guy comes in with his leg hanging off and you sayshit.”
Ahsan came rushing in and stopped abruptly when he saw Tag’s chest.“They want— Shit! You got shot?”
“No, well yes, but I was wearing body armour.”
“Someone wants to speak to you,” Ahsan told Delaney, then dropped down next to Tag.
“You okay for a while?” Delaney asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll look after him,” Ahsan said.
After Delaney had gone, Ahsan grabbed Tag’s hand. “What happened? No one will tell me anything.”
“I’m not sure I’m supposed to either. Not that I know everything.”
“You know about Rafiq,” Ahsan said. “After you left this morning, that was all I could think about. How do you know him?”
“I don’t have the energy for the whole story, but he’s at your place in Scotland.”
Ahsan gasped.
“There’s a phone in my backpack. Do you know his number?”
“Yes.”
“We have your diamonds safe too. At least, I think they’re safe. I made animals out of air-drying clay and put the diamonds inside.”
“You work for the police?” Ahsan picked up Tag’s backpack.
“No. I don’t have a job. I sort of got trawled into this one.”
“The phone’s wet,” Ahsan said.
“The bottle of water got shot as well. Didn’t survive.”
Ahsan squeezed his hand. “Tag!”
He leaned back into the couch. Even taking little shallow breaths hurt. Had to just be broken ribs. He felt so tired.
