Page 40 of Tell No One
Danger signals bombarded his head. No one could be allowed to get close to him. Ever. But he cupped the back of Tag’s neck and pulled him in, pressing their lips together. Tag’s arms wrapped around him, then his legs, so he was clinging on like a koala and as irritated as Delaney would usually feel, he let him do it without protest or pulling away.
“You don’t cuddle, do you?” Tag asked.
It was like a shock to the system, a snap return to reality and Delaney moved Tag aside and pushed to his feet. He gathered up his clothes and his gun and strode across the lawn. Tag reached his side with his clothes, the blanket and the two empty bottles before Delaney got to the door.
“I’ll teach you how to cuddle.” Tag smiled at him. “It’s easy.”
Delaney rolled his eyes, but inside his chest something had sparked to life.
7
By the time Tag reappeared downstairs after his shower, Delaney was in the kitchen. Tag felt nervous and tucked his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the worktop. Two steaks were lying on a chopping board.
“Do you like meat?” Delaney asked.
Tag almost sniggered. “Meat? Yeah, it’s okay. I’ve never eaten steak. Well, not proper steak. Is that what that is? It looks like proper steak.”
“Is there such a thing as not proper steak?”
“Well yeah, that’s the sort that you get told is steak and it takes you so long to cut it and even longer to chew it that you don’t think it can be. The sort of meat where you have to pretend to cough so you can spit it into your hand and if you had a dog, you’d give it the dog, but if you don’t, you have to put the chewed-up mess into your pocket. Then get rid of it later.”
“I didn’t think you spat stuff out.”
Tag did snigger then.
Delaney rolled his eyes. “I need your phone.”
Tag pulled it from his pocket.
“You smash it or I will,” Delaney said.
Tag gulped. “But I only just bought it.”
“I’ll buy you another.”
“Okay, but do you want the phone number of the guy who came looking for me first?”
Delaney frowned. “You didn’t tell me you had that.”
Tag shrugged. “I asked my mate to send it to me.”
“Call it,” Delaney said. “Hide your number. Put it on speaker.”
The phone rang three times, then a man said, “Hello?”
Tag shivered. It was the Master. “It’s Tag. You wanted to speak to me?”
“Where did you go?”
He looked up at Delaney who nodded.
“I ran and I kept running. I thought someone would find me but no one did.” Tag made himself laugh. “It gave me a chance to think. I didn’t like what I was thinking about.”
“You were naked.”
“I stole some shorts and a T-shirt from a washing line in the village and persuaded a guy to give me a lift to London. I said I was playing a game like that show on the TV. Hunted.”
The Master chuckled, though there was no humour in it. “But you weren’t. You were playing our game but you left before it had finished.”
