Page 37 of The Wedding Cake Wish
I swallow hard. ‘Okay, then. Wait...sothat means I go first? So if the dogs chew off someone’s face, it’ll be mine?’
‘No, you’ll be on top of the wall. I’ll be jumping downfirst.’
I grin. ‘That’s all right, then.’
My heart is practically bursting out of my ribcage at thethought of the climb ahead. But as it turns out, I have no time to worry aboutit, because next second I feel myself being transported into the air withHudson supporting me around the thigh area. Panting, I grab the top of the walland haul myself up further, and between us, there I am. Perched on top ofBrendan Myers’ defences.
Hudson scales the wall swiftly and balances on the wallbeside me, as I gaze below me and in the trees for any sign of drooling maws.
Thankfully, none.
There’s a gravelled area a few yards away from us and asingle car is parked there – a silver Subaru – but there’s no sign of thedriver. Hopefully, he or she is safely inside the house.
Hudson leaps down and holds out his arms. ‘Right. Jump?’
‘Really?’ I’m not keen on this. ‘What if I sprain my ankleand a guard dog gallops towards me? I wouldn’t be able to run.’
‘I told you. The dog barks you heard are electronic. You’llbe fine.’
‘Okay. Make sure you catch me, then.’
‘Oh, I will. It’s more than my life’s worth not to.’ Helooks up at me with one of his sexy, lopsided smiles, making my legs feel lessup to the task ahead than ever.
I take a big breath while sending up a prayer that cuttingout carbs last week might mean I’m marginally less likely to squash him flat.And I leap off the wall, straight into his arms.
He catches me and we fall to the ground, me on top of him.He grabs me by the waist to steady me, and there’s something in his eyes that fora moment makes me think he’s actually in no rush to let me go.
But then reality kicks in and I remember he’s got almost tenstone of solid woman restricting his diaphragm, so I quickly roll off and liebeside him instead, panting.
And that’s when we hear the sound of an engine.
‘Shit!’ I sit up to look and he pulls me down again, thencautiously turns round.
‘Stay down,’ he whispers. ‘The grass is quite long here. Wewon’t be seen.’
‘Okay.’
My heart beating fast, I watch as a white van motors along atrack between the trees and comes to a halt terrifyingly close to where we’relying in the grass, parking alongside the silver Subaru. A daisy tickles mynose and I get a nasty urge to sneeze, but I pinch my nostrils tightly.
A man of about forty with a buzz cut and bulging biceps getsout of the van. He’s wearing jeans and a white T-shirt bearing the slogan,Itried to be normal once. Worst two minutes of my life.
Another man appears, walking from the direction of themansion, over to the Subaru.
‘Where’s Steve?’ growls the man with the buzz cut.
‘No idea. Boss is in the house.’
‘Where are you off to, Gerry?’
‘I want to give Robbie a good send-off.’
‘Robbie?You want to giveRobbiea goodsend-off?’
I exchange a wary look with Hudson. It’s obvious from thedisgust in his tone that Buzz Cut Man doesn’t think much of the bloke calledRobbie.
‘Yes. Robbie,’ grunts Gerry tetchily. ‘He snuffed it,remember? And his corpse needs...attending to.’
Buzz Cut Man’s response to that is a derisive snort.
