Chapter 1

I felt my lips first, it was as if they were caked in mud or scab or something, I tried to move them and felt them crack, there was no moisture in my mouth.

I heard a slow drip nearby and tried to move to see what it was but I couldn't move, then I remembered.

I remembered the big ugly guy bursting out of the bank's twin doors, I remembered shouting and in that millisecond of time I remembered wondering why the British police were expected to face people like that with just a truncheon!

"He's coming to" someone said and then the same person shouted for a doctor, the voice sounded a lot like my sister's but there's no way on earth that she would be in South London just as two coked up dick heads decided to rob a bank.

But it was her, my twin sister Christine, I tried to look at her but she swam out of focus, I felt like I was ensnared in a web, if I tried to reach out for her the strands pulled me back.

It was all too much for me and I allowed myself to be drawn into the blessed arms of the sleep fairy.

"He'll be fine, I know he will" I heard and I opened my eyes, this time they weren't stuck and opened without any effort at all, She was there, my Christine, my gorgeous little twin, the only girl I'd ever truly loved, the reason I'd never married, but she was crying.

"Hey shorty, what're you doing here?"

I'm not sure whether it was relief or anger that I saw in her face just before it lit up in a grin and I felt her hand squeezing mine,

"Well it was raining in California so I thought I'd come over here for a dose of the beautiful British weather"

"You mean it's not raining here?, wow let me up it must be summer time" Then the darkness took me again and I slept knowing I was going to survive.

I only slept for a short while, but when I woke up again she was still there and she was still tear stained and weary looking, I looked around and saw the plasma bag attached to my right arm, the whole of my chest and right arm was swathed in bandages, I felt something worrying my penis and realized it was a catheter, I was thirsty, very thirsty.

"Water" I croaked and I slurped thirstily from the straw in a mug that she held to my mouth, I stayed awake then long enough for the doctor to explain that the bullet had broken my clavicle, destroying the nerves in my arm before coursing on down to destroy a lung and coming to rest behind my spleen.

The paramedics had been on the scene within minutes and there on the pavement a doctor had cut my chest open and massaged my heart, he'd still been massaging it when we hit the accident and emergency department about ten minutes later.

All this had been over two months ago, I'd died twice but fought back and at last I was off the danger list, the grim reaper would have to wait a while longer!

"Did they get him?" I asked and everyone looked embarrassed,

"Not yet" Christine said, "But they're confident they will"

"Yeah, I bet they will" I said sarcastically,

The doctor took over then and asked if I felt like going home.

"What?" I was astounded, "Like this?"

"The young lady has been busy" he smiled, "But I'll let her tell you herself"

"Hya handsome" she said softly and squeezed my hand, "First of all you know I trained as a nurse and worked as one in America, so I can take care of you while you recover and build your strength back up"

"Yeah but I can't feel my right arm"

"No I know you can't but the doctor wants you back in for more surgery on it when you're stronger, he's confident that he can get it working as good as new"

"Ok, I'll go for that but I've only got a one bedroom flat you know"

"I know, but I've bought a lovely little cottage down by the coast in Kent, we can move in there for now"

"What about your charming husband?"

I saw what I took to be hurt in her eyes, hurt or bitterness, I wasn't sure.

"We've been living apart for almost a year now Kris, he wasn't so charming and if you say "I told you so" I'll kill you myself"

"Oh baby, I'm sorry"

"Don't be because I'm not, my divorce came through last week along with a settlement cheque, no more beatings when he's drunk, no more waiting for him to come home from some fucking woman's bed, I'm free Kris, I'm taking a year off work to think about what I'm going to do and to look after my favourite big brother"

"Your only big brother" I laughed, "Come up here and give me a kiss"

She did but pulled a face and said, "Yuk, your breath smells like you just chewed a rat, I'll get a nurse to take you to the bathroom and clean you up while I go and make arrangements for a taxi to take us to the cottage"

It took two hours for the nurse to clean me up and remove the catheter but I couldn't wait to get out of there so I did everything she told me to.

I was still as weak as a kitten so I needed a wheel chair to get me out to the waiting taxi where I slept again for most of the two hour journey to the cottage.

"It's beautiful babes" I said as between them, she and the driver helped me out of the car and into the wheel chair, I could smell the sea and asked how far it was.

"Just hang on a minute and I'll show you" she laughed, "You'll love it, I know you will"

I wasn't used to letting a woman do all the work, but the driver was great and helped her move all our gear into the cottage earning himself a generous tip in the process.

Once it was all in she came out and found me in a heap on the back lawn, she went mad at me, she shouted and raved and threatened me while I just sat there laughing at her, but she had the last laugh by going back into the kitchen and coming out clutching a walking stick.

"If you insist on being bloody stupid" she yelled, "You can use this and hopefully break your bloody neck in the process"

"The doctor would be a bit pissed off if I did that"

She smiled at that and added, "Yes and so would I"

I was only slightly steadier with the stick, but I eventually made it to the small wall at the bottom of the garden, there was a drop of about twenty feet and then there was the beach! It was beautiful, the sea shimmered in the bright sunlight and the sheer beauty of it took my breath away.

"Did the girl do good?" she said behind me,

"The girl done brilliantly" I smiled and turned into her arms, this time my breath was fresh and she didn't pull away, I tasted the sweetness of her lips and tongue and I felt the firmness of her breasts against me.