The lobby was filled with the choking, acrid smell of gunpowder from the two discarded rounds and the sound of the blast still rang in Mike’s ears like tinnitus and made his head feel like cotton wool. That smoky metallic smell caught the back of his throat and made him cough, the cough then jarred his body and further ignited the fiery pain in his leg, causing his face to crease in pain.
“Let me see him,” June said, striding over and dropping down by his side.
Mike smiled weakly at her, “I don’t think we’ve met yet,” he said.
“It’s a hell of a first impression, Mr. Cross,” she said. Her voice was serious and yet there was the slightest hint of dry humour in there and it made him chuckle. “I wasn’t sure what I’d be coming into by turning up here tonight, but the Cornish equivalent to th
