by Juanita Kees
Pulled back by his hair, his attacker threw him to the ground, jarring bones and bruising muscles. A hefty weight latched onto his back as he sprawled face first on the sandy ground with his hands trapped at his sides, a meaty hand clamped tightly over his mouth. Cruel fingers fisted in his hair and dragged his head back, wrenching the muscles in his neck. Cold, hard steel glinted in the dim light of the moon.
‘You bastard, you stay away from my wife.’
Jesus Christ. Pain needled his scalp as his attacker tightened his grip.
‘I’ve lived with your ghost for ten long fucking years.’
Paul Price. It had to be. He hadn’t messed with anyone else’s wife. The knife point pricked at his neck. Jaime tried to free his hands, but Paul’s weight held him down. He had to get away. The press of the blade sharpened, burning at his throat. Peta’s ex meant business. When had the man turned feral?
‘I should just kill you now.’ Paul’s breath was hot and ugly in his ear, the weight easing a little as he leaned over. ‘How would the princess feel about that, do you think? Or maybe I should just kill you both and finish this for good.’
No chance. Jaime heaved his body upwards, catching Paul by surprise and dislodging him. The knife cut into Jaime’s jaw and Paul’s fist connected with his ear, sending pain roaring through his skull. A trickle of blood ran down the skin of his throat. Anger flooded through him. Leaping to his feet he turned to face his attacker, but the man was on the run and the dizziness in his head and ringing in his ears stopped him from giving chase.
God damn it. Jaime’s head pounded as he wiped away the blood on his jaw with his hand. What the hell was going on? If Peta’s ex was out of control that would explain Mark’s vigilance tonight. Bloody hell, he had no choice but to go and see her now. If nothing else, she owed him an explanation for why her husband wanted to slit his throat.
With a groan, he slid into the driver’s seat. His ribs ached and he’d have a few bruises in the morning. Nothing he wasn’t used to. Slamming the door closed, he gunned the engine, engaged gears and turned out onto the road to negotiate the winding bends back into town, questions churning in his mind, urgency clawing at his gut. What if Paul turned on Peta with that knife?
Parking the car outside the hotel, he got out and headed through the old jarrah doors. He took the staircase to the hotel rooms quickly, adrenaline running high, his mind sorting through what had happened at the river. Mark would need to know, but first he had to make sure Peta was safe. That Paul hadn’t got here before him.
Outside Suite 201, he took a deep breath before knocking. A mountain of a man opened the door, wearing a police jacket and a scowl on his face that would send any sane man running. Jaime had lost his sanity somewhere between the shire hall and the flight of stairs up to Peta’s suite, but he knew Harold Jones well enough to know he was in deep shit. Deeper than he already was.
‘Hey, Harold.’
‘What do you want?’ Harold peered at his jaw. ‘And what the hell happened to your face?’
It took a lot to intimidate a Caruso, but Mark’s detective mate looked angry enough to use the gun in his side holster and Jaime wasn’t in the mood to die. Harold’s face was all harsh contours and, judging by the angle, his nose had been broken a few times since Jaime had seen him last. The combination made him look like a hawk, ready to rip its prey to shreds.
‘Explanations can wait. I need to see Peta first.’
‘She doesn’t want to see you.’
‘Please. I need to see she’s okay,’ he tried again, taking a step forward and pulling himself up to his full height. He hadn’t survived gruelling manoeuvres and years of facing down the enemy not to take advantage of his size.
Harold looked as if he’d like to hurl him down the stairs he’d just climbed. ‘I’m here. She’s okay. We don’t need you.’
As the door began to close on him, Jaime put his hand out to stop it. ‘Mark thinks she does. He told me to come.’ He froze as Peta appeared at the detective’s side.
‘It’s all right, Harold,’ she said quietly. ‘Let him in, I’ll talk to him.’
Harold hesitated a little longer. ‘Are you sure, Peta? I wouldn’t mind throwing him out on his arse.’
He flexed muscles Jaime had no doubt could easily carry out the threat and have his arse hurting for months.
‘I’m sure. Give us a couple of minutes, okay? If he puts one foot wrong, I’ll let you toss him out.’
Harold narrowed his eyes but stepped aside to clear the doorway. ‘You have five minutes, Caruso. Use them well. They might be your last.’
‘Thanks.’ His dry tone earned him another scowl.
Peta turned to walk back into the room. ‘Come inside, Jaime. You look as if you need a drink,’ she said. ‘And that cut needs seeing to. What did you do?’
Adrenaline gave way to anger. ‘I had a little run in with your ex-husband and a knife.’ Jaime followed her inside.
Harold paused in his scan of the corridor. ‘Say what?’
Peta stopped and turned around. Her gaze shot to Harold’s, the sharp intake of her breath and the little shiver she gave a dead giveaway that she knew exactly who he’d run into.
‘Where?’ Harold’s voice thundered through the room.
‘Down by the river.’
‘The bastard. This is a game changer. I’ll call Mark.’
‘Great. You do that. And then I’d like to know why someone I’ve never met wants to kill me.’
With a dark look at Jaime, Harold stepped outside and closed the door behind him, leaving them alone in the room. Jaime watched Peta pour him a whisky at the bar, her hand not quite steady. Anger dissolved into concern. He breathed in her perfume, the scent bringing back sweet memories of her in his arms, of the promises he’d whispered and failed to keep. If things had worked out differently, would she still be in danger now? And he had no doubt that she was.
Peta held out the glass to him. He took it from her, their fingers touching. For a brief moment he held her gaze until she moved away before he could read her thoughts, but he’d seen enough to recognise the fear in her eyes. He’d seen it over and over in the eyes of the men, women and children fleeing the terror that haunted their world every day.
The sensations that ran up his arm from her fleeting touch came as no surprise. Time had definitely not lessened his reaction to her. Taking a deep breath, he let it out on a whoosh. They had reality to deal with first.
‘I guess there’s no need for me to ask why there is a police detective answering your door. What happened to turn a good man bad, Peta?’ He tried to remember what he knew about Paul. Not much except that he’d been the powerhouse driving Peta’s success in the music industry, fulfilling the dreams he never could. Paul Price had come to town after he’d left.
‘That’s where he had everyone fooled. Paul was never a good man, just very good at playing the role.’ Peta lifted a finger to touch a spot next to the congealed blood on his chin. ‘We need to clean that cut. What did he do?’
‘He ambushed me down by the river. The bastard took me by surprise. Got the knife in, tried to blow out my eardrums and then disappeared.’ Jaime grimaced. No point sugar-coating it for her. She’d know what she was up against. A man that aggressive wouldn’t be picky about who he took his fists to. That he might have used those hands to hurt Peta, made Jaime see red. ‘He was gone by the time I got to my feet.’
‘Oh God, Jaime, I’m so sorry. Paul could have killed you.’
Her hand came up to cover her mouth and he read the raw fear in her eyes. He’d never been a betting man, but right now he’d bet there was more to this than a pissed off husband stalking his ex-wife.
‘I don’t think it was his intention to kill, only to scare me off.’ Any sane man would be, but he’d seen far scarier things than a pissed off ex with a knife. ‘If he really wanted to slit my throat, he wouldn’t have wasted time talking and he wouldn’t have run away when I shook him off. He would have stayed to figh
t.’
Peta shivered. ‘Yes, he’s never been good at dealing with people who fight back. I’m so sorry you had to get involved, Jaime. Look at you. He could have done so much damage.’
‘Well luckily he didn’t.’ Jaime winced as she touched the base of the cut on his jawline.
‘Looks deep enough to leave a scar.’ Quickly she drew her hand away. ‘Come into the bathroom. I’ll clean it up for you,’ she said.
He followed her across the suite into the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bath. Peta ran water into the basin, reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit. He watched her methodical movements as she arranged the contents of the kit on the vanity and tried to put together the pieces of what had happened down at the river. He needed answers.
‘What’s going on, Peta?’
Dipping a cotton pad in the lukewarm water in the basin, she swabbed at his jaw to clean away the blood. ‘Not now.’ Tossing the pad into the trash, she picked up the disinfectant.
Jaime watched as she dripped some of the contents of the bottle into a plastic kidney dish. Her hands still shook a little. No doubt in his mind that she was scared shitless, and so she should be. ‘What’s wrong with now?’
‘I need to process.’ She dabbed a cotton bud into the mixture and then onto the cut.
‘Ouch.’ Jaime jerked back at the sting of the liquid meeting raw flesh.
‘Don’t be a baby.’
Stepping into the V of his legs, she placed a gentle hand on the back of his head to ease him forward again, her fingers sinking into his hair. An unexpected fizz of pleasure rippled through him. The feel of her hands against his scalp, the way her fingers weaved through his hair reminded him of another time, a happier time when actions like this had led to more. Jaime covered her free hand with his, removing the cotton bud and placing it in the basin.
‘I’m afraid for you.’ He folded her fingers into her palm, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.
Peta drew in a sharp breath. She tried to wriggle away, but he couldn’t overlook the shiver that had run through her at his touch or the flash of heat in her eyes. No, she wasn’t immune to him at all. That shouldn’t make him happy. Not when there was a threat to her life and now his. He cupped her hand lightly in his, giving her the option to go or to stay. She stayed.
‘You don’t have to be. I have Mark and Harold. Go, Jaime. This isn’t any of your business.’
‘Your husband made it my business today.’
Her shoulders stiffened. ‘My ex-husband. There are things you don’t know.’
He hooked his arm around her waist and eased her down to sit on his thigh. ‘Then tell me.’ If he held onto her he could keep her safe, protect her from whatever it was she faced, like he should have before instead of running away. She leaned against him for a moment. Her forehead pressed into his neck, so he folded her into his arms and hugged her closer.
‘I can’t. Not yet.’ She pushed away and when he opened his mouth to protest, she pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Not yet.’
He wanted to kiss the sadness from her eyes, the pinch from her lips and ease away the pain of everything he’d allowed to happen to her. ‘But soon?’
She nodded. ‘After you’ve spoken to Mark.’
Standing, she began packing the unused items back into the first aid kit, leaving Jaime wondering how it was his arms felt empty without her. They always had. No one had ever been able to fill that space the same way Peta did. A few had tried, and when the adrenaline had been running high and he didn’t know if the next day would be his last, he’d let them. But it was Peta’s face he saw when he closed his eyes.
‘We have a lot to talk about. I owe you an explanation.’ He tried to sound casual as his heart thundered in his chest.
Peta seemed totally unmoved by his words. Cool, calm and collected now, unlike the pain and panic he’d seen in her eyes earlier. ‘You don’t owe me anything. You came, you left, we grew up.’
Clearly she hadn’t forgotten what had happened between them, nor had she forgiven him. He watched the shutters come down and the walls go up as she closed him out. The gentle hands that had tended his cut now moved quickly to clean up. Tension straightened the spine that had softened in his arms only moments ago.
He stood, the small bathroom making keeping his distance challenging. This close he could see the tired lines around her eyes, the bruised look above her cheekbones from lack of sleep. Whatever was going on, it was keeping her awake at night.
She turned and left the bathroom. He followed her into the small sitting area in silence. Peta sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to her.
‘Sit down, Jaime. I’m sure Mark will be here soon to take your statement about what happened at the river.’
Jaime cast a glance at Harold who was reading the paper and pretending he wasn’t keeping a close eye on him. ‘You have two high-ranking detectives playing bodyguard and an ex-husband on the loose brandishing a knife. How is it you’re taking this so calmly?’
‘They’re on a case.’ Peta sighed, despair reflected in her eyes. ‘And I’m not calm about this at all.’
‘A case. Yet clearly they’re protecting you. When Paul Price baled me up tonight, he threatened to kill us both. I take that very seriously.’
Peta grimaced. ‘I can’t give you details, Jaime. I have my reasons.’
‘Which are?’
‘None of your business.’
She was right. She wasn’t his business anymore. But being here with her tonight, being threatened by her ex—it made him realise that the door on their past wasn’t closed as tightly as he’d thought.
Chapter 4
Peta waited as Jaime sat down next to her, looking increasingly annoyed. He hadn’t changed much except for the touches of premature grey peppering his dark hair, the short military style cut making him sexier than ever. Lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes and his mouth had tightened to a grim line. Good. Better he stayed angry with her. That way he wouldn’t be tempted to hang around and couldn’t get dragged into this any further. He could leave as soon as he’d reported Paul’s attack on him. Get out of town.
Paul’s attack. That thought shot a red hot arrow through her heart. If his behaviour had escalated, Bella could be in very real danger and all Mark’s reassurances about her being safe could be dead wrong. Panic rose in her throat. Every motherly instinct she’d honed over the years screamed for her to react. Only the fact that she had the best people taking care of the investigation stopped her. Hard as it was, she had to trust her brother’s instincts too.
A frown formed on Jaime’s brow. Her hands itched to smooth it from his handsome face. The contoured jaw, the grooved line that appeared when he smiled, the full, deliciously curved lips that had once held hers—every nerve end remembered how his skin had felt against hers.
Need, desire, anger and rejection warred for attention inside her. So long ago, yet still she loved him. People changed. Did he deserve to know the truth? She wasn’t sure he did. And if he did find out the truth, she stood to lose her most precious gift all over again.
Jaime shifted on the seat next to her and the material of his trousers tightened across his thighs. Peta looked away, not wanting to feel the warmth of attraction that should be long dead, blossom through her. She remembered those strong thighs well; the flex of the muscles under her hands, the way they’d clenched around hers. But that was in the past and the future wasn’t hers to contemplate. Her daughter was and always would be her first priority.
‘So, how have you been, Jaime?’ Better to bring things back to a friendly level, even though they’d never be friends again. Anything to stop him asking questions she hadn’t yet worked up the courage to answer. Not when she wasn’t prepared for it. And talk took the edge off. ‘Mark told me you were in Afghanistan. Are you home on leave?’
Jaime’s lips tightened more for a moment, his voice taking on an impatient edge when he finally answered. ‘You really want
to talk about me? Now?’
‘Humour me.’ With every moment he sat next to her, her resolve to keep her daughter’s parentage a secret weakened. This nightmare had to end somewhere. The reasons Paul had taken Bella in the first place needed to be revealed. Mark was right. Jamie deserved to know about his daughter, but she had to be prepared for the consequences. And right now she wasn’t prepared for anything except to fight for Bella’s life with everything she had.
‘Fine, we’ll do it your way. I’ve taken an honourable discharge from the military. Dad’s cancer meant I had to come back to take over the reins at the mine and move the office to the city, closer to the oncology unit. I’ve been back a little over three months, mostly looking for premises to set up office in. We’ve found one in the Mutual Investments building in West Perth.’
‘I’m sorry to hear about your dad’s illness.’ A little shiver crept up her spine. So close. She knew the office complex he meant, could see the high rise that would house Caruso Coal Mining’s head office from the terrace of her penthouse apartment, never thought he might have an office there. Why would he need one when he was off risking his life in a war he’d chosen freely to go fight?
She’d walked past the building with Bella a few times. At any time in the future they could run into each other and he would know without a doubt whose daughter Bella was. If Paul’s violence escalated, Jaime may never have the opportunity to know her at all. She swallowed against the pain that thought brought with it.
Jaime looked at her. ‘I can almost hear those thoughts churning, Peta. I don’t know what it is you’re not telling me, but I hope you’ll trust me enough when you decide to. I thought you’d left Williams behind, traded the red dust for the bright lights of the city.’
Peta stiffened. Hadn’t that been her biggest mistake to date? The bright lights were the reason she was back, sitting here now with the man she’d resigned herself to love but never see again, the root cause of her daughter being in the hands of a dangerous madman on the verge of destroying everything she lived for.