by Juanita Kees
Abandoning the rental, Peta got into the backseat of Mark’s car with Jaime. He slipped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick, comforting hug. ‘Please be careful in there,’ Jaime said.
‘I will do what I have to do to get my daughter back safely.’
‘Our daughter.’
She couldn’t deny that, not now he knew the truth. Peta let her hand come to rest on his thigh. ‘Yes, our daughter. But when I find her, I won’t give her up again. You need to know that.’
She’d fight with every last breath if he or his family even considered suing for custody. A fact she had to think about, because while he was all nice about it now, things could change in an instant. Just as they had with Paul. Just as they had when Jaime had left.
Under her palm, Jaime’s muscles rippled as he shifted on the seat. For one crazy moment, Peta wished they were alone. She wished he’d drag her onto his lap and kiss her senseless until she had no thought in her head except for him. To make the horror go away so she could believe in happiness again. To make her feel the way she used to when they were young and innocent, and monsters like Paul Price didn’t exist.
Instead, his hug tightened for a brief moment before he let her go. ‘I understand.’
Peta caught Mark’s glance in the rear view mirror and saw the grim set of his features. Next to him, Harold scowled and muttered under his breath. None of them were thinking beyond the next five minutes.
Peta’s mobile phone rang. She had no need to check the caller ID and her desire for playing the game was waning. ‘Get to the point, Paul. Your little game is starting to piss me off. I’ve given you what you want, now I want what’s mine.’
‘Now, Peta, be nice,’ Paul said snidely. ‘First you have to confess your sins. It’s the only way you’ll be rewarded. When you get here, leave your henchmen outside. The only one allowed inside is Jaime Caruso. We have a few things to say to each other.’
‘You have nothing to say to him. Give me my daughter back and I’ll drop any charges against you.’
‘I’ve waited for this moment far too long to let it go, Peta. I think he’ll be very interested in what I have to say. I’ve kept your dirty secret for long enough.’
She was no longer afraid of Jaime’s reaction, but if she told Paul that Jaime already knew about Bella, it might send him over the edge. Paul liked power. And knowledge was power. ‘He won’t care. He never did.’ Rule number four: don’t give them the power over you they want.
‘Do as I say, Peta,’ Paul ordered. ‘Just the two of you or your daughter dies.’
Silence reverberated through the cabin of the car. Fear knotted in Peta’s stomach. Had she pushed too far?
As Peta related the instructions from Paul, Mark caught her eye in the rear view mirror. His were full of warning. She remembered she hadn’t had time to tell Mark that Jaime had figured it out already. She stared back at him, resigned to the fact her secret was out.
‘He knows, Mark.’
‘About time the truth came out,’ Mark muttered. ‘The timing sucks. We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we need to nail this bastard.’
Peta shivered. Even though Jaime knew about Bella now, they could never have a future together. No point in bringing him into their lives if they couldn’t be a real family. And the last thing she wanted them to be was a burden.
‘You’re wrong. I do care.’ Jaime’s hand covered hers on his thigh.
Peta absorbed the warmth and strength of his touch. She’d need it, enjoy it for the short while she had it because tomorrow came with no guarantees.
‘Right,’ said Mark, as he swung in through the churchyard gates. ‘We’ll do as he says. We’ll remain outside while you two go in then we’ll make our way around to the rear and enter through the vestry to cover you. I won’t make a move on him until I know Bella is safe. But if either of you are in danger, I’m taking the bastard down.’
Peta nodded and chewed nervously on her lip as they got out of the car and approached the old church. An array of multi-coloured roses bloomed in the front garden. In the daylight they formed a contrast between the rainbow blooms and the dark red dust, a symbol of life in the desert. In the dark they were yet another ominous shadow hiding a darker evil. Please God, let Bella be in there.
Jaime and Peta approached the old, carved jarrah doors of the church. In a town as small as Williams, the church doors were closed but never locked. On any other day, the church was a place you came to find peace. Peta hated that today it was anything but a haven. Jaime’s hand tightened on hers.
‘Let’s do this,’ he said, encouragingly. ‘I won’t leave your side until it’s over.’
Peta squeezed his fingers in return. ‘Thank you.’
Together they pushed open the doors and made their way down towards the pulpit.
‘I’m here, Paul,’ she called. ‘Bring me my daughter.’ Desperately she tried to keep her voice normal. ‘Paul?’ she called again.
‘No need to shout, I’m not dead and this is a church. Show some respect please.’ Paul’s voice came from one of the pews in a darkened corner of the church, his tone mocking. ‘So, the dove has returned to the coop.’ He walked out of the shadows and onto the red-carpeted aisle. ‘And, Jaime, I wish I could say it’s nice to meet you at last. Quite the tough guy, aren’t you? A knife wound doesn’t stop you and you survived that shot without a scrape, I see. Pity that. I might have to work on my aim.’
‘Cut to the chase, Paul. Where’s my daughter?’ Peta said, taking a step forward.
Jaime immediately tugged her back. ‘Take it easy,’ he whispered.
Peta kept her eyes steady on Paul. In the days they’d been together, she’d learned to read his reactions from his facial expressions. It was dark inside the church, casting shadows across his face. In this lack of light, he was impossible to read. Panic rose in her throat. What if it all went wrong?
‘Patience was never your strong point, was it, my little dove?’ Through the uneasy silence in the church, Paul’s voice crooned eerily, his words grating down her spine with every syllable, sending goosebumps rippling along her skin, each one containing a veiled threat. She knew the cost of impatience, had paid the price at his hand many times.
Kiss up. ‘Come on, Paul. I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do. You’ve got what you want. Please, let Bella go now,’ she said, her hand seeking the gun in her pocket again.
Paul spotted the movement and stepped back, his eyes narrowing. ‘Do you really think I believe you have, Peta? Playing games now places both you and your daughter in a very dangerous position.’
Peta sucked in her breath. He stepped closer, his face dark and threatening in the flickering candlelight from the altar. Her movement had triggered the warning bells in his mind and she knew what that meant. He’d turn on her at any moment. She watched him advance, her heart in her mouth.
‘Yes, you’ve been far too co-operative so far. That’s so unlike you,’ he mused, ‘which means that your friends are out there with their trigger fingers itching to put a hole in my head. Why can’t you simply obey instructions?’
Mark and Harold must surely be in the church by now. Please God, don’t let them leave it too late. Peta’s thoughts raced through her mind. Harold wouldn’t need much of an excuse to shoot when it came to Paul.
‘We’re in, Peta. Ease up. He’s tetchy,’ Harold whispered into his microphone.
‘No more games, Paul.’ Peta’s voice echoed through the empty church, fear a bitter taste in her mouth driving her to ignore Harold’s warning. ‘You asked for Jaime and here he is. You have the evidence, which is what you wanted. Give me my daughter. We’re done.’
‘No,’ shouted Paul. ‘Do you think I don’t know this is a trap? I’m not stupid. Your brother is one of the most decorated cops in the country. They’ll nail me as soon as I give you Bella.’ He laughed, a cruel and taunting sound that made her belly curl. ‘Well, you can’t have your daughter now. Not until I’m safely out of the cou
ntry. Tell me, Peta, does Jaime know the truth about his slutty little girlfriend?’ Paul looked from Peta to Jaime and smirked as he played his trump card. ‘Do you hear that, Caruso? She’s been keeping something very precious from you. You have a daughter. A closely guarded, dirty little secret I raised for you. Pretty little thing. Wouldn’t it be awful if she wasn’t so pretty anymore?’
Peta’s heart missed a beat as Jaime stepped forward with his fists clenched, back straight and temper in full flight. ‘You bastard. You don’t get to call her names.’
Peta tugged at his sleeve, drawing him back. ‘Jaime, don’t. Paul, you’re wasting time. He already knows about Bella. He knows we have a child together.’ Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her side.
Paul’s eyes narrowed on her hand. ‘What’s in your pocket, Peta?’
He lurched forward and grabbed her, hauling her up the aisle away from Jaime. He shook her hard as he raised his fist. She knew how it would feel when he smashed it into her jaw. She’d felt it before. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Jaime run forward.
‘No, Jaime, stay there,’ she shouted as she blocked the blow before it connected. ‘Listen to me, Paul,’ she demanded. ‘Give me my daughter and I’ll give you what you want. A plane ticket, the private jet, whatever you need to get out of my life.’
Paul was in no mood to bargain. He grabbed her wrists and spun her around so that she shielded his body. ‘No,’ he shouted. ‘You will pay for what you’ve put me through, Miss High and Mighty.’
He pinned her hands behind her back. Holding them with one hand, he used the other to pull a knife from his boot and hold it to her throat. Fear overcame reasoning, and all the game rules slipped from her mind as the threat of death rolled in over them. If he killed them now, he’d own her daughter because he’d make sure no one ever found her.
Jaime called out, ‘Peta!’
‘Move in,’ Mark ordered over the wire.
Mark and Harold raced up the aisle behind Paul. He flung Peta aside and ran towards the door, shouldering Jaime in the chest as he attempted to stop him.
Peta pulled the gun out of her pocket and aimed at Paul’s departing figure. The bullet skimmed past his calf. ‘You bitch. You’ll die for this.’ He lurched out of the church, down the steps and into the black night.
‘Let him go,’ Mark yelled at Harold as he made to go after him. ‘We still don’t know where he’s hiding Bella. If we take him down now, he won’t tell and it might take us months to find her.’
Chapter 10
Adrenaline thumping through her, Peta ran to Jaime. He’d hit his head on the pew going down. He sat on the carpet, feeling out the area on the back of his head with his fingers. Oh God, this was so out of control. Paul had gone beyond the level of his usual maniacal decline which meant his instability balanced on a razor’s edge. And the physical strength he’d required to knock someone as solid as Jaime down was typical of a dangerous high. Had she just signed her daughter’s death warrant?
‘You okay?’ Peta knelt beside him. Her heart pounded and her stomach churned.
‘Yes,’ he hissed. ‘Hard head. Did he hurt you?’ He searched her face for signs that Paul had landed the threatened punch.
‘No.’ She touched her forehead to his and closed her eyes, struggling to keep the tears at bay. ‘I’m so sorry, Jaime,’ she whispered.
He leaned back against the pew and cupped the back of her head with his hand, holding her to him. She breathed him in, felt the heat from his body edge the cold fear from hers.
‘It’s okay, baby. We’re okay. We’ll find her. There’s still a chance.’
She raised her hand to his face, pressed it to his cheek. ‘His plan was to kill us all along, Jaime. He came prepared. He never planned to give up Bella at all.’ The tears she tried to hold back slipped down her cheeks.
‘We don’t know that for sure.’ His hands cupped her shoulders and he held her away a little. ‘We don’t know anything for sure.’
‘Where the hell did you get that gun?’ Mark drew her to her feet, put an arm around her shoulders and pushed her gently towards the door. ‘That’s what I’d like to know. Harold, get Jaime to the car. Come on, let’s move. You have a lot of explaining to do, Peta. That was a damn stupid move.’
Peta struggled against his grip and dashed the tears away, adrenaline rushing in. ‘My only regret is that I missed. I should have killed the bastard.’
‘That’s enough.’ Mark’s voice cut through the night. ‘You need to tell me where you got that gun. Hand it over now.’
‘I have a licence for it.’
‘I don’t give a rat’s arse if you do or don’t. Give it to me now. I won’t risk you pulling that move again. And I have no desire to see my sister go to jail for murder, whether it’s in self-defence or not.’
She pulled it out of her pocket and slapped it into his outstretched palm.
‘Thank you. Now we’ll have to wait for Paul to make contact again. Let’s get back to the hotel and wait there. No doubt it won’t be long before we hear from him,’ he said. ‘Get in the car.’
‘I just want my daughter back,’ Peta cried.
‘Get in the car, Peta.’
She did, letting her brother close the door before taking his own seat in front as Harold started the engine. Jaime slid onto the seat next to her and leaned his head back against the cool vinyl.
‘We were so close.’ Peta scrubbed angrily at the tears on her cheeks.
Mark shook his head as they drove out of the churchyard. ‘I don’t believe he would really hurt her. Not even after what happened back there. Even with the evidence, I don’t believe he has what he really wants. He needs cash to get him out of the shit with his bikie mates. That will be his next demand.’
‘I just want him in jail where he belongs so Bella and I can start again.’ Peta clutched the seatbelt where it crossed her chest, squeezing the webbing in her fist.
‘It’s what we all want.’ Jaime reached for her hand.
They made the short drive back to the hotel in silence but Peta’s mind churned. It should have been easy. Give Paul what he wanted, get Bella back and move on. But now Jaime was back and she wasn’t sure she could watch him walk away again. When she’d seen him down on the ground and bleeding … all this was her fault. Jaime, Paul, Bella—they were in this mess because of her.
Harold pulled up outside the hotel and Mark escorted them upstairs to the room.
‘We’ll be back after we’ve debriefed down at the station. Behave, kids. Jaime, any sign of trouble and you call me, okay? Keep him awake, Peta. He might need an ice pack for that bump.’
Jaime nodded, winced and held a hand to the back of his head. ‘I’d settle for a coffee and painkillers.’
‘Sit down. I’ll make you one.’ Peta locked the door behind Mark and then walked over to the kitchen.
Jaime sat down at the benchtop counter and accepted the glass of water she held out to him. She pressed two white tablets from a blister pack and handed them to him before filling the kettle with water and turning it on. Going through the motions, finding the calm. Another game she’d become so good at since meeting Paul. Would she ever have had to do that around Jaime? Was Bella having to employ those same game tactics right now? It wasn’t a life skill she’d ever wanted to have to teach her child.
She poured the boiling water onto the granules in the cup and watched them foam. And Jaime. Even amidst the turmoil, it had only taken one look to know that she’d always loved him and always would. Nothing in the world could ever change that.
She stirred in the milk and sugar, her hands unsteady. But their past was messy and their future even more so. She turned and handed him the steaming mug of coffee. Silently, she wrapped her hands around the warmth of her mug and waited. So many questions, so many lies. Would they even be able to tell the difference?
Jaime sighed as he flattened his hands on the counter top. ‘You scared the hell out of me, Peta. What were you thinking? If you�
��d killed him, we’d never know where to look for Bella.’
‘It wasn’t my intention to kill him. I just wanted to slow him down. Find out where he’s hiding my baby. Then I’d kill the bastard.’
‘I think you’d have to get in line behind Mark and me for that.’ He reached out to touch her hand, his fingers trailing across her skin. ‘I’m sorry we didn’t get Bella back tonight, but I couldn’t have lived with myself if something had happened to you out there.’
They sipped their coffee in silence until Peta broke it. ‘I found out I was pregnant six weeks after you left. It was a difficult pregnancy and at first they held little hope of survival for the baby.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Peta sighed. ‘Because I knew you would come back out of a sense of duty,’ she replied. ‘At the time it didn’t seem fair to you. You’d made your decision. The last thing I wanted was to tie you down against your will. Once things settled down, I got on with my life, focused all the love I had left on raising my baby, the little miracle that survived so much before she was even born.’
Peta looked down as his hand covered hers. The long brown fingers were strong and warm. She’d missed the feel of them entwined with hers.
‘Does Bella know who her father is?’ Jaime asked her.
Peta shook her head and withdrew her hand from his. ‘She knows Paul isn’t her real father. Please understand, Jaime. I did what I had to do.’
She watched as the expressions flitted across his face and identified with every one of them. Anger, frustration and guilt.
‘Neither of us was ready for commitment. I can understand why you didn’t want me to know about her. I’m just sorry I’ve missed so much of her life … of our life.’ He paused as he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. ‘So where do we go from here?’
Peta shrugged. She wished she knew. Until Bella was home safely, she couldn’t dream of happy-ever-afters or even think about the possibility of getting together again. What if all the old obstacles resurfaced and Bella became the pawn in yet another cruel game of adult tug of war when things didn’t work out?