by Juanita Kees
‘No, we won’t let that happen. Go and do what you have to, Peta.’ He leaned forward, hands on his knees. ‘But when Bella is safe, we need to talk about us.’
‘There is no us.’
Anger flashed in his eyes. ‘So this—’ he waved a hand over the rumpled sheets ‘—this meant nothing at all to you?’
It meant everything and more. It meant hope, dreams and fantasies come true, but nothing she could let herself hold onto. She dropped her gaze from his. He’d always been able to read her too well. ‘I didn’t say that.’
He stood, walked over to her as she raised her eyes to watch the sway of his hips, the ripple of muscle in his legs and the hands that reached for her waist and urged her closer. ‘Then there’s hope for us.’ His arms slipped around her and she let her head rest against his shoulder. ‘I won’t let you handle this alone anymore.’
Peta closed her eyes to the press of his lips against her temple and wrapped her arms around his waist. One last hold before she let him go. If you love someone, set them free … She’d lived by that quote for so long. If they come back to you, they’re yours … He was back, but he wasn’t hers to keep. Not yet. Maybe never.
She pushed out of his hold and his arms fell away from around her as he stepped back. Her heart flooded with love for him. He’d always instinctively known when to give her space. With one last look at his face, she etched it in her memory for a time when she wouldn’t see it anymore, and turned to open the door.
***
With a sigh, Jaime watched the door close behind Peta then he moved back to the bed and hunted out his jocks. He felt like an absolute dick for getting angry with her. Convincing Peta he was in it for the long haul would take some time. She had no reason to believe it, no evidence of his staying power beyond surviving two attacks by her ex-husband. Survival not staying power, not the proof she needed that he would stand by her and his child. Would have done so years ago, if she’d asked.
The outer door to the suite squeaked on hinges needing oil and signalled the return of Mark and Harold. Jaime tugged on his shirt and jeans. Show time. Today was the day he’d meet his daughter for the first time. If only it were under different circumstances. And if Paul had harmed a hair on her head, he’d better hope Harold and Mark got to him first. If they didn’t, he’d be the one waiting for visiting hours in a maximum security prison.
Pulling open the bedroom door, he brushed a hand through his hair, took a deep breath and hoped Mark had brought coffee.
Eyebrows raised, Mark handed him a large takeaway cup. ‘Where’s Peta?’
‘Shower.’ Jaime sipped, wincing as the liquid scorched his lip. ‘This isn’t your average fast food shit. Fuck me.’
‘You’re not my type, but obviously you’re someone else’s.’ Mark’s gaze travelled over his shoulder to the rumpled bed visible through the open door.
‘Mind your own business.’ Jaime lifted the plastic lid on the cup and blew over the hot coffee.
‘She is my business. At least until we have my niece back and Price in custody.’
‘Great. Well I hope you have a plan for that. I’d like to see it when you’re finished judging.’ Jaime secured the lid back in place.
‘Protecting.’
‘Don’t play word games with me. Give me the run down.’
Mark sipped his own coffee, slowly and thoughtfully. Jaime could almost hear the cogs turning. ‘A team has gone ahead to carry out surveillance. Any activity and they’ll radio in. He’s small fry, so we don’t need big numbers to take him down. Just a good shot in case things go wrong, which Harold here is the best at.’
‘What about his mates from Beyond Hell’s Reach?’
‘They won’t show up. They’ll stay out of it. He’s high risk. They can’t afford to be caught in the crossfire for a couple of million. Their drug business is worth far more than the debt Paul owes them.’
‘And they have their own justice system for when he ends up in lock up.’ A kangaroo court that usually ended up with the guilty party seriously injured—or dead. Jaime grimaced. The outcome wouldn’t be pleasant for Price either way.
‘Exactly. So we move in about an hour from now. Try negotiation.’
‘Will that put Bella at risk?’ Every moment counted in a hostage negotiation, and if Price was already on the edge of desperation, he’d do anything to save his arse.
‘I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it would. Price will have a target painted on any body part that will end all threat quickly. My boys will shoot to kill if they have to.’ Mark’s expression turned grim. ‘I’d rather they didn’t have to.’
‘There’s a part of me that wishes they did.’
‘Yeah, I get that, but red tape, paperwork—much easier to keep him alive. Harold, where’s that map?’
Harold spread a map out on the kitchen bench top, his powerful hands with their thick fingers pointing out the markings. Not a man Jaime or any criminal in their right mind would want to mess with. ‘We’ll have men positioned in the spots marked with red dots, all armed, all trained shots.’
Peta walked in quietly, her footsteps making little or no sound, but Jaime picked up on the scent of her favourite shampoo and the essence of her that was everything he loved. He tried to ignore her presence as he studied the map, but she slipped in between him and Harold, the gap too small for her body not to brush against his.
He pushed up onto the bar chair and gathered her into the V of his legs, his heart hitching when she didn’t resist. He folded his arms around her and drew her back against him. Comfort, that’s all she needed. Maybe it was all he needed.
‘Where will I be?’ Her hand brushed over the map, slightly unsteady.
‘As far out of the way as possible.’ Mark shot her a warning look. ‘You stay in the car. The only time you get out is if I tell you to. The only reason you’re there at all is in case he wants to speak to you.’
‘And when he releases Bella.’
She shivered against Jaime and he hugged her hard. ‘We’ll get her out this time.’ He hoped to God he was right.
Chapter 13
Peta’s heart pounded, her throat tight, her palms damp and the urge to run up to the front door and confront Paul almost too strong to ignore.
Afternoon heat shimmered off the landscape surrounding the abandoned homestead as Mark killed the engine and coasted to a stop up the long, overgrown drive. A short distance away, an eerie silence had settled around the building itself, the dusty windows dark and empty beneath the wraparound verandah.
‘Stay in the car. Harold and I will get a little closer.’
‘No. I’m not staying here alone. I’m coming too.’ She didn’t want to think of the awful things Paul was capable of if he found her alone. Too often she’d felt the brute force of his anger.
‘God damn it, Peta, stay.’ Mark’s frustration was clear in the way he shoved a hand through his hair. Time was running out. ‘Jaime, stay with her.’
Fear gripped Peta, her stomach churned. This was too close. Paul would know they were setting a trap for him. As the car doors closed quietly behind Harold and Mark, she clung to Jaime’s hand, unease eating away at her stomach. He squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
In silence, they watched Mark and Harold move closer under the cover of overgrowth, guns securely in their hands. Giant ghost gums cast shadows in the receding sunlight, the natural wild beauty of the property marred by the violence Paul had brought to it. Peta shivered. A kangaroo dashed across the field behind the homestead, scaring a flock of pink cockatoos into flight. She moved closer to Jaime.
His arm came around her shoulders. ‘We’re fine. It’s just a roo.’
But the knot coiling in her chest warned her it was more. She’d felt this fear before. Hiding. In a cupboard, under the bed, anywhere where Paul couldn’t find her. Waiting until he’d given up looking.
She looked for Mark and Harold, but they’d gone, blending into the landscape as they edged closer to the ho
mestead. Under her hand, Jaime’s thigh tensed. He felt it too. The same evil presence, the same sensation of being watched. He cast a quick look around him, through the front windscreen, out the rear, to either side.
Jaime pulled his arm from around her. ‘Stay in the car. I’m going to get out and have a look, okay?’
‘No!’ She tightened her grip on his leg. ‘You have no protection. Nothing to defend yourself with if he comes for you.’
‘I have my hands, honey. I know how to use them.’
‘Oh God, I want this to end.’
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. ‘It will be over soon.’
As he reached for the handle, the door was ripped from his grip and the sound of a rifle being cocked echoed through Peta’s ears.
‘Get out.’
Jaime squeezed Peta’s hand before he obeyed Paul’s command. She followed him out the door, bile bitter in her throat. Paul kept the rifle trained on them as they moved.
‘Walk. Dead ahead.’
He shoved them in a direction up the hill away from the homestead. Peta’s heart pounded. He’d kill them this time, no doubt about it. The glassed look, the enlarged pupils that made his brown eyes a sea of black. She’d seen it before. He was high. With it came brute strength, no ability to reason and murderous paranoia. What price was freedom from this nightmare?
Paul pointed to the solid steel structure of an old sea container. ‘Open the doors.’
Jaime obeyed and lifted the lever, but she felt the control in his body as he moved, saw the blank mask on his face. It did nothing to settle her fear knowing that behind that mask he’d be scanning, assessing, logging details. Playing the game. He knew it too.
Paul kept the rifle squarely aimed between Jaime’s shoulder blades with one hand and shoved Peta onto the floor with the other.
‘Mummy,’ Bella cried out and made a move to go to her.
‘Stay where you are, Bella,’ Paul barked. ‘Well, look what we have here. A nice little family reunion.’
Peta rubbed her knee. Her elbow burned from the impact with the hard floor. ‘What more do you want, Paul? You have what you wanted. You have all the evidence against you.’
‘I told you I wanted money. I gave you clear instructions. You didn’t listen.’
‘Keeping us prisoner will ensure you go to jail. Mark is out there. He’ll find us, find you.’ Playing the game no longer counted. Not when Paul was too out of his mind to play too.
‘Who said anything about keeping you prisoner? That means keeping you alive. So brave, dishing out fighting words. I guess I’ll have to beat you into submission again.’ He raised his hand to carry out his threat.
‘Give it your best shot. You’re a coward. A slimy little coward who has to beat up women and children because he can’t get his kicks any other way.’
‘Peta!’ Jaime’s warning cut through the air as Paul’s face coloured with rage. ‘That’s enough.’
Her heart pounded at the thought of the damage Paul would do this time. She wouldn’t survive it, but it would give Jaime the opportunity to fight without a rifle at his back.
‘Well, that’s the most sensible thing you’ve said all day, Caruso. Now I’ll leave you all to get re-acquainted, shall I? Don’t get too comfortable though. Your reunion will be short-lived.’ Paul prodded Jaime inside, keeping his aim steady as he backed out of the container. ‘First I have a score to settle with Perth’s finest.’
They listened to the metallic echo as the lever descended to lock the doors and the rattle of a chain clang against the metal. In the dim light of a bare overhead light, Bella rushed over, throwing her arms around Peta’s waist and sobbing into her shirtfront. Peta held her tightly.
‘Are you okay, baby? Did he hurt you?’ she asked, her voice shaking.
Bella shook her head. ‘I’m okay, Mummy. I’m just scared when Paul’s so mean.’
‘Good girl. Brave girl.’ With a hug for Bella, Peta looked at Jaime. ‘What do we do now?’
‘What were you thinking taunting him like that, Peta? He could have knocked you unconscious without a second thought. And make no mistake, he would have.’ Jaime’s mask slipped as anger burned in its place.
‘He didn’t and I’m okay. Focus on that. We have to find a way out of here. Paul is close to snapping. He’s high. When he is, he’s uncontrollable and dangerous.’ Where were Mark and Harold? If Paul snuck up the way he had on her and Jaime, the others were in danger too. ‘I can’t risk Bella’s safety any longer.’ She paused to sit against the wall and hug Bella more closely. ‘I knew he’d be waiting. I’ve lived with him long enough to know how his mind works. He won’t stop until he has what he wants.’
Jaime pressed his fingers to his eyes. ‘If he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll kill us all so there’s nobody left to testify against him.’ He moved to sit next to her on the floor.
‘Paul doesn’t have the balls to do it himself. He’ll have his buddies, Beyond Hell’s Reach, do it for him. They’ve done it before.’ The chill in her voice dropped the temperature in the container several degrees. ‘Or he’ll leave us here to die. Mark and Harold have their focus on the homestead. They won’t be looking for a sea container. That’s if he doesn’t finish them off first.’
‘I hope they’re smarter than that.’ Jaime muttered an oath under his breath. Looking at Bella huddled in Peta’s arms, her face buried against her shirt. ‘And until they come looking for us, we’re at the mercy of a drug-addicted psychopath. This whole situation is out of hand. How did it get this far?’
‘I let it. I should have done something about it years ago and I didn’t.’ Peta reached out and touched him. ‘I hate how you got involved in all this and I’m sorry. This isn’t your fight.’
Jaime stared at her. ‘It’s a bit late to walk away now. There’s too much at stake here.’
‘I told you, you don’t owe me anything.’ Anger coloured her cheeks.
‘No,’ he answered coldly, ‘but I’m not thinking in terms of debt. Let’s leave this discussion for later. Right now, we need to find a way out of here.’ Jaime looked around.
‘When Mark and Harold realise what’s happened and come after Paul, they’ll walk right into another trap.’ Peta’s whisper echoed in the silence. ‘If they make it at all.’ She hated the thread of defeat in her words.
‘Don’t give up now, sweetheart. Your brother is smart. He’ll be all over this with a plan.’ Jaime reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘Come closer,’ he said, tugging gently.
Peta didn’t hesitate as she shifted herself and Bella closer. Jaime placed a comforting arm around them. How would they get out of this? This problem with Paul had gone on long enough. He’d endangered her life, her daughter’s life and the lives of the people who mattered most to her. The more she thought about it, the fiercer the anger became, quickly overriding the fear that had consumed her earlier. She’d had enough of living in fear of a man who was really much weaker in character than herself, a bully who worked with his fists and emotional blackmail to get what he wanted from life.
In his present state of mind though, he was unstable and dangerous, and possibly a little scared himself. The harder she thought, the more she realised the extent of Paul’s own danger. Even if he eliminated all of them, his own chances of survival were slim. Bennetti, Albero and Beyond Hell’s Reach were unforgiving of failure. And that put the lives of the kids in the Tag Raiders gang at risk too. If the evidence got out, they wouldn’t hesitate to make the four teenage runners’ deaths look like accidents to cover up their trail of drugs, money laundering and destruction.
The chain rattled against the door of the container and the lever slammed up. Paul threw the doors open, his expression murderous as he rushed in, the rifle replaced by a handgun. All thought for survival and escape fled, replaced by the cold, merciless grip of fear on her spine. Fading sunlight filled the dark reaches of the container. Peta pulled away from Jaime, her arms instinctively tightening around B
ella as she whimpered.
‘You bitch!’ The cold, hard steel of a gun pressed up hard under her chin. The tip of the barrel dug mercilessly into the soft tissue below her jaw.
Terror tore through her as Peta pushed a shaking Bella off her lap. ‘Go, baby.’
She crawled away but Peta couldn’t see to where. Please God, don’t let him hurt her.
‘They’ve got the fucking place surrounded.’ Paul’s hands were in her hair, dragging her head back, smacking it against the steel wall.
Out the corner of her eye she saw Jaime shift. The movement caught Paul’s attention and he swung the gun across.
‘Don’t you fucking move, Caruso!’
A deafening sound echoed off the metal walls around them, ringing in her ears, as the gun discharged. Peta saw Jaime jerk and pull up his knee.
Anger built in Peta’s stomach like a red hot burning coal, raging through her with fierce intensity. ‘You bastard! What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve just shot a man. You could have shot Bella. You could have killed my daughter.’
Peta felt Paul’s grip on her hair slack off, the hand that held the gun shook. Adrenaline chased the anger through her bloodstream as she grabbed Paul’s arm where the gun trembled in his hand. She struggled against his weight advantage, managed to keep the gun from pointing in Bella’s direction.
Jaime surged to his feet, forcing Paul’s arm back, and brought the heel of his boot down heavily on Paul’s instep.
Paul swore furiously as bones crunched in his foot. Jaime brought his knee up under Paul’s wrist, bringing his arm down with a crack that turned Peta’s stomach, forcing him to drop the gun.
Paul gripped his wrist against his chest. ‘Son of a bitch! You broke my arm.’
Horror etched into his face. She knew he wouldn’t be feeling the pain yet. Not until the effects of whatever he’d snorted had worn off.
Peta kicked the gun away as Jaime forced Paul into a headlock, the red stain of blood on his pants growing around his thigh and sweat glistening on his face. Fear coursed through her as she looked around for Bella. Her little girl huddled in the corner, tight as a ball, as small as she could make herself. ‘Good girl. Stay there.’