by J J Cooper
'That's great news about the company. And I may take him up on the offer one day. But my cashflow is still good and I haven't completely healed.' He closed his fingers three-quarters of the way on his damaged hand. 'I suppose I owe him one. We'll see.'
Ed looked at Jay's wrist. 'Did you get it removed?'
'No. Just covered it up.' He rolled up a sleeve on his wetsuit and held up his wrist for his father to see. The rose petals were still there but the outer edges had become a long flow of dark hair. His mother's face was now etched into his wrist. A picture of beauty with a rose behind her ear.
A tear flowed from Ed Ryan's eye. 'Beautiful, boy. I may get one myself.'
Jay smiled, hugged his father again and picked up his board. 'I'll see you soon, Dad.'
'One more thing, Jay.'
Jay stood with his board tucked under his arm.
'Don't you want to know what happened with Lazarau?'
A smile played across Jay's face. Right back to where it all started, he thought. 'Not really.'
Ed smiled wryly.
Jay moved a couple of steps toward the sea and stopped. Something told him that his father was waiting to deliver a final question. He looked into his father's eyes. Ed Ryan glanced toward the government vehicle that had brought him to the beach.
Then it clicked. 'You've just finished the internal investigations, haven't you?' Jay asked.
'We did. Sarah was cleared of any wrongdoing. Clearly manipulated by Pat. She got back from Paris two days ago. Wanted to come out with me to see you before she headed back. I wasn't sure it would be the right thing to do. Your call, son.' Ed placed his arm on Jay's shoulder before moving away to take a stroll along the beach.
Jay stayed glued to the spot as Sarah stepped out of the car. He'd played the scene out a thousand times over the last six months, each time getting angrier with the absence of contact from Sarah, until finally accepting he needed to move on. Nevertheless, he never gave up hope that she would return one day. And now here she was by the car, perhaps waiting for some kind of signal.
It would have been easy for Jay to turn toward the sea and close this chapter of his life. But he couldn't. He dug the surfboard hard into the wet sand. It cast a shadow across the beach and stretched toward Sarah.
Apart from longer hair, she hadn't changed. Her determined character was evident in her walk across the sand toward Jay. And he knew then that they would never be together again. She'd probably felt sorry for betraying Jay, but righteous in her decision.
She stopped just short and looked him up and down, not removing her sunglasses. Figuring her eyes would reveal what she wanted to say.
'I'm glad your injuries have healed, Jay.'
'Looking to banish some demons with a visit?'
'It's not like that.'
'What it is, then? Six months and not even a phone call or postcard. I was there for you and have the scars to prove it. You weren't there for me when I needed you.'
Sarah removed her sunglasses. Her eyes were filled with sadness. 'I couldn't face you. I betrayed you, but I had my reasons.'
'But not justified enough to explain those reasons to me. Just easier to avoid me altogether.'
She looked down at the sand and then back to Jay. A tear trickled down her cheek. 'Pat convinced me not to tell you about Tanya. He begged me to find Catherine – Dalia – and let him handle it. I knew your father was safe and that Pat would never have hurt him. I figured when I picked up Dalia it would have all worked out: that she and Primrose would be arrested and Pat would get Tanya back unharmed. After I told Pat about the tape, he set me up. Tanya meant more to him than any of us. I wanted to tell you from the moment Pat mentioned his daughter to me when we were in the hotel room.'
'You knew there were no assassins. That's why you were so keen on finding Primrose and getting to Catherine. What about Keith?'
'I suppose he thought you were the bad guy and had me captive. That's the only explanation for him running at the car with his weapon drawn. We'll never know the lies Pat had fed him. He was dragged into this mess like we all were. I'm sorry I shot him and that will never leave me.'
'You know, Sarah, you were meant for this job. The perfect spy with the ability to manipulate and play with people's feelings.'
'Like a great interrogator.'
Jay nodded. 'I've walked away.'
'I can't.'
'Then we were never meant to be, I suppose.'
'I can't be with you and want to be like you. It would never work.' Her eyes pleaded with Jay for understanding.
A wave had made it to his feet, lapped his ankles and invited him into the ocean as it pulled back out. Jay picked up his surfboard and tucked it under his arm. 'C'est la vie, Sarah. I hope it all works out well for you.'
Jay picked his line and used the ocean's force to take him out. He made it through the breaks and sat on his board. Sarah had disappeared. His father waved at him from the shore, turned and walked back up the beach.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It's been a team effort. Cheers to the wonderful writers across the globe whom I have become friends with, received valuable advice from, and who have guided me on this journey.
Special mention must also go to my wonderful literary agent, Sophie Hamley, and all of the great team at the Cameron Creswell Agency. Thanks for your professional advice and support.
To Larissa Edwards, Roberta Ivers, Jessica Dettmann and all of the Random House Australia team; thank you for all of your hard work, belief and enthusiasm for this book. Thanks also to Nadine Davidoff who did a cracking job with the editing – sensational.
Lastly, I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Nicole, whose tireless support through the good and the bad has never faltered.