by Loretta Hill
He was relieved when the lift doors opened and they stepped in. It was a perfect opportunity to end the conversation.
But when the lift doors closed, she reached up and pulled the pins out of her messy hair. He suspected she did it because they were falling out anyway, although watching her thread her fingers through the silken strands had him holding his breath.
The lift doors opened.
Thank God.
They entered the executive car park reserved only for partners of the firm. It was completely empty except for his own car – a quietly stylish silver Audi sedan. Claudia’s lips curled slightly at the sight of it, but she said nothing.
He unlocked the car with his remote and they both hopped in. She broke the silence briefly to give him her address, which wasn’t really that far from their offices at all. It was exactly the sort of residence he expected a successful young lawyer of moderate means to have: a two-storey apartment block in the heart of Subiaco, which overlocked some gorgeous gardens and a community swimming pool. When he drove up into the brick-paved driveway he had expected her to simply grab her handbag and hop out; however, the slight gasp that escaped her lips caused him to pause.
‘What is it?’
‘My front door is open.’
‘What?’ He followed her gaze to the second storey. This was accessed by a flight of stairs on the side of the building. A wide balcony gave means of entry to three front doors, embossed and labelled with metallic gold numbers three, four and five. Number four was open.
She got out of the car and so did he. ‘I’ll come with you,’ he said.
She didn’t seem to hear him but he followed anyway as she hurried up the stairs. He grabbed her arm before she could walk over the threshold, taking in the state of the apartment in a glance.
‘I’ll go in first. Make sure they’re not still here.’
She nodded.
The place had been ransacked. There was not a single piece of furniture that had not been overturned. Her belongings lay strewn across the floor. Framed pictures were off the walls and on the floor. Even the cushions from her couch had been pulled out of their covers. The apartment was small, only two bedrooms. He was through the entire place in less than a minute before returning to the main open-plan living space. She stood there clutching the back of the sofa, not in shock but in anger.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Was there another reason you stayed at the office all night other than work, Claudia?’
Chapter 21
Her gaze flew to his. ‘You think I was expecting this?’
He folded his arms. ‘You just don’t look that surprised.’
She wasn’t. If Leon McCall’s men were actively looking for Bronwyn, wouldn’t their first port of call be an apartment search for clues? In fact, she was amazed it had taken them this long.
‘I’ve been thinking of upgrading my security,’ she responded evasively.
‘So your all-nighter wasn’t an avoidance technique?’
‘How could I possibly know I was going to be broken into?’
Where on earth was this coming from?
‘It doesn’t look like you’ve been broken into so much as taught a lesson.’ His dark eyes glittered as he scanned the room. ‘Anyone you know got it in for you?’
She shuddered and rubbed arms that were suddenly covered in gooseflesh. There was a list.
Bianca Hanks.
Peter Goldman.
Bruce Carle.
Leon McCall.
Anna Mavis.
Geez, Claudia. You might want to start your own ‘I hate Claudia’ club. It could be a real revenue raiser.
‘Er … I can’t really nail anyone down in particular,’ she replied, distractedly casting her eyes around the messy room looking for missing items. He put a voice to her concerns.
‘Has anything been taken?’
‘I don’t think so.’ Though she would be hard pressed to say for certain, given she didn’t own the place. The main items of value in the room, like the TV and the glossy wood-carving on the bookshelf, were still there. A glance across to the kitchen told her that all removable kitchen appliances were also still in place. Whoever had been here seemed to have been either searching for something or just wanting to rough the place up a bit. Clearly the hunt for Bronwyn and Elsa was still on. Not that she thought there were any clues lying about that indicated that Bronwyn was in Yallingup. Bronwyn had abandoned everything, including her car, taking Claudia’s ute for transport. As far as anyone could tell, her best friend had disappeared off the face of the earth.
The only clue she left behind is you.
Swallowing hard, she looked up at Seb, who was watching her closely. She tried to keep her expression neutral. He was not fooled.
‘So what’s really going on here, Claudia?’ He leaned against her kitchen counter.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, I’ve been into every room in this apartment and this place isn’t yours, is it? It belongs to Bronwyn Eddings, Bianca’s daughter. I can see her mail here on the kitchen counter and there’s an open suitcase that I presume is yours on the floor in the bedroom.’
‘I’m house-sitting,’ Claudia returned tightly.
‘I think you’re playing a very dangerous game and you’ve just found out you’re in over your head.’
Claudia laughed. ‘Boy, you do have a vivid imagination.’
‘Where is Bronwyn Eddings?’
‘She doesn’t want anyone to know.’
‘Seems awfully convenient to me.’
‘What exactly do you mean by that?’
‘From where I’m standing it looks like you’ve stolen someone else’s identity.’
‘Are you expecting to find Bronwyn’s body stuffed in a linen cupboard somewhere, or have you already looked?’ Claudia demanded angrily. ‘Honestly, I’ve never met a more judgemental person in my life. This is like our first meeting at Seashells all over again.’
‘I didn’t actually check your linen cupboard,’ he said quietly.
‘How careless of you,’ she snapped. ‘Perhaps you’d like to do so now.’
He sighed. ‘If I thought you were capable of killing someone I would have already called the police.’
‘Funny you should mention it,’ She hugged her arms to stop herself trembling, ‘I was just about to do that myself.’
His expression softened slightly as he watched her.
Oh, for goodness sake, stop looking at me like that. We just agreed that anything between us is inappropriate.
He straightened and walked towards her, invading her personal space. ‘I never thought I’d see the day you were scared by something.’
She averted her eyes. ‘Of course I’m afraid. What do you think I am? Made of steel.’
‘Maybe a little.’
Sebastian’s eyes had always been intense. But usually they were focused on a document or a computer screen or a client. It was impossible not to feel absolutely stripped bare when they rested on her. After all, wasn’t his attention to detail the best in the state?
Inappropriate. Inappropriate. Inappropriate.
She sucked in a quick breath and looked away.
‘Claudia, I think it’s about time you took me into your confidence.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘I want to know everything.’
‘I’m not quite sure what you mean.’
‘Put it this way,’ he folded his arms. ‘I already know half the story, so you might as well tell me the rest.’
She bit her lower lip. ‘What do you mean you already know half the story?’
‘There’s not much that goes on at Hanks and Eddings that doesn’t get back to me,’ he responded grimly. ‘I know you’ve been to see an inmate of Casuarina Prison. I know it’s something to do with Bronwyn. So you might as well come clean about the rest.’
If she was honest, it would be a relief to unburden herself. She’d been carrying this pressure all on her own for a while now. H
e might even have some advice.
She curled her hair behind one ear, trying not to be affected as his eyes followed the movement.
‘Okay, so I think I might be in a little smidgen of trouble with …’
‘Who?’ he pressed.
‘Leon McCall.’
‘Leon McCall?’ His eyes widened.
‘Don’t forget the smidgen part,’ she added hastily, lifting her thumb and forefinger in front of her face.
‘I don’t think there’s any such thing when it comes to Leon McCall,’ Sebastian said sternly. ‘Do you know what that man’s allegedly responsible for?’
‘I have a fair idea,’ Claudia grimaced.
He seemed to brace himself. ‘You had better start from the beginning.’
‘Okay, so back in uni, Bronwyn and I were best friends. We lived in each other’s pockets.’ She paused to think on this a second. ‘Actually, her mostly in my pocket because she hated her life. In recent years, though, we haven’t seen much of each other because of this whole debacle that went down in my family about five years ago with my brothers who –’
He held up a finger. ‘Maybe not that far back to the beginning. Perhaps you can skip forward to present day.’
‘Right.’ She nodded. The problem was he was making her nervous. Sebastian’s confidence was sexy enough. His concern was intoxicating.
‘The long and the short of it is,’ she tried again, ‘Bronwyn needed a sabbatical from law, so she left town to work on my family’s vineyard. I wanted to get back into law so I marched in and took her job. With her permission, of course,’ she added quickly.
‘Of course.’ His tone was as dry as toast.
‘It was a great plan from both our perspectives and it would have been perfect –’
‘Naturally.’
She tilted her head. ‘Okay fine, except for all the issues she’s having with my family and all the problems I’ve been having with –’ She broke off.
He tucked in his chin and looked over his nose at her. ‘The problems you’re having with …?’
Claudia swatted her hand. ‘Perhaps I should just stick to the two main characters, otherwise this is getting far too convoluted.’
‘So it would seem.’
‘Anyway, it would have been perfect if Bronwyn hadn’t adopted Peter Goldman’s dog, Elsa, and taken her along to Yallingup.’
‘Right.’ Sebastian inclined his head slowly. ‘And what does that have to do with Leon McCall?’
‘Elsa’s pregnant with pups. According to Peter they belong to Leon. They made a deal to settle a gambling debt Peter couldn’t pay. He wants those pups back.’
‘What does Leon McCall want with a bunch of pups? No, let me guess.’ He shut his eyes as though seeking patience from a higher power. ‘You’ve stumbled on a dog-fighting ring.’
Claudia nodded. ‘That was my first conclusion.’
‘Of all the things to be involved in,’ Sebastian groaned. ‘Couldn’t you have picked a simpler, less violent crime?’
Claudia put her hands on her hips crossly. ‘That’s not on me. It was Bronwyn who –’
‘Who seems to have got off scot-free while you’re here cleaning up her mess? I’m surprised that Peter didn’t just tell Leon where to find Bronwyn.’
‘He doesn’t know,’ she said quietly. ‘Nobody does, except me. And now you.’
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair before eyeballing her again. ‘You know what this means, right?’
When she was silent, he spelt it out for her. ‘Leon, or more likely some of his associates, have just searched Bronwyn’s apartment. They’ve come up with nothing, except for the fact that she’s got a house-sitter. They’ll be back, Claudia. This time when you’re home. They’ll want to ask you a few questions, and not politely.’
She swallowed. ‘I suppose it’s possible.’
‘Don’t be a fool,’ he threw at her. ‘It’s certain, and they’re not going to take no for an answer next time.’
‘So what would you have me do?’ She threw her hands up.
‘Pack up your suitcase, you’re moving out.’
‘But I have nowhere to go.’
‘I’ll take you to a hotel. There are plenty in the city, near our offices.’
‘That is completely unnecessary.’
He met her eyes again, then grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘Claudia, that Goldman bloke is in the hospital. Do you really want to end up there too? These guys are bloodthirsty meatheads. Think about who you’re dealing with here.’
She licked her dry lips, her body aware of his closeness. She knew she should be concentrating on the danger she was in, but somehow it didn’t really seem that significant when compared to the fact that he was holding her, albeit none too gently.
‘Claudia?’ he urged again, clearly noticing that once more she’d tuned out.
‘Okay, fine,’ she agreed, ‘you’re right. I don’t particularly want to end up in hospital.’
‘Go have your shower and get your things. We’re going now.’
‘But –’
‘While you’re sorting yourself out, I’ll call the police and get them down here. I’m pretty sure your little private investigation is now a public one.’
He let go of her shoulders and pulled out his phone, already scrolling through numbers. A warmth spread through her chest. Her heart thudded dangerously fast but there was something else there too that she didn’t quite understand. A growing awareness that she’d never experienced with another man before.
‘Seb?’
‘Yes?’ he said as he lifted the phone to his ear and glanced back at her.
‘Thanks.’
Something unreadable crossed his face before it settled into a self-mocking smile. ‘I’d say no problem, but I have a feeling this situation is going to be fraught with them.’
He wasn’t wrong.
What neither of them had counted on was the Swedish aeronautic sky show being in town that weekend. They’d been setting up on the esplanade and along the foreshore all week for the demonstration in the sky across Saturday and Sunday. Perth was abuzz with the free show. It was going to be huge. They tried three hotels in the city and they were all full.
‘Let’s go back to the office,’ Seb suggested. ‘I think it’ll be faster if you do a ring around from there, rather than me driving to every hotel on the map.’
However, when they walked into Hanks and Eddings, Cyril was waiting for them in Sebastian’s office. Sebastian had called Juliet earlier, letting her know why they’d be late.
‘What’s this I’m hearing?’ Cyril demanded as he shut the door to Sebastian’s fish tank and turned on Claudia. ‘You’ve been broken into? Your apartment ransacked?’
‘Yes,’ Claudia wrung her hands in embarrassment. ‘It’s nothing really.’
‘Nothing?’ Cyril’s eyes swung to his right-hand man. ‘Sebastian?’
Sebastian strode with purpose to his desk and sat down. ‘It is no longer safe for Claudia to stay in her apartment, but we’re having a little difficulty getting her into a hotel at the moment with the aeronautic show in town.’
Cyril’s eyes shot shrewdly from one to the other. ‘If it’s not safe, then she shouldn’t be alone. You should stay at Sebastian’s place, my dear.’
Sebastian dropped the phone handset he had just picked up. It bounced off the desk and towards the floor, pulling the rest of that unit with it with an almighty crash.
‘What?’
However, Cyril wasn’t addressing him. ‘Sebastian has a giant house with a guest bedroom on the lower floor. Honestly, I don’t know what he does with all that space.’ He clapped Claudia jovially on the back.
‘I – I couldn’t possibly –’
‘Yes,’ Sebastian agreed, turning dangerously large eyes on Cyril. ‘She couldn’t possibly. Wouldn’t it be better if she stayed with family? As I recall, you have quite a few guest bedrooms yourself.’
‘You know,’ Cyril nodded, ‘that was
my first thought but my daughter is in town with her husband and kids. It’s a full house. Your place is much better.’
‘Cyril –’
‘Sebastian, you assured me that you would protect my niece at all costs.’
‘This has nothing to do with Bianca Hanks,’ Sebastian growled.
‘Where is your sense of charity?’ Cyril censored him. ‘I will have no more argument. Come, my dear,’ he put an arm around Claudia’s startled shoulders, ‘let’s get you a coffee, you must be quite shaken up.’
Chapter 22
Discovering Bronwyn Eddings naked in his bathroom was a development Jack hadn’t prepared for. When he’d heard that she’d taken up her position at the family firm five years ago, he figured she was gone from Yallingup for good. Her mother was a force not to be toyed with and, in his opinion, shy, sweet Bronwyn had never been equipped to win that battle.
This Bronwyn, however, was neither shy nor sweet.
She was fiery, passionate, wilful and, without a doubt, smoking hot.
She’d always been pretty. Beautiful in that soft, ethereal way that brought out a man’s protective side. This afternoon he’d all but completely combusted when he found himself with an armful of delectable wantonness pressed against his chest.
She had changed, but in ways that only made things ten times worse. He thought time had healed his need for her. That the distance he’d put between them had allowed him to get on with his life. Yet seeing her now, especially in this way, made him realise that all he’d done was put his feelings in a box to be opened later.
The lid had popped off with a bang that morning and made him wish he’d asked his mother or Claudia more questions about Bronwyn over the years. He’d figured if he just put her out of his mind, it would be easier to get her out of his system.
Ha!
It felt as though he’d only left yesterday. The emotions churning in his stomach were just as strong. The day he’d decided to leave he’d taken a very black and white view of his situation. In hindsight, he realised that perhaps he should have fought harder to be heard. But when your family, the people you turned to in a crisis, shut you out as completely as his had, who else could he turn to?