Heart's Passage

by Cate Swannell

  What is she thinking? Jo wondered, lost in sea-green depths, her whole body alive with sensation. The color rising in Cadie's cheeks gave her a strong clue, and she found herself beaming at the gorgeous blonde.

  Cadie smiled back.

  I'm sure she can read my mind, the blonde thought. She's blushing almost as hard as I know I am.

  Finally Jo broke away from the intense gaze, feeling that if she didn't she would be hard-pressed not to do something about the insistent, tugging ache low in her gut. She tried to focus once more on the bobbing float on the end of her fishing line.

  I'd crawl 15 miles over broken glass just to sweat in her shadow, the skipper thought.

  Cadie couldn't help but smile at the tall woman's discomfort. I know how she feels, but I just don't want to stop looking. She swept her eyes across the dark-haired woman's body, greedily taking in every detail. Jo had her long bangs swept back in a loose ponytail, exposing a statuesque neck that cried out to be kissed, and Cadie was more than happy to picture herself doing just that.

  God, especially when she tilts her head to one side like that, she thought, watching the skipper concentrating on her fishing. Jo was wearing a cut-off midriff-hugging tank top that was barely more than a sports bra. The lack of material showed off her toned stomach deliciously. Cadie laughed quietly to herself. When was the last time you thought of someone's stomach as delicious, Jones? She groaned at the thought of trailing her lips and tongue over the smooth, brown skin.

  She gasped softly as, almost as if by some silent command, Jo's hand moved to her stomach.

  Oh yes, Jo, Cadie thought, touch yourself for me.

  The skipper's long, strong fingers almost caressed across her abdominal muscles. Cadie watched intently as one finger caught a trickle of sweat and slowly wiped it away. The blonde groaned inwardly and her eyes traveled lower.

  I wish it were my hands caressing you and not just my eyes, she thought wickedly. The shorter-than-short denim cut-offs Jo was wearing were clearly well-loved and ragged around the hem, their pale bleached color highlighting the golden hue of the skipper's long, long legs.

  Cadie gulped as a tantalizing picture formed in her mind.

  I want those legs wrapped around me. I want to feel captured, tangled up in her. I want to feel that safety mixed with sensuality again, she thought, remembering being held by Jo as she had eavesdropped on that humiliating conversation. She felt so good around me, surrounding me.

  Ohhh, Cadie, what are you doing to yourself? she thought. Where are you going with this? You're at most, a couple of weeks away from leaving the only major relationship of your life. Do you really want to leap straight into another one? A complicated one at that?

  She rolled away from the view Jo afforded, sitting up to rest her forehead on her hand as her elbow balanced on her upraised knee.

  But there's something there between us, no question. Would I be walking away from the one person in the world I'm supposed to be with? She couldn't help laughing at herself. I don't know her. She glanced back at the skipper, who was giving a good impression of being asleep, if it weren't for the slivers of blue peeking out from beneath slightly cracked eyelids. Cadie smiled softly, knowing those eyes were focused firmly on her. And yet, I do know her. How that's possible I haven't a clue. She has secrets, but they don't matter. I know her heart.

  She knows I'm watching her, Jo thought. I wonder if she knows how badly I want to be sitting behind her, cuddling her against me, with my legs wrapped around her, kissing the nape of her neck...

  A tugging on the fishing line almost distracted her, but it wasn't until the tiny bell on the end of her rod started tinkling that Jo finally came to her senses.

  "Whoooaaa!" she yelped, sitting bolt upright as she grabbed the rod. "Holy shit, I've got a big one hooked here. Cadie, grab that net, will ya?" Jo stood up quickly, bracing herself against the rail as she applied some drag while the line played out.

  Cadie sprang to her feet and grabbed the long pole Jo had indicated, swinging it around so the round net on the end hung out over the water. The skipper was battling to reel in what was clearly a decent-sized fish. She hauled on the wildly bending rod, winding frantically as she dropped it low, then leant back, groaning on the upstroke.

  "You're going to snap that line, Jo," Cadie warned, hopping from one foot to the other with excitement.

  "No way." Jo grinned, sweat starting to break out on her forehead. "This one's mine. Can you see any color yet?"

  Cadie leaned out over the rail, trying to follow the line below the waterline. "No." She paused. "Wait. Yes! Yes, yes. Kind of flashes of pink."

  "Woooohoooo!" yelled Jo with delight. "I bet it's a red emperor. We eat well tonight!"

  Cadie laughed. "Like we haven't been eating well anyway," she said.

  "Yup, but there's nothing beats eating something you've caught yourself," Jo said smugly. "And wait till you taste this fish, Cadie—smooth, creamy, sweet flesh..."

  "Hey, Captain Ahab, ya gotta catch it first," the American chided with a smile.

  "Piece of cake," Jo replied. "Get ready with the net, 'cos this sucker is about ready to land." With one last big upstroke, Jo flicked the fish out of the water just as Cadie moved in closer and came in underneath it with the net.

  "Yes!" Cadie cried, triumphant. "We did it!" She grinned up at Jo, who answered with a brilliant smile of her own.

  "Yep, we sure did." The two women high-fived each other as the large red emperor flopped around on the deck.

  Cadie looked down at it uncertainly. "Um...now what?" she asked.

  "Well. Now I've got to kill it," Jo replied, reaching around for the small truncheon-like piece of wood she had in her back pocket just for that purpose.

  Cadie bit her bottom lip. "I don't think I'm going to like this bit," she said quietly.

  "I promise it'll be quick," Jo said noticing the anxious look on the blonde's face. "Don't look if it's going to upset you."

  "No, it's okay," Cadie said. "I'd rather know the reality." Their eyes locked again for a few seconds.

  Jo grabbed the fish's thrashing tail and swiftly tonked it on the forehead with the cosh. Cadie winced at the strangely hollow sound. The fish immediately dropped lifeless and still. "Done," the skipper said.

  Jo picked up the fish and began to turn to walk aft. Cadie gently stopped her with a hand on her elbow, pulling her back around to face the American.

  "What's wrong?" the skipper asked.

  "When will you tell me, Jo-Jo?" Cadie asked softly, not knowing quite what made her ask the question at this moment.

  "Tell you what?" Jo flicked her eyes away, suddenly uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

  "Whatever it is that you seem to think would be so terrible for me to know," Cadie replied, ducking her head to recapture Jo's eyes. "There isn't anything you can say that will stop me..." She hesitated, not sure how far she was prepared to go. "Nothing that will stop me caring about you," a he went on.

  "You don't know what you're asking, Arcadia," Jo said, another wave of melancholy hitting her. "Trust me, you don't want to know." She paused, the warmth from Cadie's fingers on the inside of her elbow giving her chills. "Let it go. Please?"

  Cadie squeezed the skipper's arm gently. "Trust me, Jo. Trust me to know my own feelings," she said.

  "You have a lot more to think about than my dark, mysterious past," Jo said pointedly. "Don't make your life any more complicated than it already is, Cadie."

  Cadie's crooked grin lightened the mood a little. "Oh, so you do have one then?" she cajoled, poking Jo gently in the ribs.

  "One what?" Jo asked, gritting her teeth against the tickling sensation the poke provoked but unable to keep from grinning.

  "Dark and mysterious past. That's the most you've told me so far."

  "Mmmm... well, it'll take a lot more than a poke in the ribs to get me to tell you the rest." With a quiet smile Jo turned away again. "Come on. Let's give this to Jenny."

  Cadie stood watching
for a moment as the tall skipper walked away. What could possibly be so awful, she wondered. She shook her head quickly and making a decision that surprised her with its intensity. It doesn't matter. She's a good person; I can feel that in my heart. And I don't give a damn what happened in that "dark and mysterious past. " She strode after Jo, following her down the companionway into the main cabin where Jenny was in paroxysms of delight over the large catch.

  "Put it on ice, Jen," Jo was saying. "Paul can clean it up later." She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "I'm drooling already." She grinned.

  "Aye aye, Captain." Jenny mock saluted.

  "Oh shut up," Jo replied good-naturedly.

  A distant thrumming noise caught all their attention just at that moment.

  "What's that?" Cadie asked, making her way back up on deck. She gazed up into the cloudless azure sky, spinning around.

  "Helicopter," Jo said shortly, from just behind her. "And if I didn't know better, I'd say it was..." She turned towards the rise of Whitsunday Island, looking west. She laughed triumphantly as she caught sight of the small aircraft heading over the hill towards them. "Yep, it's Billy." She grinned.

  Cadie looked up over her shoulder at the tall skipper. "Who's Billy?"

  Jo chuckled. "A fly boy. A rich, spoiled, handsome, totally likable, fly boy." She turned with Cadie, following the path of the chopper as it circled closer and lower. "Around here the Air Sea Rescue Service is funded totally by donations, so it needs all the help it can get. Billy inherited a squillion from his parents—they used to own a bunch of newspaper and television stock. He bought himself a 'copter for fun and kitted it out with all the rescue gear, just so he can help the service out when they need it."

  Cadie snorted, watching as the chopper circled the Seawolf one last time and started to come down for a landing on the wooden pontoon anchored in the middle of the bay about 200 feet from the Seawolf.

  "He's a good bloke," said Jo, laughing at the incredulous look on the American's face. "He's just a bit of a lair as well."

  "Lair?"

  "Yeah... urn... a show off."

  "Ah. That would explain the entrance," Cadie said with a chuckle.

  "Oh yeah."

  The helicopter's engine died and the rotors slowed as a man clambered out of the cockpit and waved at them.

  "Hey Jo-Jo!!" he yelled. "Are you gonna make me swim?"

  "Yep," she shouted back.

  "You asked for it," he replied. The sounds of bad singing wafted across the water towards them as Billy made a passable attempt at the Stripper theme. He pulled off clothing as he danced on the pontoon, flinging apparel in all directions.

  Cadie laughed at the performance and Jo grinned at her. "Like I said. He's a bit of a lair," she said.

  "I see that," Cadie replied.

  Finally the big man was down to just his board shorts and he dove into the clear water, stroking easily out towards the yacht.

  "Prepare to be boarded," Jo said.

  "Aye aye, Captain," Cadie said just under her breath, catching Jo's eye with a smirk as the skipper did a double take.

  "I heard that," she muttered.

  Cadie giggled as they watched the man plowing his way through the water, finally reaching the transom and pulling himself up onto the boat. Billy was a big man, built like a footballer and with the height to carry it. Cadie thought he would tower over Jo by a good few inches, and he soon proved it by bounding up to the two women and pulling the skipper into his arms.

  "Hello, gorgeous," he bellowed, swinging Jo down into a deep dip and planting a long noisy kiss on her lips. She struggled for a couple of seconds and then went with it, catching her breath as he backed off and pulled her upright.

  "Yuck, Bill, that was gross," she protested, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. "Hello to you too, you big bastard." She grinned back at the tousle-haired man.

  He started to say something else but caught sight of Cadie, immediately captured by her bikini-clad, blonde good looks. He pushed past Jo, much to her amusement, and headed for the American.

  "Well, who do we have here?" he asked smoothly. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Jo-Jo?" He took Cadie's hand and bowed over it, kissing it softly.

  Cadie looked back over his shoulder at Jo, raising an eyebrow comically. The skipper laughed out loud. "Cadie Jones, meet Billy Maguire, the Whitsundays' own millionaire playboy," she said.

  Cadie did a double take. "Maguire, as in Robert Maguire, media magnate?" she asked incredulously.

  "Ah, daddy dearest, how I do miss him," Billy said mockingly, his hand over his heart.

  Cadie looked at Jo again. "Boy, you weren't kidding about those squillions were you?"

  Jo grinned and shook her head.

  "Please don't hold it against me, Miss Jones. I promise I'm only half the scoundrel my old man was." He beamed down at her.

  She chuckled. "I believe you, I believe you. Nice to meet you, Mr. Maguire."

  "No, you must call me Billy. Everybody does, y'know."

  "And you call me Cadie. Miss Jones makes me feel like a schoolteacher."

  He swept his eyes admiringly down and back up her length. "If I'd had a teacher like you, Cadie, I would have stayed in school way past 14." He grinned at her winningly.

  She smiled back, liking him despite his brashness. Or maybe because of it.

  "Okay, lover boy," Jo said, sitting down in the main cockpit. "What brings you out here?"

  Cadie and Bill also sat down.

  "You of course, beautiful." He grinned.

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

  "I was down at Shute, ran into Doris from Cheswick, asked after you and she said as far as she knew you were out here at Whitehaven. I felt like a bit of an outing, so here I am." He spread his arms wide. "I wondered if you and any of your guests would like a trip out to Heart Reef."

  Cadie nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to go. Toby and Jason went fishing out near there the other day and they came back raving about it. So, yes, count me in," she said.

  Jo flicked her cell phone on and keyed Paul's number. He was ashore with the two men, Naomi, Larissa and Kelli.

  "Hey, Paulie," said the skipper when he answered. "Billy's here, wondering if anyone wants to go out to Heart with him for the day." She paused. "Okay." She looked at Cadie and Bill. "He's asking them. Apparently the senator has a pretty fierce card game in motion."

  Cadie rolled her eyes. "She's a terrible poker player. But she can't stand losing, so they'll be at it all day."

  Paul obviously replied to Jo and the skipper nodded. "Okay, mate. Have a good day." She paused again. "Yeah I will, I think. Okay, see ya." She hung up. "No takers there. The boys are climbing for coconuts." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "And the card school has settled in for the day, as you predicted. Where are Therese and Sarah?"

  Jenny came up from below just as she was asking. "In their cabin, Skip," she said. "With the do not disturb sign up."

  "Ah. Okay. You want to come, Jen?"

  The brunette had wandered over to Billy and sat down on his knee, the big man happily wrapping her up in a bear hug. "Nah," she said. "That mob'll need lunch." She indicated towards the beach with her head.

  "Looks like it's just Cadie and me, Billy."

  "Cool," he said, patting Jenny's backside as she stood up.

  Ken Harding was sweating like an old, fat horse. Partly that was from the climate, partly it was because he was strapped into a Queensland Police Service helicopter. There were two things in the world Harding hated more than anything. One was drug dealers. And the other was flying. Particularly when that flying was in a tiny glass-sided box with a ceiling fan strapped on top.

  Fuck this, he thought, wiping his brow for the 50th time since they'd taken off from Mackay. Christ, I need a cigarette. It had been an hour since his last desperate puff between getting off his plane from Sydney and waiting for the police chopper to show up.

  He'd flown up on a whim. A nagging, nasty, cold slimy whim t
hat had been burning a hole in the back of his brain for about a week.

  It had been over five years since he'd last seen Jo Madison. She'd walked out of his dingy office in Sydney and disappeared into the night, as mysterious and untouchable as she'd ever been. He'd tried to keep tabs on her though. His colleagues would make fun of him on a regular basis whenever he called in a few favors to pin down her whereabouts. It wasn't like he did that for any of the other state witnesses lurking out in the real world. But he couldn't help it. He had always had a thing for Madison. A strange half-paternal, half-lustful thing that made him care.

  He didn't understand it himself. He just knew that when Marco di Santo, former henchman of Tony Martin—Madison's ex-boss—had mysteriously disappeared two weeks ago, it was time to do something.

  When Jo had turned state's evidence that cold night five years ago, Martin had been the first she'd grassed up. In the barely controlled chaos that followed, di Santo had been one of the few to slip through Ken Harding's fingers. He'd kept his nose clean since then, inhabiting Martin's old haunts but never quite doing enough to warrant police attention.

  But that had changed three weeks ago when someone slipped a stiletto between Tony Martin's ribs in the shower block at Pentridge Prison. He'd bled to death on the floor while a roomful of criminals looked on. No doubt most had been more than happy to see his life washing down the bathroom drain.

  Soon after that di Santo had gone underground. And Harding had a hunch the two events were not unconnected.

  He's eliminating the people he sees as a threat to him taking over Martin's turf, Harding thought in an attempt to keep his mind off the thin layer of perspex between himself and a 1000-foot drop. He's taken out the boss, and now he's going after the only one left who can threaten him, either by killing him or putting him away. I'm sure of it. Madison's in danger, and she hasn't exactly made it difficult for anyone to find her. Damn her.

  He had never understood Madison's attitude to the witness protection program. Whether it was arrogance or a death wish, her decision not to hide or change her identity had always rankled with him. He knew she was far from stupid, so he had to assume she felt she could handle anything—or anyone—that came her way. And it was hard to argue with that. He had seen her handiwork, more than once.