“Preston.” Pushing to his feet, Jax eyed off the corporal. He might be younger and fitter but Preston wasn’t fighting for the woman he loved.
“She’s not yours. Leave her alone.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes, sir. You won’t hurt her.”
“Hurt her?” Surprised by Preston’s odd phrasing, Jax didn’t miss the bunching of muscle. The corporal charged but this time Jax was ready. They rolled across mulch and kerbing, hands gripping each other’s shirts. Preston landed a punch. Jax heaved Preston’s body off but lost his grip. He bounded into a crouch at the same time as the corporal.
They circled one another. Movement flickered on the periphery of his vision. The restaurant door opened and Willa stepped out.
“Stay out of it, Willa.”
Preston feinted to his left then lashed out with a thigh-cruncher to Jax’s injured leg. He deflected Preston’s attack and got in a roundhouse kick of his own. It glanced off Preston’s shoulder.
His leg throbbed but it didn’t fail him. All he needed to do was keep Preston away from Willa. Caleb would be here within minutes. He watched for the next move.
Preston went for his throat, tucked a foot behind Jax’s left leg and tried to tumble him. As his opponent’s thumbs dug into the soft spot, Jax brought his left knee up into Preston’s groin.
The corporal had been well trained in hand-to-hand combat but Jax hadn’t topped his course for nothing. Bung leg or not, Preston wasn’t getting to Willa again.
As the corporal bent over, Jax delivered a crushing right uppercut that sent Willa’s attacker flying into the low hedge on the corner of the footpath.
Breathing hard, Jax hauled the young man to his feet.
“That’s enough, Jax.” Willa grabbed his right arm as Caleb and two uniformed officers joined them.
As they slipped handcuffs on Preston, he struggled to stand upright. His breath came in short pants as he shook his head and looked at Caleb. “Detective, you’ve cuffed the wrong man. I’m not the stalker. Major Heathwood is.”
Chapter Seventeen
Bewildered by the bizarre turn of events, Willa clutched her coffee. Twice in the one evening she’d found herself in the same police interview room. She leaned against the corner and Caleb moved past her.
The room was crowded as Jax and a uniform stood over a seated Corporal Preston and Caleb took the seat facing him. The police officer unlocked Dave’s handcuffs and stepped away.
“Anything else, sir?”
“No, Sergeant, that’s all for now.”
The officer left the room, shutting the door behind him.
“I’m sorry, Miss Raynolds.” Dave—in spite of what he’d done, she couldn’t think of him as anything but Dave—met her gaze. “I never meant to frighten you but I had to keep you safe.”
“From Major Heathwood?” That puzzled her. Both Jax and now Dave seemed convinced the other was the stalker.
Caleb broke into their exchange. “Tell us why you thought the Major would harm Miss Raynolds, Corporal.”
“Well, sir, I was in position on Miss Raynolds’ right side and keeping out of sight as the Major had ordered. It was just after the first sequence when the crane was being lowered and before Miss Raynolds loaded her rifle with blanks. I thought I saw a reflection in the rocks a little way above. At first I thought it might be mica but then I kind of remembered something from science at school and then I thought, what if it isn’t the rock? I decided to investigate.”
Jax stepped close and leaned on the table. “Did you climb the rocks?”
“Yes, sir. I thought it my duty to check. But before I reached the spot, the shooting accident happened and the actors and I all raced down to help. I returned to HQ, along with the rest of the cast. Sir, I couldn’t see you and I thought—” Dave pressed his lips together, cleared his throat and sat up straight. His gaze connected with Jax’s.
“I’m sorry, sir. When I couldn’t see you I thought you were up on the rocks with a rifle and I got the wrong end of the stick.”
Jax nodded. “I saw a flash of red, your hair, I guess. When I spotted the rifle tip in the rushes, I put two and two together and came up with three. Sorry about the damage, Preston.”
“No problem, sir. We were both keen to keep Miss Raynolds—”
“Call me Willa, please, Dave.” Miss Raynolds made her feel older than her years.
“Sorry, Miss—Willa. I didn’t know where to take you that Major Heathwood wouldn’t think of. I even thought about taking you to my parents in Cloncurry.”
Jax raised an eyebrow and flicked a glance at Caleb. “Let’s recap. We have evidence on film that there was a shooter positioned in the rocks above Willa but no one saw him.”
“Or her. Why do you assume the shooter is a male?” It wasn’t that Willa wanted to expand the field of suspects but she’d had enough of the testosterone floating in the room. Three men, two of whom were used to leading others, and Dave, training to be like Jax one day. “Why couldn’t it have been a woman?”
Caleb answered. “No disrespect, Willa, but while the note and the strap could be either gender, the probability is greater of the shooter being male. But you make a good point.”
“Greater perhaps, but anyone can shoot a gun or cut a girth strap or send a threatening note. Want to know what I think? It has nothing to do with gender and a great deal to do with motive. Why restrict your list of possibilities when we don’t know for sure who is the intended target, let alone what their motive is?”
All three men agreed.
Jax’s eyes crinkled as his piercing gaze met hers. “Good point, Willa. We need to try another approach. I think we can restrict our list to someone on site, a cast or crew member. Security has been tight and I doubt anyone but a professional could have bypassed the procedures we put in place.”
“Unless it’s someone in security.” Dave might be the youngest in the room but it was clear he wasn’t going to be left out of the discussion.
Willa turned to Jax. “You said the shooting showed they weren’t professional.”
Caleb stood, turned to the whiteboard on the wall and picked up a marker. “Okay, in this room we have the only people we are one hundred per cent certain are not the stalker. Clearly anyone on site could have cut the girth strap or sent the note. But if we consider today’s attempt, there are plenty of people we can cross off our list immediately because they were within sight of dozens of others. So—let’s work through the list of cast and crew, and eliminate those we know could not have been the shooter. Who had the opportunity to shoot?”
##
Coffee cups and takeaway pizza boxes littered the table and the whiteboard was filled with crossed-out names in blue. Beside the remaining names, red ticks indicated those whose movements none of those present could account for.
Jax stretched and caught a yawn. There were still more names than he liked to contemplate. “Of those names, do we know which ones have guns, who can shoot with that degree of accuracy?”
Willa was slowly ripping her paper serviette into strips. Her eyes were shadowed and guilt pierced him. She should have been in bed hours ago and he should have been right alongside her, making love, not narrowing down the list of people who might want to harm her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Doesn’t she know?” Caleb looked at Jax.
“When has there been time to tell her? She went home before you got the report and then we were on a wild goose chase around town.”
“So help me, Jax—” She pinned him with a look he knew all too well, the one that said his explanation for keeping her in the dark had better be damned good.
Improbable as it seemed, Jax realised Willa was less worried than angry. Events had happened quickly and he’d had no real chance to talk with her. “One of the security men found a rifle hidden below the shooter’s position. It’s real, and it had been fired recently.”
Dave drew a quick sketch on the notepad and turned it to s
how her. “The angle of the rifle was over your head, more than likely aiming for the camera man.”
“We recovered the bullet that hit Greg Tisdale—a real bullet by the way. Your blanks did nothing. Bit lucky, given how many people were around the crane when it was lowered. Ballistics will examine the bullet and the rifle to see if they match.” Caleb checked his phone and slipped it back in his shirt pocket. “No word yet.”
“But it was a real gun, not a prop?”
“Yes.” Jax knew that made a difference to Willa in ways the others didn’t understand. If only he knew the reason, he might be able to help her overcome her phobia. Would she open up and share after the incident today, or would she do the old Willa trick of disappearing into herself?
Caleb looked at his watch and threw the red pen onto the table. “It’s nearly midnight. How about we sleep on it and in the morning, I’ll get the team onto checking out the background of these people.”
“Good idea. I’d like to take Willa home to my place. No-one knows where I live and—”
“No.” She held up a hand and shook her head. “I won’t leave my home because of some vague threat. If I do, it’s like the stalker has won and I won’t give him or her that satisfaction.”
Her stubborn refusal to consider his suggestion should have annoyed him but instead, Jax felt a crazy sense of admiration. Willa had never been a coward. Even her night blindness hadn’t stopped her attempting to drive in town and she did a lot of her own stunts on screen.
“You’re right. Let’s go home.”
“Leave everything here and I’ll come back to it fresh in the morning.” Caleb opened the door and Jax followed Willa down the corridor, their footsteps echoing in the empty passage.
Dave emerged hot on their heels, spinning his keys around one finger. “Good night, Major, Willa.”
“Do you need a lift to your vehicle, Corporal?”
“No thank you, sir. I can walk to my hotel from here. Tomorrow I’ll go for a run and pick up my car.”
Willa put a hand on Dave’s arm, halting his departure. “Thank you, Dave. I appreciate what you did for me tonight. That took courage.”
“I was just doing my job.” A flush stained his cheeks but he smiled at her before walking away.
Jax watched him walk to the corner and disappear. “He’s got the potential to go far.”
“Like someone else I know.” As they walked to his bike Willa slipped her hand into his. It felt good walking with her by his side. Like old times.
He took the helmet off the handlebar. Willa ran a hand over the leather seat and smiled, the first proper one he’d seen from her since their shooting lesson. “I’ve missed riding behind you.”
There was another thing they still had in common. He had loved riding with Willa hugging him tight, her thighs pressed against his, her fingers sliding under his leather jacket, seeking his bare skin. After the day they’d had, feeling her holding onto him as they rode through the night would relax him.
“I’ve only got one helmet. Here, you wear it.” He proffered the shiny black helmet as he fished the keys from his pocket.
Willa pushed it away. “Not a chance. You’re driving. I get to hang on tight and tuck in behind you. I’d say that will be the best thing that’s happened today.”
“You could be right. But there could be something to top it after we get home.”
“What are we waiting for?”
Jax put his helmet on, and slung a leg over the bike. Willa climbed on behind and wrapped her arms around his waist. Wriggling into a comfortable position, her thighs caressed his and suddenly the ride home took on its own edge of danger.
He put a hand behind her bottom and pulled her hard against him. “Do not move or I won’t be responsible for what happens.”
She gave another wiggle and hugged him tightly. “Promises, promises.”
Jax flipped his visor down, started the engine and let out the clutch.
On the deserted street, the growl of the bike’s engine was loud, like a jungle cat proclaiming its supremacy. Willa made him feel like that, like he could take on the world and win.
As the bike ate up the distance to Willa’s home, Jax faced the truth. He wanted Willa in his life, not just for now but forever. Convincing her of that meant showing her she was more important to him than anything or anyone. Was he enough for her this time around?
Before he’d figured out a solution, they turned into her driveway. He switched off the engine and kicked the stand down while Willa climbed off the bike. He lifted his helmet off and hung it on the handlebar. The heat of the bike rose around his legs but it was nothing compared to the heat of Willa’s hand as she rested it on his thigh.
Easing himself off the seat, he slid an arm around her waist and drew her close. It was like coming home.
She ran her hands through his hair, and with a gentle tug, pulled his head down and kissed him. “I like your hair like this.”
“Messy?”
“No, just longer than when I saw you in Townsville. It suits you.”
“It’s not Army regulation length. Is that what you like?”
“Maybe it looks more like the Jax I used to know. Come on, let’s go to bed.” She kissed him again, pulled a key from her pocket and climbed the stairs to unlock the front door.
Switching on lights as she went, Willa reached the kitchen ahead of him. “Hot chocolate, milk, tea?”
“Shower and bed.”
She ran a finger down the middle of his chest and pressed against him. “Are you sure you don’t want something to help you sleep?”
Willa in this mood was hard to resist and God help him he didn’t want to refuse. But he needed a clear head to keep her safe.
“We have a six a.m. start, Willa. See you under the sheets.”
“I’ll be the one wearing your pyjama top.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t wear one.”
“Think about that while you shower.” She blew a kiss and swung her hips as she walked into her bedroom.
Willa—waiting—bed.
Jax thumped his head against the cupboard door and prayed for strength.
A cold shower didn’t help as the tantalising image of Willa danced before him. Finally, he gave up and turned the taps off. Towelling dry, he took a deep breath and wrapped the towel around his waist. If Willa was still awake and needing him, who was he to refuse her?
He switched off the lights and padded into her bedroom. Her curtains were still open and a spill of light from the streetlights showed Willa curled up on her side. Sound asleep.
He tossed his towel into the clothes hamper and slipped under the covers behind her. Fitting his body around hers, he laid an arm across her waist and brushed a hand over her soft skin. The scent of pine lingered on her body. He breathed her in, and closed his eyes.
She sighed softly and, still sleeping, slipped her hand into his.
Chapter Eighteen
Willa entered Brodie’s office ahead of Jax. “I’m really sorry we’re late. Last night was kind of exhausting and—”
They’d slept through her clock alarm and only woken when her mother phoned on the landline with the news that Auntie Maureen had passed a comfortable night. It was a good omen, and they needed every bit of luck the universe was willing to offer.
She stopped abruptly as Brodie looked up, a paper scrunched in his hands. He threw it on the desk in front of him. “What do they want from me?”
“Another note?” Jax reached over and picked up the paper, holding it so they could read it together.
The ugly message on the page filled her vision and Willa’s positive mood evaporated. Even in Los Angeles she hadn’t experienced anything as sinister as the threat implied in the latest note. “This reference to me disappearing into a black hole is disturbing.” Her throat closed as her breakfast rose. Why did someone hate her so much they wanted to hurt her? Swallowing hard, she breathed through her mouth. She’d count not throwing up as a small victory
against the stalker.
In spite of the warmth of morning sun through the window, Willa shivered. Goose bumps ran down her right side, before Jax slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Pressing into his warmth, she drew strength from his presence.
“Have you let Caleb know about this latest communication?” Jax handed the note back.
Brodie dropped it on the desk as thought it were a redback spider. He rested his elbows on the table and ran his hands through his hair. “Not yet. What should I do? If I don’t halt production until this piece of shit is found and stopped, I’m endangering Willa. If I do stop it for more than a couple of days, we may as well pull the pin on the whole project. I don’t relish either option.”
“When did this arrive?” Jax seated Willa and pulled his chair close until his thigh rested against hers. He twined his fingers through hers and squeezed gently.
“It was on my desk when I came in a few minutes ago.”
“Was your office locked before you arrived?”
“Yes.”
“Does anyone else have a key?”
“No. I have the only one. Although there was a scent on the air when I opened up.”
Jax sniffed and nodded. “There is something there still. Your cologne?”
Brodie shook his head. “Nothing like my Cool Water.”
Now he’d mentioned it Willa smelled it too. It was subtle and vaguely familiar, sort of sweet with a fruity undertone. She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated on the scent. She knew it, and had smelled it recently. Not on the actors; she was the only woman in the group through these early scenes, and it didn’t smell like any male she knew.
Opening her eyes, she tugged Jax’s arm. “Remember our discussion last night? When I said anyone can shoot a gun or cut a strap or—”
“Yes. What is it, Willa?”
“I know who it is.”
Winds of Change (Hearts of the Outback Book 4) Page 13