Winds of Change (Hearts of the Outback Book 4)

by Susanne Bellamy

  “How? By the scent?”

  She nodded. “We should get Caleb out here right now or she’ll get away.”

  “A woman? You can’t seriously think a woman has done all this?”

  “Brodie, you’ve seen me do physical stunts lots of times. Why would you think a woman incapable of carrying out the two attacks? Sometimes you let sexism get in the way of common sense.”

  “Sweets, I didn’t mean it. Tell me, who is it?”

  “Laurie wears a peach and vanilla scent. I haven’t smelled it on anyone else.”

  Jax leaned over the desk. “Where is Laurie now?”

  “I have no idea but I can call her to come to my office if you like.”

  “Leave her wherever she is. I’ll call Dave to locate her and keep her under observation, and then I’ll ring Caleb.”

  Jax left the room to make his calls and Willa heard him speaking on the phone. His orders to Dave were clear and concise and she began to understand how he’d risen in the ranks so quickly. He inspired others to do what he wanted.

  He inspired her. He protected her.

  She loved him, and in that moment, realised she wanted to be with Jax for more than just the filming of this series. But he was a soldier and that meant guns. How was she ever to cope with them again?

  Brodie touched her shoulder. “Hey, Willa, you okay?”

  “Fine.”

  “While we wait for the detective, why don’t we try to figure out possible motives for Laurie’s actions?”

  Willa pulled a chair up to Brodie’s desk and sat, forcing her attention back to the questions raised by their discovery. Her heart and her phobia would have to wait.

  “Good idea. Mind you, the presence of her scent only indicates she was in your office recently but it’s a starting point. Leaving the note may be all she’s done.” The thought of Laurie being involved in the attempts to harm her was hard to bear.

  “Maybe she’s just the delivery girl. I can’t think of a single reason for her to want to do you harm.”

  As Brodie was speaking, Jax entered the room and pulled up a chair beside Willa. He sat and took her hand in his. “If that’s the case, it’s likely someone has offered her money to do so. The police should be able to check her bank accounts. But what if she’s acting on her own? Why would she want to harm Willa? You’re friends, aren’t you?”

  “I thought we were. Although I may have one idea.” She looked at Jax. Was it possible Laurie would have agreed to hurt Willa to win him?

  Brodie tapped the desk and clapped his hands. “You may be right.”

  Jax looked from one to the other. “What am I missing?”

  Willa held his hand and squeezed. “It’s possible. I think she likes you, Jax. A lot.”

  “Since when has that been a reason to hurt someone?” Jax frowned. He was genuinely perplexed by her remark.

  Brodie shook his head. “We should have seen it earlier. It’s the oldest reason in the world. You don’t want to mess with a woman scorned.”

  Willa could almost see Brodie making air quotes. It lightened the mood a little and allowed them to move on with exploring theories.

  A knock at the door marked Caleb’s arrival. “Good morning. Jax told me you have a suspect based on a lingering scent in this room.”

  Brodie shook Caleb’s hand and indicated the fold-up chair in the corner. “That’s right. Willa identified the scent. No one else has access to my office; I have the only key, but Laurie has borrowed it a couple of times. We were toying with possible motives just now.”

  “And what did you come up with?”

  Willa put a hand on Jax’s thigh. “Laurie likes Jax. She’s created several opportunities to be alone with him, but we think she may just be the delivery system for the notes.”

  “Interesting idea and it may well have been the catalyst for her involvement. But I’ve just had word from the airport. One of the mechanics reported seeing a woman fitting the description of Laurie Smythe getting into a small plane listed as travelling to Townsville. Just after take off, a distress call was activated.”

  ##

  “What?” Willa gripped Jax’s hand tighter.

  He acknowledged Willa had been right to claim a woman was perfectly capable of the attacks. Maybe she’d sensed the vibes rolling off Laurie. “That blows our theory apart.”

  “Not necessarily. It’s possible she began by working for someone else and escalated the action on her own account. We’ll just have to wait for news about the emergency aboard the plane. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  Willa sat on the edge of her chair, hands clasped in her lap. “I had no idea Laurie had a pilot’s licence.”

  How well did Willa really know the woman she’d called a friend? Such a betrayal would shake her willingness to trust in the future.

  “The plane belongs to a mining engineer named Harrison Douglas. From what we can gather, he’s also aboard.”

  Jax’s phone rang and he went into the corridor to answer it. “Preston, I was about to call you. We know where she is.”

  “That’s good, sir, because I feel like I’ve been given the run around.”

  “What happened?”

  “I asked around the crew if they’d seen Miss Smythe and was sent a dozen different places. Then I found the actors and they couldn’t help. Either she’s very good at misdirection or someone was helping her get away.”

  “Any ideas who that might be?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Come back to the director’s office as quickly as you can. We have a situation and I may need your assistance.”

  Jax ended the call and kept an eye out as he waited for Preston to return. The dry red landscape of his youth stretched away to low hills. This had been his playground when he got his first dirt bike. He’d slalomed around olive green bushes and flown over sandy mounds and through gullies in this area, sometimes when he should have been at school. Speed, dirt, challenge—he’d loved it all and later, the Army had fulfilled that need.

  He would always prefer being outdoors but he wanted a life to share with Willa. If he gave up his career and made a change into the private sector, it would be possible. Could he give it up?

  To be with Willa, he’d go anywhere, even take an office job.

  “Jax?” Willa came up behind him, took his hand and drew him back towards the office. “Caleb just got word. The plane is down safely. The police in Mt. Isa have Laurie in custody and Caleb is heading back to town to interview her.”

  “Good. Now we might get some answers.”

  Brodie seemed energised when they returned to his office. He thumped a fist into his other palm and paced behind his desk. “So it’s okay if we get back to our shooting schedule, Detective?”

  “It is, but I suggest Jax and Dave continue to monitor Willa’s scenes until we’re certain Laurie Smythe was working alone.”

  “I won’t let Willa out of my sight.” Jax took her hand and they left the office. As they walked outside her grip loosened and she stopped in the shade at the end of the building.

  “What you said inside—”

  “About not letting you out of my sight. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

  “That might be a bit difficult.”

  ##

  Jax narrowed his eyes as the helicopter, one of the new Kiowa Warrior class on loan from the Army, landed near HQ. A lump like a ball of lead settled in his stomach. He didn’t like it one little bit. Not without knowing if Laurie had acted alone. Unlike Willa, his instinct was telling him otherwise.

  He turned his back and walked away as the rotors slowed. Back in HQ, he took out the copy of the script and read over the scene again. There were so many things that could go wrong he didn’t know where to begin.

  Willa handed him a bottle of water and leaned against the table by his side. Gesturing towards the chopper with her bottle, she looked at him. “It’s a beautiful machine, isn’t it? On loan from the Army. I bet Brodie offered to make their recruitment ads
in exchange for the use of the chopper.”

  “I thought it was in exchange for me. Look, do you think it wise to do your own stunt today? Maybe you should let the stunt woman do her job.”

  “That’s not how it works, Jax. This is my job. I’m perfectly capable of doing this stunt. I trained for it and I will do it.”

  “Babe, I know you can. Heights have never been a problem for you—”

  “Except when I’m on the back of a horse.”

  “You overcame your fear of animals for most of those scenes. You’re a brave woman, Willa. It’s just, if anything happened to you I’d never forgive myself.”

  “And what if something happens to Marly when she’s hanging from the chopper line?”

  “Marly is trained to deal with problems as they arise.”

  Willa went quiet. When she looked up, her eyes were dark and sad, and he knew he’d lost this battle. “Does her life mean less than mine?”

  “No life is worth more or less than another.”

  He knew that, believed it, but if anything happened to Willa, his life would be worth nothing.

  “I’ll go check the gear they’re using for the scene. If you’re hanging below that machine, I want to know the line hasn’t been tampered with.”

  Willa put a hand on his arm.

  He looked down at it, unable to meet her gaze. If he could order the world the way he wanted to, he’d wrap her in cottonwool and keep her far from harm. She would hate it.

  Loving her meant letting her do what she wanted. All he could do was make it as safe as possible for her.

  “Jax, thank you.”

  “I’m doing my job, Willa.”

  Her voice was soft as he turned away. “I know.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  As the helicopter ascended and HQ appeared smaller and smaller, Willa’s mouth dried. Excited and scared in equal parts, she told herself she had chosen to do this, but that didn’t make it easier now they had gained altitude.

  Heart thudding, she clipped on the safety harness and inched forward on her bottom until her legs hung over the open doorway. The helmet was heavy on her head and she felt for the skid with her booted feet. Wind tugged her clothing and blew tendrils of hair across her goggles. The powerful rotors sent vibrations racing through her body, and the air around her seemed alive with their regular thumping, like the heartbeat of a giant beast.

  As she waited for the pilot’s warning, she went over the sequence of movements drilled into her in training undertaken before filming began.

  In all the stunts she’d done, the miniseries was the first chance she’d had to descend from a helicopter. All the training she’d done came down to this moment. She checked her harness again as Doug announced they were in position.

  Taking a deep breath, she signalled the pilot she was ready. “Now or never, Doug.”

  Doug’s voice crackled over her headset as he wished her good luck. “Check. I’ve alerted ground crew we’re in position. Ready in three . . . two . . . one . . . go.”

  Willa shifted her weight carefully onto the landing skid as Pete switched on the motor and her line began to pay out. Letting go of the helicopter took all her self-discipline. It was nothing like launching herself on the zip lines in Kauai, or the flying fox in the Daintree. Not even the hot air balloon flight over the vineyards of the Napa Valley one summer weekend had prepared her for the absolute nothingness around her.

  Here there was only a thin line like an elongated umbilical cord keeping her from plunging to earth. It was heart-stopping.

  It was exhilarating!

  Pitting her physical strength against the rush of wind as her training kicked in, she hung from the rope and scanned the ground for her markers. Every camera was filming, capturing the distance shots of what would be the final scene in a single take. It would make memorable cinema, her descent and the rescue of her lover from behind enemy lines.

  The stunt was difficult, even breaking it into its various components and camera angles. Grabbing a man from a motorbike being driven at speed with the enemy in hot pursuit allowed no margin for error.

  The out of sequence filming meant scenes connecting their raid and camp out with the rescue had yet to be filmed, but all the location shots would be wrapped up by the end of this week. Would that spell the end of Jax’s involvement with the film? If so, would he stick around or be recalled to active duty?

  Concentrate!

  There was the motorbike racing across open ground, red dirt streaming behind. The aerial shots from the helicopter would be spectacular.

  She lined up her markers and calculated the time until she made contact with the bike. The stunt man was experienced and their training had been intense, not unlike Jax’s approach to making earlier scenes perfect. Endless repetitions that would make this the pièce de resistance.

  As she watched, the dirt tail overtook the bike, obscuring the stunt man in a cloud of red. In seconds she was engulfed in choking dust and spinning out of control. Blinded and disorientated in the storm, Willa struggled to breathe in the dust-laden air.

  “Take the slack up, take the slack up!” Muffled by the blood pounding in her ears, Doug’s voice sounded distant and urgent.

  She felt a jerk on the line and then she was spinning above a sea of red that extended in a broad line across the plain to the nearest hills.

  “Willa, aborting mission. Repeat, aborting mission. Prepare to come aboard.”

  Fighting dizziness and clinging to her lifeline, Willa’s only thought was of Jax. Despite his misgivings, he’d done all he could to keep her safe and then given her the greatest gift of all.

  He’d let her go.

  But he’d been right to be concerned. Danger hadn’t come from a stalker, but her inexperience and a willy-willy wind had put her in jeopardy.

  “Grab the skid, Willa.” Pete leaned through the hatch and stretched out a hand to guide her in.

  She latched onto the skid, and forced her shaky legs to stand on the step as she reached for the side handle. Pete attached a blue safety strap, grabbed her elbow and helped her inside. “Got her.”

  She rolled onto her bottom and leaned back on her hands. The floor was gritty on her palms and her legs felt like jelly but she was safe. Willa sat back trying to catch her breath.

  “Heading home.” Outside the air was hazy as Doug turned the helicopter and returned to the landing site.

  As the helicopter touched down, Jax ran, bent low beneath the whump-whump of the rotors. Pete unclipped her safety harness and she launched herself into Jax’s arms. He held her tight and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Right now, she wanted to stay in his embrace forever.

  Leaning back she saw his mouth move but she couldn’t make out the words. He released her and raised his hands to her helmet. She lifted her chin and he unclipped the strap and lifted both helmet and headphones off.

  “Come with me.”

  She heard that, and took his hand. He pulled her beside him, one hand keeping her head down as the rotors slowed. As they cleared the landing pad, Jax stopped. She put both hands on his chest and tipped her head. Beneath her palm, his heart beat hard as though he’d run a marathon and his lips were pressed together.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. It was scary and I felt like a spinning top up there, but I’m fine.”

  He pressed her head into his shoulder and his voice held an undercurrent of fear she’d never thought to hear from Jax. “God, Willa, please never do that to me again. I thought I’d lost you when that wind came through and you disappeared in the dust storm.”

  “You were right. I didn’t know what to do when unusual circumstances arose. Marly would have. Maybe I’ll be a bit more selective about which stunts I do from now on.”

  “That might stop me from going prematurely grey.” He cupped her face and kissed her hard before Brodie and several others reached them.

  “That’s it, keep filming.” Brodie’s direction broke through her happy haze a
nd she dragged her lips from Jax’s mouth.

  A cameraman moved a little closer to her and Jax and she looked directly at his camera. “What are you doing?”

  “Cut. You’ll see, Sweets. By the way, are you okay? You look more than okay but I have to ask after that dramatic moment.” Brodie moved in and gave her a quick hug.

  “She’s fine. Excuse us, but Willa needs a drink and a break.” Jax slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her through the crowd towards HQ.

  He grabbed a couple of water bottles and led her to a corner seat. He set the water on the table, pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. “Babe, I don’t think I can let you go.”

  “Good, because I don’t want to be anywhere else.” She rested her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in the scent of him.

  “Caleb rang while you were airborne. Laurie gave him a full confession.”

  Thankful to hear the attacks were over, Willa lifted her head from his shoulder. “And?”

  “She was working alone. You were half-right about her.” Jax’s lips twitched and his eyes were bright with mischief.

  Suspecting him of having a laugh at her expense, she asked, “Which half?”

  “She started with cutting the strap on the horse to humiliate and embarrass you in front of me and sent the first note.”

  “It’s your fault. I told her there was nothing between us. She expected to have a clear field and then—”

  “Yes, then she arrived to pick you up and found me half-dressed and the situation exploded.” Jax’s smile faded as he shifted Willa off his lap and stood. “Caleb said she’s going to be assessed by a psychiatrist.”

  “Poor Laurie.”

  “She could have killed you.”

  “I don’t think so. She had the opportunity in the shooting scene and she didn’t take it. If she’d wanted to kill me, she wouldn’t have missed.” The thought of Laurie prepared to cause harm because she wanted Jax was both scary and pitiable. Willa clung to her sympathy for the Texan woman; it was preferable to allowing fear of the might-have-been to overwhelm her.

  “You know she’s the top female shooter in her gun club back in the States?”