After two hours, Lucky had crawled up and gone to sleep in my lap. Connor, Max, and myself were playing a silly game to waste the time. It was called Windmill, every time a windmill went by, we got the opportunity to punch a victim of our choice, the catch was it was only rewarded to the first one who yelled out the word. Connor was going to have a black arm tomorrow, poor boy.
We stopped at the halfway point to eat and go to the toilet. It was getting dark, I clung to Nate’s side like a bad smell. I waited just outside the toilet for him very impatiently, some teenagers were at the same Servo and found my behavior amusing;
“Just go in there with him, freak,” said some ugly chick with a face full of piercings. Her tone was heavily sarcastic and mocked me to me core.
“Ha ha, hey, Allie, what a loser,” said one of her friends.
I didn’t take to name calling in the best of situations, especially when it was directed at me, and I was being called a freak by people who were far from perfect themselves. I took one step towards them. Terror seized up all of my muscles, and images of Bernie’s face came into my head as she smashed my head into the ground. Her hard, cold features had burned into my mind that afternoon and harassed me since. I wanted to smack this teen in the face and tell her to wake up, but after my own experience, my subconscious mind commanded me otherwise.
“You heard what Nate said in the car, he warned you to behave.” Connor had seen me take one step toward these youths but hadn’t noticed the faltering stop. He read this situation wrong, I hope Nate didn’t make that same mistake, I didn’t wish to piss him off.
I turned my body away from the teens and waited for Nate, the insults from these kids didn’t stop and I was powerless to make them.
Nate came out from the bathroom, took one look at the situation, and led me back to the car. Connor was still inside the shop.
“Are you okay?” asked Nate.
“Apart from being the biggest pussy ever, I’m fine.”
“I didn’t see what happened but I heard enough. What you did was significant out there, you walked away from a fight.”
“No, Nate, I choked big time.”
I walked away from Nate and hopped into the other side of the car. I jerked my seat belt out and did it up. I oozed attitude, not the smart ass kind but the do not talk to me kind. I’m sulking. The rest of the boys got into the car and we travelled the last leg of the trip in one go.
It was nearly ten o’clock when we arrived at the house. Nate had given me the plans thoroughly the last half hour of the trip. He didn’t trust me to not go all GI Jane on this guy’s ass; I was given the task of escorting Naomi to the police station while Nate changed all of the locks and dumped the guy’s belongings into the gutter. The last part was my idea. Nate thought it was a disgusting thing to do. I argued saying it was my personal contribution. Connor had spoken up and suggested he would do it, Nate’s idea of him staying in the car wasn’t going down well.
I texted Naomi as we came into town, asking her where she was at the moment and where her boyfriend was. She was sitting on the lounge watching TV next to her boyfriend. He had passed out a while ago. Naomi was too afraid to move. I asked her to keep an eye out for us and to come to the front door when I knocked softly.
Nate got out of the car with a new lock set and tools he had purchased at a supermarket megastore as we came into town. I knocked on the door, anxiety echoed through my body. I was worried who would answer the door. To my relief, Naomi opened the door and stepped into my arms, a bounty of tears willingly tumbled from her eyes. My own recent experience sympathized with this distressed woman, a few of my own tears fell from my eyes and mixed with Naomi’s.
Taking control of the situation, I pulled Naomi from the front steps towards the car door, which Connor held open. Max had moved to the driver’s seat. We sat in the back together. We shared our tears, developing a simple bond.
I tried to ignore the ecstatic movement from Connor as he made his way towards the house, I hope I wasn’t creating a deviant. His sudden interest in my cases was a little worrisome, but I would be gone in a day and his involvement would then be cut short.
Naomi gave us clear directions to the police station. We were met by a very pretty police officer who introduced herself as Constable McLennan. The officer wanted to go into an interview room to take a statement, Naomi insisted that I come along. As the statement developed, a series of questions were asked to gain a better history surrounding her boyfriend Joshua. The story developed more and soon a clear picture of this abusive man was established. Constable McLennan was a very kind and caring young woman, I could tell she was passionate about her profession, but she kept looking at me in a very puzzled way.
The statement took over an hour and then the police officer insisted that Naomi visit the emergency department to take a rape kit and check her out for any injuries that could have been sustained to the pregnancy. She was particularly worried about the baby. I love officer McLennan. I would be writing a full letter of recommendation when I got home.
Max and myself followed the police car to the hospital. The emergency room was empty and Naomi was seen straightaway. The three of us waited just outside the small cubicle which housed Naomi and the doctor. I tried to ignore the intense stare from Constable McLennan her curious looks kept coming, they were making me a little uncomfortable.
McLennan kicked herself off the wall and made her way over to me. “Can I speak to you outside?”
This lady’s eyes were kind and caring and didn’t lead me to believe that she wished to harm me. I nodded my head but looked at Max first. He didn’t seem worried at all, I took that as another good sign.
We walked outside the emergency department’s automatic door. I followed her to a dark corner. I felt uncomfortable standing in this poorly lit spot, at any moment she could cuff me and ring for backup. Not wasting any time, she threw herself at me in an unexpected way, her small arms went around my shoulders and she embraced me tightly in a hug. I stood there with my hands at my sides, very confused. This officer was crying all over my shoulder and dampening my clothes. I didn’t move until she did;
“You don’t recognize me—, of course you wouldn’t,” said McLennan.
“Umm, no, can you give me a clue?”
“Nineteen years ago you came and saved my mother, older sister, and myself from my drug addict stepfather. He had nearly killed my mother the night you turned up and took us all away. You made sure he never found us ever again.”
Now I remembered the little kid she used to be, her brown eyes had looked at me pleadingly for help when I stormed into the house to save them all. Back then this little girl had so much courage and life for such a tiny child. Pride heated up my heart and forced my arms to go around her, returning the hug this time.
“Look at you now, Carrie, I’m so proud of you.” Her name returned to me as soon as the story had; I should have recognized her, she had only gotten taller and prettier since then.
“Yes, but I don’t understand. You look exactly the same and nearly twenty years have passed—you still look like a teenager.”
I didn’t know how I was going to explain this one, that’s why I traveled quite far from previous places I had lived and gave myself a full makeover. Except the long straight blonde hair and thick bang I sported these days were identical to what I looked like twenty years ago. The many different lies came to my mind but I couldn’t think of one that would get me out of this, I was sick of lying.
“I’m an angel, Carrie, and I assist women who need my help.”
A loud gasp escaped from Carrie’s lips; she looked at me and tried to take this all in. I could see she wasn’t scared at all, only shocked by my words. She reached out and gripped my hand. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Are there others like you?”
“Yes, my friend Max—he’s very special, and there are others who do some truly magical things, but they are hidden very well.”
We stayed in the same place while w
e chatted. I told Carrie about some of my previous cases, leaving out the bad parts. She was intrigued and wanted to help, she was an active member of a domestic violence support group. I assured her it was too dangerous. I didn’t have the heart tell her this was my last case and that I would be, in fact, running for my life in a few days. She had me on this pedestal and I didn’t want to tarnish that image by my cowardly actions.
We went back inside and joined Max., Carrie kept on looking at him. She found his gifts very delightful and offered him a job if he ever needed it—unpaid, of course. His gifts would be exactly what a group of hers needed to overcome the pain and anguish they had suffered. Max was about to refuse when I interrupted.
“Max, I think you should really think about this. It’s a great opportunity and sounds like a safe one.”
Max looked back at me and understood the meaning behind my words. We didn’t have a place for him on the trip Nate and I were taking. Max had never been a real target and Bernie had shown no interest in killing him, the opportunity had presented itself many times and she didn’t act on it. At least if he moved here near Carrie, if any more hunters came, he would be protected.
“I’ll certainly think about it.” He nodded his head to Carrie.
“Please do so.”
Naomi had finally finished with the doctors—they had poked and prodded her and performed an ultrasound. There was good news, to end this horrible ordeal, the 20 week foetus was healthy and Carrie found out it was a girl. Smiles and congratulations came from us all. We bid our farewell to Carrie and were heading back; I hadn’t told her about Nate tying up the loose ends at Carrie’ house.
Nate had sent me a message about an hour ago to let me know that he had removed Joshua from Naomi’s house and placed him on the lounge at his own house. Joshua wouldn’t understand how he had got home but would put it together in his head that he had been drinking and must have driven himself home.
This trip had re-affirmed my calling in life and intensified the passion that I held closely in my heart. The plea of battered women was a fight that I would continue to pursue till the day I die, no one, especially Bernie, was going to take that away from me. I had to thank Nate for suggesting this trip. I was still scared shitless of Bernie, but with Nate by my side, we could accomplish wonderful things together. Now I had to convince him to help.
Chapter Thirty-One
Nate
I had done the right thing when I witnessed the woman we had come to help. She was a slight women with a very round tummy. I wasn’t sure about dates and stuff, but it was irrelevant. No woman should have to put up with being treated like this, especially one who was expecting.
Indy had taken her to the police station; meanwhile Connor and I were left here to do the real work. I had bought a full deadbolt kit, window locks, and a power drill. Together Connor and I were going to make this house the safe haven Naomi deserved and one she could feel secure in.
This wasn’t a very new home and had a lot of windows, but I’m sure we had enough locks to go around. We were going to make light work of this, but first I needed to move this guy. He was passed out on the lounge and I wanted him out of here now. It was easy to see how Indy got so angry when she was brought into these situations.
I leaned over and slung this guy onto my back. He didn’t make too much noise, only the usual grunts and groans. Connor had found his car keys and had the engine started up. I threw him in the back and directed Connor where to go from the directions scribbled down on the paper Naomi had left.
We made it to his house. I went to grab him from the backseat when he started to open up his eyes. I had to think fast. If I had been Indy, I would have given him a hard punch in the head, however I had more self-control than that. I reached across him and grabbed his wrist, applying pressure in a circular motion. This would only take a few minutes till he was sleeping peacefully.
Connor had the front door opened and was waiting for me inside the house. Not being too careful, I dragged the guy out of the car and carried him inside. Indy had told me his name but I had forgotten it already. I really should have known this dude’s name seeing as I was throwing him around his living room. We wasted no time and left; he was snoring heavy. It didn’t look like he’d be waking up any time soon. Good. The longer we could keep him away from Naomi, the better.
We drove back to the house and started work straightaway. I handed a pencil to Connor and he began stencilling out the drill holes. I followed closely behind with the drill in hand. Some of the screens had been ripped off outside the house. I felt the need to put them back and make the house more presentable. Once all the windows were finished, we got started on the front door. I unscrewed the old lock and put the brand new deadbolt in place. Connor was working on the screen door, the locking mechanism wasn’t working properly. After a quick jimmying he got it to lock and unlock with the key. We were nearly finished. Indy had sent a message to say they were now going to the hospital. Connor was scouting the house for men’s clothing; he had a garbage bag a quarter full and a lot of hygiene products which were getting tossed into the bag, also.
I didn’t approve of involving Connor in the situation… it wasn’t supposed to be the plan, but we couldn’t leave him at home. Max, on the other hand, had gifts that would become very handy if Naomi was severely emotional, but Connor offered nothing but company; that alone wasn’t worth his life. None of this was worth risking our lives for but it did feel good.
Indy returned. Max was helping Naomi out of the car and inside. Indy was beaming in joy, she looked absolutely stunning in the moonlight. This mood pouring from Indy was a big change to the one she’d carried with her the last few days. I think we made a very good team. Indy stopped in front of me, I was blocking the doorway.
“You look a lot happier now, Indy.”
With no warning, Indy walked up to me and put her arms around me. She kissed my cheek and hugged me some more. A warm glow spread in my heart alongside a new emotion I had never associated with Indy before: hope. Hope that one day she could feel something other than friendship.
I held Indy in my arms for far too long, my body was starting to have a mind of its own. I wriggled free and had to put some distance between us, otherwise my erection would freak her. Even in the darkest light, I swore I could see Indy’s face flush. Her cheeks had become a lovely crimson. I didn’t move fast enough. I didn’t know who was more embarrassed, Indy or I.
We made our way inside the house. I ran through the simple procedure of locking and unlocking windows and the basics of the deadbolts. It was easy but I didn’t want to leave without making sure this mom-to-be was fully prepared. We had to pull ourselves away from Naomi, even as late as it was she was such a great personality to be around. In no time I was sure she would find a new man, one who would treat her right. On the way out the door, Naomi tried to give us some money for all of our trouble. We all refused to take anything from her. Now she was on her own, she needed every single penny she could find.
We all piled into the car, this time the seating arrangement changed. Indy insisted on sitting up front next to me. She had argued about car sickness and kangaroos on the road at night, true if we hit a big buck at 100km it would rip the front end of the car apart and could possibly kill Connor. I actually wasn’t sure if I was that sturdy myself.
The boys in the back were sleeping within the first hour of our trip; Lucky was on Max’s lap. Indy was wide awake with her eyes darting across the road. We had gone bush now and the wildlife at night was scary. A few times I was having to slow down and let animals cross the road, luckily we both had sharp eyes to spot the roos as they approached the road. What were these dumb animals thinking?
“Nate?” Indy turned towards me and softly spoke my name. I darted my eyes to her for a second to let her know I was listening.
“Thank you so much for allowing us to do this tonight. It means so much to me, you have no idea.”
“I didn’t do it just for you, Indy. N
aomi did need a hero and I can understand at times people like her need help. But your methods can be a little too harsh at times.”
“If we get through this, would you like to be my partner in crime?” Indy reached across the car and grasped my hand, threading her fingers in between my own. I couldn’t believe this moment was happening. I looked up into the rearview mirror and noticed that Connor was awake. My heart felt heavy. I had won the girl but could lose a mate. I stared at Connor while he stared back. He nodded his head and gave me a small smile. I could not just believe he had respectfully bowed out, handing me the girl.
Driving home was a little hard because I didn’t want to let go of Indy’s hand. Manuals were tricky enough without having to worry about an extra hand in the way, but it was so worth it. We stopped halfway to fill up and eat. I was really hungry and this one had a truck stop with cooked meals. The cook was a middle-aged retired road train driver. We were the only ones in the station and ended up sitting with the cook once our meals were finished. He was a nice bloke who talked a little too much but it was good after the long night we had.
I didn’t want to drag the night out much longer. I hustled the others back into the car so we could get home. I was pretty beat and wanted to have a full conversation either tonight or in the morning with Indy. I wanted to see what exactly this holding hands business meant.
As I drove into Blayney, everyone in the car was asleep. I tenderly rubbed Indy’s legs, waking her up, then she woke up everyone else. We stumbled inside the house. I quickly scanned the bottom floor, finding nothing out of place. Max, Connor, and Indy climbed the stairs to their rooms as I went to mine. That talk with Indy was going to wait till tomorrow.
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