Kennedy slid the van door open, hopped out and turned to help Ella.
She left the blanket behind and jumped down beside him. Before she could step aside to give the people behind her room, Kennedy’s big hand was on her shoulder steering her away. Just before she went through the door, she managed a brief glance back to see the people getting out of the van. They still had their masks on, looked so big and forbidding in their cargo pants, shirts and bullet proof vests. One of them was shorter than the others, smaller in build, and she sensed it was a woman.
Kennedy led Ella down a wide corridor. The floors were industrial-grade lino, the walls a stark pale grey. Several doors opened off to each side. Turning into one door, he led her through into the room beyond.
It had simple furnishings - a two-seater sofa, two armchairs, low coffee table with a couple of magazines and a crossword book on it, a cabinet with a clock above it, and a big TV mounted on the wall.
“Sit here.” He pointed to the sofa. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Alone in the room, Ella looked around. There was nothing on the walls indicating this was a police building. The van hadn’t any signage on it. The people didn’t have any kind of police insignia. Were they a secret cover op? In fact, why hadn’t they stayed at the scene?
Perched on the edge of the sofa, she was still mulling this over when Kennedy appeared with a hot mug of Milo.
As he handed it to her, he bent and studied her face. “How you doing?”
“A little rattled,” she replied truthfully. “But I’m okay.”
He nodded. “Good.” Straightening, he touched the communicator in his ear. “She’s safe at base. No injuries visible. Worried about you.” Another nod. “I’ll tell her.”
“Ryan?” Ella held her breath.
For the first time, Kennedy smiled. “He said he’ll come as soon as he can. Meanwhile, if you want to sleep I can take you to a bunk.”
Relief poured through her. “I’m fine. I don’t think I can sleep.”
“Hungry?”
“I eat now and I just might chunder.”
“Understood.” He stepped back. “I’m going to fetch my laptop, do some work while we wait. There’s some magazines on the table or you can watch TV.” He left the room.
Doubtful she’d even take in whatever was on the TV or in the magazines, but sitting and staring at the wall would drive her nuts. Kennedy was going to work on a laptop and she didn’t want to disturb him, so she picked up a magazine and settled in the corner of the sofa, sipping on the Milo carefully as her hands still trembled.
Returning, Kennedy dropped into an armchair and opened the laptop. Within minutes he was typing.
Gradually the shaking eased away, her heart resuming its normal rate. Oddly enough, his solid presence and the sound of the keys clicking lightly were comforting.
She was flicking through a third magazine as she checked her wrist watch for the umpteenth time.
“Ella.”
Finally - finally - she heard the voice she was aching to hear, and she was out of the sofa fast, the magazine dropping to the floor. Whirling, she saw Ryan entering the room and she leaped forward.
He caught her in his arms, hugged her close as she clung to him. The scent of smoke was strong but she didn’t care. All she knew was that he was here, was safe. Ryan bent down and she was able to bury her face in his neck, breathe in his scent beneath the lingering acrid smell of smoke.
And then tears threatened.
“Ella mine,” he said softly.
“I was so worried. Damn it, Ryan!”
“I’m fine, Ella.”
“You didn’t get burnt or shot?”
“No.”
“Aaron?” She clenched the back of his shirt tight in her fists.
“He’s fine, too.” Ryan rocked her gently. “We’re all fine.”
“Okay.” Leaning against him, she sniffled. “Sorry. Bloody stupid.”
“It’s all good.”
“You’re not the one blubbering.”
He laughed softly, a low chuckle.
That on its own was reassuring. It made her able to swallow down the lump in her throat and pull back enough to smile up at him.
Ryan smiled slightly in return before switching his attention to where Kennedy was closing the laptop. “Thanks for looking after my Ella.”
“No worries.” He gave a salute and started for the door.
“Wait. Kennedy, wait.” Ella pulled away from Ryan, his arms releasing her.
Stopping, the big guard turned to look down at her as she approached. His expression was definitely astonished when she hugged him. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” He awkwardly patted her shoulder.
Going up on tip-toe, she crooked a finger at him, almost laughing when he shot Ryan a look over her head. Was that a touch of wariness in his eyes? Not used to being thanked, or worried about Ryan’s reaction?
Ella kissed Kennedy’s cheek. “I won’t forget it. What you did, helping save my life.”
“Yeah.” Another awkward pat from a big hand. “No worries.”
She stepped back, smiling at his slightly flustered expression.
Striding forward, Ryan reached out to grip Kennedy’s hand. Neither of them said anything, just looked at each other, nodded and gave each other’s hand a squeeze, the muscles in their biceps bulging with equal strength, and then Kennedy took his leave.
Men. Ella shook her head. Can’t even say what they feel.
Turning back around, Ryan gathered her into his arms, kissed her long and deep.
Mind you, she thought in a delicious haze, sometimes actions are better than words.
Lifting his lips from hers, he regarded her lovingly. “Ella mine.”
“Mmmm.” She nestled into him, resting her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear.
They stood like that for several minutes, Ella drawing strength from him, Ryan supporting her while resting his chin atop her head.
As nice as it was, though, there were still questions, and they surfaced as her inner peace was restored. “Are you going to tell me now what happened?”
“Yes.” He guided her back to the sofa, sat her down before sitting on the coffee table directly across from her.
As he shifted closer, his muscular thighs bracketed her softer ones. Resting his elbows on his knees, he took her hands in a firm grip while regarding her steadily.
A sudden horrible thought hit her. “Rose-”
“Is safe,” he said. “Let’s get that perfectly clear now.”
“Okay.” She relaxed a little. “Tell me what’s going on. Is this to do with the case?”
“In a nutshell, the case has broken. Felicity, Rose’s live-in bodyguard, called to say that the feds have cracked the underage sex ring. They’ve got names and are moving in on suspects before they go to ground. That newspaper article was enough to send out a warning, but with the evidence they’ve collected thanks to you and Rose, people are being arrested and desperate people will be ready to make deals to save their own arses. This ring is going to fall apart. As we speak, feds are raiding the houses of every name on the list. The criminals are scattered over Melbourne and, from the sounds of it, a couple of other places including Sydney. It’s wide-spread and bigger than anyone thought.”
“What about the judge’s house?” Ella asked worriedly. “What about Rose?”
“Felicity moved her to a safe house already. She won’t be anywhere near the raids, and will stay at the safe house until this case is over.” His gaze remained steady, though his hands tightened fractionally, his thumbs running over the backs of her hands. “She was lucky. You not so much.”
Ella stared blankly for a few seconds, then realisation hit hard. “You mean this attack on the service station was…?”
“Aimed at you.”
“But how did you know in time?”
“Control Centre rang to say a prowler was at your house. That
was too much of a coincidence for me.”
“Houses get prowlers often,” she pointed out.
“They do. But my inner radar was pinging, I knew something was off.”
“Really?” Equal parts curious and fascinated, she eyed him. “You could just feel that something wasn’t right?”
“You don’t make the kind of living I did without developing a strong sixth sense and gut instinct.” He shrugged it away. “Anyway, Kennedy felt something off as well, noticed a sedan go past the service station twice, and he was moving in to get you out even as we were coming. The rest you know.”
“Yeah. Well, kind of. Are you sure those men were linked to this ring?”
“No doubt about it. The survivor was pretty quick to talk after some persuasion.”
“Wait a minute.” She looked at him. “Survivor? There were two men, and you and Aaron shot them.”
“Those two are dead.” Not one hint of emotion crossed his face or reflected in his voice. “The survivor was one that Aaron knocked out before he got to the second man.” He stopped, waited for her reaction.
Waited so calmly, but watchful, gauging her response.
Hell with it, this wasn’t the time to tiptoe around. “He was going to kill us all. Kill you. Burn us alive if the car didn’t hit us first.” Ella’s lips pursed. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m sorry they’re dead.”
“They were never going to hurt you, Ella. I wouldn’t allow it.” That flash of cruelty flickered in his eyes, the ruthlessness filtering through the room, the danger that seemed to dance behind him rising up. “No bargain plea for the two who tried to kill you, first by car and then by fire. No mercy.”
She instantly knew what he was doing, laying it down flat for her, putting all the ugliness on the table between them. Getting it out into the open that he hadn’t hesitated to kill for her.
Ruthless. Merciless. Dangerous. Ryan was all three. But with her he was gentle - firm at times, yes, but gentle. Caring. Loved her. It was there to see behind the unfathomable depths of his brown eyes, his hands that cradled hers, his lips that kissed her so tenderly. The faith he had in her to not hide who he was, what he did, and why.
It might have scared her - once.
“I’m not happy you killed for me,” she replied candidly, “but I understand.”
He squeezed her hands.
“Because if I had to face a choice between you or them, I wouldn’t hesitate. It’d be you all the way.”
His eyes softened, the cruelty buried beneath her words even though the grimness stayed.
As he continued speaking, his hands released hers to shackle her wrists lightly before he slowly smoothed his palms up and down her forearms. She doubted he even realised what he was doing, but she drew comfort from it nevertheless.
“The prowler Paul caught was turned over to Edward, as was the service station survivor. They were keen to talk after a little persuasion.”
From the look in Ryan’s eyes, Ella had a pretty fair idea what the persuasion consisted of, and who had done it. Personally, she thought getting the information any way they could was worth the end result. “Did they tell where the girls are kept? If any still live?”
“Some. The rest of it needs to be gotten from those higher up the hierarchy. These men were low on the rung. They killed some of the girls, buried them. But not all. This ring is operating in several states. But now it’s been blown open, people will make deals and the remaining girls will be found. All we can hope for is that they’re found in time.”
Ella’s heart fell. “You mean they could be killed now.”
“It’s not unlikely, but the hope, the plan, is that by rounding everyone up at the same time that the girls will be recovered alive.” Ryan’s eyes were hard again. “They’ve also got the names of the girls just starting to get sucked into this, those fortunate enough to still be at home, and they’re being brought into the police stations now to be questioned about the places they went to join in this far-reaching club. They have valuable information and the AFP will get that information. Once those girls realise they were destined for a shallow grave in some Godforsaken place in the bush, they’ll talk.”
Ella shivered at the thought of lonely graves amongst silent, dark trees and scrub. The last resting places of girls easily seduced by older men with charm and money. It wasn’t just girls from poor, broken or troubled families, but those from good families could also be seduced. It was a dangerous world for those too quick to trust, too quick to fall in love or infatuation, easily seduced by charm, wit, riches and suave experience.
Ryan resumed talking. “The judge had his daughter watched for fear a ring member he’d had words with might attempt something with her in revenge. When two of the club members got caught, he started to wonder if it was a coincidence. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together. He knew his daughter had met with you several times, and both times it wasn’t long after that two of the ring members fell. When word hit the newspapers about the suspected underage sex ring, he decided to take out anyone who could be a leak. You were the prime suspect because he recognised you, re-read your case, and realised that the first two to fall were part of your rigged trial. And there you were talking to his daughter, who had mentioned the similarities of her necklace to a dead girl.”
Shit, and all this time she’d thought she’d flown under the radar.
Ryan correctly interpreted her expression. “It’s a dangerous game you and Rose were playing, Ella. You’re lucky the feds got involved when they did.”
“You mean you and the feds.” Ella sighed. “Poor Rose. Was she also targeted?”
“No one is sure how far the judge was prepared to go to cover his tracks. Maybe Rose was in his sights, maybe not. But the feds have him now and they’ll get the truth from him. As it stands, Rose is safe.”
God, she could only imagine how her friend must feel. “Can I talk to her?”
“Not just yet. Not until the feds have everyone in custody and the case tightly sewn up.” Noticing her crestfallen face, he added, “We can get a message to Rose for you. She’ll know you’re thinking of her, asking after her.”
“Okay.” Ella took a deep breath. “So what now?”
“I wish I could take you home right now, but unfortunately that’s not be for awhile yet. I’m taking you to Edward at the AFP building where you need to give a statement and also, and I’m sorry to have to say this, you need to look at the bodies and see if you recognise them.”
She swallowed.
“I’ll be with you, Ella mine.” Ryan leaned closer, eyes steady, his presence so calming, reassuring. “Every step of the way.”
“Okay.”
“Aaron will meet us there.”
Heart heavy with dread, she nodded. This wasn’t something she wanted to do. Right now all she wanted was to crawl into Ryan’s bed, into his arms, be cradled against him in the safety and privacy of their home. With Boof at their feet, the fountain tinkling in the courtyard and - her head jerked in alarm. “Boof! Would they have hurt Boof? Oh geez, Ryan-”
“Boof’s fine,” he interrupted before she could go into a blind panic. “He was sitting in the window when Grant checked around the perimeter of the house. Everything is safe, Boof is safe.”
“Thank God.” Her shoulders slumped in relief. “I know to most people he’s just a cat, but he’s…you know, mine. Ours.”
“I know.” For the first time a hint of a smile crossed his face as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re more upset about the cat than your own brush with death.”
“Boof is defenceless and innocent.” That made perfect sense to her. “And you should have seen me when Kennedy got me into the van. I was shaking like a leaf and I thought my heart was going to pound right out of my chest. Nothing brave about that.”
“Ella mine, you are braver than you give yourself credit.”
“You and Kennedy a
re the brave ones. You both saved my life.”
Drawing her forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Um…that van of people.”
He didn’t reply.
“The ones in all that dark blue and vests, with guns and ski masks. They weren’t police, were they?”
His expression remained stoic.
“Are they part of Wells Security?”
“They’re a specialised group.”
It was obvious he wasn’t going to expand on that. Ella wasn’t an idiot, certainly not about to push for more information. If she was meant to know Ryan would tell her, that he didn’t meant it was something Wells Security didn’t advertise. She’d respect that.
“Okay, I won’t say another word to anyone about them. Though maybe,” she added impishly, “I should have pumped Kennedy for information while he was still a little flustered from my gratitude.”
“Trust me, he wouldn’t have said a word.” Ryan’s eyes narrowed suddenly. “Which reminds me, back at the service station when I explicitly told you both to run, did I see you struggling with him?”
“Ah…” She blinked innocently. “No.”
“You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you, Ella mine?”
“Okay, maybe I kind of was worried about you, and wanted him to help you instead.” She smiled winningly. “But, you know, I did obey.” His eyes continued to bore into her. “In the end.”
“In the end,” he echoed with deceptive softness that had her hairs springing to attention on her arms.
Uh oh. She bit her lip.
“Did I not tell you to do what he said? To obey orders?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“Exactly that.”
Unable to hold that hard gaze anymore, she glanced away, cleared her throat, peeked back. “I admit I panicked.” Suddenly irritated at his lack of understanding, she scowled. “Damn it, Ryan, I was so bloody scared you’d die, that I’d lose you again! Can you blame me for not wanting to leave you?” She pushed to her feet. “Damn, man, if the positions had been reversed, you wouldn’t have left me!”
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