He scanned the carpark for his ute. Kim had found the key in Zamira’s jacket, which had been left on the boat, and had dropped it off earlier so they could get home. Zamira yawned as she got into the car.
“Why don’t you nap on the way home?” His heart squeezed. She’d changed his place from a house into a real home since she’d been there.
She smiled. “You don’t mind?”
He shook his head. It would give him time to get his head together.
It didn’t take long for her breathing to become regular and he concentrated on the road, battling his fatigue. Finally he turned into his drive and his stomach twisted at the burnt remains of his shed. The double doors were wide open revealing the blackened interior, charred wood, ash and water. The roof had a hole in the centre where the flames had burnt it out. It would take some work to fix it.
After the arson investigator went through, Jeremy would see just how much work. He didn’t want to mess with any evidence. The longer Henk and his gang stayed behind bars the better. He got out of the car and helped Zamira out.
“I’m so sorry about your shed,” she said.
He shrugged. “I can buy new stuff.”
She gasped, her hand covering her mouth. “What happened to Fetch?”
“Mai took him home with her after they finished mopping up the fire. He’s apparently terrorising her cat, Calypso.”
She chuckled.
He wrapped his arm around Zamira’s waist, needing to hold her, to reassure himself she was fine. They walked inside. “Do you need any more pain killers?” he asked as he switched on the kettle.
She shook her head. “What I need is you.” She hugged him. “I want to forget about everything that’s happened, forget about going home on Sunday and just be with you.”
He ached. Only three more nights.
It wouldn’t be fair to ask her to stay. Her life was in Melbourne. He bent down and kissed her, savouring the taste of her lips.
Mindful of her gunshot wound, he slid his hands down her side and pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. She fit so perfectly against him. He didn’t want to let her go.
The kettle boiled and he stepped back, swallowing down the words he wanted to say. “Do you want a cuppa?”
“I’m still exhausted. I need sleep more than anything.” She held out her hand. “Will you join me?”
That sounded perfect. He slid his hand into hers and they walked down the corridor to his bedroom. Slowly he helped her undress and she climbed into bed, her short, dark hair like a halo on the pillow.
He got in next to her, pulled her close, and she nestled her head against his chest. This was where she belonged. He squeezed his eyes shut as the pain in his heart increased. He wanted her to stay, wanted her to be part of his life.
“Sweet dreams,” she said, a smile in her voice.
“I love you.” Jeremy’s heart stopped as the words slipped out of his mouth and Zamira’s body tensed. Idiot!
Zamira tilted her head up, her eyes wide. “What did you say?”
He gritted his teeth, what else sounded similar? Fuck it. It was out now. He shrugged his shoulders. “I love you.”
She sat up, pursed her lips, studying him.
His face heated. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say it. It kinda slipped out. I know you’re going home on Sunday…” He shifted on to his elbow.
She put a finger on his mouth to stop him speaking. “Did you mean it?”
He nodded, ran his hand through his beard, his chest tight. Like he’d say something like that as a joke.
Her smile lit up her face. She placed her hand on his cheek, brushed her lips against his. “I love you, too.”
Hope speared through him, but he controlled it. “You don’t have to say it back.”
She laughed, rolled her eyes at him and kissed him hard. “It’s true. I’ve been miserable about the thought of leaving.” She kissed him again. “Franklin said there’s a job with the Task Force over here… I could move, I just need to find a place to stay…”
He ran his hand through her hair, pulled her closer, touched his forehead to hers. Joy filled him. “Move in with me. Please. When you went missing, and then when you fell off the trawler…” He huffed out a breath. “I’ve never been so scared. I want you with me.”
Her smile widened. “OK.” She kissed him again.
Was it that simple? His heart swelled. He would never get enough of her kisses, of her. His mind raced. He could make space in his wardrobe — hell, she could have a whole spare room if she needed it for her things. “I’ll finish my office.” Except he had no equipment anymore. His spirits fell. It would take time to replace everything that was destroyed.
She laughed and his spirits lifted again. “Hey, there’s no rush. We’ll work it out.” She squeezed his hand. “Besides we need to rebuild your shed first. I’ll help if you can teach me what to do.”
The thought of having Zamira with him while he rebuilt, teaching her, sharing his life, filled him with such incredible joy. “I can do that.”
Whatever life threw at them, they would get through it together.
Epilogue
It had been fourteen days since Jeremy had last seen Zamira in the flesh and fourteen very lonely nights. His weekend trip to Melbourne to meet her parents was far too long ago and Skype calls weren’t quite the same. He smirked. Though some had been very entertaining. He tapped his foot on the ground while he waited at the gates of the airport for her to disembark.
People walked past and he stood straight, scanning the faces, waiting to see the one who brought so much light into his life.
Why were there so many people on this damned flight?
He waited, and he waited and then finally he saw her beautiful face. His spirits lifted and he pushed past people and picked her up, spinning her around.
Zamira squealed. “Put me down!”
He lowered her to the ground, keeping her body pressed against him. “I missed you.” He kissed her and she pulled him closer, kissing him back, one leg wrapping around his. He groaned.
“Get a room,” someone yelled.
That was a very good idea. He wanted to bury himself inside her and never let her go.
He broke the kiss and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”
Zamira laughed. “I need to get my bag.”
Right. Of course. He’d helped her pack up her apartment and the things she’d wanted to keep were already on their way, being shipped across the country, but she needed clothes in the meantime.
They walked over to the carousel hand in hand. “What colour is your bag?”
“Red.”
He scanned the baggage claim but there were no red bags. He stepped in front of her, kissing her. “It’s not here. You might have to go naked.”
Her tongue teased him and he went hard as jarrah wood. As she went to pull away, he held her in place. “Give me a minute,” he murmured. Now he wished he hadn’t arranged what he had at his house.
She glanced down and grinned. “Oh look, there’s my bag.”
“Minx.” He breathed out, doing his thirteen times table and then let her go. “Which one?”
He picked it up and together they went out to his ute. “Mum and Dad dropped me at the airport,” Zamira said. “They’ve accepted my move. It helped that you charmed them so completely when you came over.”
He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
She frowned. “What for?”
“For moving here for me. I know it’s going to be hard at first and I know what you’ve given up for me.” No one had ever done anything like that for him before.
“Jeremy, I’m happy. I can’t wait to start my new job and get to know all your friends.”
That was going to happen sooner than she thought. He drove out of Albany Airport and towards Blackbridge.
In what seemed like no time, he turned into his driveway and swallowed his smile at all the cars in front of his house.
“What’s going
on?”
He parked and got Zamira’s case out. He took her hand. “Shall we go and see?”
They walked inside to find a huge WELCOME TO BLACKBRIDGE sign hung along one of the walls in the living area and his friends standing underneath it. Mai and Nicholas, Kim, Jamie, Adam, Elijah, as well as Fleur and Will, Kit and Lincoln, Hannah and Ryan. Even Moira and Ollie had made it. Mai stepped forward. “We wanted to be the first to welcome you to Blackbridge.” She smiled at Zamira.
Zamira brought a hand up to her mouth, her eyes glistening. “Thank you.” She glanced up at him. “Did you know about this?”
He smiled. “I wanted you to feel at home here.”
She kissed him hard. “Anywhere you are is home to me.”
His heart squeezed. He felt the same way.
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the book. It would be super awesome if you could leave a review wherever you bought it, because I love to hear what you thought of the story.
If you’ve only just discovered the coastal town of Blackbridge, make sure you check out the earlier Blackbridge Series.
If you’d like to read some of my other series, you can get a selection of free books by joining my reader group.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks as always must go to the people who helped me research this book. Derek Stone from the Denmark Marine Rescue was kind enough to show me around their base and answer a bunch of questions, Matt Hartfield and the Water Police answered policing questions for me, and Rania answered my Muslim queries.
A huge thank you to my production team: Ida from Amygdala Design for the cover, Ann Harth for the structural edits and Teena Raffa-Mulligan for the copyedits.
Shield
First Response #2
His life is in danger. But the only man who can protect him is afraid to go public…
Blackbridge, Western Australia. Jamie Zanetti holds his secret close to his chest. Fearing that coming out as bisexual will ruin his small-town teaching career, he represses desires he’d rather explore. But when his handsome high-school crush Elijah returns and joins him in the volunteer emergency service, the attraction may be too much to resist.
Elijah Johnson knows where his heart lies. And after eight years of soul-searching across Europe, he’s finally ready to settle down with Mr. Right. But Elijah refuses to have a clandestine relationship, no matter how delicious Jamie’s lips feel.
While they’re thrown together in dramatic rescues, Jamie is torn apart as he fights to hide his growing feelings. But the truth might be the only thing that saves them both when Elijah stumbles upon a sinister local crime ring…
Can Jamie and Elijah expose a deadly gang of thieves and move their love into the open?
Shield is the second standalone novel in the page-turning First Response romantic suspense series. If you like deep characters, sweet attractions, and thrilling emergencies, then you’ll adore Claire Boston’s captivating story.
Buy Shield to bring passion to the rescue today!
Continue reading for a sneak peek of Shield.
Chapter 1
Jamie Zanetti scanned the bush for signs of the missing boy.
To his left, other State Emergency Service volunteers called Noah’s name, their bright orange clothes visible through the straggly gum trees. To his right was more bush. His black steel-capped boots crunched over the damp native grasses.
How far could a four-year-old walk in a few hours? They didn’t have enough volunteers to cover the whole national park. The winery had disappeared from sight a long time ago and he couldn’t even hear the sound of cars along the highway. At least the ground was relatively flat and it was too cold for the dugites and tiger snakes to be active. The sun sank closer to the horizon, the temperature dropping. It would be dark soon and that would be terrifying for a young kid. Thick grey clouds threatened to make the day even more miserable by dropping rain.
Christ, he hoped they found Noah soon—alive.
Jamie had been back in Blackbridge for six months, and in that time he’d been on far too many searches for missing people. Sometimes they found them alive with only minor injuries, sometimes they didn’t. But this time it was a kid. Jamie visualised the photo they’d been shown—wide brown eyes and a cheeky grin. Noah had been wearing a green rain jacket and black jeans, so would blend with the surrounding bush.
Jamie cupped his hands around his mouth. “Noah!” He waited. Only the echo of other searchers calling the boy.
Jamie moved more to the right, still able to see his fellow volunteer, Elijah Johnson, but widening the area of the search. If he were four, what would he do?
He sighed. As soon as he realised he was lost, he would have sat down and waited for someone to find him. His parents had drilled that into him. But that had been after he’d decided to visit his friend Kit by himself. Kit had a new puppy and he’d wanted to play with it.
Jamie glanced around. What would have caught Noah’s attention? Had he followed something—a bird or a kangaroo? Yeah, he could imagine him running into the bush after an interesting animal, especially because the child was English. Most of Australia’s animals would be unusual to him. Perhaps he’d wandered further and further away until he’d lost sight of whatever he was following and then realised he didn’t know his way back.
“Noah!”
A sound. A sob?
Jamie froze, straining to hear. “Noah, is that you?” He stepped towards the noise.
A quiet cough, or maybe a hiccough reached him.
Jamie’s heart raced as he yelled to Elijah, “Over here.” He strode towards the sound. “Wave your arms for me, Noah, so I can find you.”
The boy wailed and Jamie pinpointed him sitting next to a tree, his cheeks tear- and dirt-streaked. Relief made him dizzy. “I’ve found him!” He crashed through the bush. As he reached the boy, his ankle rolled on a rock and he dropped to his knees, pain coursing through him.
Shit.
Noah recoiled.
Jamie gritted back the pain and smiled at the sobbing young boy. “Hey, kiddo. My name’s Jamie. I’m with the SES. We’ve been searching for you.”
“I want my Dad!” The boy shook, hugging himself.
Jamie glanced up. The other volunteers were coming. “He’s on his way. He’s been so worried about you.”
Noah bit his lip. “Am I in trouble?”
“Nah. Your parents will be happy to have you back.”
Footsteps as Elijah approached. Jamie squeezed the boy’s hand and then other members of the Blackbridge SES converged on them. Elijah’s wide smile made Jamie’s heart stutter. “Hey, Noah. Glad we found you.”
Their section leader, Morgan spoke into his radio. “We’ve found him.”
“Noah!” The frantic call of the boy’s father as he pushed through the volunteers.
“Dad!” Noah flung himself at his father who picked him up and held him tight, his eyes closed.
“You’re all right.” The man’s voice shook. “Are you hurt?” He examined his son and then hugged him again. “You scared me to death. Don’t ever do that again.”
The boy buried his head into his father’s shoulder and mumbled sorry amidst his cries.
Jamie’s heart clenched and he blinked his watery eyes. Reunions like this were the best possible outcome. He swallowed hard and quietly cleared his throat. Elijah squeezed his shoulder and smiled. No judgement.
“It’s OK. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” The father dried Noah’s tears and kissed his cheek. “Why did you wander off?”
“I saw a kangaroo.”
His father sighed and glanced at Jamie. “Thank you. Thank all of you.”
Morgan nodded. “We’re glad he’s safe. Let’s get him back to the winery. There’s an ambulance there to check him.” He led the way.
Jamie rotated his ankle and hissed at the fresh pain shooting up his leg. Damn it.
“Need help?” Elijah held out his hand.
They wore identica
l orange uniforms, but somehow, Elijah wore his with style. His French-tucked shirt drew Jamie’s eye to his belt and made him imagine what lay beneath it. He met Elijah’s deep green eyes, and hesitated. He’d been avoiding Elijah since he’d moved back, fighting his attraction. But who was he kidding? If he could choose anyone to rescue him, it would be Elijah. “I twisted my ankle.”
Concern crossed Elijah’s face and he squatted. “How bad is it?”
“Not sure if I can put any weight on it.”
Elijah clucked his tongue and examined Jamie’s foot, his touch light. “All right, honey. Let’s get your shoe off and then I can help you back.” He worked quickly on the laces of Jamie’s boot and gently pulled it off.
Jamie gritted his teeth at the pain.
Elijah called to one of the other volunteers, holding up the boot. “Can you carry this?”
“What happened?” Brenton asked.
“Twisted it,” Jamie said, taking hold of Elijah’s hand and bracing his good foot on the ground as Elijah lifted him. Fresh-smelling aftershave tickled Jamie’s nose and the firm arm around Jamie’s waist revealed the strength below Elijah’s slim build. A bolt of desire replaced Jamie’s pain.
“I’ll tell Siobhan.” Brenton walked off. Jamie barely heard him.
Giving in to his attraction to Elijah would complicate his life and the very thought of it made his throat tighten and his pulse race. He swallowed. Don’t think about it. He had to get back and have his ankle assessed.
Elijah tucked his shoulder under Jamie’s arm, his head so close. “Is this all right?”
It was too nice. Jamie nodded, unable to stop his quick smile in response.
“OK, hop with me.”
Jamie was forced to use Elijah’s strong body as a crutch, leaning on him every time he hopped. It wasn’t how Jamie had imagined having Elijah’s body rubbing against his.
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