Starting Over (New Beginnings #1)

by Gillian Joy

  The officer came back towards the car and stopped again at the window.

  "Sir, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, there seems to be an issue with the machine. Would you please accompany me to the patrol car where a blow machine is located?"

  "Can't you use the other one?" Mark asked gesturing towards the car behind them.

  "Unfortunately, it seems to be playing up too, either that or both yourself and the driver behind us have an alcohol level of almost fifty percent, and I don't think either of you would be breathing if that was the case." He said with a slightly nervous chuckle.

  "Well then officer, under the circumstance, I think you should assume that we're fine and let us go."

  "I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to insist."

  "Listen officer. I am a barrister with Storm and Masters and I'm pretty sure you don't want a law suit on your hands."

  "With all due respect sir, as a barrister, I'm sure you realise it's illegal to refuse a breath test, so unless you want me to arrest you, please take two minutes to accompany me to the car so we can do this."

  Mark shook his head as he opened the car door. Ash heard all the doors unlock when he did and figured her chance was upon her.

  Mark reached over and grabbed her head and pulled her towards him, kissing her on the cheek as he whispered into her ear, "If you do anything at all, I will kill him." then added loudly, "I'll be right back baby." He pushed the door open fully and stepped out of the car and allowed himself to be directed towards the patrol car.

  Ash watched in anticipation as the officer led Mark away. She knew if she wanted to run, now was the time to do so but she couldn't, in good conscience, allow the officer to be hurt because of her actions, so instead she sat there and watched. She couldn't keep the tears back, and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking but she sat there anyway. The driver's window was still open so she could hear the conversation as they walked away from the car. She heard Mark threatening the officer with harassment, before she saw the officer pull out his weapon and point it at her ex-husband.

  "Mark Cross, turn around and put your hands on the bonnet of the car. You're under arrest."

  ****

  Ash struggled to concentrate as the next few minutes unfolded. There was a lot of screaming as her door was yanked open and she got pulled roughly from the car, but not before she heard the gunshots and saw the friendly young police officer go down. She was thrown to the ground as additional shots were fired and a large body lay across on top of her. She tasted dirt as her cheek was ground into the rough bitumen on the side of the road. She couldn't see anything anymore, she couldn't hear anything over the ringing in her ears and she felt sick with the pain exploding in her cheek. Her heart was pounding as she thought about the poor police officer she was sure had been shot.

  The weight on top of her lifted and she was gently picked up from the dirt by strong arms. The comparative quiet after the echoing gunshots was unbearable.

  "I'm so sorry ma'am, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

  Ash looked up into dark brown eyes and shook her head.

  "It's okay." She mumbled.

  "We knew he was armed. I didn't want you getting shot." He explained.

  "Thank you," Ash said, "The other officer?" She choked out, "he got shot." She said shakily.

  "He did," he confirmed and she started sobbing.

  "Hey, he'll be okay though. He is wearing a vest." He opened his shirt and showed her the hidden Kevlar. "We all are."

  "H-h-how did you know." She stammered.

  "Your daughter told us. She's back at the station now. Both the girls are, along with your other body guard."

  Ash started to hyperventilate as tears of relief rolled down her cheeks.

  "Hey, hey, calm down. It's okay." The brown eyed giant said. He was unsure what to do with the near hysterical woman when Jamie came up and wrapped her arms around her.

  "Ash are you okay?" She asked gently, stroking her back. "The girls are fine, they're at the police station with Lydia, and if Connor’s not already there, then he'll be there shortly. Everything is okay."

  Ash nodded. "Mark?" She asked.

  "He's dead Ash. The police shot him. They went to arrest him and he pulled the gun and shot at them, they fired back. I doubt he survived."

  Ash felt sick, but she realised she felt sick because she felt relief. She knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn't feel glad that her ex-husband was dead, and she had no idea what she was supposed to tell Sarah and Beth, but she felt such a strong sense of relief that it made her feel sick. She turned away from Jamie and vomited.

  ****

  Everything after that was a blur as she listened to multiple sirens get louder as they got closer. She was ushered over to one of the ambulances to be checked by a paramedic. Although she was declared well enough physically, with only a few scrapes and bruises that needed tending, they refused to let her leave until she went back to the hospital to be checked properly by a doctor. The wounded police officer was taken away for observation as well, and even though Ash had been assured he would be fine, she was still worried about him. Eventually, she was bundled into the back of the ambulance. She tried to fight them on it, but Officer Callum explained that if she went quietly, he'd call the station and let them know to send Connor and the girls to meet her there, otherwise she might have to wait around for hours while they collected evidence before he would be able to spare someone to take her back to the station to meet up with them. Ash thought he was probably just full of it; she was pretty sure if she refused to go back to the hospital they would transfer her back to the police station quickly to get her out of the way. But she eventually determined it would be easier to cooperate and get checked out properly.

  ****

  Chapter 28

  Connor was sitting in the waiting area at the Wallan police station. Sarah was sitting beside him and Beth was beside her. Hayden was sitting beside Beth so the two girls were between them with Lydia was sitting on his other side. Liam was on his way to pick her up, nobody was saying much, the girls were eating chips that Connor had grabbed out of the vending machine and he and Lydia were drinking coffees that the receptionist had offered them when they had shown up. Hayden was drinking a coke; which Beth was sipping out of as quickly as she could. They were all well aware that Ash really wouldn't he happy about that, but nobody cared enough to do or say anything. Sarah took the bottle when her sister was done and did the same.

  Officer Callum arrived shortly after Connor, and had left again just as quickly. He didn't even update Connor as to what was happening; Connor had been busy with the girls though. They had rushed him as soon as he walked in; running straight up to him, both of them crying their little hearts out. Lydia hadn't left their sides since she jumped out at the service centre, and even when he showed up she still stuck to them like glue.

  "Mr Maise?" The receptionist called to him.

  He looked up in reply.

  "Senior Sergeant Callum called in. Apparently, they've caught Mr Cross. Mrs Cross is en-route back to Craigieburn hospital if you want to meet them there."

  "Is she okay?" He asked.

  "I'm sorry, I've got no idea; I am passing on the message I was given…”

  "Well what happened, who can tell me what's going on?"

  "Mr Maise, I'm sorry, but the best thing you can do is go to the hospital. You can see Mrs Cross there and I’m sure there will be an officer who can answer all your questions. All the answers at the moment are still out on the highway.”

  Hayden, coming up behind him, placed his hand on his shoulder.

  "Come on, let's get to the hospital."

  Connor nodded and then looked at Lydia.

  "Go, I'll wait for Liam and then we'll meet you at the hospital after."

  "Are you okay?" Connor asked.

  "I'll be fine! Go!"

  Connor grabbed Sarah as Hayden grabbed up Beth and they raced back out to the car, and to the hospital.
/>   "Is Mummy okay?" Beth asked.

  "We're going to find out Sweetie. Let's go and find her and see how she is."

  "Do you know the way to the hospital?" Hayden asked.

  "No idea! Can you look it up?"

  "On it now."

  ****

  Ash was beyond frustrated, lying in the hospital bed. Having come in by ambulance, from the scene of a shooting, the doctors weren't taking any chances, and she hadn't had to wait in emergency for a bed at all, she'd been admitted straight away. It seemed the officer who had knocked her to the ground when the shooting started had told the paramedics that she may have hit her head when she hit the ground, and the lacerations on her face didn't help her claim that she hadn't. In essence, they wouldn't let her up and she had left her phone back in the car, so she couldn't call Connor. She was stuck waiting. She had tried to find out the condition of the officer who had been shot, but no one was telling her anything. Admittedly, she had only been there about half an hour, but she was fed up with being ignored. She pushed her head back into the pillow and squeezed her eyes closed in frustration.

  She heard the whispering in the room before she realised anyone was there.

  "Shhh! Don't wake her up if she's sleeping."

  "Can I climb into the bed beside her then, and give her cuddles?"

  "That would wake her."

  Ash couldn't help but smile at the conversation, and feeling incredibly better already, she slowly opened her eyes.

  "She's not asleep." Beth yelled as she raced over to the bed. Ash leant over and gave her a hug and a kiss, then turned her attention to Sarah as she came up beside her. Both the girls climbed up on the bed beside her and Connor walked around to the other side while Hayden hung back beside the door. Connor looked at Ash's face and she saw his gentle shake of the head.

  "What happened to your face Mummy?" Beth asked.

  "We got to ride in a police car." Sarah added.

  "Why did you leave us?" Beth continued.

  "Connor came and got us at the police station." Sarah said.

  "Lydia bought us ice creams."

  "Are we still going to Movie World?"

  She laughed at them and tried to answer as best she could right up till the last question.

  "Where's Daddy?" Beth asked.

  That one stopped her; she had no idea how to answer that yet. She noticed Connor gesture to Hayden as she stammered over trying to find the right words, and Hayden came to her rescue.

  "How about we go and find the cafe and see if we can't get some milkshakes?" he said, coming up beside the girls and placing a gentle hand on each of their shoulders. He knew they'd already had ice creams and coke but it had been a really stressful day.

  "Yeah."

  "Yes please. Are you coming too Mummy?" Sarah asked.

  "Mummy has to stay in bed for a little while longer yet. I'll stay here and keep her company, but maybe you can bring back some chocolate for later." Connor explained.

  "Yeah."

  "Let's go."

  Ash gave them each a hug and a kiss before they headed off with Hayden.

  Connor waited until the door closed behind them before he reached out and gently touched her cheek just under the worst of the grazes. Then he lent down and even more gently brushed his lips across hers.

  "Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled back.

  Ash just nodded.

  "Jesus Ash!" He ran his fingers back through his hair before dragging his hand down the back of his head and around his neck and back across his face.

  "What happened?" He eventually asked.

  "What have they told you?"

  "Not a bloody thing, apart from that I needed to get here to see you. Callum wasn't even back when I left."

  "He was still there when I left." Ash said.

  "What happened?" Connor asked again.

  "Where do I need to begin?" Ash asked.

  "I'd like to hear it from the beginning, but I don't think we've got that long. How did you get away from him? And where is he now so I can go and kick the living shit out of him. Is he here somewhere?"

  Ash shook her head. "Not unless they've got a morgue."

  "Oh no! Hell Ash, are you okay? What the hell happened? I'm so sorry." Connor didn't know what she might be feeling at that news.

  "It's not even remotely your fault Connor. We got pulled up for a breath test, which apparently wasn't a breath test. He had the gun, and when they made him get out, he shot the officer. I think he was going to shoot me, but the officer on my side of the car pulled me out and threw me to the ground. That's how I ended up with all these grazes on my face."

  Connor sat watching her. He reached out when the tears started.

  "Oh Babe, I'm so sorry, it must be so hard to lose somebody you were with for so long." He said squeezing her fingers gently.

  "No Connor, that's not the problem at all. I'm trying to find some remorse, somewhere about him being dead, but I just can't find it. I really don't care, except for the fact that I have to figure out how to tell the girls, and how to tell his parents."

  "Well that's understandable too, especially after everything he did to you. There must be a real sense of relief. So why are you so upset then?"

  "No one will tell me what happened to the officer who was shot. They told me he was wearing a bullet proof vest, and that he wasn't killed, but they won't tell me how he is. He got shot for me, I need to know if he's alright." She replied while still crying.

  "I can assure you he'll be fine Ash. I'll pass on your concern though." Officer Callum answered as he entered the room. "How are you feeling though? I heard you took a bit of a knock to the head."

  "I really didn't." Ash claimed. "I did get knocked to the ground, but I didn't hit my head. Mark caused more damage than the officer did."

  Connor cringed at the words.

  "I'll need a full statement about what happened if you're up for it."

  "Can't it wait till she's out of hospital at least?" Connor asked in frustration.

  "It can. But it'll be a lot better if we can do it now; the sooner the better, while it's all still fresh in your mind."

  "It's fine Connor." Ash said, nodding.

  Tyson nodded as well and pulled out a small microphone.

  "Can I stay?" Connor asked.

  "Provided you don't say anything, or interrupt."

  "Not a problem."

  "So, simply start at the beginning Ash."

  "From when he called me? Or from when I got in the car?"

  "From the first contact."

  Ash nodded "Okay, he called me at work...." she started.

  Connor sat listening in rapt attention as she told her story; he didn't interrupt, even though he really wanted clarification on a few things. He even managed not to punch anything, even though he really desperately wanted to on quite a few occasions. Deb showed up at the door about half an hour into Ash's story, so Connor ran out briefly and told her what was happening. He sent her off to find Hayden and the girls and told her he'd come out and find them all when Ash was finished.

  ****

  Tyson was pleased with Ash's story. Well, pleased probably wasn't quite the right word, he would have preferred it if she had never gotten into the car with Mark Cross to begin with, and he told her that. In turn she told him that there was no way on earth she was going to leave her girls alone with the man, never in a pink fit would she have not gone with him while he had the girls.

  But ultimately, even though there was going to be an investigation into Mark Cross's death, he was confident there would be no negative repercussions from the shooting. They would all be cleared of any wrongdoing.

  "Thank you Ms Cross. I'm going to go and see Constable Mitcham now. Do you want me to pass on any message?"

  Ash looked at him blankly.

  "The officer who was shot." he clarified.

  "Oh, yes please." she said. "Can you tell him how sorry I am, but also how thankful I am. I'd probably be dead now if not for him
."

  "I'll be in touch. You'll probably be called on to testify at the inquest hearing."

  Ash nodded and Tyson left the room.

  "I'll go and let the others know they can come back now. I'm sure the girls are anxious to see you." Connor said as soon as he’d gone.

  "Connor, Thank you, so much, for everything. I'm so glad you're here for me and the girls."

  "I wouldn't have had it any other way baby," he said. He kissed her on the forehead and then went in search of the coffee shop where he was pretty sure Hayden and Deb would be hiding out with the girls.

  ****

  "Is she okay?" Deb asked as soon as Connor walked into the Cafe.

  He nodded in reply; despite the fact that he wasn't at all sure she was going to be okay. Physically, yes she would be fine, but mentally he was sure the scars would run deep for a long time.

  "Let's get your Mum a real cup of coffee and go back and see her shall we?" he asked the girls.

  "Yeah." they replied in unison.

  ****

  The room was quite crowded with everyone in it; well quite didn't really cut it, it was very crowded. It was only a small hospital room and with Connor, Hayden and Deb, as well as Beth and Sarah who sat on the edges of the bed, it was over capacity. Connor sat in the chair beside the bed and Hayden and Deb stood to the sides. The doctor was scuttling about as well, checking Ash's blood pressure, reflexes, looking into her eyes and a few other minor routine tests.

  "Well Ms Cross, I have to say, unless you have any issues or concerns I can't see any reason why you can't go home tonight. You're not showing any signs of concussion, and that was our major concern, and I assume you won't be going home alone, so if you want I'll get the discharge paperwork started."

  "That would be fantastic," Ash replied while smiling up at Connor. "I really would like to get home."

  Connor knew she didn't want to be there any longer than she had to, and he didn't blame her, but he wanted to make sure she was going to be safe.

  "Are you sure she's okay?" he asked, ignoring Ash's glare.

  "Are you her husband? Wait. I know you. You sing that song... Umm... She's Forever, right?"