The Deception

by Chris Taylor

  Savannah nodded. “Yes. I kept you out of it, but as for the rest of it, the public has a right to know, despite what Max says. Anyway, Pete told me the immigration department and the homicide guys are all over it. I assume they’ll be making arrests any day, which makes it even more important we get the scoop.”

  “I know it shouldn’t matter who locks Maranoa up, but I wanted to be the one to nail the asshole for drug dealing. He could do fifteen to twenty years if we found out where he stores the gear.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from, especially after hearing about Cole.”

  “Ever since I transferred to the DEA, I’ve dreamed of being the one to snap the cuffs against that asshole’s wrists. I’ll never know if he was Cole’s supplier, but he and his ilk are all the same. They don’t give a damn about the lives they ruin. It’s all about the dollars.”

  “Unfortunately, you’re right.” She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “I’m sorry about your brother. My brother’s the only family I have left.”

  Will squeezed her hand. “What happened to your parents?”

  She sighed. “They died in a freak accident a little over six years ago.”

  “How did it happen?”

  “They were camping.” A wry smile turned up her lips. “They’d never been camping in their lives, but they both decided it was on their bucket list. They wanted to go and explore the great outdoors. They bought one of those tent trailer things—you know, the ones that fold out from a box trailer?” He nodded and she continued.

  “Mom and Dad were both academics and not at all practical.” She smiled wistfully. “They raised me to be an independent thinker, encouraging me to ask questions and not be content just to accept someone else’s explanation. They gave me a sense of appreciation and awareness of those around me—people who were less fortunate than me, the ones most of us try to forget. They led by example and gave me a social conscience.”

  “I guess that explains your dogged determination to get to the bottom of the brothel story,” he murmured, a rueful smile tugging at his lips. “Even if your research approach was incredibly stupid.”

  She frowned and pushed against his chest. He tried to pull her back into his arms, but she moved away.

  “I’ll have you know, I had everything under control in there. You were the one who decided to take me to one of the bedrooms. I’d planned to finish my dance and disappear the way I’d come, with no one the wiser.” She stared at him defiantly.

  “And what would you have done if some other bloke, infinitely less desirable and understanding than me, had requested your services? Maranoa told me he was interested in having you for a plaything. I bet you didn’t even consider that possibility?”

  Savannah scowled. “Of course I considered it, but I decided the risk didn’t outweigh my need to go there and find out what was happening.”

  “Why didn’t you just call the police? That’s what we’re here for.”

  “You’re right and I thought about it. But by that time I’d met you and I didn’t know where you fit into the whole scene. I thought you were in advertising, remember?” she said, giving him a pointed look and then continued.

  “Once the police were involved, innocent or not, any chance of you staying out of the spotlight would have vanished. I-I didn’t want that on my conscience.”

  The annoyance on his face dissolved. He pulled her unresisting form into the warmth of his chest. “Even then you were looking out for me,” he murmured, nuzzling her hair. “I think you might be a little bit in love with me, Savannah O’Neill.”

  She stared at him. Her heart thudded. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought about her feelings for him. Surely, she didn’t know him well enough to be in love with him? She certainly liked him a good deal. How far she wanted to take that, she had no idea.

  “Hey, don’t look so serious,” Will smiled. “I was joking. Now, tell me what happened with your parents’ camping trip?”

  Shelving the idea of analyzing her feelings for a later time, she continued the story.

  “Right, the camping trip. They were so looking forward to it,” she said. “They’d taken long service leave from their jobs and planned to travel around Australia for a couple of months, stopping at camping grounds along the way. Dylan, my brother, was at boarding school and I was old enough to take care of myself. There was nothing holding them back.”

  She smiled in memory. “I laughed at them when they told me. They didn’t know the first thing about camping. But they didn’t care. They were sure there’d be plenty of people along the way who could help them if they needed it and that was true. They’d call me or send me an email from the middle of nowhere and tell me all about the adventures they were having and all the friendly people they’d met. I was happy for them. They’d worked hard for many years and they deserved to have a break.”

  She sighed. “Everything was fine until they pulled into a camping ground near Alice Springs. They’d been away about three weeks.” Memories came flooding back to her. She paused.

  “It’s okay.” Will rubbed her arm soothingly with the pad of his thumb. “You don’t have to say any more.”

  Savannah blinked back tears and looked up at him. “No, I think I need to. I haven’t spoken about it to anyone since the funeral. Not even to Dylan.” She took a deep breath and continued.

  “The police told me my parents had parked the trailer under a stand of huge gum trees—looking for shade, I guess. Even though it was spring, it was already hot up there. They don’t call it the Red Centre for nothing.”

  She paused and drew in another breath. “A limb fell off one of the trees through the night and hit their trailer. Just like that, they were gone. There’d been no wind, no rain…nothing. A freak accident. That’s what the police said. I’ve since learned you should never park anything under a gum tree. They’re notorious for dropping branches.” They lay in companionable silence. Will was the first one to break it.

  “Tell me about your brother.”

  Savannah sagged against him. Burying her head against the reassuring solidness of his chest, she took comfort from his strength.

  “Dylan’s nineteen. He’s the reason I moved back from Canberra. He-he’s found it hard since Mom and Dad died.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Savannah’s lips compressed and she was flooded with emotion. At last, in halting sentences, she talked to him about her brother and the difficulties he’d faced after their parents’ deaths and the toll it was taking on her.

  “Does he still live with you?”

  “No. He’s been in rehab since we arrived. At least, he was. He—” Her voice hitched. Will tightened his arms around her. She shot him a grateful look.

  “He came by my condo a couple of nights ago and told me he was done with it. He’s checked himself out a month early. The judge spared him a custodial sentence on the proviso he spend a minimum of six months in rehab. I’m so scared he’ll be brought before the courts again and resentenced.”

  Will pulled her closer, his eyes insistent. “It’s not your fault, Savannah. You’re not responsible for him, sweetheart. He’s an adult, now. I know exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve been there, too. As much as both of us might want it to be different, things move beyond our control.”

  “You’re right, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I just hope he hasn’t fallen back in with the men who got him into trouble in the first place.”

  His hand stroked along her arm, providing comfort. “Are there any signs that he has?”

  She thought of the man she’d glimpsed at the Black Opal. She was almost certain it had been Dylan, but something held her back from telling Will. He was a police officer, after all. Her brother was the only blood relative she had left. He deserved a level of loyalty. Will contemplated her, waiting for her to answer.

  “He turned up wearing expensive new clothes and a pair of boots that must have cost five hundred dollars.” S
he shrugged. “He has no money. I’ve been supporting him his entire life. Besides, he’s been living at Dexter House. Where would he come up with the funds for things like that?”

  “Did you talk to him about it?”

  “No. He would have thought I was accusing him of returning to his old ways. It would have caused an ugly scene and, to tell you the truth, I was pleased to see him. It’s been awhile since I visited him. I-I missed him.”

  “You’re too kind to him.”

  “Maybe I am. Maybe I should have been harder on him when he didn’t behave the way he ought. I don’t understand why he seems so intent on destroying himself and causing pain for the one person who loves him. I-I don’t know how to help him.” Her voice broke on the last words. All of a sudden, she felt overwhelmed. Hot tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

  Will hugged her tightly and pressed his lips to the top of her head, murmuring words of comfort against her hair. A long while later, he spoke.

  “The night you saw me getting cozy with Maranoa, I’d just discovered my father was a regular patron of his brothel. In fact, he was there that night, sitting right beside me at the bar.”

  Savannah frowned in thought. “I recall seeing an older man in the vicinity. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize him. I guess my attention was focused elsewhere.”

  Will smiled briefly and then sighed. “I’d never thought about what his life must have been like after Mom died. At the time of her death, I was a self absorbed teenager with troubles of my own. Dad and I have been estranged for years. The other night, he had the opportunity to blow my cover in front of Maranoa and I would have been in a world of hurt, but he didn’t. He played along and Vince was no more the wiser. I went and saw Dad at his office yesterday.”

  Savannah looked up at him in surprise. “How did it go?”

  Will drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding beneath Savannah’s ear.

  “It went surprisingly well. We talked about Mom and Cole and about our relationship—stuff we’d never ever discussed. He told me he was proud of the fact I was a copper. After all these years, it was good to hear it.”

  “Did you talk to him about the Black Opal?”

  “A little. He goes there for the same reasons most men go there—to relax and enjoy the companionship of a woman. I never thought about it before, but he’s right. Mom’s been gone a long time. He hasn’t remarried and apart from the odd eye candy on his arm at social events, he’s never had a girlfriend. He told me he gets lonely.”

  Savannah caressed his cheek tenderly with her fingers. “We all deal with life’s hurdles in our own way. He’s not doing anything illegal. He’s dealing with it the best way he can.”

  “Yeah, I just wish he’d chosen someone else’s brothel to relax in. Why did it have to be Maranoa’s?”

  She had no answer for that and Will didn’t expect one. The rumble from her belly brought a smile to his lips.

  “Is that your subtle way of telling me you’re hungry?” He grinned when she blushed.

  “I haven’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday. I must admit, I’m a bit famished. What time is it anyway?”

  He glanced over at the clock. “Eight-thirty.”

  Savannah sighed. “I’d better call Max and plead illness.”

  “Damn! I nearly forgot!” Will reached for his cell phone on the nightstand.

  “What is it?”

  “I promised a mate of mine we’d go sailing this morning. He’s been doing it tough lately. I thought a day out on the water would take his mind off things.”

  A pang of warmth surged through her at his thoughtfulness. “Please don’t change your plans on my behalf. It sounds like your friend needs you.”

  Will smiled at her tenderly. “Thanks, that’s nice of you. Perhaps we could all go together? There’s plenty of room on the yacht. I’ll call Andy and see if he’s okay with it.”

  Will punched in a number and Savannah reached for the discarded sheet. Tugging it around her, she padded down the hall to the kitchen. She found her handbag on the countertop and quickly left a message with Max’s secretary that she wouldn’t be in.

  Feeling like a naughty schoolgirl playing truant from class, she headed back to the bedroom. Will stood gloriously naked in the doorway which led to the shower. He turned when he saw her. “All good?”

  She nodded.

  He grinned. “Excellent. I spoke to Andy, but he’s come down with a stomach bug. He’s going to give today a miss, so it’s back to just you and me. What do you feel like for breakfast?”

  Savannah deliberately let her gaze drift over his naked form, taking in his smooth, tanned chest, flat stomach and the impressive male length of him which now rested innocently on a thick bed of dark, springy hair.

  Her eyes stayed steadily focused on his cock. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought I was insatiable,” he teased and reached out to her. “Wanna join me?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Friday afternoon

  Savannah and Will spent most of the day getting to know each other. He took her to the marina at Rushcutters Bay and wowed her with his sailing prowess. He told her stories of times before his brother had been born when his father and mother had taken him out on their yacht to while away the hours swimming, fishing and enjoying each other’s company.

  He told her about one occasion when a toddler had stumbled and fallen over the side of a neighboring yacht and how he’d dived into the water to rescue the baby without thought or hesitation. He’d been all of eleven and had been totally embarrassed by the attention his heroic actions had caused.

  She finally clued him in about her age. She could tell he was pleased to discover there were only four years between them. They dropped anchor near Watsons Bay and over a picnic lunch on the deck, he shared stories about his sixteen cousins and their myriad children. The light in his eyes when he spoke about his extended family touched her heart and a pang of sadness surged through her. With the death of his only sibling, it was possible he’d never know the joy of being an uncle to nieces and nephews.

  Just like her. The thought sobered her. If anything ever happened to Dylan, she’d be as alone as Will was. Even more so. At least he still had his father.

  With a determined effort, she pushed away the sad thoughts and vowed to make a bigger effort to set aside her differences with her brother and accept him, warts and all. If he had gotten himself caught up with the likes of Vince Maranoa, she’d do all she could to help him. Surely, he hadn’t been out of rehab long enough to become too involved? She’d prevail upon him to see sense, like she had the last time he’d gone off course and hopefully, he’d return to the hospital.

  She’d accepted that it wasn’t her place to try and change him. He had to walk his own path. All she could do was to be there for him, to help him through the good and the bad, and to love him without reservation.

  Now, as the sun sank in the west, casting a rainbow of red and orange and pink across the water, Savannah closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the headrest of the cane chair on Will’s balcony. Inhaling the scent of the salt water, she listened as it lapped at the shore below.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” she murmured. “I can’t believe I’m only fifteen minutes from the city. It feels like a world away.”

  “You’re right,” Will smiled from his spot in the matching chair opposite. “It does.”

  “I thought my little unit in Waverton was great, but it has nothing on this.” She smiled.

  “Waverton? Do you mean all this time you’ve been living right around the corner?”

  “Yep, at the bottom of Carr Street, near the train line. It’s funny, after awhile, you don’t even hear them as they rattle past. And I do have a great view of the water from my living room window. Not as good as yours,” she grinned wryly, “but it’s pretty nice.”

  “I’d love to see it.”

  She winked at him.
“And so you shall.”

  He smiled back at her. She took a sip from the glass of chilled white wine he’d handed her only minutes earlier and sighed.

  “Today’s been so perfect.” A moment later, she giggled. “I can’t believe I took a sickie.”

  Will shot her a teasing grin. “Yes, it was very naughty of you, Red, but I’m eternally grateful. Who knows? You might even do it for me again.”

  She nodded and then frowned as if giving the idea serious consideration. “I think I could get used to it, especially if you go out of your way to pamper me like you have today, but I doubt Pete will go for it. Or Max, for that matter. I wonder if he ran with my story?” she mused.

  “I remember you said something about Max’s opposition. Was there a possibility that he wouldn’t use it?”

  “Oh, yeah. He and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye on the whole Black Opal thing.”

  Will leaned forward in his seat. “How so?”

  Savannah frowned. “It’s really quite weird.” She took another sip from her glass and proceeded to tell him about Max’s odd reactions.

  “At one stage, he even implied I’d be doing you a favor if I left the Black Opal alone,” she added.

  Will frowned. “Me? What did I have to do with it?”

  “Something about Rutledge advertising dollars,” she replied, embarrassed to admit she’d told Max about her suspicions. To prevent him from questioning her further, she hurriedly continued.

  “It’s not like him to care about whose toes he might tread on. All he used to care about was selling newspapers, but he’s made it more than clear he isn’t going to print any more stories on the Black Opal.”

  Renewed feelings of anger and frustration surged through her. Unable to sit still any longer, she pushed away from her chair and paced the confines of the balcony. After awhile, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Is it just me? What do you think about his behavior?”

  “I think it sounds a little strange, too. Did he say anything about your job still being on the line?”

  “No, it was almost as if he’d forgotten about it and I certainly wasn’t going to raise it.”