by Jane Cousins
There could be almost no doubt now that Berry Malone’s ex-husband had something to do with her shooting. Now it was his job to give her the news of Granger’s escape and question her on where he might go. Who he might try to contact?
“If you’re looking for Berry, she’s in the living room.” Zeke slung his jacket over one arm and let himself out.
Ramsey changed direction, heading towards the living room. He hoped Berry hadn’t gotten out of bed too soon, gunshot wounds could be tricky. And hearing the news he was about to impart wasn't going to help the situation. Hell, it felt like the world was conspiring against him. Despite his thunderous mood Ramsey strode into the living room without making a sound, even so, Berry appeared to be hyper aware of his presence, her head turning instantly to sight his approach.
She looked small, fragile and gorgeous. Reclining on the large sofa dressed in a loose dark red silky pyjama type outfit that perfectly complimented the spill of her dark curls, dusky skin and those flashing decadent chocolate brown eyes of hers. Damn, he should not be thinking about sex when he saw her, or the way the colour of her full mouth matched almost perfectly the colour of her pyjamas. He should be thinking of her as a victim, someone to protect. At least the glaring cream coloured sling around her left arm provided an upfront visible reminder.
“Hey there, how you feeling?” She looked heaps better than she had last night, when he taken the precaution of checking in on her whilst he was on the night shift. Very conscious every time he stole into her room that she might wake up and find him looming over her, but each time finding it harder and harder to leave her side.
Berry fought hard not to roll her eyes, now he cares. She hadn’t laid eyes on him since the shooting. “Good… better.” She shifted and automatically winced. “Well getting there, it still feels…” She hesitated, trying to think of the right words to describe it.
“Numbness and a general heavy feeling, interrupted by the occasional giant wave of jagged pain?”
“Wow.” She chuffed a laugh. “Just how many times have you been shot?”
Ramsey shrugged, sitting down in an armchair diagonal to her position rather than place his back to the balcony windows. “Never, though I have taken a cricket bat to the shoulder and had a couple of knife wounds.”
“Are you just clumsy, or are people out to get you?”
Ramsey shrugged again, wishing he’d never started this conversation. “I’ve primarily worked undercover. It doesn’t pay to be too lucky.” He eyed her, wondering if she understood what he was trying to say.
“Or they start to think you’re too professional or that someone might be protecting you.” Berry grimaced. “But still… a cricket bat?”
“Problem was, they were aiming for my head at the time. I had to think fast and let them hit me somewhere that wasn’t going to cause me permanent damage, almost broke my arm though. You’ll probably feel better the day after tomorrow.”
“I hope so, I just managed a bath today and was as shaky as hell.”
The light in the room had turned a pinkish red as the sun began to set and it took all of Ramsey’s self-control not to blurt out how great she looked right at that moment, even with faint dark circles under her eyes and peeved by pain.
“Is that how you got the scars?” Berry eyed the two white raised lines along the side of his jaw. “Did it happen on the job?”
“Nah.” Ramsey absently rubbed fingers over the stubble across his chin. “Fell out of a tree when I was a kid… twice.” He smiled in memory. “Third time was a charm.”
Damn, she could just imagine him a stubborn youngster determined to achieve his objective but seriously, the man should not smile, it was… sinful. She’d blurted out the first inane question that came to mind. Anything to distract her from the way the darkening fiery sky made his hair look like a glossy touchable dark pelt or the way the khaki shirt he wore clung to his muscular frame, men in uniform... men out of uniform. Whoa, how much of Nell’s tea had she drunk today? She needed to stop this line of thought, concentrate on getting better, find another bolthole, somewhere a good distance from Ramsey Hughes’s large presence.
Ramsey eyed her speculatively, a solid immovable presence. “We need to talk, there’s something…”
“Yes, let’s chat about who would want you dead Hotshot.” Berry was determined to take control of the conversation.
“Me?” Ramsey looked genuinely surprised for a moment.
“Yes. You’re the career cop with a history of putting bad guys away. Bad guys who get out of prison and want revenge on the person who locked them up. Or who have brothers or cousins willing to do their dirty work for them. And let’s not discount the women; girlfriends, wives and Baby-Mamas, who think you did wrong by their man and want you to pay.”
Ramsey blinked slowly as he processed what she said, then he grinned, then he started to laugh. Goddess, it was an attractive sound. Deep, gravelly and sexy. When he laughed it made Berry’s fingers twitch to reach out and touch him. Deliberately she moved her sore arm, welcoming the distracting pain.
“Sorry.” Ramsey’s laughter finally died away. “That’s quite an active imagination you have but it couldn’t have been me the shooter was after. I’ve spent my entire detective career working undercover. Rock solid aliases with an obituary at the end of every case to take care of any loose ends. Me… Ramsey Hughes, barely exists. No permanent home, no family, no entanglements, let alone any enemies.”
Berry bit the inside of her cheek, why did she suddenly feel so sad for him? He didn’t look like he was trying to manipulate her feelings, but then neither had Robert. Although her ex would have followed up a statement like that by giving her the big innocent Bambi eyes, deliberately seeking sympathy. But Ramsey Hughes had shared this personal information with her as if it were no big deal, inconsequential even, that he was all alone in the world.
“You really think it was me they were aiming for?” Disbelief edged her voice.
Berry wondered if she should mention Robert, her ex-husband. No, the man was incarcerated. They hadn’t spoken for over two years. Plus there was no way Robert could blame her for his troubles. He was the one who’d cheated, lied and stolen. Still, she should probably mention him, opening her mouth before abruptly closing it again. Telling Ramsey Hughes about Robert, it would mean plumbing new depths of humiliation and embarrassment. Though on the positive side, there was no better way to drive a man away than admit to having a scum bag felonious ex-husband. So she should definitely tell Ramsey, he was a man of the law, he’d run for the hills. Which is exactly what she wanted, right? So, why wasn’t she opening her mouth and spilling out all the details of her hideous life?
Ramsey held his breath at Berry’s continued silence. She wasn’t going to tell him about her ex-husband? The one major criminal element that stood out like a sore thumb in her past? Did she still have feelings for the man? “What about your ex?” Ramsey forced the words out through gritted teeth.
Berry wanted to groan, he knew? “Robert?” She shook her head. “We’re divorced and he’s in jail.”
“He was in jail. He broke out nine days ago.”
Berry froze for a moment, staring at Ramsey. She could tell by the deadly serious look on his face that he wasn’t joking. Robert had broken out of jail? Robert Granger? The man who called the auto club to change a tire? Who believed dry-cleaning was a right, not a privilege? The man who had a panic attack when he found a small harmless daddy-long legs spider in the shower?
“If you think Robert Granger tried to shoot me, then you are seriously delusional.”
Ramsey’s grey eyes turned dark and flat, the last rays of the sun making it seem as if fire burned in their depths. “You can’t keep protecting him Berry. I understand you still love him but you need to face reality here. He’s not the man you think he is.”
He expected tears. An angry tirade. For her to storm out. What he wasn’t expecting was for her to start laughing so hard she fell off the couc
h.
Chapter Nine
Of course following the laughter, came the tears. Not of hysteria because of Robert, but from Berry having jarred her arm so badly when she hit the carpet. Ouch.
“Sorry.” She apologised to Ramsey for the tenth time, sure the colour in her cheeks had gone fire-engine red with embarrassment, absently rubbing her eyes with the tissues he’d fetched for her. “You just took me by surprise, that’s all.”
Ramsey was seated on the edge of his armchair, eyeing her warily. Trying to understand her reaction and gauge what she might do next.
“Really, I am sorry. It’s just, first you tell me Robert broke out of prison… we’re talking a man who had to be anesthetized to have a splinter removed. But the idea of me still loving him?” Berry chuffed an incredulous laugh and rolled her eyes. “Even so…” She blew out a breath. “As much as I dislike the man I cannot believe for one moment he would track through a forest and be capable of trying to kill me using a gun. I mean, I literally don’t think he would be capable. Robert abhors dirt and nature and Gideon told me about finding the camping ground. Robert does not do the outdoors, or guns for that matter. And there’s absolutely no reason for him to come after me.”
“There were two people at the campsite. Robert’s not here alone. Maybe he told his buddy to off you. A man in prison has a lot of time to think, to dwell. Maybe he snapped and his buddy is doing his bidding. A man will track down his ex-wife for a myriad of reasons, love, revenge, jealousy… money.”
“Oh Goddess.” Berry rolled her eyes. “You read some ridiculous report didn’t you? You think I was in on Robert’s scheme to steal from his clients and helped stash the proceeds away in some overseas account. Please, part of Robert’s ill-gotten gains belong to his mother, and some of it belongs to me! If anything, I should be the one gunning for Robert. Not the other way round.”
Ramsey got to his feet to pull the curtains, hitting a switch to fill the room with soft light before heading in to the kitchen. “You want anything to drink?”
“Coffee would be great.”
“Okay, let’s rule out money for the moment. What about love or revenge?”
Berry shook her head, fighting hard the urge not to issue a snort of derision, grown up remember. “The only things Robert loved were money, gambling and keeping secrets. I was just one more possession for him to trot out at parties and social gatherings.”
“Revenge then.”
“Revenge against what? Because I divorced him? Cut him out of my life? Stole his mother?”
“You stole his mother?” Ramsey rounded the kitchen counter, carrying two mugs.
“Well he didn’t want her anymore obviously. And I didn’t exactly steal… thanks,” she took a mug from him. “I just sort of co-opted her. Neither of us had any place to live after the police came and arrested Robert and confiscated anything that had his name on it… and typical Robert, he’d put his name on everything.”
“Oh.” Ramsey had never thought about what would happen to Robert Granger’s wife and mother after the raid. It wasn’t his job to think about the aftermath, the families or their lives. It was his job to get enough evidence on the bad guys to put them away, pure and simple. Noble sure, but he’d never let himself think about the long ranging consequences of his actions, the wives and kids caught up in the mess. “Look, about Robert. There’s something you need to know…”
“No.” Berry shook her head again. “Whoever is out there, whoever did this, it’s not Robert. He’s a runner, not a fighter… trust me, I have first-hand experience of his weasel ways. He’s a world class pouter, with the ability to send a nun spiralling into a guilt trip with one glance from hurt-filled big blue eyes, but at heart the man is a coward.”
“Yeah, but I…”
“No, new topic.” Berry took a sip of her coffee, her first taste of caffeine since her accident, ah bliss. And she was not going to let Ramsey Hughes ruin the experience by harping on about Robert when it was all too obvious to her, that her ex-husband could not possibly be involved in her shooting. It just wasn’t in his nature.
Ramsey bit back an annoyed sigh. Bloody hell, he was sure Robert Granger was somehow behind the shooting. Him and at least one of his prison escapee cohorts. They’d somehow made it over the border into Queensland and were after Berry Malone for some as yet unknown reason. It was frustrating that she couldn’t see that or let him confess his personal history with Granger … damn.
Fine, Berry would be able to deny the truth only for so long. Mac McKenzie had tracked down the store a few towns down the coast where the tent and sleeping bag had been stolen from, and was following up with them trying to get a copy of the store’s security tapes.
Cam McKenzie was putting together dossiers on the other three escapees still at large; maybe if they could discover who Granger had partnered up with, they could work out his motives for turning up here. Which might then help them determine why two trails led away from the camping site, one towards Reverie Valley, the other towards Hidden Cove.
“Okay, if you don’t want to talk about your ex-husband, then what do you want to talk about?” He inhaled half his coffee, suddenly weary to the bone, this was the first time he’d sat and relaxed in two days.
“How about this apartment of yours. It’s nice but a little sterile, don’t you think?”
Ramsey eyed the room. The lights worked and the furniture was comfortable, more than a lot of dives he’d been forced to live in undercover had been able to boast. “It came furnished, part of the employment package.” Okay yes, the walls were a little bare. He frowned, thinking about Berry’s place. “If you want, I could send Maureen by your place to get a few of those mask things and some knick-knacks?”
Berry shuddered. “Goddess, no thanks. You do know I’m house sitting that place for my… relatives, don’t you? Those death masks on the walls gave me nightmares for the first few weeks I was living there.”
Ramsey smiled. “You too? I thought it was just me, the way they seemed to be laughing at me.”
“Mocking death.” Berry nodded, scrunching up her nose. “Hideous things. But you should check out the galleries in Reverie Valley or the Saturday market, you might find something suitable there that will help brighten up this place.”
“Quite frankly, as long as the bed is soft and there’s a working toilet, my needs are more than met.”
“Men.” Berry rolled her eyes, clutching her tummy as her stomach gurgled rather loudly.
“You hungry? Let me see what’s in the fridge.” Ramsey rose to his feet, unfolding with animal grace.
“I guess I must be. Anything but soup, I am so sick of soup.” Berry got to her feet slowly, her head didn’t spin and her legs weren’t trembling, maybe she could do this. Walking over to the wide kitchen bench that separated the kitchen from the living room she planted her rear on a cushy barstool, glad she’d made the effort as from her new position she had a first class seat to witness Ramsey bent over, rummaging in his fridge. Goddess, the man had a nice butt, firm and compact. “Problem?” He seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time.
“Not really, it’s just I seem to have a lot of mystery dishes in here.” He straightened up, holding a white dish in one hand and a ruby red one in the other.
“Looks like the relatives have descended. You definitely don’t want to chance the red one.”
Ramsey frowned down. “Why, it looks good?”
“I’ve warned you about taking food from Aunt Margot haven’t I? You really need to trust me on this one.” Heaven knows what spell Margot had added to her ravioli. All three Great-Great-Aunts were clearly plotting something, perhaps payback for their speeding fines. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
“Okay, the mystery white one it is.” Ramsey read the accompanying instructions before placing it in the oven. “Twenty minutes. In the meantime…” He produced a small bowl of olives, “… munch on these. I’m just going to change out of my uniform.”
She watched him disappear, enjoying the view of him walking away far too much. For a woman who had sworn off men she was sure doing a lot of window shopping this evening. Seriously, what was up with her libido? She couldn’t remember her hormones reacting like this since… well, ever. Just because Ramsey Hughes was ruggedly gorgeous and muscular with a sly sense of humour, a devastating sexy grin and a tight ass, did not mean she had to fall at his feet, like no doubt countless of police groupies had done in the past. She was an intelligent, independent woman who did not need or want a man in her life. I am woman, hear me roar.
Of course, that was the moment Ramsey chose to reappear. He’d obviously taken a few minutes to grab a quick shower before changing in to jeans and a white t-shirt. His damp hair was slicked back from his face and there were wet spots on his t-shirt, causing the fabric to cling to his skin. Damn and double damn the man. So much for I am woman, hear me roar. More like I am gobsmacked, watch me drool.
She bit her lip to keep from whimpering, his feet were bare… why did she suddenly find that so Goddess darn sexy? And was that a tattoo? She could just see the edge of it below the sleeve of his t-shirt, if only he would take it off, she could get a better look. Whoa, what the hell was she thinking? Down that pathway lay madness and messy, messy entanglements with the male of the species.
“I need a drink.” She announced, trying not to wince at the breathiness of her tone.
“Should you? You’re still on pain pills aren’t you.”
“Nell prescribed me some new ones this morning when she came by to give me the sling, very mild, very natural.”
“Okay.” Ramsey found glasses and a bottle of red, holding it up for her approval.
Berry nodded, honestly she couldn’t care less about the label. Though even with her first sip she knew the vintage was good and worth savouring rather than gulping, damn, she forced herself to behave like a normal rational human being and take a second small sip.