by Maggie Mundy
“I’m amazed. You mean there’s a woman out there who’s prepared to put up with you for more than a one-night stand?”
“I know. It has surprised me as well. I haven’t said anything yet, but it’s serious.”
“So, when are we going to meet her?”
That was a whole different ball game. Brett hadn’t even told her himself that he had fallen for her. Sure, he’d said he liked Autumn but he wanted her permanently in his life. As soon as he got back, he would say something—even if she hadn’t said she was ready for anything that serious.
His brother went inside and Brett tried calling Autumn again but there was still no answer. He was sleeping on his brother’s couch and if Mum was okay, he would be heading home tomorrow.
Brett tried calling again in the morning and still no answer. He would contact Dorothy and see if Autumn had lost her phone or something.
“Hi, Dorothy. Brett here. I’ve been trying to connect with Autumn but she’s not answering her phone. I was wondering if you could pop over and check if she is okay.”
“Of course I will, dear. She did stop in yesterday morning. We had some fool revving his car and driving up and down the street like a madman. Then she had rocks thrown at her front door. Shook her up a bit, it did.”
Brett’s chest tightened at the thought of something happening to Autumn. “I didn’t know. When she texted me yesterday, she didn’t mention it?”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll check and call you back.”
They felt like the longest five minutes of his life. What on earth was going on? The street was so quiet and they never had anyone bothering them. His gut told him the car and the rocks had to be connected.
His phone rang.
“Brett. The front door was ajar and she isn’t home. There is glass and furniture broken around the place. There is also what looks like blood on the carpet, too. I went in the bedroom and found her cell phone. I’ve called the police and they’re on their way now.”
Brett’s gut clenched as fear wafted over him. Something had happened to Autumn and he needed to be there. He would search every square inch of the Blue Mountains to find her if he had to.
“I’ll talk to my brother and head back straight away. Keep me posted. It will take about ten hours.”
Brett thought he should tell her family but Autumn had never given him her parents’ number. The only other people who were that close to her were Simon and Bridget so he called them. He had to talk to someone or he would go mad with worry.
Simon answered, “Hi, Brett. You okay? I had a call from Autumn yesterday saying Jonathan had been around. Is she alright?”
“No. Something has happened. I’m in Melbourne with family but going to drive back. There has been a break-in and she’s missing. The place was smashed up and there’s blood. Our neighbor, Dorothy, called the cops.”
“Okay. I’ll book a flight and get there as soon as I can. Trust me, Brett. She’s tough. She’ll be okay.”
“She has to be. I don’t think I could cope if she isn’t. I should have been there.”
“You were with your family. You couldn’t have known something was going to happen.”
“I’ll keep you updated and let me know when your flight arrives. Could you let her parents know? I don’t want them to find out on the television.”
“I’ll handle them. You go and find our girl.”
Brett told his brother what was happening and got Bluey to jump on the back of the pickup. He couldn’t be in Melbourne while she was in danger.
Four hours later and he was making good timing, only stopping for coffee and toilet breaks. He would call Dorothy again soon if he didn’t hear anything. She had sent him a text saying the police had been. He wanted to know what they had found.
His cell phone started to ring and he pulled over onto the side of the road. It was Dorothy and he prayed she had good news.
“The police think they know who has taken her. I had written down the number plates of the car that had been revving and it seems it was a hire car. They checked with the company and found out who had borrowed it. The man is called Kevin Patterson and he is on holiday here from England. He gave the company a fake address though. The police asked me if I thought Autumn knew him.”
“Autumn mentioned the name Kevin to me. It was the man who stalked her after her accident. I’m making good time but if you can let the police know, they may be able to check with the UK police.”
Brett sent a text to Simon.
Brett: It seems the person who has taken her is possibly the stalker from London.
Brett kept driving but eventually a reply came through.
Simon: What the hell—how did he find her? I always felt bad I wasn’t there for her then. I arrive tomorrow night. At airport waiting to board now.
He didn’t know what Simon could do but Brett was glad he was on his way.
Brett wanted to kill the man who had taken Autumn. The fact there was blood in the house meant she might be hurt already. He had to believe she was going to be okay because he needed to tell her he loved her. Dorothy sent a text to say the police were looking into the UK connection.
The day wore on into evening and he kept driving. At one point, he felt as if he was going to drive off the road, and pulled over to have a quick nap. Not long later he was on his way again. He sent a message to Dorothy to say he would be back between nine and ten.
He stopped to eat and bought Bluey a tin of dog food and let him have a bit of a runaround. Brett ate the burger but it sat like a stone in his stomach. How could he be sitting here eating if she was in trouble, or worse? Bluey was next to him and put his head on his lap. His dog glanced up with soulful eyes.
“I know, boy. I’ve been a fool but we’re not going to lose her. When we find her, we are going to hold her tight and not let go.” He finished his food and they headed off again. He was on the home stretch. A couple more hours and they would be there.
The sight of Autumn’s car parked out the front of the cottage seemed so wrong when she wasn’t there. He headed over to Dorothy’s to see if she had any more news. He was tired but now he was back, he had to do something, anything. Trying to sleep at a time like this was impossible. He knocked and Dorothy came out and hugged him.
“I thought I should come and see you before I went to the cottages. Are we allowed to go in?”
“I don’t think so. The police have put up tape like they do in the movies. The one I spoke to said they would be back to collect more evidence.”
“I need to do something. Will you come back to my place? I’ll go mad on my own and thinking the worst.”
“Of course, I will. To be honest I feel the same.”
The two of them walked across the street with Bluey straggling behind. Brett’s blood ran cold as he pushed open his front door. He sat on his couch and Dorothy perched beside him. He had never felt so helpless in his life. Tears welled in his eyes, but he didn’t do the crying thing. Like many men, he didn’t show his feelings.
Dorothy gripped his hand. When he glanced at her, she shook her head. “You love her, don’t you?
“Yep, and I’ve been a bloody fool not telling her when I had the chance.”
“I’ve seen the same look in her eyes. I don’t know how it happened, but these old rundown cottages brought two lost souls together. Don’t give up yet.”
“But what can I do?” Brett shook his head. “I called her friend, Simon, and he’s on his way from America. Said he would be here by tomorrow lunchtime.”
“That’s good. She would want him here. If we’re not going to give up, you have to remember anything she said about this Kevin Paterson?”
Dorothy was right. Sitting here moping was not going to solve anything. He tried to think back to the conversations they’d had about him. “She didn’t like talking about her past much. When I asked stuff, she clammed up.”
“That makes two of you. Trying to get anything out of you is like finding rain in th
e desert. I knew both of you were shaking the bedhead but she wouldn’t say a thing. Acted like you just came around for a cup of tea.”
Brett laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that. Thanks for making me smile.”
“Think about anything she may have told you that could be a clue to helping us find her.”
“A while back she mentioned that this Kevin had sent her some emails. It messed with her head. He even sent pictures of retreats and holiday homes they could go together. She informed the police back in the UK and they blocked him. I thought that was the end of it.” Brett ran his hands through his hair racking his brain to recall anything else. “He found out she had come to Australia, but he didn’t know where she was. She thought the cops back there had dealt with it.” Brett wasn’t sure how any of this could help.
“Maybe he has taken her to one of those homes you saw. Can you remember where any of them were. We could let the police know.”
“They were all over the country. But now I come to think of it, there was one in the Blue Mountains.”
Brett found his computer. The battery was flat but he plugged it in and sat at the kitchen table with Dorothy next to him. He started to go through web sites showing all the holiday homes in the area. There were so many it would take hours to find it.
His stomach turned at the thought Autumn had coped with this man on her own in London. Brett had made her a promise that he wouldn’t hurt her, and now he was making one that he would stop this sick individual from hurting her as well.
“It’s crazy. He was violating the restraining order by contacting her. She thought the cops were going to have him put in jail,” Brett said.
Brett’s head thumped as he looked at page after page of holiday retreats.
Bingo!
There it was. It might have been a wild goose chase, but one picture was of a holiday rental known to be a romantic getaway for couples. “The sick bastard. Sorry about that, Dorothy.”
“Don’t be sorry. If I could get my hands on him, I would whack him over the head with my rolling pin, and I’m not usually a violent person. Bluey, you have my permission to bite him where it hurts the most.”
Bluey wagged his tail while Dorothy patted him on the head.
The pictures online showed a cabin almost perched on the side of a ravine. The large main room and the bedroom had floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto a balcony with the mountain view beyond. There was a rail on the verandah to stop you tumbling over the edge. It might be a romantic location for some, but the thought of Autumn there with this madman was unthinkable.
“It’s not far away. I’m going to go there. You call the police and let them know.” Brett had a new burst of energy now he could actually do something.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Don’t you think you should wait for them? This man is unstable and you could get hurt.”
“Every moment she is there with him alone she could get hurt. I can’t waste another minute.”
Dorothy touched his forearm. “I understand. The number on the car was DES-406S. If it’s there, you will know it’s him. Now, go and save that woman of yours.”
Brett drove as fast as he could. If the police stopped him, he would get them to follow him. Twenty minutes later, he took the steep drive to the property. It would be dark soon and he needed to find her now. It was such a beautiful place. The owners had created a haven but now it was a prison for Autumn.
He parked away from the house so this Kevin wouldn’t hear his pickup. Brett sneaked through the bushes with Bluey beside him. There was a car out the front and sure enough, it had the number plate registration Dorothy had given him. He wasn’t sure how he would get to the other side of the property without climbing up the ravine. It was too risky. Brett could try going to the front door and pretending he was lost. Would the guy believe it? He wished Simon or the police were there too but he simply couldn’t wait.
There was a side door that he assumed would be the laundry. He tried it but it was locked. Damn it, but he would have to go in the front entrance. Adrenaline pumped through him, making his heart race as he walked up to the door and knocked. He waited, and hoped she was still alive. Brett couldn’t think otherwise.
The door opened and a huge guy stood in front of him. Shit. For some reason he had been expecting someone small and weasel-like that he could easily overpower. Autumn had never mentioned the guy was so big. That alone would have been intimidating for her.
“Hi. I was wondering if you had any fuel or if I could use your phone to call a recovery truck? My pickup broke down and my cell phone isn’t getting any reception.” Brett hated the idea she was in this place alone with this man.
Kevin looked him up and down then he pulled out his phone out. “My reception’s good. You can call but I don’t have any spare fuel.”
“You have an English accent. On holiday, are you?”
“Yep. What’s it to you?”
“Nothing, but you’ve chosen a beautiful part of the country to visit. I don’t suppose I could use your bathroom and get some water for my dog and myself? Traipsing through the bush is hard work.” Brett had to get within the house.
Kevin glanced indoors and then out again. “Follow me.” He showed Brett down the corridor inside the house to the bathroom.
Brett locked the door and stared in the mirror. He shook his head. There was nothing for it but to charge his way through. This was going to hurt but it would be to save Autumn. He would do anything for her. Brett flushed the toilet and headed out. Bluey sat wagging his tail. He bent down and whispered in his ear, “Here we go, boy.”
As Brett walked back to the entrance, Kevin guarded the door that presumably led to the main room of the house. Brett made a fake turn one way and then flipped around and charged at the mountain of a man. The door behind Kevin gave way as it was ripped off its hinges by the weight of the two of them.
Bluey growled as they hit the floor.
Brett peered across the main room to the balcony and the bush beyond. “Autumn,” he yelled at the sight of her. She was alive but this madman had her tied to the railing. She was sitting and balancing on the top rail with her hands above her head. If the ropes were cut, she would tumble to the ravine below.
That was it—he wanted to kill this man here and now.
Chapter Seventeen
Autumn could not believe what she was seeing. A while back there had been a dog barking and she thought it sounded like Bluey. She wanted to cry but she wasn’t safe yet.
The two men tumbled across the floor and Kevin thumped Brett in the abdomen. He went to aim another punch at his head but Brett blocked it.
Bluey bit Kevin’s leg but yelped as he was kicked away. The dog didn’t give up and was back in there as the two men fought.
Kevin turned and grabbed a knife off the coffee table. He’d been threatening to cut her before and had left it there to tease her. He kept saying no one but him would want her with no leg and covered in scars. Kevin had been sick when she had known him in the UK, but now he was worse. There was no reasoning with him. His plan was to gradually wear her down until she was so weak, she would agree to anything. She would rather die.
Kevin was capable of killing them both if he didn’t get what he wanted. Autumn would never forgive herself if anything happened to Brett.
Kevin swiped at Brett with the knife. “Who the fuck are you anyway? Has she been sleeping with you? I’ll slice away the stink of you from her body if I have to.”
Brett made a move forward, but Kevin ran toward her and held the knife to one of the cords on her hands. “Leave now and take that filthy mutt with you or I’ll cut it.”
Bluey growled and Brett stood there with fisted hands. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Kevin slashed at the rope and Autumn tried to keep her balance and lean into the room but her legs were hanging over the edge. She gripped the rail with her hand so she didn’t fall.
Kevin moved to the other rope. “
She’s mine or nobodies. I kept telling her that but she wouldn’t listen.” Kevin raised his hand to cut the other cord.
Brett ran forward and collided with him so they both toppled over the edge. Autumn screamed as she tried to stop herself from falling as well. She wobbled and regained her balance. Brett was holding on to the bottom railing. Kevin was just below him, struggling to get a grip on the rock face. Bluey was barking next to her as she wriggled and got her legs back over the railing. The knife must have toppled to the ground below as they fought. Autumn attempted to undo the knot at her wrist with her other hand.
She had to save Brett. “I’ll pull you up.”
Police sirens echoed in the distance. It was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard. Autumn was still undoing the rope when two officers stormed into the room. One cut her free while the other peered over the banister.
“The man holding onto the railing is Brett—he’s my partner. The man below him is Kevin Patterson—he kidnapped me.”
The police officers reached down and grabbed Brett’s arms and heaved him up.
Brett pulled her into his arms.
The female police officer called to Kevin. “We’ll thrown a rope down and draw you up.”
Kevin was laughing.
Autumn peeked over the edge to see the maniacal grin on his face.
“I don’t want to be saved. Rot in hell, Autumn.” With those words, he let go and fell. He didn’t scream but landed with a sickening thud on the rocks below.
Even though she hated the man, the doctor in her had to look to see if he could have survived. Kevin lay contorted at the bottom of the ravine. His head was bent at a strange angle with his neck clearly broken. It was a sight it would take a long time to erase. It didn’t matter—she had Brett with her and she would cope.