by Mandy Magro
His Akubra pulled low, he made a mad dash for the front sliding door. He shivered as he basically dove into the air-conditioned waiting room, thankful to find it was empty. Slipping off his Driza-Bone and tugging off his hat, he wiped the rain from his face. Hardbacked chairs lined the wall, facing a coffee table with neatly stacked magazines. Glancing around, he tried to find somewhere nearby to leave his coat and hat, not wanting to traipse water across the linoleum floors.
‘You can hang it on the hook behind the door.’ The very young, very pretty receptionist welcomed him with a wide smile. ‘It’s horrid out there at the moment, isn’t it?’ she added, glancing past him and to the rain-obscured view outside.
‘It sure is. Talk about bucketing down.’ He did as she’d asked and then made his way to the counter. ‘I’ve got an appointment at four, to see the doc.’
‘Mr Grant, is it?’
‘Yeah, that’s me.’
She passed him a form attached to a binder. ‘Can you just fill this out? The doctor won’t be too long.’
‘Righto.’ Remaining at the desk, he began scribbling his false name, an out-of-town address and a botched-up Medicare number, feeling bad for having to continue his fabrication. All done, he handed it back. ‘Here you go.’ This young woman would know who he was soon enough.
‘Great, thanks, just have a seat.’ She turned to the computer and began punching in his details, humming to herself. Pausing, she peeked up and over the top of the counter. ‘Can I grab your Medicare card? This number doesn’t seem to be working.’
‘Yeah, sure.’ Joel pretended to flick through the cards in his wallet. ‘Oh, crap.’ He sighed weightily. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve left it on the table at home.’
She waved a hand through the air. ‘No worries, these things happen. You can call me tomorrow and read the number out to me.’
‘I will, thanks.’ Joel watched the doctor step into the waiting room, take his chart from the file holder and, without looking up, call Joel’s bogus name. Doing his best not to dive across the room and grab Levi by the throat, Joel’s stomach did a sick roll as he stood and took indomitable steps towards his nemesis. The last time he’d seen Levi’s ugly mug had been the night of the brawl at the pub, when he’d broken his nose. He still looked the same, but older and far less intimidating.
Totally unaware of the incoming missile, Levi stood back to allow his patient in. It was only then the man finally lifted his attention from the file in hand and met Joel’s eyes. Absolute shock was swiftly followed by a combination of fear and rage as his steely gaze narrowed. ‘You.’ All colour seemed to drain from his face as he stared over the top of his glasses.
‘Yes, me,’ Joel said, storming into his office before Levi had time to slam the door in his face. With the toe of his boot, he turned and kicked it shut behind him. It did so with a slam.
Levi folded his arms. ‘What the hell do you want, Hunter?’
The battlelines were clearly drawn. ‘I just called in to have a little chat, that’s all.’ He locked his fierce gaze to Levi’s. ‘You got a problem with that?’
Levi strode behind his desk – a clear sign he needed to make some distance and assert his authority. ‘If you’ve come to cause trouble, I suggest you go head on back to under whatever rock you crawled out from under.’ Pulling his chair out, he sat while raking condescending eyes over Joel.
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Widening his stance, Joel stood his ground. ‘We’ve got some unfinished business to attend to, you and I.’
‘I have no business with the likes of you, Joel Hunter, and if you think you’re going to force me to play whatever game this is, you’ve got another think coming.’
‘This is no game, Levi. It never has been for me.’ He sucked in a sharp breath, reining in his anger. ‘You need to own up to what you’ve done and take responsibility for ruining people’s lives.’
Levi shrugged offhandedly. ‘Not going to happen.’
‘Yes, it is. If you don’t, I’ll do it for you and go to the cops to tell them everything about the night you tried to rape Juliette with your thug brothers.’
‘They’re never going to believe you.’ Levi was so cool, it drove Joel’s fury up another notch.
‘Why’s that, Muller?’ His hands inadvertently fisted, Joel began cracking his knuckles.
Levi cocked his head and smirked. ‘Because I’m respected around here. Nobody’s going to believe you of all people, the bloke who knocked me out at the pub and then ran from town with his tail between his legs to pursue a stockman’s job.’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ Joel said through clenched teeth.
Levi’s smirk became more of a leer. ‘And why’s that, Hunter?’
Joel wasn’t giving anything away. ‘Why don’t you just do the right thing and own up to what you did that night, for all our sakes?’
‘Are you insane?’ Levi threw his head back and gave a half-strangled laugh. ‘Hell will freeze over first. I’ve got a damn good life now, and I’m not doing anything to jeopardise it.’
‘Don’t you want to clear your conscience?’ Joel’s tone was icy cold. ‘Especially now you have a wife?’
‘I don’t have a conscience.’ Levi’s gaze simmered with the darkness Joel only knew too well. ‘And leave my wife out of this.’
‘I’m just pointing out the fact you should harbour even more guilt now you have a woman to take care of, one to protect from monsters like yourself.’ With Levi taking his bait, Joel leant across the desk, so he was just inches from Levi’s face. ‘Isn’t it weird that Levi, when twisted around, spells evil. Mighty fitting, don’t you think?’
Shocked, Levi took a moment to regather, glowering at him but remaining silent.
Clearly hitting a raw nerve, Joel stepped back and folded his arms. ‘I honestly don’t know how you sleep at night.’
‘Easily.’ Levi sneered as he gestured towards his door with a tip of his head. ‘Now get the hell out of my office before I call the police.’
It was Joel’s turn to snigger cynically. ‘You wouldn’t be so frigging stupid to go and do that?’
‘Watch me.’ Grabbing the phone at the corner of his desk, Levi began stabbing numbers and then pressed the phone to his ear, his breathing now heavy, laboured. ‘Hey, Kelly, it’s Doctor Muller. Can you put me through to Wombat please?’ He paused for a moment. ‘Yeah, sure, I don’t mind waiting.’
‘Forget it. I’m going.’ Joel held his hands up, feigning defeat. He hadn’t got what he wanted, what he needed, but he didn’t want to risk any trouble with Wombat either. ‘I’ll leave.’
Measuredly, arrogantly, Levi hung up the phone. ‘Wise choice.’ He huffed. ‘I suggest you don’t tread where you’re bound to lose your footing, Hunter, because the price you’ll pay if you dredge up the past might not be worth the carnage it’ll cause to those you love.’
Joel’s heart seized and his blood froze solid. ‘Is that a threat?’ he snarled over his shoulder.
‘If you mean, am I threatening you, Juliette and your families? Yes, indeed I am. The truth of what happened that night by the river is never going to see the light of day,’ he said darkly. ‘Although, just for the record, I’ll never forget the fear in Juliette’s eyes or the sweet softness of her pert little breasts when I pinned her to the ground.’
‘Shut your damn mouth, Muller.’ Joel had to fight every urge to strangle the life out of the mongrel. ‘You sick, twisted bastard.’
‘On that note.’ Rising from his high-back leather chair with the broadest of fake smiles on his face, he stepped towards the door. ‘I’ll walk you out.’
‘No need,’ Joel growled as he tugged the door open. ‘Stay the hell away from Juliette and my family, you got it?’
‘Nice seeing you again, Hunter,’ Levi said in a nauseating tone.
Joel refused to respond as he stepped out of the claustrophobic space. The door slammed shut behind him. He flashed the confused receptionist a fleeting smile as he strode
over, grabbed his hat and coat, then stepped out onto the wet sidewalk, glad to see the rain had dissipated. Taking strides towards his four-wheel drive, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his mobile phone, ending the recording.
He’d got what he’d come for – cold hard evidence.
CHAPTER
17
Her harsh reality now deeply sunken in, Juliette’s emotions had churned into the darkest of storms. With the realisation that her life was never going to be the way she’d imagined it to be, she’d begun to feel nauseated for most of each day, anxious for what her future was going to hold and for where she, Warrior and Brute were going to live. Apart from her marital woes, and with her self-control shot from the sheer exhaustion of it all, she could do little but think of Joel, of how patient he’d always been with her, of how he’d always loved her so passionately. The one thing getting her out of bed each and every morning, other than helping out in Aunt Janey’s bakery on the odd day, was lingering on the what-could-have-beens of her past. And along with this, guilt had become her constant companion – for being naive enough to have fallen for Lachlan’s manipulation, and for breaking up with Joel when all he’d been doing was defending her honour. The weight of it all was just too much to bear. Something needed to give before she fell into a dark hole, without any way of climbing out.
Her mobile chimed from her handbag and Juliette grabbed it out, smiling when she spotted who the caller was. ‘Hi, Aunt Janey.’
‘Hey, sweetheart, how’d the afternoon go?’ Janey’s singsong voice wrapped around Juliette’s aching heart.
‘Yeah, really good.’ Juliette dunked her finger into the cream bun she’d kept for herself and licked it from her fingertip. ‘It slowed down a little after you left for your appointment.’
‘Oh, good.’ Janey breathed with relief. ‘I was worried you were going to be completely run off your feet.’
‘Not at all.’ Her tastebuds in overdrive, Juliette snuck a little bite.
‘I asked my friend at the real estate if she had any properties on the books that would suit you, but she doesn’t have anything, and she doesn’t know of any places coming up either.’ Janey sighed. ‘I’m so sorry I couldn’t be the bearer of better news.’
Juliette’s heavy heart sank further. ‘I thought as much, seeing as nothing has been advertised in the classifieds of the local paper, but thanks anyways.’
The line went to static for a few brief moments, Janey’s voice inaudible. ‘Sorry, I’m driving and in a bit of a black spot … can you hear me?’
‘Yes, I can. You’re not holding the phone, are you?’ Juliette said, concerned.
‘No, little miss detective,’ Janey said with a playful chuckle. ‘I’ve got you on loudspeaker.’
‘Good.’
‘Anyway, sweetheart, like I said, you’re more than welcome to come and stay with me in my flat.’
‘I know, Aunty, and thank you, but I have Warrior and Brute to think about too. I’m sure something will come along.’ Juliette wasn’t holding her breath, but she didn’t want to worry her aunt.
‘Okay then, sweetheart.’ Janey honked her horn. ‘Damn kangaroos. I swear they have a death wish sometimes.’ She groaned. ‘I better let you get back to closing up. I’ll catch you tomorrow.’
‘You will.’ The cream bun she’d been saving for dessert now all but eaten, Juliette got back to tidying up, the phone clamped between her ear and shoulder. ‘Love you heaps.’
‘Ditto, my beautiful niece. To the moon and back.’
As she finished straightening things up for the night – the day’s takings counted and put into the safe – more thunder rumbled over the mountains. Juliette switched off the last of the lights, the glow of the streetlamps just enough to let her see what she was doing. Undoing her apron, she shoved it into her bag to take home and wash, along with the tea towels and tablecloths. She couldn’t wait to have a long, hot shower followed by a couple of glasses of wine to help her drift off to some kind of sleep. Just about to hang a closed sign on the front door, she spotted a familiar four-wheel drive pulling up and parking beside her ute. What Joel was doing here was anyone’s guess, and as much as she shouldn’t, she liked the fact she was about to see him again.
The wind had picked up noticeably as she stepped outside and locked the door behind her, feeling Joel’s gaze upon her, warming her from the inside out. A car door slammed shut and footsteps came up behind her. His familiar smile greeted her as she turned to face him, as did the hunger he always seemed to conjure up inside of her without the slightest of efforts.
‘Hey, you. Anyone would think you’re stalking me,’ she said, genuinely smiling for the first time today.
‘Well, they’d be right, because I kinda am.’ His dimples deepened.
‘Is that so?’ Her heart’s tempo increased as the heat from their chemistry reached inside of her, scorching her heart. An electric sexual energy that hadn’t been there a moment ago jolted through her. Fighting the urge to tear every inch of clothing from his muscular body, she lifted her chin. ‘And why are you stalking me?’
‘Because I need to tell you something important.’ He paused, hesitating, his gaze intensifying. ‘Something you’re not going to be happy about.’ His words were so uncompromisingly direct, for a short moment she had trouble drawing a breath.
‘Okay.’ Her heart in her throat, she eyed him cautiously. ‘Spill.’
He heaved in a breath. ‘I paid Levi a visit today.’
Her heart split wide open. ‘Oh, for god’s sake, Joel!’ She glowered, shook her head, and then looked to the heavens as she warded off tears. She couldn’t fall apart. And she couldn’t cope with this. Not now. Not with everything else she had to deal with.
‘I’m sorry I went behind your back, Jules, but it was the only way.’
‘You’re sorry?’ Somewhat regathered, she flashed her steely gaze back at him. ‘I told you I didn’t want all of this dragged up again, and what did you go and do?’ She didn’t wait for a reply. ‘Exactly what you bloody well wanted to, without any regard for how I feel about it, or the drama it’s going to cause.’
Joel took a step towards her. ‘You’re so wrong, Jules. I’m doing this for you, for both of us.’
He looked so hurt that all she wanted to do for a fleeting moment was wrap him up in her arms. She wished she could tell him how her mother would suffer if her stepfather found out she’d snuck out that fateful night. But that would mean owning up to all the abuse she’d copped from the man over the years, and she wouldn’t, couldn’t, do that. ‘I call bullshit, Joel.’ Disappointment and betrayal struck her in the chest and tightened like iron claws, ridding her of any rationality. ‘You’re only doing this to settle some stupid score between you and Levi.’ She pointed accusingly at him, feeding off the cold anger coiling inside of her. ‘Aren’t you?’
‘Damn it, Jules, give me some credit. You know I’m not that bloody shallow.’ He snapped every word, and then clearly realising his tone was sharp, he paused and took a breath. ‘I know you’re hurt and angry right now, and justifiably so, but please, just hear me out and you might understand why I did it.’
She considered telling him to get stuffed, but curiosity got the better of her. ‘You’ve got two minutes before I get in my car.’
He pulled his mobile phone from his pocket, stabbed it a few times, and then held it up. Levi Muller’s voice was unmistakable, every word leading to an admission of his guilt. The trauma inside of her begged for a release, but she held it at bay, only just. She went quiet as her thoughts went to the dark place inside of her, the empty place she’d shoved all the pain and humiliation from that horrific night, the very same place all the haunting memories of her stepfather’s unfair treatment of both her and her mother had been stored.
Joel broke the lapse of silence between them with a gentle exhalation. ‘Can’t you see we’ve got him exactly where we want him?’ He nailed her to the spot with the intensity in his eyes. ‘You and
I, and Ben, deserve justice. We deserve to truly leave all of this in the past, but there’s only one way that’s going to happen, and that’s by going to the police. There’s no way the son of a bitch can get away with it, not now we have this kind of evidence.’
Numb yet so acutely on edge, all Juliette could do was stare blankly at him. She felt as if she were on a rollercoaster without a harness – one wrong turn and she was going to slip, fall and shatter into a million tiny pieces. Joel had a fair point about needing to seek justice to really let it go – she’d bottled it all up, buried it deep down inside of her, and it had backfired, causing her final words to Joel all those years ago to be bitter – a typical case of taking it out on the one she loved the most. Maybe this was her second chance to make things right, to do the right thing by herself and by the only man she’d ever truly loved with all her heart and soul. It wasn’t only her that had lost it all because of Levi; Joel had too.
She sucked in a settling breath. ‘He’s got connections, so I wouldn’t bet on that recording being the be-all and end-all.’
Hope fired in Joel’s gaze. ‘It’s worth a try, isn’t it?’
‘I honestly don’t know,’ she managed to say past the tightness of her throat. And in that moment, she almost broke her promise to her mother and told Joel why she was so hesitant in peeling back the band-aid.
‘How about I let you have some time to think it over?’
Biting her trembling lip, she nodded. ‘Yeah, okay.’ It was a mere whisper.
