“It’s been tough with the economic downturn,” Nicholas agreed. “Maybe I can find him work on the development.”
Mai glanced at him. “Really?”
“Well it depends on his skills, but there might be something he can do.”
“Thank you.” She’d talk to Gordon tomorrow, ask about his qualifications. Her conscience pricked. Maybe she should call the Albany police.
But what if they didn’t arrive in time? Would Creepy Guy actually hurt her sisters or burn down her bakery? He’d said he’d kill Gordon if she contacted the police – did that mean he wasn’t planning on killing him now?
She had no idea.
They pulled up behind her apartment. Mai didn’t want to be alone. “Do you want to come up for coffee?”
“Sure.”
They walked upstairs and she turned on the light, its brightness chasing away some of her fear. Immediately there was a meow and Calypso ran over, rubbing himself against both of them.
Nicholas chuckled. “Looks like someone missed you.”
She liked his laugh, liked the way he was kind to her cat, she liked him. She wanted to focus on him, wanted to forget everything she’d seen, wanted to delay making a decision. “He’s always vocal when he’s been alone for too long.”
“I can understand that. My apartment seems empty if I’m the only one there.”
Did he realise how lonely he sounded? She was surrounded by friends and family, and if she needed some time to herself, her apartment was her refuge.
She stepped closer to him and slid her arms around his neck. “You’re here with me now.”
His smile was slow and warm. “I am.” He bent his head and she rose onto her toes and they kissed, slow and sweet. Heat swam through Mai’s body, tracing the slow journey of his hands as they slid down her back. Here was a man who knew how to kiss.
This was what she needed. “Do you want to see my bedroom?”
“I’d love to.”
Mai took his hand and showed him the way, shutting the door behind them. He pulled her into his arms, pressing her back against the closed door and kissed her again with more urgency.
Oh, sweet yes.
Mai fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, needing to feel him. His chest was firm with a smattering of hair, and his skin warm. She ran her hands up to his shoulders and pushed his shirt off. They needed to get naked – now.
Nicholas reached for her again, running his hand down her back to her zip and sliding it down. She liked where he was going.
Quickly she shrugged out of her dress and the fabric pooled at her feet, but before she moved, his hands were on her skin, warm but urgent, and he kissed her again.
Yes, please.
It had been a while, and every nerve ending in her body celebrated, zinging in pleasure. She needed more.
Pushing him back, she stepped out of her dress and heels. “Bed,” she ordered. She took a condom out of the drawer.
When she turned back Nicholas was in his underwear. For a guy who had a desk job, he was in fine shape. She needed to touch every inch of him. Nicholas picked her up and she shrieked as he lowered them both on to the bed. Then his lips were on her breast and Mai’s head fell back.
Sweet bliss. This man was good with his mouth.
And his hands. They roamed her body, found her centre, stripping off her underwear and she bucked at the pleasure coursing through her. She was ready for him.
She reached for the condom which was just out of her grasp. Nicholas looked up and grinned, the desire on his face sending a further shot of lust through her. In a second he was naked and sliding the condom on and then he was inside her.
Oh, yes.
Mai moved with him, loving the way he filled her. She bit his neck and he moaned.
“Mai, you’re so damned incredible.”
She liked him saying her name, the way it was almost reverential. She felt pretty damned reverential herself.
His thrusting hit a spot in the right place and she groaned. “More.”
He complied, rubbing her perfectly and before she could prepare herself she came and he was right there with her.
Mai stretched in satisfaction as Nicholas cleaned himself up. Her whole body was relaxed and she was pretty mellow. Maybe he could stay a while and they could have another round.
Nicholas glanced at the clock she had on her bedside table. “I should go.” He picked up his underwear and pants and slid them on.
She blinked in surprise and then frowned. “So soon?”
He nodded as he did up his shirt. “Yeah, I don’t want to keep you up.”
Well that wasn’t an excuse she’d heard before. Mai sat up, crossing her arms as the hurt stung.
He brushed a kiss over her cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” He grabbed his shoes and was out of the door before Mai could think of something to say. A moment later the apartment door closed.
Wow.
That had to be a world record for the wham, bam and thank you ma’am exit.
She stared at her bedroom entrance. She’d just had fantastic sex and Nicholas hadn’t even let her get her breath back before he’d left.
Did he really care that much about keeping her up? Or was it an excuse? Maybe this was only a quick dalliance to mark a successful deal.
She got up and confirmed the door was locked, that he’d actually left.
He had.
Shaking her head, she climbed into bed, curled into a ball. She’d thought it might be the start of something good. Though he had said he’d call.
Maybe he would.
Chapter 11
Mai groaned as the chime of her alarm stabbed through her consciousness. She’d only just fallen asleep after tossing and turning most of the night, unable to stop thinking about Gordon, the gun, the threat to her sisters and her business, plus Nicholas and his sudden departure.
She flung back her sheets and stood up.
Maybe she should drive by the cafe, make sure Gordon had gone. It was hours since she’d seen him, so he should have left, but it would stop her from imagining his dead body lying on the ground amongst the weeds.
She hesitated. It wouldn’t be dangerous if there were no cars out front, and if there were, she’d keep driving and figure out what to do next.
It wouldn’t take her more than ten minutes to check.
Decided, she showered, dressed and hurried downstairs, dashing into the kitchen to turn on the ovens to heat before going out to her car.
The streets were quiet and dark, everyone tucked up inside asleep, the only light from the street lamps lining the road. She slowed as she approached the bend the cafe was on and pulled into the empty car park.
He was gone.
Her breath puffed out in relief.
She drove in a circle around the car park to illuminate part of the backyard and there was nothing there, no one there. Gordon was fine. She’d call him later today to make sure.
On the way back to the bakery, her pulse rate slowed and her restless night caught up with her. She would need a lot of caffeine to keep her going today.
Once safely inside, auto-pilot kicked in as she tipped the right quantities of ingredients into her two mixers to make the first batches of dough and then went out into the shop area and switched on the coffee machine. While she waited for it to heat up, she reviewed what pastries remained in the cabinet. A couple would have to be discarded because they were past their awesome date. She wouldn’t sell anything that wasn’t top quality, but there were a couple of community groups who would take them.
With her list created, she got out the ingredients for the quiches she needed to make and then made her coffee.
The first sip reminded her of Nicholas.
Would he call today?
She’d thought they’d clicked, but if they had, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush to leave. Seriously, who finished having sex and then fled the scene? She hadn’t expected cuddling or declarations of undying love, but a little
bit of talk before he went home would have been nice.
She cracked an egg a little too hard and had to fish out all the little bits of shell. Crap.
The mixer switched off and she dumped the dough on to the table to knead before cleaning the bowl and putting in the next ingredients.
It didn’t matter that Nicholas had left.
It showed her he wasn’t interested in a relationship. And if sex was all he was after, well she had no complaints. He was excellent at it.
She could do friends with benefits while he was here. They could both be satisfied with that.
Penny walked into the kitchen. “Morning!” She headed straight for the coffee machine.
“Morning.” Mai wouldn’t dwell on last night any longer. The next time she saw Nicholas, she’d set some guidelines so they were both on the same page.
She might as well have some fun while he was here.
The birds squawking outside Nicholas’s window woke him on Sunday morning. Sunlight streamed through the open blinds. He stretched, every muscle in his body feeling amazing.
Last night had been incredible. Mai had met him kiss for kiss and had given as much as she’d taken. But it wasn’t just the sex. The conversation had been stimulating as well. He hadn’t clicked with anyone in a long time, hadn’t confided in anyone the way he had with her. It seemed natural – right.
If only he could have stayed longer, maybe even the night, but it had already been past her usual bedtime. He wouldn’t be the kind of guy who put his own desires before hers. She needed her sleep.
He got up and made a coffee, taking it out the front to look at the ocean. It was calm this morning, only a gentle swell, with no waves in sight. Maybe he’d go for a swim later, or Mai had suggested he start jogging to improve his fitness. He could probably manage to jog to the rocks and back.
His phone beeped and he immediately tensed. Was it his father?
He didn’t want to know but he would drive himself crazy wondering. Striding back inside, he snatched up his phone.
Traffic accident, calling volunteers to help.
The tension morphed into nerves. His first rescue call. It had to be a serious accident. Would he be able to handle whatever he saw?
He didn’t know.
But if Mai answered the call and he wasn’t there he’d appear like a complete wimp.
He typed a reply and collected his kit bag. The jog would have to wait.
At the fire station, he walked over to Lawrence. “What have we got?”
“Car ploughed into a karri tree off Smith Road. Ambulance is there but they need the jaws of life to get the driver out.”
Nicholas’s mouth went dry. “Who else is coming? Mai?”
Lawrence shook his head. “She doesn’t do traffic accidents. She has a thing about blood. Jeremy and Foley are on their way. Suit up.”
Of course. He hadn’t thought about that. He changed and then helped Lawrence put the trailer on the fast attack. When the others arrived Nicholas got into the vehicle with Jeremy, taking a long slow breath to calm his nerves.
“First accident?” Jeremy asked.
Nicholas nodded.
“Try to distance yourself. Don’t look at the people in the vehicle, focus on the task, which will be cutting the car open to get to them out.”
It sounded easy but he was sure it wouldn’t be.
When they arrived, the police had already cordoned off the road and were redirecting traffic. Ryan let them through and they parked next to the ambulance already on site.
The old dark blue sedan was completely off the road, down an embankment, its bonnet crushed into a huge karri tree that had stopped it from falling down into the gully below. The car was a lot like the one that had been parked at Mai’s cafe the night before.
A male paramedic stood at the driver’s window talking to the driver.
Jeremy swore. “No skid marks.”
He was right. It looked as if the driver hadn’t noticed the curve in the road.
They both got out of the vehicle and met Lawrence and Foley on the road. “We need to stabilise the car before we do anything else,” Lawrence said. “We don’t want it slipping into the gully.” He pulled some ropes and chains out of the trailer. “If we can, we’ll winch it out. Let me talk to the paramedics.”
Lawrence beckoned Nicholas to follow him and they picked their way down the steep embankment. One paramedic, a guy in his forties spoke to the driver in quiet, calming tones, the other, a female, stomped down the low bushes next to the car, clearing some space so they could access the driver more easily.
“They’re trying to kill me!” The voice was high pitched and frantic.
“You’re safe now,” the paramedic said. “The fire department is here to help us get you out.”
Nicholas glanced inside the car and winced. Big mistake. The driver’s face was covered in blood, his nose at an odd angle and his eyes wide, the pupils dilated. The steering wheel was pressed hard against his chest and his legs must be crushed, but he didn’t appear to be in any pain. Maybe the paramedic had given him medication. He was already wearing a neck collar.
The car was too old to have airbags and the whole front bonnet was concertinaed to half its original length. It was a miracle the guy was still alive.
Lawrence and the female paramedic discussed options and agreed to stabilise the car with cables before cutting it open. Back at the fast attack, Jeremy and Foley had already set up the jaws of life. Nicholas helped them loop the cables around the sturdiest parts of the car and tighten them.
“You need to work fast,” the woman said. “He’s been there for at least a couple of hours and I suspect the circulation’s been cut off in his legs. Once the pressure has been released, we’re going to need to get him to hospital as soon as possible.”
“He must be on some great painkillers,” Nicholas said.
The paramedic by the driver glanced at him. “He’s high on something. He doesn’t feel a thing, but he will when he’s moved, and then he might get violent. He’s already full of delusion and paranoia. He thinks someone ran him off the road.” His disdain was clear.
Right. They were dealing with someone who might attack them for saving his life. Not something Nicholas was used to.
“Nicholas I want you to talk to the guy, tell him we’re going to cut him out. You need to convince him we’re his friends,” Lawrence said. “Jeremy and I will cut the roof off.”
Nicholas went with the paramedic to the driver. What the hell was he supposed to say?
“Gordon, this is Nicholas. He’s one of the fire-fighters who are going to get you out of here,” the paramedic said.
Nicholas gasped. Gordon. This had to be the guy Mai had spoken to last night. The one who had been dealing drugs – and obviously doing them. Recognition sparked as Nicholas looked at him again. He was also the guy who’d protested the development at the council meeting. Nicholas still didn’t know why. “Hi, mate.”
Gordon squinted at him. “You’re one of them.”
What? “I’m a fire-fighter, mate.” He tried smiling.
Gordon shook his head. “No, they want to hurt you too, you have to be careful.”
He was clearly tripping. Nicholas needed to keep him calm. “My colleagues are cutting the roof off. You might hear the crunch of metal, that’s them cutting through the roof supports.” The jaws of life made surprisingly fast work of the wreck. Lawrence prepped another tool, this one a spreader rather than a cutter. Some of Nicholas’s training came back to him. “When the roof’s off, we’ll try opening the door again and if that doesn’t work, they’ll use a machine that will pry the door open, all right? We’ll take care of you.”
Gordon nodded, then gasped. “I can’t breathe.”
The paramedic shoved Nicholas aside and yelled to his partner near the ambulance.
Shit. Gordon was in real trouble. Nicholas stared, unable to do anything to help.
“Nic, we need this roof off,” Lawrence c
alled.
That was something he could do. He got into position at the mid-point of the car and lifted, the metal roof surprisingly light. Shuffling to the side until it cleared the car, they dumped it on the incline out of the way.
“His lung has collapsed.” The man tried the door but it didn’t budge. The woman seized a large syringe from her kit and inserted it into Gordon’s chest. Nicholas grimaced and looked away.
Jeremy took the other tool and pried the door apart.
Gordon’s lips were turning blue.
He was dying.
Nicholas’s heart thudded hard in his chest as he watched them all work, helpless to do anything. Gordon needed a hospital and he needed it now.
In the distance a woman screamed. Nicholas looked up at the road. Ryan and another police officer were holding back a woman at the edge of the cordoned area.
“Gordon!” she yelled.
Shit. “Should I go and fetch her?” he asked Lawrence.
“No, she’ll get in the way, make it harder for us to do our work. Go tell her he’s alive and she needs to be ready to drive to the hospital.”
He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to tell the woman something that might change in an instant.
Bracing himself, he climbed up the embankment and strode towards her hoping he looked authoritative and calm. The woman sobbed and hit Ryan who was doing his best to restrain her.
“Is he alive?” the woman demanded when she noticed Nicholas.
“Yes, but he’s been badly injured. He’ll be rushed to hospital when we get him out. You need to be ready to follow the ambulance.”
She nodded, calming down now she had some news. He exchanged a glance with Ryan who nodded his thanks and then he strode away. He was giving her hope when he wasn’t sure there was any.
By the time he returned to the crash they had the door open and Gordon was lifted out and on to the stretcher. His legs were a crushed mess of blood and cuts.
Nicholas’s stomach heaved as Gordon screamed once, a cry full of pain before he fell silent. Unconscious.
One of the paramedics took his pulse, then swore and started CPR.
Not unconscious. Dead.
Nothing to Gain Page 14
