Under Shadow of Doubt

by Juanita Kees

  ‘I don’t know, Jaime. You’re under no obligation. You don’t owe me anything and I won’t hold you responsible at all. All I ask is that if you don’t plan to stay in touch; don’t get too involved with her. She’s a very vulnerable child and I wouldn’t like to see her hurt again,’ she said, the warning in her tone unmistakable. ‘Paul’s done enough damage in our lives as it is. God knows what state she’ll be in when we find her.’

  Jaime nodded. ‘I wish I could change the way things worked out, but I can’t.’ He retreated to his thoughts, his gaze fixed on the wall across the bench top.

  Seeing him again had raised all those buried needs and desires, the hope that he would want to stay and make a life with them as a family. But it had been a long time, and even though she’d never stopped loving him, they were different people now from who they’d been then. There was no reason for him to stay. He’d deserted her, run from the overwhelming responsibility of a relationship built on already shaky ground. Now that responsibility was even greater.

  What did he know about raising a nine-almost ten-year-old girl? What did he know about being a father when he couldn’t even be a husband first? Peta stole a glance at Jaime’s features set in a grim line. No doubt those same questions were flooding his mind.

  She clenched the handle of her coffee mug tightly, knuckles white. After a few moments more of silence, he gently prised her fingers loose and laced his between them. She glanced up at him, smiling fleetingly. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles then dropped her hand, standing to take the mugs away and rinse them in the sink. Then he held out a hand and led her to the sofa. Needing to draw on his strength, she abandoned her anger for him, burrowing into his side with her feet curled under her, and let her head sink to his shoulder.

  ‘We’ll work it out. Everything will be all right,’ he said, kissing her forehead.

  Oh God, she hoped that was true. She didn’t want to be this close to him—it would be too easy to trust in Jaime and just as easy to be let down again—but his warmth seeped into her cold bones and she let herself slip into the comfort of it. Her heart wouldn’t survive him leaving a second time.

  The warmth of his hard body and the smell of his cologne enveloped her as she relaxed against him. His arm came around her, drawing her closer until her forehead rested in the curve of his neck. She inhaled the essence of the man she’d loved for a lifetime. Just for a while, she thought as she snuggled closer, her hand resting on his chest. She’d forgotten how comfortable he was to be around. Her eyes drooped as Jaime’s arm tightened and his chin rested against her head.

  Chapter 11

  A yellow moon shone above them, casting an eerie glow on the sand. Waves lapped at their ankles like icy talons clawing and then retreating. Jaime held Peta close.

  ‘Kiss me,’ she whispered.

  He lowered his head to hers and drank from her lips, hunger deepening his kiss, igniting the desire deep within her. She strained closer, pressed her body into his, needing to feel the full, hard length of him against her.

  His lips left hers and sparked a trail down her creamy shoulders. She threw her head back, offering him her neck. Then the dark brown head evolved into a black one and Paul’s contorted face stared down at her, his teeth bared in a snarl. Peta screamed and pulled away. She tried to run, but the clawing talons of the sea pulled her back. Her scream turned into a shrill, piercing sound. In the distance, a voice called to her.

  ‘Peta!’

  Her eyes snapped open, her heart beating fast. Mark shook her shoulder gently. Desperately she tried to focus. She looked for Jaime, her cheeks warm as she remembered what they’d been doing in her dream, but he wasn’t on the sofa with her anymore and instead it was the pillow she hugged.

  He sat at the bench top counter and the pounding of her heart settled in time for the shrill ring of her phone to penetrate her confusion. Peta pushed up and grabbed it from the coffee table, panic setting in.

  ‘What?’ She dragged a hand through her tangled hair.

  Paul’s cruel laugh taunted her from the other end of the line. ‘Still haven’t learned any manners. That wasn’t a very wise stunt you pulled last night. I can’t believe you shot at me. Lucky for me, you missed. No bloody good at anything as always. Lucky for you, I’m feeling generous. So I’ll give you one last chance. The snivelling little brat is starting to annoy me anyway. All this shit about missing her mummy. Now listen carefully because if you screw it up again, Bella will die.’

  ‘I’m listening.’ No more games, no more sticking to the rules. This was one time she couldn’t afford to play. ‘I’ll do what you want. No more games, Paul. I want my daughter back.’

  ‘I want two million dollars—two hundred thousand in cash and the balance deposited into my bank account by midnight. Deliver the cash to the old homestead on Point Street at ten o’clock tonight.’

  ‘What about Bella?’ Peta closed her eyes, her throat tight, fear coiling in her stomach.

  ‘Once I have the money, I will contact you as to her whereabouts. But I’m warning you again, no replay of last night’s little fiasco or she dies.’

  Her heart contracted, the pain stealing her breath. ‘How do I know I can trust you? I want a fair exchange, Paul. That was the agreement.’ Not that there’d ever been anything fair in dealings with Paul. There was always only one way—his.

  ‘Ah, but you broke that agreement, my little dove. When you tried to shoot me.’ Peta heard a click on the other end of the line, a sound she associated with the safety latch on a gun, and fear morphed into terror that curled tight hands around her throat.

  ‘No Bella, no deal,’ Peta insisted.

  ‘No deal, no Bella.’

  ‘Paul, please give me Bella and I will give you your money, no strings attached.’ Peta tried not to sound desperate. ‘It will take me a while to organise it with the bank.’

  ‘This is not a trade-off, damn it,’ Paul yelled. ‘It’s my scheme, Peta. We’ll do it my way.’

  ‘Let her go now. You’ll get what you want, I give you my word.’

  ‘Your word means nothing. You’re a lying bitch. You always have been. I told you to get rid of the cops, you didn’t. You played games with me again. Now you need to learn your lesson. I mean business, Peta. My life is in danger because of you and now you’ll have two lives on your conscience.’

  ‘Danger of your own making, Paul,’ Peta snapped. ‘You started this by getting involved with those arseholes who own the Tag Raiders, you rat. You sold out to them—me, my career, the club.’

  ‘You have no idea what Beyond Hell’s Reach are capable of. They’re bastards, you dumb bitch. When they’re done stripping my flesh, they’ll come looking for you. What I’ve done is a piece of piss compared to what they’ve got planned for you. None of this would have been necessary if you’d just been a good little wife and handed over the money you owed me,’ Paul snapped.

  ‘I owed you?’ Incredulous, she placed a hand on her head, willing the throb of a headache to stop. ‘I made that money through hard work. I gave you money to set up the business. I paid you to be my manager. How do I owe you?’

  ‘You owe me for the nights that you denied me entry to your bed. For the years you spent pining for your boyfriend on my time. For me giving you the chance to be a star,’ Paul spat at her.

  ‘You gave up your rights when you beat me.’ Peta felt her patience slipping.

  ‘I’m done talking. You listen or your daughter dies. Bring the money to the homestead on Point Street and I’ll give you Bella back.’ The line went dead in her ear.

  Peta listened to the silence hanging heavy in the air. What if she couldn’t arrange the money in time? She was in Williams for God sake. This was the sort of thing she needed to be in the city for, her own branch, her own bank manager. You couldn’t transfer a sum of money like that by direct transfer.

  ‘Do you have the money?’ Mark asked, frowning.

  Peta nodded, twisting her hands. ‘It can be arranged. I’
ll need to contact my bank manager.’

  ‘We need a plan to make sure the bastard doesn’t get away again.’ Harold joined the conversation.

  ‘And make sure we get Bella back this time and that he doesn’t just take off with the money,’ Mark agreed.

  Peta looked at her watch, panic a pool of acid in her stomach. They must have slept for longer than she’d thought. It was mid-morning. ‘We need to get to a bank.’

  ‘Paul must be in a lot of trouble to need that kind of money. The people he’s involved with don’t play games. They’ll get him one way or another. He’s put them in danger with this little scheme of his and they won’t take a chance on it happening again,’ said Mark. ‘All they want is their money back and the evidence destroyed. They won’t care who gets hurt in the process. He’ll be safer in jail. Out of jail, he’s a dead man. It’s only a matter of time. My guess is Beyond Hell’s Reach are behind this whole kidnapping thing. They know the law and what you have will see their whole operation end in turmoil. They want the evidence destroyed and Paul is the decoy. Not even their lawyers could make this one go away.’

  Peta shivered. ‘Once they have the evidence, he’s as good as dead. Maybe I should just shoot him myself and save them the trouble.’

  ‘Yes, we still need to talk about that little stunt you pulled last night. I had a hard time explaining that one to the chief. Bella will be fine, Peta. Paul must have her with him most of the time, or at least somewhere nearby. He can’t take the risk of whoever is after him getting hold of her. I honestly don’t think he would put her life in danger,’ Mark reassured her. ‘We’ll find her.’

  ‘So you’re thinking we set him up when Peta drops off the cash?’ Jaime moved to put his arm around Peta’s shoulders.

  She leaned into him, needing the warmth and comfort. How had it come to this?

  ‘Chances are he has her at the homestead where he wants you to drop off the cash. I know the place. It’s old and no one lives in it anymore. Part of an estate waiting to be settled because the owner died with no will and no family. It’s comfortable, furnished and has access to running water, even though the electricity was cut when the owner passed away. Being that far out of town though, there’d be a generator around somewhere to give the place power,’ Harold said. ‘He’s running out of time and places to hide. I say we move in now.’

  ‘What if Bella’s not there?’ asked Jaime.

  Oh God, she had to be. Please let her be there. Peta fisted a hand in his shirt. He covered it with his own.

  ‘She will be. He’ll be watching for that cash and planning a quick getaway,’ said Mark. ‘He won’t want to hang around. My guess is he already has a ticket to somewhere he won’t be found.’

  Harold snorted. ‘As if they won’t find him wherever he goes.’

  ‘That’s why we have to find him first.’ Mark reached for his keys. ‘You two stay here. Don’t leave the room. Harold, we need to round up the boys and get some back up in from Collie.’

  Unease trickled up Peta’s spine. Nothing they’d done so far had run to plan. ‘What about the money?’

  Mark pressed a kiss to her cheek. ‘We won’t need the money. We’re not waiting any longer. Not when he’s told us where she is.’

  Panic pushed the unease away. ‘No! You heard what he said. He’ll kill her. We have to do it his way. We can’t risk Bella being caught up in the middle of an ambush.’

  ‘Hostage negotiation.’

  ‘Semantics. Mark, you know hostage negotiation seldom ends well. Someone always gets hurt.’

  ‘Not on my watch.’ He turned to leave. ‘Stay out of trouble until we get back. We’ll be a couple of hours getting things organised. You’ll need to be there when we go in just in case he demands to talk to you. We’ll be back for you as soon as we have a plan of attack mapped out.’

  ‘I don’t like it,’ Peta said as the door closed behind them.

  Jaime walked her over to the sofa. ‘Your brother knows what he’s doing. He’s the best there is.’

  ‘That doesn’t make this right.’ She sat, her nerves balled in a knot in her stomach. ‘I’m scared, Jaime.’

  The cushions dipped under his weight as he sat next to her and gathered her onto his lap. ‘Then we’ll hold each other until it’s over. Tell me about Bella.’

  Her nerves were wired and the last thing she felt like was chit chat, but if it made the time go faster until she got her daughter back, she would. She settled against him as he sat back, listened to the comfort of his heartbeat and told him about the little girl who’d seen more than a ten-year-old should.

  ***

  Jaime listened as Peta told him about his daughter, from her favourite colour to her oldest, most treasured toy—the bear he’d won at the annual fair for Peta too many years ago to count. Love for the little girl grew in his heart. He hoped Mark’s plan worked because God knows, he wanted to meet his daughter. There was no one he trusted more to bring her home safely.

  Then she spoke about the horror of her marriage to Paul, the ups and downs of her career, and the fear she’d lived through when crooked lawyers, Bennetti and Albero, and Beyond Hell’s Reach started visiting the nightclub. He talked her through it while he eased the tension in her shoulders and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

  Peta relaxed in his arms, her fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt as she spoke, each stroke against his chest teasing his senses. He shouldn’t want to kiss her right now, not until this was over. But hadn’t they wasted enough time? He’d held her while she slept, fallen in love with her strength, never fallen out of love with the woman she was.

  He tipped up her chin. Her gaze flew to his, realisation and acceptance of his intentions clear in its depth. Meeting with no resistance, he touched his lips to hers, felt her mouth move under his and kissed her with everything in his heart. Her hand came up to touch his cheek and he loved the feel of it there, so he placed his over hers and pressed it closer.

  She pulled back a fraction. ‘Jaime?’

  What did she need? He had no words for the past and no plan for the future, but he’d give her whatever she needed from him right now. He pressed his forehead to hers.

  ‘Maybe it’s not the right time,’ he whispered.

  ‘Maybe it’s the perfect time.’

  ‘It shouldn’t be with everything going on.’

  ‘Or maybe we both need comfort.’

  Sadness edged his smile. ‘I won’t have comfort sex with you.’

  ‘Then don’t.’

  She ran her fingers over his mouth and he figured he’d take whatever she offered. So when her lips took his, he gave her kisses. When her hands explored the contours of his chest, he returned the favour. When her fingers found the zipper on his jeans and drew it down, he let her. And when things got too hot on the sofa, he carried her to bed and showed her commitment not comfort.

  Chapter 12

  Peta turned away from Jaime’s warmth as he slept, and slipped to the edge of the mattress. Now he knew everything. She had no more secrets from him. He’d listened to her stories, witnessed the scars, caressed them with his lips and promised her no one would ever hurt her again. Still doubt lingered.

  If he changed his mind, wanted Bella but not her, she’d placed the power in his hands. Handed him the reason to take her daughter away. She’d gone to bed with him, seen to her own pleasures, while Bella was in the hands of a maniac. What responsible mother did that? She squeezed her eyes shut against the guilt that battered her heart.

  Please God, make this nightmare end. She’d abandoned all hope of ever having a normal life for her and her little girl. Bella deserved so much more than she could give. She deserved a family, brothers and sisters, happiness, a normal childhood—things she’d never had.

  Being in Jaime’s arms again … heaven. No amount of shame or guilt could take that away. All it proved was she loved him now more than she had before. That the years apart had done little to change her feelings for him. In his a
rms, she felt safe. Felt like she had a chance to belong. But until Bella was back in her arms, she couldn’t belong anywhere.

  The mattress dipped as Jaime reached for her, his fingers playing on her back. ‘Where’d you go? Come back here for a while.’

  Peta sat up and his hand dropped to the sheets as she moved out of reach. The temptation to roll back into his arms was strong, but she’d be wiser to face reality. Take this memory and treasure it to keep her warm on the cold nights when she was alone again.

  ‘Mark and Harold will be back soon. I’m going to have a shower and get ready.’ She stood, pulled his old shirt from the chair near the window and slipped it on, clutching the loose front in her fist.

  He pushed himself up on his elbows, his gaze following her as she walked around the end of the bed. ‘You okay?’

  She stopped at the door to the room. Okay? No, she’d never be that again. Of all the stupid things she’d done in her life, this capped it. She’d been lured by his patience and understanding, succumbed to his touch like the desperate and needy young girl she’d once been, fallen in love all over again with the man who might leave them behind a second time. Peta shivered. ‘I’m fine.’ And she would be. They would be, her and Bella, she’d make sure of it.

  ‘Talk to me.’

  ‘I need to be ready, Jaime. I can’t let Paul win this leg. This is the last chance I have to get Bella back. He’ll snap if I don’t. I can’t let that happen.’

  Would he push the issue? Was he going to analyse what had happened between them? Make promises he couldn’t keep? Please God, don’t let him, because talk was cheap and actions counted, and if he reached for her again, she wouldn’t be able to say no. Jaime represented everything she wanted and couldn’t have. Getting in deeper would be a huge mistake.

  The bed sheets rustled as he moved. She turned, her back to the closed door, her hands spread against the wood behind her. He sat on the edge of the mattress, gloriously naked, arms extended behind him as his beautiful big, comforting hands balanced his weight.