Tattooed on the insides of my eyelids, baby. "Yeah, I've got it," he replied. "I'll call you as soon as I've got something organized. But you know it's going to be hard to keep this outta the newspapers. I can't do much about that."
"It already is. But at least her spin doctors can make some mileage if we can get them out of here unscathed."
Harding stubbed his butt out in the overflowing ashtray next to his bed. He was a little puzzled. "I don't get it," he said. "I mean, apart from the fact they're clients, why do you give a shit?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone and Harding pictured those gorgeous baby blues blinking as she came up with an answer. Sensational. He heard her sigh.
"It's for Cadie," she finally replied.
Aaah, the cute blonde. I should've known. What a waste of a couple of great looking sheilas. "Fair enough," he said gruffly. "I'll do what I can."
"Thanks, mate. Talk to you soon." She hung up.
Harding stood as he dropped the receiver back on the hook. With a grunt he pushed his hands behind his hips and arched, stretching out the kinks in his over laden backbone. He lumbered towards the bathroom, scratching himself as he walked.
Jesus, I look like something the cat puked up, he thought, staring at his reflection. Ah well. He picked his toothbrush up and scrubbed away for a couple of minutes. At least I look better than I feel. He walked back into the main room of his tiny, disorganized bed-sit. Okay, let's see who I can piss off at this time of the morning, he thought as he reached once again for the phone. Anything for long, dark, and dangerous.
Jo looked around the room. The Americans had settled into a resigned silence and were scattered around the periphery. There wasn't a one of them who wasn't feeling the effects of a huge night of partying and it was starting to show on their faces.
Including mine, I'm sure, Jo thought wearily as the dull pounding at her temples forced its way to the forefront of her awareness. With gritted teeth she pushed it back again. God I hope Jen is making us all a big fried breakfast. We are so going to need it. She glanced over to where Cadie was sitting, her head resting back against the wall. Is she asleep? Her question was answered when green eyes blinked open and locked onto hers instantly. I guess not. Jo smiled, receiving an answering grin. How do we do that, I wonder?
Any further thought was interrupted by her cell phone. Jo looked down at her watch as she flipped the phone open. Forty minutes. Not bad.
"Madison," she said.
"It's done," she heard Harding say. "Your little mate behind the desk there should start getting phone calls any minute now." Sure enough the phone on the counter loudly announced itself and the custody sergeant reached for it.
"From your mouth to God's ear, Harding," Jo muttered. "I owe you one, mate. Another one."
"Forget it," he replied. "Just get yourself down here in a couple of months when that slime ball Marco is fit enough to put on trial."
"Count on it," she promised. "How is he, by the way?"
"He's talking again," Harding said. "Of course he's talking in a falsetto since you ripped his nuts off." Jo winced as she listened to the cop's rough laughter, and she caught Cadie's eye. "But he won't be walking around for a while yet. I'll call you when the court dates are set."
"Okay, Ken," she said. "Thanks again, mate." She tucked the phone back into its holster and wandered over to the empty seat next to Cadie.
"Bad news?" Cadie asked quietly. "I saw you wincing before," she explained at Jo's quizzical look.
"Oh. No, not at all, actually." She nodded over at the custody sergeant who was still on the phone, his forehead creased into a frown. "In fact, I think our friend over there is just getting the word now." She looked down at Cadie and smiled. "It's going to be okay, love," she whispered.
"Oh, I adore you," Cadie replied, just as quietly. She wrapped a hand around Jo's bicep and squeezed gratefully. "So what was the wince for, Miss Miracle Worker?"
Jo chuckled. "Just an update on Marco's medical condition." That earned her another empathetic squeeze. "And I'm not the miracle worker. Harding got it done."
"Remind me to send him a bunch of flowers," Cadie murmured, watching as the desk sergeant hung up the phone and disappeared out the door to another part of the police station.
"He'd appreciate a carton of cigarettes and a bottle of scotch more," replied Jo. She leaned sideways, intending to drop a kiss into the soft, gold locks that were so close. But a sudden realization that Sarah was watching them with a curious expression on her face brought her up short. Whoa, Jo-Jo, she thought. Remember where you are. She's not yours to kiss.
"I want to thank him, not contribute to his early death, Jo-Jo," the blonde replied with a smile, for once oblivious to the thoughts crossing the skipper's mind. She glanced up, surprised to find a very guarded expression clouding Jo's usually open face. "What is it?" she asked.
"Hon, you might want to let go of my arm," the taller woman whispered. "The children are watching."
"Ugh," grunted Cadie, sliding her hand away from the warmth of the inside of Jo's arm. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Jo said. "I think that's going to be the least of our worries for the next few hours or so."
"Oh gee, thanks, that's reassuring." The blonde laughed.
They were saved from further anxious moments by the return of the charge sergeant who walked through into their part of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "I've been informed by my superior officer that there will be no charges brought against the three ladies and they are free to leave." Sighs of relief and subdued cheers rang around the room. "I reckon you don't want to be taking them out through the front door, so if you'd like to follow me, I can let you all out the back way."
Toby leapt to his feet. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," he said. "Jason and I are going out to give the press a statement. That will give you all a chance to get back to the boat without having the hacks on your heels. Leave us a buggy and we'll catch up with you as soon as we can."
Jo nodded and stood. "Sounds like a plan," she said. She turned and followed Therese and Sarah through to the part of the police station that housed the overnight holding cells. She felt Cadie at her back. The sooner we get out of here, the better, Jo thought, the smells and sounds of the jail bringing back some distant memories she would rather forget.
A reassuring hand on her back let her know Cadie was making a good guess about her thought processes and she couldn't help but smile.
They rounded a corner and there sat Naomi, Larissa, and Kelli. Cadie and Jo moved rapidly away from each other.
The blonde warily approached her partner, who sat in a corner of the room, her expression as dark and threatening as any she'd ever seen. Naomi was unkempt and clearly feeling very much the worse for wear. Handle with care, Cadie thought to herself. Apart from anything else, a humiliated Naomi is a dangerous Naomi. "Hi, Nay," she finally said.
Slowly the senator pushed herself up out of her seat. She glowered at Cadie with an intense fury that forced the blonde backwards a step. Jo felt the hairs at the back of her neck rise and she made a move towards the pair, stopped only by a quick look from Cadie.
"Where the fuck were you?" Naomi growled, low and soft. "You were supposed to be with me, and then you were gone. None of this would have happened if you'd just stayed where you were supposed to stay. Where..." She moved closer to Cadie. "...the fuck..."
Jo felt herself rock onto the balls of her feet.
"...were you?"
Cadie tried to stay as still and calm as she could. Inches in front of her face, Naomi oozed venom. Behind and to the side of her, she could feel Jo radiating a kind of protective anger that felt warm...but dangerous.
"It was crowded, Naomi," she said quietly, acknowledging to herself that her own long fuse was sparking. "I got separated from you in the crush. I could just as easily ask where you were. I looked for you for an hour and then decided the best thing was to go back to the boat. Perhaps if you'd thought about it a litt
le more, that answer would have occurred to you."
Two things then happened in quick succession; so fast, in fact, that Cadie barely had time to blink and it was over. Naomi raised a hand to slap the blonde and a dark blur swooped over Cadie's left shoulder, pinning the senator's hand in an immovable grip.
"Don't even think about it," Jo murmured, nose to nose with the infuriated senator. "You'll regret it for a very long time."
Ooo, my hero, Cadie thought, wondering at the casual strength humming through the tall woman. But it's not a good idea to let this go on much longer. She looked at Naomi and for the first time, saw fear on the older woman's face. "Jo," Cadie said quietly. "I think you can let her go now."
Without taking her eyes from the senator's, Jo released her hand and stepped back. Naomi lowered her arm, breathing heavily.
"Ladies," Therese said sharply from behind them. "We really don't have time for this bullshit. Let's go."
Jo nodded, and then gestured to the door, waiting for Naomi to make a move. With a low growl the American did so, walking out the door and into the brilliant sunshine.
"Thank you," Cadie said as she and the skipper followed Therese and Sarah out. "Though I don't think she would really have hit me."
Jo raised an eyebrow. The hell she wouldn't. She was going to...she was all set to. "I wasn't going to take that chance," she said aloud. "Not now, not ever. I don't care what plans she has to blackmail us." Jo looked down at the blonde. "I know it's going to make her angrier, but I can't—won't—let her hurt you." She shrugged. "Sorry. That's just the way I am."
Cadie watched as Therese, Sarah, and Naomi climbed into one golf buggy, while Larissa and Kelli clambered into the back of the other. "I wouldn't have you any other way," Cadie murmured without looking back up at the blue eyes she knew were fixed on her. "I think I'd better go with them." She gestured at Naomi's cart.
"Mhmm," Jo replied. "See you back at the boat. If you see a journalist, run over it."
Cadie snorted a quiet laugh.
Toby and Jason faced the media like the seasoned professionals they were. Toby, ever the front man, took control.
"Ladies and gentleman, if you would gather round please, we have a statement from Senator Silverberg." He waited as reporters, photographers and news crews bustled around him, hurriedly setting up microphone stands and tape recorders. "My name is Toby Mclntyre. This," he indicated his partner, "is Jason Samuels. We are the senator's press liaison team.
"Last night, while celebrating Hamilton Island Race Week with other members of her party and crew from the boat she has been staying on for the past two weeks, the senator was accidentally detained by the Hamilton Island police. Contrary to this morning's newspaper reports at no stage was the senator under arrest, nor was there ever any question of that being the case. She and her companions have been released unconditionally. Thank you."
A hubbub of questions rose from the assembled pack but Toby backed away from the microphones.
"There will be no further comment or questions answered at this time," Jason said, before he too turned away and walked back into the police station.
"What do you think?" he asked sotto voce to his partner as they retreated.
"I think we'd better get out to sea pretty damn quickly," Toby replied.
The Seawolf sliced through the water heading due east from Hamilton Island, towards the outer banks of the Great Barrier Reef. Jo had a destination in mind that wasn't marked on any of the tourist maps and didn't even have a name on the nautical charts. It was a tiny horseshoe-shaped reef and lagoon she knew nobody else would find in a hurry, least of all a pack of journalists with no local knowledge.
They were cruising at about nine knots, the yacht listing with the wind and making good time. Jo didn't have to do much to keep the big boat on track and she relaxed against the bulwark of the port crew cockpit, her right foot resting on a spoke of the wheel, keeping them on a steady course.
It had been a very subdued group of passengers who had made it back to the boat without further incident. Toby and Jason had helped the crew get the Seawolf out to sea but since then the Americans had done little else but sit around the cockpit talking in low voices. The senator had disappeared below decks for a while but had since returned, showered and refreshed, to her usual spot in the corner. She's said barely a word, Jo noted. Even Cadie was keeping a low profile by helping Jen in the galley.
Jo took another bite on the big bacon sandwich in her left hand, grateful for the hangover-curing miracle the tasty treat was working. Jen and Cadie had made enough to keep passengers and crew going until they could prepare a late lunch once they found anchorage. The skipper hadn't had much chance to talk with Paul and Jenny since their return to the Seawolf, other than to issue sailing orders, but she watched as the big man skillfully made his way towards her across the moving deck.
"Hey, Jo-Jo," he greeted her, stealing half a sandwich from the plate tucked into a niche in the side of the cockpit.
"Hiya, Paulie," she returned.
"Pretty quiet group," he said between mouthfuls.
"Mmm. I suspect they're just realizing the good senator is in a fair amount of poo, mate," she replied. She looked over at the big man. "So how did the search go?"
He shrugged as he wolfed down the last of his bacon.
"Came up dry, Skip," he said.
"You searched everywhere?"
"Hell, yeah," he reiterated. "I shone a torch in any space a human hand can get into. From the bowsprit to the bilge pumps. Nothing. If there are drugs on this boat, I'll bare my bum and do a dance down Main Street."
"Okay, okay, I believe you." She chuckled at the mental image. So it was a bluff. A tiny flicker of hope sputtered into life in her heart. Maybe, for once, the senator isn't going to have things all her own way. Perhaps Cadie will actually get to do what's good for her. Ft could be a start, at least. It was an unexpectedly bright thought in an otherwise grim morning.
Jo's gamble had paid off. The small coral cay had proven to be uninhabited and the Seawolf was safely anchored in the lagoon. The weather was idyllic; warm, and a cloudless sky but with an ocean breeze blowing from the east, where the breakers crashed against the leading edge of the reef. Their anchorage was sheltered and calm, a perfect spot for swimming or walking the coral.
The dark-haired skipper sighed as she balanced on the bowsprit, binoculars in hand. It should have been the ideal place to bring a boatload of tourists, but instead the Americans had settled into a morose kind of stupor. Only Larissa and Kelli, who were apparently oblivious to anything other than their own enjoyment, were making the most of the location, snorkeling not far off the boat's port beam.
Jo lifted the binoculars to her eyes and scanned the sea between them and the mainland.
So far, so good, she thought. Which is more than I can say for the mood. Therese, Sarah, and Naomi had had a shouting match of epic proportions not long after they'd anchored. The attorneys were apparently none too pleased about being caught up in Naomi's escapades. At one point Therese had pointed out that the senator was on the brink of blowing 10 years' hard work for one idiot night of partying. Hard to believe it could get that ugly.
She glanced up as Cadie picked her way over the deck fittings towards her. Despite it all, the blonde still managed to conjure up her trademark smile, the top of her nose wrinkling as green eyes met blue.
"Hello, Skipper," Cadie said softly, resisting the urge to invade the tall woman's personal space just so she could feel those long arms wrapped around her. Instead she nervously held her hands behind her back.
"Hi," Jo replied. "How are you doing with all this?"
Cadie shrugged and Jo noted the barely reined in tension in the blonde's compact body. "I'm okay, I guess," Cadie said, not meeting Jo's gaze.
"Uh-huh," replied the skipper skeptically. "Try again, kiddo."
Cadie chuckled. "Hey, I'm only a couple of years younger than you, grandma, so who are you calling kiddo?" She grinned as she
said it, and Jo was relieved to see a sparkle return to those gorgeous eyes. Cadie looked around at the other passengers dotted around the deck. "I guess we're all just waiting, and it makes me nervous."
"Waiting for what?" Jo asked. "I mean, if we can get through till tomorrow morning without the scumbag media finding us, it'll all blow over."
Cadie shook her head slowly. "I wish that were true, hon," she said. "It may well blow over with the Australian media. But it's the middle of the night in the US. Hopefully we didn't make the evening news, but for sure it's going to hit the airwaves first thing in the morning. And then..." She shrugged again. "Who knows what will happen?"
Jo had never had much reason to think about the internal machinations of US politics. "So what are we talking about here? A rap over the knuckles?"
Cadie leaned back on the bowsprit rail, taking the opportunity to brush the back of her hand against the warmth of Jo's thigh. The two women took a couple of seconds just to enjoy the tingles that set off in both of them until, with an effort, Cadie pulled her eyes away and focused on answering the question.
"Well, Jason thinks she'll be recalled straight away," she replied.
"By the Senate?" Jo guessed.
Cadie shook her head. "No. By the senior party members. The leaders of the Republican Party, in other words," she clarified, seeing the crease appear on Jo's forehead.
"And what will they do?"
"Good question. I don't really know to be honest. She's never managed to get herself into trouble like this before."
Jo shifted around a little so she could place a hand against the blonde's shoulder blade, where she began a gentle rubbing. "Is it really such a big deal?" she asked, smiling as she felt Cadie lean back into her touch. "She's surely not the first politician to get caught with a glass of alcohol in her hand. Hell, here a pollie's looked at suspiciously if they don't take a drink."
Cadie chuckled, shaking her head. "I'd believe that." She smiled. "Unfortunately, the Republican Party is a very conservative institution. Having an openly gay senator in the party was something of a novelty to say the least. There are still large factions of the party that have been waiting for an opportunity to tear Naomi to shreds."
Heart's Passage Page 31
