Finding Trust (Centre Games)

by Natalie Gayle

  “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do?” Rihanna asked, getting off the bed and heading to the door.

  “Not unless you can go back in time and change the fact that I met Andy. I’ll just live vicariously through you for a bit.”

  “Done.”

  ***

  Rihanna found Brayden at his desk. He noticed her at the door immediately; in fact, he’d heard her walk down the hall. He could pick out her walk anywhere.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course you can, you don’t need to ask.”

  She nodded at his words, closed the door softly and sat on the leather lounge. All he could think of was how hot she looked in those skimpy denim shorts. Good thing the guys knew she was off limits. If he saw any of them looking at her the wrong way, he’d make them damn sorry they were silly enough to poach on his territory.

  He knew why she was here. They had barely spoken two words since the meeting this morning. He also knew he had to make the first move. It was his outburst at the meeting that had caused the issues.

  “I guess this is the bit where you yell at me for suggesting you not be part of the team tomorrow.”

  “That about covers it or do I need to actually yell to make my point?” Her tone was short.

  He pushed his chair back from the desk and scrubbed his face with his hands. “No, the glare you pegged me with across the table was enough to let me know I’d overstepped the mark.” Rihanna was about to spring back with something but he cut her off. He needed to end this, not continue to fuel it. “I’m sorry I upset you in front of the team again, Rihanna. I know I said I wouldn’t but something just happens to me when I think you might be in danger and all I can think of is getting you out of there.”

  She didn’t say anything, just nodded solemnly. “Jazz says it’s because you love me and feel the need to protect me.”

  “That’s exactly how I feel. The thought of you in danger just makes me react. My brain just doesn’t seem to engage real well when I think you might be in danger.” He knew his possessive and protectiveness was amplified by his animal characteristics. He just couldn’t tell her that, yet. In fact, he thought he was doing well not to drag her out of here and go and hide her somewhere until all this craziness was over.

  “I understand that now, Brayden. But how are we going to deal with it?” She was calm and he was glad that she seemed to want to work this out rather than fight.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t just go making decisions about what I am and aren’t going to do without talking to me about them first. I’m not telling you to not be involved in this.”

  “Rihanna, this is my job. I’m trained to do this.” Fuck, he’d been created specifically for this purpose.

  She pushed on. “That’s not what I’m talking about. You’ve done it twice. First, when you forbid me to see Jazz and then with you demanding I not be involved in the assignment tomorrow.”

  Forbid—ouch! That word hurt. Really hurt. Did she really see it like that? She must have.

  He got out of the chair and joined her on the lounge. He wanted to touch her but wasn’t sure how or where he should. “I didn’t mean it like that, Rih. I just can’t stand the thought of you being in unnecessary danger.”

  Minky solved the problem for him. She closed her hands around his forearm. The contact was enough to make him feel better. Surely they could work it out.

  “I know that, Brayden, because Jazz pointed it out to me. Actually, she kind of beat me over the head with it.”

  “I’m starting to realise Jazz can be very direct when she wants to be.”

  Rihanna gave a little snort of laughter. “She can be. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “What else did she say? I can’t believe she stopped at just that.” If these two were going to talk about him, he at least wanted the whole story.

  She gave him that little chin tilt, look out of the corner of her eye thing that he loved. “Umm, she said you made a public declaration of how important I am to you by speaking out like you did to Tom in front of the team.”

  “Yeah, maybe I can see why she’d say that. But they already knew how important you are to me. I spoke to the guys a few days ago.” He hadn’t mentioned his showdown with the boss. She didn’t need to know about that just yet. The ball was in the boss’s court for the moment.

  Rihanna inhaled sharply, clearly surprised that he’d spoken to the guys. “I thought only girls gasbagged about relationships.”

  He chuckled. “No, love. Us guys do it as well. Particularly when our personal lives spill over into our work ones, which often happens with my team.”

  She looked up at him with her eyes so full of warmth and pleading. “So do you understand why I have to be part of it tomorrow?”

  He lifted her hands from his arm and laced her fingers through his. “I do understand, Rih, but I’m just like your dad. We can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”

  “But you’ll be there to protect me, won’t you?”

  She was mocking him and he knew it. This was serious business. These guys had already proved they were okay with killing if necessary. “I want you to remember how dangerous this could be, Rihanna. These guys are serious. I know you’re desperate for this thing to be over but I want you to think about sitting out. There’s no shame. Shit, you might even be pregnant, which is just another good reason to sit out.”

  He knew he was wasting his breath but he wanted to try convincing her to sit out one last time.

  “I know you’re worried, but I’m not sitting out. Tom was right; my father and I have the most knowledge of the virus. We need to be there to spot potential signs. I’ll be careful. And we don’t know whether I’m pregnant. It’s really a stretch to be worried about something that is not even likely.”

  He could see the logic from her perspective and he couldn’t argue with her without disclosing the truth about himself.

  This checkmate situation was killing him.

  He hated not telling her everything about him. But this thing was almost over; then he could take the time he really needed with her and hopefully she’d trust him.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful and do everything I tell you?” He squeezed her hands, emphasising his words.

  “Okay, I promise.” She dropped her head and he knew there was a “but” coming. “The reason I’m promising is because I know how much you’re concerned about this. I feel the same about you and your safety.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “I feel this because I’ve realised over the last couple of days that I love you, too. I know this because for the first time I actually want to work out my differences with a guy rather than cutting and running.”

  Brayden pulled her into his arms. She snuggled in like he’d become accustomed; it felt good, real good. For the first time in his life, his heart felt full. That piece that had been missing for so long seemed to slip into place.

  And it fit perfectly.

  He stroked his hand through her silky hair. It was so beautiful to look at, a kaleidoscope of colours. “It’s going to be okay, Minky. We’ll end this situation with the Chinese then we can focus on us for a bit.”

  Rihanna hugged him tighter. “I’m scared, Brayden. I know you think I’m not being responsible by going but I’m actually doing the opposite. If there’s a chance that I can stop this, then I need to be there. If we don’t stop it, who knows where it could go? I’d never be able to live with myself.” She paused before continuing. “I’m only slightly sane at the moment because I know you’ll have my back. That helps with the fear.”

  “You’re right, baby. I’ll have your back.”

  “Let’s finish this so we can have a little time away from all the craziness.”

  “Okay. We’ll finish it together,” he promised.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Wow, the day was roasting already, promising to be a scorcher. Not only was it hot, it was humid. The worst kind of Que
ensland summer day—sticky heat. Rihanna’s polo shirt was already sticking to her back and it wasn’t nine a.m. yet.

  They’d arrived at the sale facility attached to the Gold Coast racetrack. A large facility, it could quite comfortably cater for several hundred horses. As typical with all racing facilities, there was a lot of activity: people moving around, horses moving around, trucks coming and going.

  Tom had called an early-morning meeting to go over every last bit of planning and intelligence before they’d left the safety of Brayden’s property and headed here. Everyone was keyed up. The tension in the makeshift Situation Room this morning had been palpable.

  Beta team was starting the day with a briefing meeting with Dr Terry Connors, the head veterinarian for the sale. They were all gathered in the sales facility meeting room. Her father had suggested he take point on this briefing. Not only had he worked with Terry for years, he’d also been best man at his wedding. They had history and it would hopefully help.

  “Terry, let me introduce you to Brayden James, Rory Southall, and Quade Roston.” Each man shook Terry’s hand in turn. “I’m guessing you got the briefing note from the Department of Ag about the increased virus alert. They’ve upped surveillance and monitoring as a result of those last few cases just before Christmas. Essentially, they asked Rihanna and I if we’d mind overseeing these sales and the racing carnival. We agreed because I’m keen to collect a little more data and run some scenarios against our latest research. The department asked if these guys could come along and observe, take a few notes that sort of thing. I said ‘stuff it—they can bloody help.’”

  Everyone laughed. It was going well; Rihanna knew Terry didn’t suspect a thing. She knew how this must be eating at her father. She knew firsthand how hard it had been to keep the truth from Jazz.

  “Sounds like you guys are really close. Can’t tell you how much of a relief it will be to the whole veterinary community when you get the vaccine in production.” Terry’s support for their work was evident in his tone.

  “We’re very close, Terry. I’d like to think a few more months and we can start full-blown trials with a potential launch late in the year.”

  “Wow, that would be awesome.” Terry was evidently surprised at just how near the vaccine was to production.

  “So getting back to the matter at hand, I’d like to evoke a few new protocols; these will help with testing data. Also, I think these protocols are pertinent given the increased virus risk at the moment. We can’t be too careful when we have millions of dollars of horseflesh here.”

  “Okay, Peter, what did you have in mind?” Terry asked agreeably.

  “I’d like you to turn off all the automatic waters in the stables. I want to avoid the risk of any major contamination through the water supply. Buckets only and I want the grooms briefed that they are to refresh the buckets every two hours. I’d like a no-feed policy during the hours that the public have access to the stables. I want all the hard feed and hay removed fifteen minutes before arrival.

  “All travel permits, way bills, and health inspection paperwork need to be inspected before a horse is admitted to the facility and I assume your team is carrying out all the entry vet inspections.”

  “Sure are. Anything else?” Terry was obviously supportive of the suggested new protocols.

  “That should be enough to get up everyone’s nose without me coming up with a few more things, mate,” her father joked with Terry. The carrying water would annoy a lot of the grooms. Carrying buckets in this heat would be a major pain in the rear end.

  “Well, that’s all pretty straightforward. I’ll go brief my team and if there’s anything further you need, just let me know.” Terry rose and headed to a cupboard at the end of the room. “I’ll give all you guys and lady”—Terry winked at Rihanna—“one of these bibs to identify yourselves. This should ensure you get the necessary co-operation you need, particularly from security. If you have any troubles, just let me know and I’ll sort it out.” Terry passed out royal blue bibs carrying the logo of the complex and marked with “Veterinary Staff.” It was the equivalent of giving them an all-access pass.

  “Sounds good, Terry; appreciate you facilitating this at such short notice.”

  “No problem at all, Pete. We’ve both worked with the department long enough to know they play by their own rules and we’re just expected to go along.”

  History was a great thing, Rihanna decided.

  “Oh, just so you know, we’ll all be in touch via a new incident management comms system the Department of Ag wants us to try out. So if you see us talking to ourselves or notice funny wires in our ears, that’s what it’s all about.” Her father paused and grinned at Terry. “I’m pretty happy about it, actually; that means I might not have to walk this old carcass as far.”

  “None of us are getting any younger, mate.” Terry slapped her father on the back and headed for his staff briefing. “I’ll catch you in an hour or two for a coffee.”

  Her father tipped his cap. “Look forward to it.”

  Unbelievable, her father had just lied like a pro and Terry had bought it all. Lock, stock, and barrel. He’d even managed to explain away the communications sets they needed to remain in contact with one another and the other teams. Guess there was some truth in the adage—“Make it appear as if you’re supposed to be doing it and nine times out of ten, no one questions it.”

  Rihanna went up and squeezed his arm in support. He had to be feeling lower than a snake’s belly right now. That’s how she’d felt about not letting on to Jazz what was really going on. Her father closed his hand over hers and nodded his head. He knew that she understood his pain at misleading a close friend. It wasn’t fun and it went against everything they stood for.

  They all walked out of the building and headed for the shade of a nearby tree.

  “That went well,” Brayden commented, coming to stand beside her. “These bibs will work a treat. It’ll be much easier to conceal a weapon under these.” Rory and Quade nodded in agreement.

  Brayden turned to Peter. “So where do you want us to start, Peter?”

  “We need to go and start doing some rounds. Checking temps, respirations, making observations, notes, stuff like that. Rihanna knows the drill. I think we should each start on opposite ends and work towards the middle.” Her father looked towards Brayden for confirmation of his plan. Brayden was, after all, the team leader.

  “Okay, Quade you go with Peter—you’re more comfortable around horses than Rory. Rory, you take a wander through the middle section of the complex, nose around and get friendly with some of the staff. Maybe see if you can get any information on what’s happening around here.” Brayden checked his watch. “I want everyone to check in at least every fifteen minutes. If anything feels even the slightest bit off, I want you to report it immediately. We take no chances, guys.”

  They nodded their acknowledgment of his orders and headed off to their assigned areas.

  Rihanna picked up her backpack and pulled out a clipboard folder with a series of charts and tables on it. She also pocketed a thermometer in a container of disinfecting solution and placed a stethoscope around her neck. “Do you think Rory will be okay by himself? He’s not a vet and he might struggle if he runs into any serious questioning.”

  “He’ll be fine. It’s Rory. That guy can talk his way out of anything. That’s exactly why I sent him by himself. He’s actually very confident around horses but it was easier to break it to Quade this way.”

  Brayden was right, now that she thought about it. Rory was incredibly likable and everyone fell for his easy charm and wit. He’d be fine.

  “He’ll fare a lot better than Quade if he runs into trouble. Rory will talk his way out of it and resort to more drastic measures if that doesn’t work. Quade, on the other hand, will take a much dimmer view of answering too many questions. He’s more likely to react a lot quicker, which is a bad thing when we’re trying to blend in around here.”

 
“You’re right.” She realised then what she’d done. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to question your authority. You know these guys and their skills better than I do.”

  “Don’t apologise for that. I’m not offended you’re questioning me. I’m actually pleased that you’re thinking through this whole situation. Staying alert and questioning everything will be what flushes these guys out. Question away, especially when it’s just us.”

  “Okay, I will.” She continued fiddling with a few more bits and pieces in her backpack.

  “I’m just going to do a radio check.” He proceeded to check the radio comms with each member of Beta team and then both Alpha and Charlie teams.

  “All set?”

  “Yep, let’s start with this block.” She motioned to the block on the end, already filled with horses.

  Rihanna took out a surgical glove and pulled it onto her right hand. The groom looking after these horses approached.

  “Something I can help you folks with?” the scruffy young man asked.

  “Just here to do some obs. We’ll be coming around periodically over the course of the sale. If you could just put a lead on each horse, it would be appreciated,” she said confidently, all business. The horses all had a lot number attached to the halters they wore. The number corresponded to the number in the sale catalogue that prospective buyers would use.

  “Sure.” The groom took a lead from the hook outside the end stall. He slipped through the door and quickly clipped it onto the pretty bay filly who was dancing around, anxious at all the attention.

  Rihanna and Brayden entered the stall, sliding the door shut behind them. The filly was fidgeting and humping her back. She was understandably upset at having three people, two of them strangers, invade the tight confines of her stall.

  Brayden noted down the particulars of the horse, including the lot number and the stall. He moved to stand beside the filly’s shoulder and began stroking her neck. The filly immediately relaxed and Rihanna quickly lifted her tail and slid a thermometer into her anus. It seemed his efforts at her place that day with the caste mare weren’t a fluke. This filly calmed just like the mare had. He was definitely a handy addition to have around. It was a rare gift.