A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series

by Savannah DelGardo

  Six

  At Jessi's apartment, Ric sat in the living room, flipping through a magazine that was on the couch as he waited for Jessi to get out of the shower. It was torture, knowing she was only a short distance away, naked and wet, and he kept thinking about mundane things like cleaning his service pistol or the mechanics of a patrol boats diesel engine just so he didn't embarrass himself by getting a hard-on in the living room of a woman he'd only known for two months.

  It was now night, and a light rain had started to fall when they'd arrived at Jessi's apartment. He was glad her time with her ex-husband had only been short, because he knew how violent men like Kevin Nolan could get.

  He didn't want anything more to happen to Jessi for as long as he could prevent it.

  She came out of the bedroom then, dressed in gray sweatpants and a white tee with her hair pulled back into a braid. She looked clean and fresh and when she joined him on the couch, her scent of vanilla and shea butter filled his senses, making it hard for him to not react.

  Jessi crossed her legs and sat facing him. “How did you find me?”

  “Steven, the RO for out ship, got in contact with the AFP and dug up information on Nolan. He learned that Nolan had rented a cabin at the national park, so that was the first logical place for us to look.” Ric told her. “I located the cabin and was there when you took off in the Audi.” He grinned at her and said, “By the way, that was some killer driving.'

  Jessi smiled at that and replied, “I didn't meant to do that. I just didn't want to slow down and risk being caught again.”

  Ric put the magazine on the table next to the couch and turned to face her, taking her hands in his as he told her, “He isn't going to get to you again. For as long as I can, I will keep you safe and away from him.”

  Jessi stared at him and he could tell that she wasn't sure whether or not she could trust him. So he decided to give her something to think about. Lifting his hand, he placed his thumb and forefinger on her chin and lightly tugged, pulling her bottom lip down as he told her, “Do you know it's taking all of my energy to not kiss you right now?”

  Her eyes went wide, but she didn't say anything.

  “Since I saw you this morning, in that dress, looking beautiful, all I've been able to think about is how much I want to kiss you and make love to you.” He continued, holding her startled gaze. “But I won't. Because it wouldn't be fair of me to make a move on you when you've had the day you've had.” He released her chin and hand and put his hands in his lap as he added, “So, I'll sleep out here on the couch, and you can go catch some sleep in your bed.”

  He needed the distance before he went back on his word and took her right here on her couch.

  But Jessi didn't move. Instead, she took him by surprise when she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. His heart jumped into his throat and his hand automatically lifted to her shoulders to steady her as he pulled back to look at her.

  “Jess ...”

  “I want this, Ric.” She whispered, holding his gaze. “I want you.”

  He couldn't have resisted that.

  Pulling her to him, he cradled her against his body like a porcelain doll as he claimed her mouth, his tongue sweeping inside to taste her sweetness as Jessi's hands rested on his chest and she kissed him back. The kiss went from soft and gentle to hard and intense, and he stood, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to her bedroom before setting her down on her bed and coming down on top of her.

  She sighed his name as he removed her clothes, and when she helped him undress, Ric almost groaned as her fingers brushed against his skin in the most exquisite torture. He allowed himself a few moments to take in her naked form before he kissed her again, her breasts becoming crushed against his naked chest as he held her to him.

  He couldn't explain it, but he never wanted to let her go.

  Jessi couldn't believe this was actually happening.

  After what had happened to her at the hands of her ex-husband, she thought she'd never find another man attractive, let alone one that she would want to be intimate with.

  And yet, there she was, naked and in the middle of making love with a man she'd only met two months ago and knew next to nothing about.

  The feeling of his hands on her body, of his mouth on hers and the way he held her close – close enough to crush her breasts and make them tingle with the bare skin-to-skin contact – it was pure bliss.

  She could hear someone moaning and knew it was her, but she didn't care.

  What Ric was doing to her made her feel … alive. Wanted and cherished.

  He kissed every inch of skin on her body, paying close attention to her breasts and the area between her legs before his mouth moved back up to claim hers. His tongue was hot and skilled, driving her crazy with desire she never knew she could feel.

  He touched her like she was delicate and held her like he didn't want to let her go. And when he slid into her, claiming and possessing her, it felt like he might actually love her.

  Jessi knew that couldn't be possible because they were almost strangers, but she allowed herself the delusion as he made love to her because it was true for her.

  Ric Jordan was her saviour. Her hero.

  He'd saved her from a man trying to rape her at the rodeo two months ago, and he'd come to the rescue again when he'd come after her today.

  She'd fallen for him, and she didn't think anything could change that.

  The lovers lay in Jessi's bed, naked and wrapped around each other as they slept. The rain was now coming down in buckets and the city was completely dark outside the window in Jessi's bedroom.

  After making love three times, they were both sated and would have slept through until morning if not for the sudden call around three in the morning that woke them.

  “Hello?” Ric answered, kissing the crown of Jessi's head as she snuggled closer to him.

  “It's Blake.” Michael said on the other end. “And I have some bad news.”

  “What?”

  “Kevin Nolan is in the wind.”

  “What? How did that happen?”

  “He took out the agents taking him back to Brisbane and drove their car over a small cliff. He's disappeared.”

  “Christ.” Ric breathed. He looked down at Jessi and was glad she'd fallen back asleep. “What happens now?”

  “I'd like to put Miss Lawson into the WPP, but I know she wouldn't go for that because she refused the last time we offered.” Michael said. “So instead, I want you and her at our HQ in Brisbane by no later then Wednesday. Is she's there, at least we know Nolan can't get to her.”

  “Alright. We'll leave first thing this morning.” Ric said.

  “Are you at her apartment now?”

  Ric heard the trace of judgment in the agents voice and replied, “I am.”

  “I'll meet you there. 0900 hours. Be ready to leave.”

  “Will do.”

  Ric hung up before waking Jessi to tell her the news. She was a little taken back by this latest development, but agreed to go to the AFP. Before they got up, he made love to her again, ignoring the feeling inside him that told him he was falling for this woman.

  Seven

  Jessi sat silently in the back seat of a Toyota Kluger 4x4, Ric at her side and AFP Agent Michael Blake behind the wheel as they left Cairns and headed for Brisbane. She'd been glad when Ric had told her he was going with her; she really didn't want to wait around for Kevin to make a move on her own.

  She'd divorced him nearly six months ago and had thought her troubles would have ended when she left him behind and moved over fifteen-hundred kilometers away.

  She'd believed that everything to do with her old life would have stayed behind, but it hadn't, and now Kevin was after her.

  Ric and even Michael Blake were doing a fantastic job of keeping her safe, but she couldn't help but wonder how long they'd be able to keep doing it before he found them and she put all their lives in jeopardy.

  But even as sh
e thought this, the 4x4 was rammed and they were sent off the road. The speed Michael had been going was too fast for the federal agent to control the big 4x4 and they went over, rolling once before coming to a stop on their side.

  Jessi heard the faint sound of tires squealing and someone shouting, then the darkness claimed her.

  Ric braced himself against his door and the back seat as he looked down at Jessi's unconsciousness form. She lay against her door, blood on her head, arms and jeans.

  “Jess? Can you hear me?”

  She didn't respond.

  Michael was pulling himself up from, blood on his head. He swore when he grazed his fingers on glass and looked at Ric. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. What happened?”

  “We were run off the road.”

  Ric swore. “Nolan?”

  “That'd be my guess.” Michael managed to get himself upright and he pulled a gun out of the glove compartment, handing it to Ric as he said, “Take this. I'll see if that bastard is still around.”

  Ric nodded. His head was throbbing and there was a mild pain in his leg, but he ignored both of that. He needed to get Jessi out of the car so he could assess her injuries. Boosting himself out of the side of the 4x4, he jumped over the side and onto the ground just as Kevin took a shot him.

  Michael provided cover fire that allowed Ric to pull Jessi up and out of the wreck. He lifted her up over his shoulder and made for the bush that lined the highway. Michael continued to exchange shots with Kevin as he got Jessi to safety. When he had her propped against a tree, Ric returned to the wreck, assisting Michael by distracting Kevin long enough for the federal agent to get to safety.

  Ric noticed Kevin was using the F150 as cover, so he decided on a course of action that would either kill the son of a bitch, or at least slow him down. Aiming at the truck, Ric emptied his magazine into the engine until it began to smoke, and on his final shot, the truck blew up, exploding in an impressive cloud of black-and-orange smoke before the fuel tank blew in a second explosion that lifted the truck off the ground and made it flip over onto it's roof.

  With that done, he dropped the empty gun into the grass and returned to where Jessi and Michael were.

  “Nice shooting.” Michael said, his hand pressed against a wound on his side.

  “How badly are you hurt?”

  “It's nothing. I'll be fine.”

  Ric nodded and looked down at Jessi. He cupped her face and said, “Come on, Jessi. Wake up.”

  “She could have a concussion.”

  “All the more reason I need to wake her up. She can't die on me.” Ric said, passionate conviction in his voice.

  He wouldn't loose the only woman he'd ever cared about to some prick who couldn't accept that it was over.

  Even as he thought this, Jessi stirred and her eyes opened. She looked from Michael to him and said, “Ric? What happened?”

  “We were in an accident,” He told her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “Nothing major.” She replied, her voice hoarse.

  But that didn't mean she was in the clear. She could have internal injuries that could prove deadly in a few hours.

  Michael looked over to the burning truck and destroyed 4x4 and said, “We need to get out of here. Nolan could have escaped that explosion and still be armed.”

  Ric knew they had to move, but he didn't want to move Jessi in case they made her possible injuries worse. In the end, however, moving was the logical choice and he lifted Jessi into his arms as he followed Michael through the woods and to a road that lead to houses that were just off the highway.

  * * * *

  In the opposite direction, former AFP agent Kevin Nolan had managed to steal a car and get on the highway that would take him back to Cairns. He was breaking all the speed limits in a effort to make it back to the city, because he had a new plan that would end with both Jessica and her man-whore boyfriend dead.

  He couldn't believe that bitch was dating again!

  They'd only been divorced for a few months.

  But Kevin took some comfort in knowing that the relationship couldn't be that serious because they weren't living together. Over-taking an oil tanker, Kevin raced on along the A1 highway, determined to get to Cairns. He had an uncle that lived in the area and he knew the former Army captain would be too happy to assist him in getting rid of a navy man. He also knew his uncle would have a cache of weapons he could use that couldn't be traced to anyone.

  Weapons he could use to make that slutty bitch pay for what she'd done to him.

  He'd lost his federal agent status and spent time in prison because she'd cried rape on the night of their anniversary.

  The bitch was responsible for all the hardship he'd been going through lately and he wouldn't be happy until she and her new boyfriend were buried six feet under.

  Ric, Jessi and Michael came across an old farm house with two Ford ute's and an old Ford sedan parked out front and counted their blessings. Ric stayed behind with Jessi still in his arms as Michael went to the front door and spoke with an elderly man, flashing his badge to put him at ease.

  “How are you holding up?” Ric asked while they waited.

  “I'm okay. A little tired, but otherwise fine.”

  “You can sleep. I won't drop you.”

  She smiled and said, “You know, I can walk.”

  “I know.” Was all he said.

  Michael gestured them over as he opened the passenger door of the old '85 Falcon and Ric carried her over to the car, putting her in the back seat before climbing in under the wheel, Michael's injury making it impossible for him to drive.

  “Get us back to Cairns ASAP, Jordan.” He told Ric. “I need to let HQ know Nolan is on the loose and what he's done.”

  Ric didn't need to be told twice.

  Both Michael and Jessi needed a hospital, and he had to check in with the ship to make sure they hadn't been crashed-sailed or their departure date later in the month hadn't been moved up.

  He looked over at Michael briefly before returning his attention to the road and said, “Just so you know, I plan on taking Jessi home with me for the holidays. I can keep her safe if she's with me and my family in Bungalow.”

  “Following in the footsteps of Coleman, eh?”

  Ric smiled slightly and said, “It worked for him. I can only hope it works for me.”

  “You do know that she isn't going to be safe until Nolan is back in jail or dead?”

  Ric looked in the rear-view mirror at Jessi, who was asleep on the backseat, and replied, “I know.”

  Killing Nolan was a tempting notion, but he wasn't going to risk his freedom or his career just to kill that son of a bitch.

  His best option was to keep Jessi by his side at all times until Nolan was where he belonged. Then, once she was completely safe and free to do what she wanted, he'd work on convincing her that their relationship had only one ending.

  Eight

  A week before Christmas, Ric packed a bag for him and Jessi and took her south to Bungalow, where his parents home was filled to capacity with family from all over the state.

  His mother was friendly but a little posh, his dad the complete opposite. When Ric introduced her to Colin Jordan, the older man picked her up and swung her around in a circle before holding her against him in a tight hug. Jessi didn't know what to do but brace her hands on his shoulders and hang on.

  “Dad, that's enough.” Ric said, rescuing her before Colin could do anymore damage. He took her hand and led her into the living room, where he introduced her to his brother, Hamish, Hamish's wife, Sofia, his sister Heidi and Heidi's husband, Wallace, and all the kids currently running around and having a good time. “And this lovely old goat,” Ric said with affection as he introduced her to the final person in the house, “Is Mother Fran, our grandmother and Dad's mother.”

  Fran shook Jessi's hand, a huge smile on her wrinkled face as she said, “It's so lovely to meet you, dear. Ricky never brings women home.”


  Jessi just smiled, not sure what to say to that.

  Fran grilled Ric about his year and what he'd been doing with the Navy before she excused herself to help her daughter-in-law in the kitchen.

  As Ric set Jessi up with something to drink, Hamish appeared at his side and said in a tight voice, “Let's talk outside.”