“Francine isn't here.” Karleigh stated, absently stroking the muddy fur of the dog as she looked down the street. “If she was, I'd feel it.”
He could hear despair in her voice, but she was doing a damn good job of keeping it beneath the surface.
He had to admit he was proud of her. Catching her gaze, Ethan said, “We're going to find her, Karleigh. We're going to find her and bring her home in one piece.”
It was a promise he planned to see through to the end.
Seven
With the dog washed and fed – who knew he was white underneath all that mud? - Karleigh and Ethan were heading north to check out the last known places Francine was known to frequent.
It could be as simple as Francine didn't want to be in the care of the AFP's WPP unit and she was hiding out in one of her favourite haunts.
At least, that's how simple Karleigh hoped it was.
Their first stop was the coffee hut near the CBD that Francine liked to visit on a daily basis. The manager knew Francine by both name and order, but she hadn't seen her since before Francine had gone into the WPP.
Next was the gym, but the trainer had the same story.
So did the manager at the juice bar where Francine liked to have lunch.
“This is getting us nowhere.” Karleigh grumbled as they headed back to Cairns.
“You have to hang in there, X.” Ethan said. “Anything could be the key to finding her.”
She knew that, but stress and annoyance with the AFP were mixing to give her a massive headache. She also knew that if she didn't have Ethan by her side, motivating her, she probably would have broken down hours ago.
Suck it up, Karleigh ordered herself. She'd be no good to her sister if she was a blabbering mess.
Ethan was right; she needed to hang in there.
As they drove along the highway, Karleigh's phone rang and she hit a button on the steering wheel to activate the bluetooth connection so she could take the call. It was Doug Jones, who informed her they'd found a lead on Ian Morton.
“He's headed to Brisbane.”
“How can you be sure?” Karleigh asked.
“A witness remembered seeing them together at a local take-away joint. He overheard them talking about plans they had to leave for Brisbane in a few hours.”
“When was that?”
“Early this morning.”
“And you've only managed to obtain this information now?” Karleigh growled. Pressing the button, she disconnected the call and said, “We're going to Brisbane.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Yes. Once we drop this little guy off ...” She reached over to pat the dogs head, “ … we'll hit the road. I'm not leaving it to the AFP to find my sister.”
Ian Morton looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled.
His little baby was sleeping on the back seat, duct tape making sure she couldn't run away from him again. He knew Francine wouldn't have done what she'd done on her own free will. He knew the AFP had coerced her into giving them information on him because of the self-defence actions she'd taken against that disgusting prick, Schofield.
He wouldn't let them use his little baby Fran to put him in prison.
When they got to his apartment in Brisbane, he'd get them the things they needed to go underground so they could have the privacy and time they needed to work things out.
Eight
Karleigh slept in the passenger seat as Ethan drove her BMW south to Brisbane, the stress of the day combined with worry and fatigue forcing her to sleep when she hadn't wanted to.
Ethan was proud of her, but he was also starting to realise he felt more for her then he should, and that scared him.
He was thirty-three years old and had a long list of one-night-stands and short-lived affairs under his belt. As an officer in the Navy, he didn't really have the time for a relationship and he hadn't been worried when no one had spiked his interest.
But Karleigh had.
From the moment he'd lain eyes on her, he hadn't been able to think about much else.
She was interesting, different to most women he knew and so … fresh when it came to the way she acted and handled situations. On the outside, she had the looks and body of an angelic model, but on the inside was a warrior, capable of taking on anything.
He'd like to see where things between them could lead, but he couldn't be sure if she wanted to have that kind of relationship.
They did serve on the same ship, after all.
But, he'd have to wait until after they found Francine Greene because relationships and lustful feelings were no doubt the last thing Karleigh was thinking about at the moment.
He wasn't about to force himself on her.
He believed that good things happened to those who had the patience to wait.
When they arrived in Brisbane the next day, the storm followed them.
Ethan continued to drive the BMW as Karleigh spoke with Brady, who was liaising with local LEO's in trying to locate a place that Ian Morton could use to hide out in.
“According to the police in Brisbane, Ian liked to frequent a place called Grosover on George.” Brady told her. “It's a BBQ joint near the Roma Street Transit Centre.”
“Is that all?”
“Afraid so, LT. Morton didn't like to leave his home unless he was travelling to Cairns for business.”
“He has a house in Brisbane?”
“Close. Samford Valley.”
Karleigh felt hope wash over her. Francine had talked about Samford Valley in the few communications she'd had with her sister.
“Give us the address.”
Brady gave it to her adding, “Good luck.”
Karleigh thanked him and hung up. Looking at Ethan, she said, “We may have just doubled our chances of finding them.”
He smiled at her and headed straight for the BBQ joint.
A waitress remembered serving them.
“Are they still here?” Karleigh asked, looking at a sign that pointed to some stairs with Rooms this way scrawled across it.
“Nah. They ate, she used the can and they left.”
“Any idea as to where they might have gone.”
The waitress popped some gum and shook her head. Then she frowned and asked, “What's this about?”
Going a whim, Karleigh pulled out her RAN ID and showed it to the waitress, telling her, “Miss Greene is wanted for questioning over her recent unauthorised departure from Base.”
“Oh. Cool.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?”
“Nah. Oh, wait.” The waitress ducked behind the counter. “She left this in the bathroom.”
Karleigh felt her hopes and her heart plummet as she picked up the phone.
“That explains why Brady got the GPS fix here.” Ethan stated as they got back into the BMW.
“And why our chances just went from double to nothing.”
Nine
Samford Valley was a small community with a beautiful rainforest and magnificent mountain as it's backdrop. Located at the beginning of the north-western suburbs, it was home to mainly families and small business's, with a school, church, roadhouse and a handful of farms thrown in.
At a vacant lot three blocks east of where Ian Morton's home was, Karleigh leant against the hood of her BMW while Ethan spoke with his brother, who'd flown in early this morning to help in taking Ian Morton down, while they waited for Doug Jones of the AFP to arrive.
No matter what happened, this ended today.
Ian had had Francine for three days now.
Karleigh didn't want to think about what he could be doing to her.
The sound of gravel being crunched beneath tires drew her attention and she turned in time to see a black Holden SV8 Commodore pull in behind the unmarked FV6 Brady had rented.
Doug got out of the car and greeted her. “Lieutenant.”
“Agent Jones. Where's the rest of your team?”
“I figured
we could handle this one alone.” Doug replied.
Karleigh looked at him and stated, “More like the AFP didn't want to foot the bill for sending an entire team south from Cairns on such short notice.”
“There's also that.” He agreed. “You ready to do this?”
She may not be happy with them for how they treated her sister, but she needed all the help she could get in bringing down Morton.
For her sister's sake, this needed to be done by the book.
Nodding, she replied, “Let's do it.”
Ian Morton's home was a small, log cabin located on a large acreage with the closest neighbour a good distance away. As the three cars parked at the beginning of the long driveway, Karleigh wanted to jump out and race ahead to see if her sister was still okay.
She didn't know what she'd do if anything happened to Francine.
Before she could remove her seat-belt, Ethan's hand dropped down onto her arm, restraining her.
“Don't.”
She looked at him.
“Let Brady and Doug take the lead on this one, X.”
She wanted to argue, but she knew he was right, so she just nodded her head. Both of them stayed in the BMW as Brady and Doug advanced on the house, their weapons drawn and ready to be used.
It felt like hours passed before they even made it to the front door.
From where the BMW was parked, they could see Brady kick in the front door and shout something.
More seconds ticked by before a shot suddenly rang out in the quiet neighbourhood. Her heart in her throat, Karleigh jumped out of her car and raced up to the house, Ethan right behind her. As she entered, Ian Morton ran past her and out the back door and Ethan immediately gave chase, followed by Brady.
Karleigh, on the other hand, saw her sister lying on the floor in the living room and dropped to her knees at her side. “Francine. Oh, God!”
“Kar...”
“Shh, don't speak. Just hang on.” Looking up at Doug, she growled, “Call an ambulance!”
“It's already on it's way.” He replied.
More shots rang out in the quiet valley and Karleigh could tell Doug wanted to go get in on the action. She held out her hand and he silently gave her his back-up weapon before racing out the door to join the Conrad brothers.
Looking down at her sister, Karleigh prayed that everyone got out of this alive.
A short distance from the house, Ethan and Brady were engaged in a gun-fight with Ian Morton, who was willing to do anything to stay out of prison. He was crazy if he thought he could get away because Ethan wasn't about to let him go.
Not after what he'd done to Karleigh and Francine.
Doug joined them and asked, “Where is he?”
“Behind a tree thirty yards that way.” Ethan said, gesturing with his thumb.
“I'm over this prick.” He growled. “Let's end this.”
“How do you plan on doing that?”
“I'll distract him, you kill him.” Doug said.
Ethan nodded; he could easily do that.
Doug relayed the plan to Brady, who nodded his head in agreement. Looking back at Ethan he asked, “You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Get ready.”
In the distance, sirens could be heard approaching, signalling the arrival of back-up. Doug gave him a three-finger count-down before he moved and took shots at Ian. Ethan moved to the left and advanced on the prick from the opposite direction.
He never saw him coming.
Three shots echoed in quick succession and Ian Morton went down, cursing like a sailor. He wasn't dead, and when he tried to move, he found three guns in his face and boot on the hand that held his gun.
“It's over, Morton.” Ethan said, relieving him on his weapon.
“We've got this, E.” Brady said, hauling Ian to his feet as Doug cuffed him and read him his rights. “Go check on that lady of yours.”
Ethan grinned and ran back to the house.
With every step, he wondered how he was going to convince Karleigh to start a relationship with him when they were both still serving on the same ship. It was going to be hard, but he was determined to make that woman his.
Epilogue
Two months later …
Her time on the Sydney was up.
After getting Francine out of the hospital and cleared of all charges related to the death of Phillip Schofield, Karleigh had taken her sister back to Cairns and settled her into her home before going on a patrol with Ethan and the crew of the Armidale-class Patrol boat.
Her last patrol.
She'd handed in her resignation with Commander Richardson and had a job with the local HQ of the AFP lined up, teaching new recruits the basics in weapon's training and defence driving.
It was a job that would allow her to be home at regular hours so that she and Francine could move on with their lives, so she wasn't thinking about the pain that coursed through her heart every time she thought about leaving Ethan behind.
She'd fallen for her CO in a matter of days and in the last couple of weeks, those feelings had only gotten stronger.
She couldn't stay on the ship with him. She wouldn't risk his career over something as stupid as love.
As the Sydney docked at Base, Karleigh went into her small room to pack her bag and personal belongings. She hoped to be off the ship before anyone stopped her; she sucked at goodbyes.
Unfortunately though, as she was packing, a knock sounded on her door.
Sighing, Karleigh called, “Enter.”
It was Ethan. He shut the door behind him and engaged the lock before turning to face her.
“What's up, boss?” She asked.
“I see you're ready to leave.”
“Almost.”
“Were you going to say goodbye?”
She swallowed and shook her head, telling him, “I'm not good with those.”
“After everything we went through together, you were just to going to leave?”
Karleigh didn't understand why he was so mad, and she said as much.
Ethan cursed softly before moving suddenly. Grabbing her arms, he hauled her against his body and kissed her. Karleigh gasped in shock and braced her hands against his hard chest before allowing herself to succumb to the pleasure that his kiss was giving her.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back, unafraid of what might happen because she knew they were never going to see each other again.
And if she could leave this ship with one memory, it'd be the one they were creating now.
Her room was tiny, and Ethan took up nearly all the space with his large body. He pinned her to the door and let his hands roam all over her body as Karleigh held on, soaking up his touch and moaning into his mouth as their tongues continued to dance and mate.
She was in love with this man, and he was making it worse with his passionate kiss and eager touch.
“If you thought you were going to leave me ...” Ethan whispered harshly against her mouth as his hands cupped her behind and pulled her tightly against him. “ … you were wrong.”
She whimpered as he bit her lip and sunk against his hard body, murmuring, “I've resigned from the Navy. I'm leaving everyone.”
“Wrong, X.”
Her mind was a muddle, but she understood what he was saying and pulled back. Looking up into his handsome face, she frowned and asked, “What? I am leaving.”
“The ship, yes. But you and me? We're going to see where this leads.”
Her heart jumped into her throat and she stammered, “W-What?”
“Can't you feel that there's something between us?”
“I can, but ...”
“Do you want to know where it might go?”
More then anything, she thought. “We're colleagues.”
“Not anymore. You just said you resigned. You're off the ship.”
Swallowing, Karleigh asked, “Are you saying that you want to have a relationship with me?”
A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series Page 17
