The Honourable Maverick / The Unsung Hero

by Alison Roberts / Kate Hardy

  The noise was getting louder. She looked over her shoulder and up at the sky. The tiny flashing lights of an aircraft were clearly visible and the sound was taking on the recognisable ‘chop’ of helicopter rotors. Was help coming? Did she simply need to find some way of stalling Marcus? Distracting him, maybe?

  ‘We need to go somewhere they won’t be able to see us, Marcus. We have to hide. Quickly!’

  ‘What? No…I—’

  ‘It’s all right. Listen, we’ll get away from here. I’ll tell the police it was all a mistake. That you didn’t kidnap anybody. That we’re together. You know, engaged…’ She turned towards the lighthouse. ‘Come with me.’

  The helicopter had activated a powerful searchlight. An area that included the car park was being looked at while it hovered overhead.

  ‘You don’t want me,’ Marcus sneered. ‘You want him. You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing? Playing happy families. Going to look at houses to buy?’

  ‘No. It’s you I want, Marcus. Only you.’

  The helicopter was moving again. It was almost directly overhead. Ellie dipped her head and groaned aloud. This wasn’t going to work. She couldn’t lie convincingly enough. But then she raised her face and saw Marcus running towards her.

  Empty-handed.

  The spotlight from the helicopter came on again and the terror that Marcus had thrown the car seat over the cliff proved unfounded. The seat was on the ground where he’d been standing. He’d simply abandoned it.

  ‘You bastard.’ All that terror and an unholy fury that someone could frighten her that much went into the shove Ellie gave Marcus as he reached out to grab her. He stumbled backwards, stepped onto a rock and fell hard.

  Ellie ran. Not towards the relative safety of the lighthouse but back towards the cliff. She reached the car seat. The safety-belt mechanism was open and there was nothing to slow her from grabbing her baby with both hands and clutching her to her breasts. But, just as swiftly, Marcus was getting back onto his feet.

  The roar of the hovering helicopter filled her head. The spotlight was almost blinding her. Could she really see what she thought she was seeing?

  Three dark shapes well away from the shadows of the lighthouse. Moving at astonishing speed towards Marcus. And further away, flashing blue and red lights. So many of them. Emergency vehicles speeding along the road towards this scene.

  The knowledge that somehow Max had followed her here and was trying to protect her was unbelievable but maybe he was too late. Everybody was too late. Marcus was on his feet, his face so twisted with fury it was virtually unrecognisable. He was launching himself in her direction. Screaming words that were incomprehensible. He wasn’t going to stop. He was going to send them all over the cliff.

  Ellie curled herself over the precious bundle in her arms. Curled herself so forcefully she rolled forward, landing on her shoulder and then her back. She felt the impact of a foot on her thigh and then saw Marcus tumble to land on her other side. She heard the thump of his body land and then he rolled again, unable to slow the momentum he’d built up. Another roll and then he vanished. She heard an unearthly scream that got drowned by the whine of an aircraft engine being shut down after landing.

  The moment that sound began to fade she could hear the sound of the voice she loved the most. ‘Ellie. My God, Ellie, are you all right?’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  IT WAS over.

  The car park was crowded with emergency vehicles. Police cars and vans. Ambulances. Even a fire engine had been dispatched.

  The police had been less than impressed by the way the three doctors had taken off after Ellie by themselves. Detective Inspector Jack Davidson was having words with Max while his deputies took statements from Rick and Jet somewhere else.

  ‘Just what the hell did you think you were doing, exactly? What do you guys think you are? Doctors or members of some elite SAS branch?’

  ‘Jet’s actually done a lot of work with the SAS.’ Max was trying to see past the solid figure of the detective. Into the back of the ambulance where he knew Ellie was. With Mouse. He’d had no time to do more than make sure neither of them had any obvious physical injuries before others had begun arriving and taking over this scene.

  The helicopter was lifting off again. This time its spotlight would be used to locate Marcus Jones. Surviving the fall was an impossibility, but someone would have to be winched down to recover the body if it hadn’t made it as far as the ocean.

  Marcus Jones was gone. Ellie was safe.

  It was over.

  She would no longer need his protection.

  She hadn’t wanted it at the end, anyway, had she? She’d chosen to come here alone. She must have been scared stiff but she still hadn’t included him.

  That hurt. Enough to make him angry. Or sad. Or…something that was powerful enough to feel like it was eating him up inside.

  Detective Inspector Davidson wasn’t helping.

  ‘You could all be charged, you know that? Interfering with police operations is a serious offence.’

  Rick walked towards them, Jet by his side. ‘You done yet?’ he queried.

  ‘Yes,’ Max said.

  ‘No,’ Jack Davidson said. ‘Not by a long shot.’

  Jet stared at him. ‘What’s the problem? Case solved. Victims are uninjured. You’ll get the credit. You wouldn’t have been anywhere near here if I hadn’t called it in.’ He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. ‘Bloody cold, isn’t it? Don’t s’pose there’s any coffee to be had?’

  Max had more important things on his mind. ‘I’m going to see how Ellie’s getting on,’ he muttered.

  He put his own hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the wind. It was only a short walk to the ambulance but he was flanked by Rick and Jet.

  ‘Hey…’ Rick gave his upper arm a friendly thump. ‘Cheer up. It’s all sorted. The weasel won’t be bothering anybody ever again.’

  ‘Yeah…’ Jet sounded just as cheerful. ‘Your work is done. Life, as we know it, can resume.’

  Rick was nodding. ‘Did I ever get round to telling you he offered to marry Ellie?’

  ‘What?’ Clearly, Jet hadn’t caught up on that titbit. He shook his head in disbelief but then he grinned. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining, man. You don’t have to even think about getting married or being some kind of stand-in daddy now. How good is that?’

  The voices had been carried on the wind through a back door that was slightly ajar and Ellie had had no choice other than to overhear the end of that exchange.

  She’d been crying. Trying to get her baby to feed, which would be the best way to warm her up, but Mouse was having none of it. She was wrapped in several blankets but was still making that odd, plaintive whimpering that was quiet enough to frighten Ellie.

  She still hadn’t processed everything that had just happened. She wouldn’t believe that Marcus was actually dead and no longer a threat until someone proved it to her. She was cold and still afraid and…despite the attention of all the capable professionals around her…she was lonely.

  Hearing Rick and Jet celebrating the fact that the trouble was over and that she had no further claim of any kind on Max pushed her misery to the point where her tears dried up. She probably seemed quite calm by the time Max climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat on the stretcher beside her.

  ‘You OK?’

  ‘I’m…OK.’

  ‘What about Mouse?’

  ‘She’s not hurt but she’s very cold. She won’t feed…’ Ellie’s voice cracked. She wanted to say she didn’t know what to do and she was scared but that would just be asking for help all over again, wouldn’t it? Max wouldn’t want that. He was free now. His best friends thought that was a silver lining to the cloud she had generated by coming into his life. Max probably agreed with them.

  ‘We’ll get going,’ a paramedic decided. ‘Get her into the emergency department where they’ve got all the gear to get her
properly warmed up.’

  ‘You tried the kangaroo thing?’ Max had caught Ellie’s gaze and was holding it with an odd intensity.

  ‘I’m cold, too. It might make things worse and I couldn’t give her to someone she doesn’t know.’

  ‘She knows me,’ Max said softly. ‘Can I try? I’m as warm as toast in here.’ He unzipped his leather jacket and smiled at Ellie.

  He was warm. Ellie could feel his body heat from where she was sitting. She could see it in his smile. He had such a warm heart, this man.

  She loved him so much.

  Enough to trust him with her precious baby.

  ‘What do we do?’

  ‘Undress her. Down to her nappy.’

  ‘What?’ A junior ambulance officer sounded horrified. ‘She’s hypothermic.’

  ‘Out,’ Max ordered. ‘I’m an emergency department specialist and I’m taking over treatment of this patient for now. Crank the heater up, shut all the doors and go away for a while. Thank you,’ he added politely.

  Ellie undressed Mouse. She heard doors opening and then slamming shut, more than once. It wasn’t until she looked up to see if Max was ready for Mouse that she realised Rick and Jet had climbed inside. Jet sat in the driver’s seat and Rick was in the front passenger seat but they were both sitting sideways so they could see what was happening in the back of the vehicle.

  Max had been wearing a work shirt under his leather jacket today and he unbuttoned it. He took Mouse from Ellie and positioned her against his chest, tucking the shirt around the small body and then pulling his jacket over to cover everything but her face.

  ‘I was kind of nervous the first time I did this,’ he told Ellie. ‘But you know what…?’

  ‘What?’

  Ellie’s voice came out as a whisper. She was totally captivated by what she was seeing. This gorgeous, big man with a tiny baby nestled against his heart, wrapped up in the black leather jacket with its macho zips and buckles. He’d done this when Mouse had first entered the world but she’d never seen it.

  And it was…beautiful.

  ‘I’ve kind of missed it,’ Max told her.

  He hadn’t had any idea.

  It had seemed such an imposition at the time. Something he’d been obliged to do because he’d stuck his neck out and tried to protect the woman who’d landed on his doorstep in big trouble.

  He’d done it and he’d been proud of his success. He’d known that a bond had been formed but, until tonight, he’d had no idea how deep it ran. Faced with the possibility of a life that didn’t include Mouse or Ellie, he’d discovered just how empty it would be. Meaningless.

  ‘Hey…I think she’s stopped crying.’

  ‘Has she?’ Ellie leaned closer. Close enough for her head to be touching his shoulder. She had a blanket around her shoulders but Max saw her shiver. At least that bone-deep misery in her face lifted a little as she peered down at the tiny face against his chest. Mouse had, indeed, stopped that sad whimpering. She was snuggled in as though relishing the body heat.

  Rick and Jet were leaning further into the cabin, trying to see for themselves.

  ‘Aw…’ Rick was smiling. ‘Cute little mouse, isn’t she?’

  ‘Her name’s Mattie,’ Max said quietly.

  He could feel the way his mates stilled. Without looking up, he knew they’d be exchanging a glance. Silent communication. Checking with each other whether this was acceptable, given its significance to them all.

  ‘Max chose her name,’ Ellie said nervously into the silence. ‘He said…he said…’

  ‘That it was the name I’d choose for my own child,’ Max finished for her. He looked up. ‘It had to be that special,’ he explained to the others. ‘Because…she feels like my own kid.’ His smile felt very lopsided. ‘Guess I fell in love.’

  Rick cleared his throat. ‘Saw that coming,’ he muttered. ‘Only I thought it’d be with the mum, not the munchkin.’

  ‘Yes…well…there is that.’ Max looked down at Ellie. ‘It was. Is. Ellie…I love you. I don’t ever want to have to face the possibility of losing you again. I don’t ever want a day that you’re not a part of. You and Mattie.’

  Ellie’s eyes were huge. Shining with tears that he hoped like hell were caused by joy. There’d been way too many of any other sort for her.

  ‘I love you, too, Max. But…’ Ellie’s glance slid side-way…‘.I heard you…talking about that silver lining. About how good it was that you didn’t…’

  ‘Have to marry you?’ Max supplied. He glared at Rick and Jet, who inched backwards. ‘No. I don’t have to marry you. But I want to. Those idiot friends of mine have no idea what they were making fun of but I know. I’ve never wanted anything as much in my entire life. Except maybe for one thing…’ Max jerked his head. ‘Like a bit of privacy. Would you guys like to get lost for a minute or two? There are some things a man needs to do on his own.’

  ‘Yeah…’ Rick grinned at Jet. ‘Like propose. Shall we let him get on with it?’

  ‘Don’t see we’ve got much choice,’ Jet grumbled. ‘All right, I’m going.’

  But he paused to look back. Not at Max but at Ellie. For a moment, he just held her gaze and then he smiled. ‘Mattie’s a cool name,’ he said gruffly. ‘Good choice.’

  Ellie held her breath as the door shut, leaving them alone.

  ‘She’s doing that nose-rubbing thing,’ Max said. ‘I think she might be ready for something to eat.’

  ‘I don’t want her to get cold again.’

  ‘How ‘bout if you hold her and I hold you and keep you both warm?’

  It sounded like heaven. ‘Do you think your jacket’s big enough?’

  ‘My heart is,’ Max told her. ‘I’m going to look after you, Ellie. Both of you.’

  Somehow, they managed it. Tucked against Max’s chest, with Mattie in her arms and Max’s arms around them both, Ellie was able to feed her baby. And it was heaven. She tilted her head back so that it rested under Max’s shoulder and she could look up at him.

  ‘I love you, Max. I think I have ever since you opened the door that day.’

  He held her gaze. ‘And I’ve been wanting to hold you ever since you fell into my arms. I just didn’t recognise what it was all about until tonight.’

  Strange how easy it was to push the trauma of the last few hours away. She’d have to deal with it all properly but not yet. Not while she was in this blissful little bubble.

  ‘I feel so safe with you.’

  ‘You are safe. You always will be if I have anything to do with it.’ Max bent and kissed her lips gently. ‘You and Mattie.’ He moved his hand to stroke a thumb softly over the baby’s dark spikes of hair. ‘My family.’ The hold around Ellie tightened. ‘Marry me?’

  ‘Of course I will. Yes. Yes and yes and—’

  He kissed her again. Deeper this time and with a tenderness that melted any lingering chill she might have had after the night’s events.

  ‘Shall we buy that house? Would it make a good place to live for our family?’

  ‘I think it would be a perfect place.’ A knock came on the back door of the ambulance. ‘You OK in there?’ a voice called.

  Max and Ellie looked at each other. They both looked down at Mattie.

  ‘We’re good,’ Max called back. He caught Ellie’s gaze again and smiled. ‘Aren’t we?’

  ‘Oh, yes…’ Ellie smiled back through tears of joy. ‘We’re very, very good.’

  EPILOGUE

  ‘OH, ELLIE…you look stunning.’

  ‘Do I?’ Ellie turned a little so that she could see the row of intricate buttons running down the back of her dress, keeping the beaded bodice hugging her body and then fading into the soft folds of the gathered, silk skirt. Her hair fell loose to her bare shoulders, except for the twisted strands making a band of intricate coils that were studded with tiny, silk flowers.

  She grinned. ‘I do look OK, don’t I?’

  ‘Stunning.’

  ‘Thanks, Sarah. You look
amazing, too. I love that dress.’

  Her bridesmaid looked down at herself. ‘It’s as old as the hills. A ballgown left over from a life I don’t even remember any more.’

  ‘It’s perfect. As blue as that sky out there. Now…I’ve got lots of leftover flowers. Let’s tie a bit of your hair back and give you a matching Druid look.’

  ‘Hmm. Not sure about that. What do you think, Josh?’

  Both women looked to where a small, dark-haired boy sat on the bed, propped up against the pillows, watching the proceedings.

  ‘Yes. You should have flowers too, Aunty Sarah. They look pretty.’

  ‘Right. You feeling OK, hon?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Up to throwing a few rose petals?’

  Josh made a face. ‘It’s a stupid thing to do.’

  Ellie gave Sarah a ghost of a wink. ‘Max doesn’t think so,’ she said casually.

  ‘Oh…’

  In the space of only a short meeting last night, Max had become Josh’s hero. Ellie had seen the look of adoration creeping onto the child’s face and had had to blink away tears.

  Tears of sadness, because she could understand the indescribable pain Sarah was having to deal with given the possibility of losing this child but there was joy there as well. Enormous gratitude that things had worked out as they had. Mattie was safe. She was going to grow up with Max as her father. She would look at him with that same kind of wonder before she was much older.

  She was safe, too. She had nothing more to fear from Marcus Jones. She couldn’t imagine ever being truly afraid again, with Max by her side.

  Today she was going to make a public commitment to share the rest of her life with the man she loved. That was the most amazingly joyful prospect in itself but, like icing on the cake, there was more happiness to be found in contemplating what the future might hold for Max and herself as Mattie grew up. That she would have a whole family—the kind she had always dreamed of. That she might be joined by a brother or sister one day.

  The thought of Mattie was enough to propel her towards the windows of this upstairs bedroom, as Sarah deftly twisted sections of her long blonde hair and fastened them at the back of her head. Ellie stood carefully out of sight as she peered down into the garden and then she smiled and had to blink hard again.