Combatting Fear

by Sandy Vaile

  She sobbed.

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded.

  With a gentle grip on her wrist, he tugged her closer. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to roll off the bed and into his arms. Sturdy arms that cradled her against his bare chest as she wept.

  “Neve, you’re scaring me. What can I do?”

  “I can’t lose Tony,” she said between sobs.

  He hugged her tighter, rested his chin on top of her head. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

  A few minutes later, she shuddered in a couple of deep breaths and managed to get a handle on the waterworks. Micah tucked the top layer of the bedding over her, leaving a sheet between them, and continued stroking her hair. She couldn’t remember this kind of comfort since her mother . . .

  “Maybe I didn’t make this clear enough, Neve, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to be involved in this. Not any of you. This is my problem, and I’d hate myself if anything happened to you.”

  She heard the honesty in his words, but it didn’t matter. “I care about Rowan too much not to.”

  He nodded, and she rested her head on the soft curves of his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and drinking in his exotic, spicy scent.

  It was a long time before her heavy eyelids closed and her mind stopped swirling.

  Chapter 25

  Neve was blisteringly hot when she cracked open one eye. Something wasn’t right. Why was she looking at her bed from the floor? And then she felt the tickle of soft chest hair under her cheek. She was tucked under Micah’s arm, one leg over his thigh, snuggled inside his camp bed.

  Oh hell.

  What have I done?

  Trying to move like a ninja, Neve slowly lifted her arm from across Micah’s belly—his naked, washboard belly—and raised the blankets. She peeked down and breathed a sigh of relief at his boxer shorts. It was a toss-up what she should be most embarrassed about: blubbering like a baby, Tony’s antics, or falling asleep on Micah. Obviously he didn’t mind or he would have woken her.

  What to do now though?

  It was going to be difficult to extract herself without waking him. Little by little, she moved her weight backwards, intending to roll off. Micah shifted, hugged her tighter, and nuzzled her hair.

  Oh boy. If Bron could see me now, she’d hit the roof. Not to mention Tony.

  Geez, talk about giving a guy the wrong impression. Maybe tonight she’d suggest he move the bedroll into the library. He’d be warm by the stove.

  She tensed as she used the arm under her to push upward. When she was half in a sitting position, she put her right hand on Micah’s other side. Now they were front on, with her suspended over him.

  One more push and . . .her thigh grazed an impressive hard-on. She stopped dead.

  He rolled over and knocked her arm out from under her, so she collapsed on top of him. Micah blinked and rubbed his eyes with one hand, the other arm still wrapped around her.

  He frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing. I was trying to get up, and you knocked me over.”

  He looked a little bewildered but made no move to release her from his embrace. Her thigh was intimately aware of his condition, and it made every inch of her skin hyper-alert. Warm, pliable flesh, bare legs touching the length of hers.

  Not good. Not good at all. “I’m sorry I crashed your bed. I must’ve fallen asleep.”

  “I’ve gotta tell you, at this moment I’m not minding at all.” He grinned.

  “If you’ll just let me untangle myself . . .”

  “I’m not sure I can take any repositioning right now.”

  She slapped his shoulder but couldn’t help a snort of laughter. “You’re a pig.”

  “Darling, you’re the one on top.”

  This time she thrust her arms straight and jumped to her feet.

  It was better and worse. At least she was no longer pressed against him, but an almost naked, stunning specimen of a man was lying on his back in all his morning glory, smiling at her. What woman in her right mind would walk away from that?

  A woman with a lethal father in the next room. “I’m going to make breakfast, and you’d better be dressed the next time I see you.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

  She grabbed the nearest clothes and raced for the bathroom, hearing a soft chuckle in her wake.

  • • •

  By the time oats were simmering on the stove, Neve had lost her appetite. Although she’d experienced Tony’s night terrors many times before, Micah witnessing it left her feeling . . .vaguely ashamed. The familiar mental fatigue associated with caring for Tony was now magnified by Micah’s presence. There was no doubt that the situation had looked dire, but she knew without a doubt that Tony would never hurt her. She gave the white claggy mixture a savage jab with a wooden spoon.

  “Everything all right, honey?”

  Neve jumped at Tony’s voice behind her, and the spoon clattered to the floor.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, didn’t mean to surprise you. Um, I’m sorry for last night. About the knife too.”

  She kissed his temple. “We’re good. Did you get some sleep in the end?”

  “A bit.”

  She retrieved the spoon, washed it, and wiped the floor. “Do you want some porridge?”

  “I’ll have some fruit and feed the chickens.” He grabbed an apple and a pear from a cane basket in the pantry and pulled on leather boots.

  Neve knew he was hiding from Micah, not her. “Don’t forget Jack’s picking you up for your scouting operation soon. Be safe.”

  “Love you.” His stubble prickled her temple as he kissed her good-bye.

  The front door banged closed, and Neve stretched her arms above her head to release the tension in her limbs. The scent of Micah’s spicy cologne lingered on her skin from their intimate encounter, unfurling a long dormant desire in her belly.

  There wasn’t any other sound, but she felt a presence behind her and a flush raced across her cheeks. She chanced a glance towards the doorway, and sure enough, there leant Micah with his arms crossed and yesterday’s rumpled T-shirt on, looking like he belonged in her little home—not to mention looking smoking hot.

  “Breakfast won’t be long,” she said.

  His silent scrutiny was unnerving as she scooped porridge into bowls and popped the lid off the container of raw sugar. A rich molasses scent wafted out, bringing with it memories of Tony making this same breakfast for her as a child. The moment the sprinkled sugar hit the hot porridge, it started to liquefy and the sweet, warm steam wafted across her face.

  It wasn’t until the bowls were on the table and she was seated that Micah finally took a seat opposite her and sighed. Feeling awkward was unfamiliar territory, and she needed to get last night’s incident out in the open.

  “Micah, I’m sorry about Tony. It must have been scary to wake in a strange house to shouting.”

  “And knives.” His hazel eyes bored into her. “Are you all right?”

  “Tony would never hurt me.”

  “That’s not what it looked like last night.”

  She grunted. “Look, I can take care of myself. Having you in the house triggered his night terrors, that’s all.”

  “I thought I might be the cause, so it’s probably best if I move back to the B and B today.”

  Exactly the response she’d expected. He was probably tired of roughing it anyway. It was no skin off her nose. No matter how decent he was, she had no plans to be a rich man’s plaything.

  But maybe it was time she thought more about her future and where it was going.

  • • •

  With a spoonful of porridge halfway to his mouth, Micah paused. He hadn’t expected Neve’s face to drop at the news of him moving out. In fact, he thought she’d be pleased, seeing as it was stirring up trouble between her and Tony.

  “I feel like I’m putting you in constant danger,” he explain
ed. “We’re looking for bikers, my son has been kidnapped, and now you have someone attack you in your own home. This has gone too far.”

  “Tony suffers from very vivid nightmares, but I know how to handle him.” Her eyes glistened with indignation.

  “I’m not trying to assign blame here. I just want to keep you safe.”

  One of Neve’s hands went to her waist. “And why is that important, exactly?”

  A five foot nothing chick trying to look imposing whilst sitting. He almost smiled.

  “Hell, Neve, isn’t it obvious?”

  “It’s obvious that you need to keep me onside to help you, but you don’t need the accommodation, you don’t need money, and you sure don’t need help getting yourself into trouble . . .”

  Try as he might, he couldn’t stop his teeth from clenching. “Damn it, even if I didn’t fancy you, I wouldn’t want to put you in danger. Look, there’s stuff we need to get done today, so what’s our first course of action?”

  With her attention on her breakfast, she grumbled, “I promised to drop in on Bron, and you pick up your new mobile phone, but we’ll need to take two cars if you’re staying there.”

  This was a page right out of the Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus book. Did she want him to move out or stay? No doubt he’d be damned whichever way he went, and he couldn’t ask her outright or he’d seem insensitive.

  “We’ll go together.” Hopefully that left his options open and satisfied Neve. He’d have to come back to her house to get an update from Jack later anyway. “Do you mind if I just check my work e-mails before we head off?”

  “I need a shower anyway.” She stood, still not making eye contact.

  “I’ll do that.” He took the bowl from her fingers.

  Brooding about the danger Tony posed to Neve, and himself for that matter, he washed their breakfast dishes. Maybe if he stayed at the shack, it would help Neve by diluting the tense atmosphere that followed Tony around. Besides, he knew the domestic violence statistics: A woman was killed in Australia every week by the man she was living with. The assault didn’t have to be between a couple.

  Done. It was safer for Neve if he stayed with her.

  Now for work. He’d neglected the business world too much lately, so no doubt there would be a multitude of crises clambering for his attention, and he needed Emma to clear his diary for another week. While his laptop booted up, he dialled his PA.

  The sound of the shower spray drew his attention, and his mind drifted to a naked Neve. He grinned. Having a woman run from him could well injure a man’s ego, and, let’s face it, his attraction couldn’t have been more obvious, but the hunger in her eyes this morning had been plain. She wanted him too. No matter how stoic she pretended to be, there was a hot-blooded woman just waiting for someone to release the tight bands constricting her passion.

  Outlook opened and loaded 227 new mail messages. Great.

  He flicked through them, deleting as many as he could, flagging others for future dates. There was one from his PI with the subject line: Muttley Enterprises Pty Ltd. He opened it and read the information about the registered business run by the Mutts. There was no street address, but the postal address was Mylor. Precisely where the hand over was supposed to be. It looked like they were focusing the search in the right area.

  At first glance, the business was aboveboard, but it was easy to launder dirty money if you knew how. He needed to dig deeper, find something to use as leverage. He hit reply and sent Shannon further instructions.

  Neve’s mobile phone buzzed on the desktop and he frowned at the screen: Shannon. He’d programmed a couple of his key contacts in, seeing as his phone was out of action, including his private investigator’s. He glanced over his shoulder. No sign of Neve, so he accepted the call.

  “Hi, Shannon.”

  “Sorry to call so early, Mr. Kincaid, but I saw you were online. I see you’ve read my e-mail about Muttley Enterprises. I’ll keep my feelers out for information about their current activities.”

  “Great.”

  “And I thought I’d better explain the background checks. Have you seen them?”

  “Hang on, I’m just opening the e-mail.” He glanced over his shoulder to check that Neve was still in the bathroom.

  As his gaze skipped down the lines of the report on Neve, his chest relaxed and he breathed again. The woman was to be taken at face value.

  Jack’s report was similar with a host of war medals to boot.

  On Tony’s report, there were birth, marriage, and divorce dates listed, no second family or illegitimate children, but he did drop off the grid and ceased paying taxes shortly after his honourable discharge from the Australian Army, and he’d received a trove of medals for his three tours, but that was it.

  “Where is his work history, army postings? There’s not much here.”

  “My best bet is that his history has been sealed,” Shannon said. “Could be he was operating with high-level clearance in Vietnam, or he’s in the witness protection scheme.”

  “I see. Any way to dig deeper?”

  “Not without a high level contact.”

  “Thanks, Shannon.”

  Okay, so the war hero theory made sense, but then again, if Tony was in the witness protection scheme, it would explain the isolation and paranoia. But Neve would have to know about it too, and she hadn’t mentioned that little gem.

  Mistrusting people was as natural as earning money to Micah, but this . . .It was a lesson to be vigilant.

  He put the phone down and reclined in the office chair, eyes staring blankly at the expanse of scrub outside. His teeth clenched. Enough people had betrayed him over the years, and he wasn’t going to let Neve Botticelli be another.

  To clear his mind, he headed outside and strolled along the firebreak out front of the shack breathing in fresh country air. It was time to get his head in the game and focus on today’s mission. He had no idea how probable it was that they would find any trace of the Mutts, but it wouldn’t be for lack of trying.

  He turned at the sound of gravel shifting behind him, just in time to be thrown against the nearest tree. Tony had a handful of Micah’s T-shirt, mouth set in a snarl, eyes wild.

  Shit! The bastard’s losing it again.

  “If you hurt my daughter, I’ll throw you a beating you won’t forget. I can remind you what that’ll be like if you’ve forgotten.”

  Micah threw up his hands. “No. No, I haven’t forgotten.” It was only natural that Tony was worried. “Look, if we see any of the Mutts, I promise to get her out of there.”

  Tony narrowed his eyes. “You’re a selfish prick for dragging her into this in the first place, but it’s what’s inside I’m worried about.”

  “What?” Micah frowned.

  “She’s not one of your town girls that changes men like panties.”

  “I— I didn’t think she was.”

  “Not that I have the faintest idea what’s going on between you two, but I want to make sure we understand one another. My daughter doesn’t need a rich, married man who is going to breeze out of her life as soon as he gets his kid back.”

  Micah hadn’t realised anyone else had noticed the attraction between them, and some small part of him was impressed that Neve’s feelings were obvious enough that Tony thought Micah could have any lasting effect on her.

  “I don’t intend to hurt her, Tony.” The sincerity rang in his voice.

  The house door banged, and Tony took a quick step backwards. They both turned as Neve crossed the clearing, wary eyes trying to figure out what was going on. She was wearing a khaki green tank top that clung to her breasts, camouflage cargo pants, and leather boots. Her hair was pulled back in the usual braid, and she looked like she meant business.

  “I’m ready to go,” she said.

  “Good. It was nice chatting to you, Tony.” A smile played at the corners of Micah’s lips as he walked away. Tony thinks Neve likes me enough to be concerned.

  Cha
pter 26

  For the hundredth time, Micah glanced sideways at Neve. Even with the car windows cracked open, the space was filled with her sweet and evocative scent. She’d barely said a word, other than directing him down one road after another as she ran a highlighter pen along the road map spread across her knees. What on earth was her problem with him now? All they’d done so far this morning was pick up the new mobile phone Emma had overnighted to the general store. Perhaps she was ashamed about the incident with Tony last night, or she didn’t like him saying he wanted to keep her safe by leaving her out of this mess with Chelsea, or maybe she’d just had enough of him in her personal space. After all, she was used to an isolated home life.

  He envied her focus though, but now that he had her alone and relaxed, he wanted to talk. There wasn’t any point relaying information about the chat he’d had with his accountant, or the information about the Mutt’s property, because he’d only have to repeat it all for Tony and Jack later anyway. He’d rather talk about her.

  “How much ground have we covered?” he asked in an attempt to draw her out.

  “That’s Mylor and Longwood done. We’re onto Scott Creek next. All these dirt roads and dead ends are taking longer than I expected.”

  “Yes, but we have to cover them if we’re going to be thorough.”

  “I agree, but we’re not going to finish our side of the map today. Your car might be comfy, but I’m looking forward to standing up for a while.”

  “We missed lunch, so let’s grab a bite to eat somewhere. What time are we meeting back at the house?”

  “Not until dinnertime. That reminds me, we’ll have to stop at the butcher on the way home, because I’m not used to having guests and there isn’t any meat in the house. What do you like?”

  “How about I make my special lamb ragout? Give you a night off. I might need some help with the wood stove though.”

  “It’s like camp cooking.” She grinned and elbowed him.