Authors: Lee Christine
He reached for her, but she slapped at him, furious at the way he’d treated her like a criminal.
‘Don’t touch me.’
He nodded, withdrew his hands, shock darkening his whiskey coloured eyes. Behind him, Dickson and Luke moved out into the corridor, closing the door quietly behind them.
‘You fainted,’ he said quietly.
‘No kidding.’ She averted her face, refusing to look at him.
‘There’s something you need to understand. I…’
‘
Jesus
! My life is falling apart and you want to talk.’ Furious at the way he’d treated her, furious at her father, for whatever the fuck he’d done, Josie couldn’t take any more.
‘Go away, Nate. Go away and leave me alone.’
‘I think you’d better leave, sir. You’re upsetting the lady.’
They turned at the sound of a strange voice. Luke was holding the door open and a Doctor was standing in the room, medical bag in hand.
Nate got slowly to his feet, adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he raised a hand at the doctor. ‘Just give me a minute.’
He rested his hands lightly on his hips and stood looking down at her for a full ten seconds. ‘I’m moving you into a bigger suite upstairs. Allegra’s on her way over. She and Luke will stay with you until this is over.’
Josie’s hands bunched around the sheet. Even now, after what he’d done, she wanted to tell him to be careful, because she loved him, and she couldn’t bear to see him hurt.
How’s that for screwed up?
One week in Nate Hunter’s company, and his betrayal had devastated her more than her fathers. Why? Because he was a better man, and she’d expected more of him than she had of her own parents.
Then suddenly he reached out and trailed a finger along her jaw, and her heart contracted as she remembered his rage when Simpson had struck her.
‘You and I are going to have a conversation when this is over, do you hear me?’
Too choked up to answer, she kept her face averted. If she looked at Nate now she’d fall apart in front of everyone.
‘Josie?’
She could have sworn there was a catch in his voice.
‘
Sir
…’
He swung away then, pausing to speak to the doctor in a low voice. She couldn’t hear everything he said, but she picked up the words “shock” and “look after her”.
And then Nate was gone, closing the door behind him with a final click that made her throat ache.
And she was alone with the doctor, while Luke stood guard at the door.
3:00 p.m. Monday — Three day later
Josie ran down the sweeping staircase, crossed the foyer where Luke’s two security guards were stationed, and went into the family room.
Allegra was sitting on the modular lounge, files and papers spread out everywhere, her west highland white terrier, Astro, at her feet. She looked up as Josie came in. ‘Is she sleeping?’
Josie nodded and flopped down beside her, lifting Astro into her lap when he tried to jump up on the lounge. Somehow, the little dog seemed to understand she needed comforting.
‘The half sleeping tablet the doctor gave her worked. She needed it, she’s exhausted.’
Josie was exhausted too, but unlike her mother, disinclined to go to bed. Bed made her long for Nate, so the last two nights she’d wrapped herself in a blanket and slept on the lounge. It didn’t help. Every time she closed her eyes she relived being held in his strong arms, relived cuddling into the hard heat of his body, relived the feel of his lips moving over hers.
Then she got angry, telling herself to be strong and accept that life had changed irrevocably, that she’d changed irrevocably. Her head understood what her heart couldn’t, that today was the first day of the rest of her life and that Nate belonged in her past — inextricably woven into the first twenty years.
And it had to be that way.
Nate was like Allegra, tireless in his dedication to put criminals behind bars, while she was the offspring of the biggest organised crime boss in New South Wales.
Sydney’s “overseer”.
The “Mr Big”.
The “lynchpin”, or whatever the hell you wanted to call him — and the media were calling him everything.
Dragging her thoughts back to the present, she watched as Allegra got up and went into the kitchen to boil the kettle.
‘I have to say, I’m surprised Mum’s cougar friends have been so supportive. I thought most people we know would be sending us death threats.’
Allegra leaned against the island bench, effortlessly elegant in a black stretchy top and skinny jeans. ‘These kinds of situations bring out the best and worst in people. At least you get to find out who your friends are.’
Josie nodded, thinking her pragmatic boss was definitely her best friend. ‘I’d like to think, after all these years, there’s hope for me and mum.’
Allegra nodded. ‘I’m sure there is.’
They were silent for a bit, the only sound the whir of the water heating.
‘What
is
that by the way?’ Allegra asked, pointing to the pyramid of crystal glasses still gracing the centre of the bench.
‘A martini fountain. It was supposed to be for my birthday party.’
Where once Josie had been embarrassed by the elaborate display, now it only made her feel sad for her mother.
Allegra tilted her head to one side and studied the intricate arrangement. ‘It’s very cool. I like it.’
Josie stroked Astro’s warm body and watched her friend set out two mugs. Allegra always insisted on making the coffee, her argument being she couldn’t cook anything, so she may as well make the coffee.
‘Shouldn’t you be in the office, Ally? We’re fine here, really. Luke has the place surrounded.’
Allegra smiled and poured boiling water into two mugs. ‘Simon’s back from the U.S. The firm’s in damage control. There’s enough going on in there as it is.’
Josie sighed, recalling the TV images of the police going into Grace and Poole.
On Saturday, Nate had spearheaded a number of tactical operations teams in a co-ordinated series of raids across Sydney and some country areas. After two years undercover, he’d finally succeeded in smashing one of the biggest drug rings in Australia, making multiple arrests, her father among them.
The same day, Luke had checked her out of the hotel and brought her home so she could be with her mother. For the past two days, six of his security guards had patrolled the property, keeping the media and interested onlookers at bay.
He and Allegra had virtually moved in.
‘I always wondered how I scored that job interview at Grace and Poole,’ Josie mused. ‘Now I know.’
Allegra gave her a stern look as she carried over their mugs. ‘Whether or not your father pulled strings with Henry Grace is irrelevant now. You’re a very capable P.A., and being without you last week reinforced that to me.’
‘Thanks, Ally.’
Josie reached up and took the mug from Allegra. In the days since her father’s arrest, she’d spent almost every minute rehashing and re-evaluating her life. Looking back, knowing what she did now, many things were put in perspective. The strange thing was, while she’d never been satisfied with her family life on any level, she found herself grieving for it now. Better the devil you know as the saying went. Only when she was talking to her mother, did the reflection stop for a short while.
‘He never wanted me to do the music thing, you know. He pressed me to accept the job at Grace and Poole, said he’d feel better knowing I was safe.’
To her horror, her voice broke again. Not that she needed to be embarrassed by crying in front of Allegra. She’d been doing it off and on for the past three days.
‘You can’t think everything he told you was a lie, Josie. For all you know, that could have been true.’
‘It’s disgusting isn’t it; the parent I thought I was closest to financed our lifestyle feeding drugs to kids. And the one I thought distant, deliberately kept me at arm’s length, even put me in boarding school, to protect me — from this.’
Allegra took a sip of her coffee. ‘You can live with people for a lifetime and never know them, just look at some of the cases we’ve had at the office. We’ve had women living with murderers, serial killers even, and what about that bigamist who was supporting an entire second family? His wife had no idea. Makes me thankful every day I have Luke.’
Josie smiled over the rim of her mug. ‘Luke is the furthest thing from a bigamist I can imagine.’
They laughed at that, and it felt good, the camaraderie cheering her after the shock and tension of the past three days. It gave Josie the courage to voice her most worrying thought. ‘Will Mum be charged do you think?’
Allegra shook her head. ‘They would have to prove she committed a crime for her to be charged.’
‘But suppose she was.’ Josie knew she was being negative, but she couldn’t help it. The last few days had been such a shock, she kept bracing herself for the next big hit. ‘Would they take her good character into consideration?’
‘Absolutely, that’s why I don’t think you have much to worry about. In the unlikely event she is charged, her charity work, the money she’s raised in the community, would all be taken into account.’
Josie nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. This hideous thing had finally brought her closer to her mother. She wasn’t ready to lose her again.
‘Here’s the news.’ Allegra moved suddenly, pointing the remote at the flat screen and turning up the volume.
And then Josie’s heart began to pound as Nate came on the screen. Dressed in a suit and tie, he was fronting some kind of press conference with the New South Wales Commissioner of Police.
Josie leaned forward, eyes drinking him in. It was the first time she’d seen him since he’d left her with the doctor, and he looked tired and drawn. Still, if anyone could make tired and drawn look sexy, Nate Hunter could. Clean shaven, dark hair trimmed and combed, his white shirt contrasted sharply with his tanned face. Whiskey coloured eyes looked unflinchingly into the camera as flashbulbs exploded around him and the Commissioner began answering questions from the assembled media.
Was it only a week since Lizard Mulvaney’s call? A week since she’d locked up this house in a panic and he’d run her off the road in the National Park? A week since she’d cut his hair in the bathroom, and he’d made her a microwave meal.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, the pounding in her chest turning to a sore ache. She was vaguely aware of Astro stirring in her lap, of Allegra taking the mug from her hands.
And then a young man addressed his next question to Nate.
‘Detective Hunter. With the Altar Boys aware they had an undercover officer in their midst for two years, do you fear retaliation? Are you scared for your life?’
Nate looked at the young man who had asked the question. ‘No. Most of the members are good people, simple bike enthusiasts who enjoy belonging to a club. The criminal element which flourished within that organisation have been arrested and charged, so the answer is no, I’m not fearful for my life.’
‘Detective Hunter?’ A young blonde reporter asked the next question. ‘It’s been revealed that Josephine Valenti was not in fact kidnapped, that she witnessed the murder of Lloyd Mulvaney and was removed from her home and taken into your protective care. Will she be called on to testify when Mitchell Kennett is formally charged with his murder?’
‘Yes, Josephine Valenti did witness that murder, and yes she will be called on to testify. However, I would point out that my involvement in the events of that night are the subject of an ongoing internal investigation.’
The woman jumped in again before anyone else could speak. ‘Do you believe Ms. Valenti was party to her father’s business interests, if you could call them that?’
‘No.’
‘Not the next generation being blooded into the family business?’
Josie gasped, watching as Nate pressed his lips together and gave the journalist a withering stare. ‘That’s a ridiculous suggestion. Ms. Valenti should not be judged by her father’s actions. She’s a twenty-one-year-old woman, an innocent party in all of this. For the record, she co-operated fully with police at all times, and greatly assisted us in making the arrests. Which of course wasn’t easy for her.’
‘What about Marilyn Valenti?’
White lines bracketed Nate’s mouth, and it was clear to Josie he was barely holding himself in check. ‘Marilyn Valenti is not our priority at the moment. We have a list of people we’re interested in talking to, and it’s likely further arrests will be made.’
‘But you can’t rule out that she could be charged in the future?’
‘Nothing can be ruled out,’ Nate snapped. ‘What I can say is that Silvano Valenti hid behind a screen of respectability provided by his wife.’
The next few questions were directed at the Police Commissioner, but Josie couldn’t take her eyes off Nate. He sat with his hands on the table, serious eyes downcast as he listened to what the Police Commissioner was saying.
‘Have you called him back yet?’ Allegra asked next to her.
Josie shook her head.
‘Why not? He’s called the house at least half a dozen times.’
There were nine messages on her mobile as well.
Josie shook her head again, eyes not leaving the screen. ‘It’s better I let him go.’
Allegra turned and looked at her then. ‘That’s rubbish, and you know it.’
‘It’s not. You didn’t see the way he looked at me, the way he accused me, like he didn’t believe me. He can deny it to that reporter all he likes, but he wasn’t sure about me for a while.’
Allegra sighed. ‘Even if he did, and I don’t believe it for a second, everyone makes mistakes, Josie. I can tell by his voice on the phone how upset he is. If you’d
only
talk to him.’
Unable to sit any longer Josie pushed herself up off the lounge, pleased the press conference was coming to an end. ‘I’ll see him at Dad’s court appearance tomorrow. It’ll keep until then.’
Allegra glanced at the screen, unconvinced. ‘I’m not sure that’s the right place. It’s an open court, and there’s sure to be a media circus.’
‘It’ll be fine. You’ve made arrangements for me to see Dad afterwards. I’m sure I’ll get a chance to talk to him then.’