Outback Blaze (38 page)

Drew walked to the other side of the station, out of earshot. ‘Hello, Constable Drew Noble speaking.'

‘Connor.' The police commissioner, a personal friend of Drew's boss back home, made himself known and Drew was surprised he could hear a word the other man said over the thumping of his heartbeat in his ears.

When he hung up the phone five minutes later, he was in a state of shock. His hands shook as he placed the phone back in its charger cradle and turned to face Mike and Ruby who were standing in the doorway of the staff room. Even if he'd spoken loudly enough for them to hear his side of the conversation, what he'd said would have given them little idea of the magnitude of the conversation he had had.

But as he looked at Ruby's confused face the reality of his situation rammed home hard. The head honcho of the gang who wanted him dead had been caught, meaning the last of the thugs were behind bars and he was free to return to the UK. And he was expected to so that he could stand witness at the gang leader's trial. His time in Australia was over. He should have been ecstatic, but all he could think was that he'd failed Ruby. He hadn't found the arsonists or located her parents and he hadn't found the bastard who'd killed Riley. Just as he'd hated stepping away from the gang war case in the UK, he couldn't bear the thought of going home with so many questions left unanswered.

‘Drew, are you okay?' Ruby crossed the room and stood in front of him. ‘What was that call about?'

He swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘It's nothing, I'll tell you later.' This simple thought set every nerve-ending in his body on edge. He stepped past her, unable to meet her gaze. ‘Look, I'm going to have to get stuck back into this Nembutal investigation. I'll see ya later, okay?'

That was a brush off if ever Ruby had seen one and she spent the whole afternoon wondering what that phone call from the police commissioner had been about. She didn't know much about police rankings but something told her a call from the WA big wig wasn't an every day occurrence. Was it something to do with her parents? The fire? Was that why Drew had been so reluctant to take her into his confidence? Or maybe he hadn't wanted Mike to know? Maybe he was in trouble?

Sitting at her kitchen table, a mug of Milo at her side, she glanced down at the postcard from her mum, hesitant now about whether or not to share it with Drew. Sleeping with him, sharing her nights in his comforting presence, had kind of made her forget that when push came to shove he was a cop.

‘Oh dammit to hell!' Using language she usually abhorred, she shoved back the kitchen chair, emptied her Milo in the sink and went to hide the postcard. When Drew came over she would ask him outright what that strange call had been about. She spent the next few hours pacing the house and when the time passed that he would usually arrive, she started to wonder if maybe he wouldn't come tonight. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about his phone call from the commissioner made her uncomfortable. A sense of dread bloomed in the pit of her stomach and she tried to tell herself she was overreacting, that after everything that had happened the last few weeks she was starting to expect the worst – with everything. All the reasoning in the world failed to calm her.

When she finally heard Drew's motorbike purring up the driveway, she flung open the door. If she'd meant to tread carefully, that plan flew out the window when she saw the look on his face.

‘Don't mess with me, Drew,' she said, folding her arms as he stepped inside the house. ‘Was that phone call about my parents?'

‘What? No.' He shook his head and shrugged out of his jacket, placing it on the side table. ‘Have you cooked or do you want me to whip something up?'

She almost laughed at the idea of him cooking. ‘I think we're all out of peanut butter. What's going on, Drew?'

‘Let's go sit down.'

They traipsed into the lounge room. He slumped on the couch and she perched next to him, unable to relax. ‘There's no easy way to put this and I feel terrible to be leaving you in the middle of all this fire and Riley mess, but I've…I'm going back to England.'

‘What?' She'd been imagining all kinds of horrors but not this. ‘I don't understand. You've only been here three months.'

He nodded. ‘It was never meant to be forever.'

‘Now I'm really confused. What do you mean? You said you decided to move to Australia because you were jaded and wanted a change. It sounded long term to me.'

‘I lied.'

Those two words were like a slap in the face, but she forced herself to remain calm, knowing he had to have good reason. ‘What do you mean?'

‘Have you got any whiskey? Anything strong?' The pain in his voice helped to calm her. It appeared he wasn't finding this conversation any easier than she was.

She stood and went to raid her father's liquor cupboard, pouring two big glasses of Jim Beam. He took a long sip but she kept her glass cradled in her hands.

‘You know how I told you my cousin was involved in drugs,' he began eventually.

She nodded.

‘He was a member of a pretty dangerous street gang called the Torchers. When he died in prison the gang went pyscho and started a terror campaign against the friends and family of the person who'd killed him and also against me because they blamed me for putting him in there. My team worked hard to get the whole gang behind bars but they seemed to be continually one step ahead of us. They had an arsenal of weapons between them and weren't afraid to use them. A number of civilians died and I started getting death threats at home and at the station. Although there were many other officers on the case, the vendetta was clearly against me. When they set fire to my house one night and I narrowly escaped, my superintendent got it in his head they should pretend I didn't escape. They wanted to fake my death and put me into witness protection.'

‘Whoah. That's…heavy.' The word didn't seem nearly sufficient but she couldn't think of anything else.

Drew nodded. ‘Yeah and ridiculous if you asked me. But my superiors reckoned that in continuing to pursue the Torchers I wasn't putting only myself at risk, but the rest of my team and anyone who happened to step into the firing line. When I argued the witness protection thing, they gave me an alternative.'

‘Australia?'

‘Yep. My superintendent is a good friend of the Western Australia police commissioner. He understood I'd go crazy not working and found a job for me here within a few days. It was a fair step down from my usual rank but the best option available to me. Within a week, I was on the plane. The plan was I'd adopt a low profile on the other side of the world until all the gang members were behind bars.'

‘Wow, I didn't think things like that really happened.'

‘Apparently they do.' He took another slug of his drink.

‘So the gang members?' she asked. ‘They've all been arrested now?'

He nodded.

Not usually one to drink hard liquor, Ruby needed the oblivion it could offer now. She gulped the liquid, relishing the way it burned her tongue and throat, distracting her from the pain in her heart.

‘So you're leaving? You're going back home?' Her voice broke on the last word and she looked away, not wanting him to see what had suddenly become blindingly obvious.

Sometime in the last few weeks of hell she'd fallen in love with him.

Sure he made her body quiver with the simplest touch but it was the little things that made the thought of living without him impossible to bear. Jonas had damaged her body but in trying to fix her, Drew had damaged her heart. How could she have ever been so stupid as to think she was the type of person that could separate sex from emotion?

His hand on the side of her face jolted Ruby from her thoughts as he turned her to look at him. ‘I'm sorry, Ruby. I hate to leave you at a time like this.'

‘Then don't.' The solution suddenly seemed clear. Her heart skipped a happy beat. ‘Let me come with you.'

It wasn't like there was anything left for her here – her parents were away, her favourite horse was dead and she didn't trust herself to keep the other one safe. She had no job, only a few friends and wasn't sure she could stay in Bunyip Bay after all this anyway.

The silence lingered between them as she waited for his answer.

Drew almost said yes. For one split second temptation almost overcame him. How easy would it be to draw Ruby into his arms and tell her he wanted her to come back with him, but sense overruled at the last moment. He wasn't any good at relationships.

‘That's not a good idea.' Despite this being the truth, it took a lot out of him to say the words. ‘My job has always come first. I chose it over family when my cousin was in trouble and if you came back with me, you'd end up resenting me and the job, like everyone else.'

‘But your cousin was breaking the law,' she argued. ‘It's your family that were wrong, not you.'

He shrugged. ‘Maybe, but Belinda betrayed me because I couldn't give enough to our relationship. She reckoned I was married to the job and she's right. When I get my teeth stuck into a case nothing else matters to me. I forget to eat, I don't go home, I barely sleep. It's just who I am. I'm sorry.' He'd seen so many police marriages end in divorce and didn't want to become just another statistic.

As much as he'd enjoyed his time with Ruby, he couldn't let the sympathy he felt for her make him do something that could in time make them both come to resent each other. He couldn't ask her to move to the other side of the world for someone like him because if he hurt her, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

‘It's fine.' She shifted back so his hand fell from her cheek. ‘When do you leave?'

Ignoring her question he moved close to her again. ‘Ruby, what we've shared has been amazing, but it hasn't been real. I'd love to take you away from the horrors you've had to deal with but you know me as a small-town cop, when I'm someone else entirely. I'm driven, focused on work at the expense of all else. I wouldn't be—'

‘Stop. Please.' She pressed her index finger against his lips and he inhaled the intoxicating scent of her coconut hand cream. ‘You don't need to explain yourself. You never told me you could offer me more and you're probably right. Making the decision to move across the world when my emotions are all over the place is a crazy thing to do.'

Although she talked the talk the pain her in eyes was real and he hated to be landing just another disappointment on her. He wanted to say something that would make everything better but his words weren't magic.

‘How long do we have? When do you leave?'

He swallowed. ‘I leave the day after the Undies Run.'

She forced a smile. ‘So I still get to see you run through town in your boxers?'

‘That you do. It's only fair that I give the town a good laugh before I bugger off.'

‘I don't care about the town,' she said, leaning into him, close enough so that her breath tickled his jawline. Every muscle in his body stood to attention, but he glued his hands to his thighs not wanting to make a move that would only make everything worse in the long run. ‘My interests are purely selfish.'

She linked her hand through one of his. Her actions, words and the heat in her eyes confused him.

‘I understand if you want to end things now,' he said, his voice choked as she slid her other hand up his tensed thigh.

‘I don't. It might make me cheap and easy but when I'm with you I forget about all the other crap and I'd like whatever you can give for a little bit longer.'

‘You could never be cheap, Ruby. Never.'

He slipped his hand up behind her neck and drew her mouth to his.

Dinner was delayed in favour of burning up her sheets in the manner they'd become so damn good at. Drew took his time, touching Ruby, exploring every inch of her amazing body, knowing that their time together was limited. He couldn't believe she still wanted to be with him. Thinking about confronting her with the truth, he'd imagined all kinds of female hysterics. He'd felt certain she'd be angry that he'd never told her who he really was or what he was actually doing in Bunyip Bay but she'd surprised him completely. He'd certainly never anticipated spending another night under this roof and the fact that he was going to was testament to how special Ruby Jones was.

As he moved inside her, he experienced the kind of release he'd only imagined before meeting her, he vowed that in the time they had left together he would dedicate his heart and soul to finding answers and to eliminating some of that crap Ruby mentioned.

When she lay in his arms afterwards, he tried to ignore the ache in his heart.

She shifted to look at him. ‘Should I call you Connor now?'

He frowned.

‘Well, that's your real name, isn't it? I'm guessing using the shortened version of your middle name was all part of the keeping a low profile thing.' Before he answered, she rolled his real name off her tongue. ‘Con-nor. It's going to be tough to think of you as that.'

He laughed. Any way she said any one of his names squeezed something deep inside him but he decided he should maintain the Drew thing while he was here. ‘Drew's my real name, too,' he said. ‘If someone hears you call me Connor I might have to explain things that would be easier left unsaid.'

‘Okay,' she nodded and rested her head back against his chest.

The truth was, her calling him Drew helped him remember that this thing between them wasn't real. It had been the most amazing interlude from real life but it was stupid to think it could remain the same when he went back to being Connor.

Ruby stayed in bed long after Drew (or Connor, she couldn't get her head around which name to use) left on Tuesday morning. She had nothing pressing to get up for and she kind of reasoned that if she didn't get up, the day wouldn't actually progress, meaning the time she had left with him wouldn't tick away. It was a stupid thought, probably like sleeping with him again and saying she would do so until he left was also stupid and pathetic, but knowing this didn't change anything. She couldn't bring herself to climb out of bed any more than she'd been able to end things last night.