Sweet Seduction Shield (27 page)

I lifted my
eyes to the detective's. His were cautious and wary, and full of a
pain that I think was all for me. For what I was doing. For what I
was facing hauling this dark, disgusting piece of work out into the
light. It wasn't for the distance I'd placed between us, it was
clear he understood why I'd done it. The pain I saw etched on his
face, so openly on his heart, was for what I was feeling right
then.

I realised I'd
fallen for this man. Somewhere along the way, between meeting him
in my office and being caught off guard when he brought my world
tumbling down around my ears, to here in the darkened, busy
courtyard of a Police bar where my life was again being torn apart,
I'd fallen in love with Ryan Pierce.

And I think,
somewhere along the way he'd fallen for me.

It was easier
than I thought it would be, handing over the ledger, placing the
book in his hands. I saw a flash of surprise in his eyes when the
weight of the book registered, or maybe he was a little shocked I'd
simply given it to him without hesitation in the end. Either way,
his eyes widened and then flicked down to what pressed into his
palms.

"Make him pay,
Ryan," I said, my throat a little tight with too many emotions
right then. "Make my sacrifice worth it, so no one else has to go
through what Daisy and I did."

Ryan pulled
the book against his chest, as though it was a treasure and not the
abomination that it truly represented.

"This will
save lives, Marie," he promised. "This will end his."

He couldn't
have chosen better words, but with him holding that... thing I
couldn't crumble, I couldn't show relief or let my shield down. I
just nodded my head, wrapped the knowledge that this man had fallen
for me as much as I had fallen for him around myself, and turned to
join Nick's group.

Both Ben and
Nick's eyes lifted to Ryan's over my shoulder, but the women all
looked at me. Kelly wrapping her arm around my waist on one side,
Eva on the other, and Abi offering what could only be a proud
smile, serene in its understanding of what I'd been through. A
solidarity shared with just one look.

"Now if this
isn't a tequila time, I don't know what is," Kelly declared,
starting to head us in the direction of the main building, so we
could work our way toward the exit.

"Don't mind if
I do," Abi answered for all of us, I think.

"You still got
enough or do we need to do a liquor run?" Eva asked at my side.

"Purlease,"
Abi chastised. "This is Ben Tamati's house we're talking
about."

"Not just my
house, Red," he corrected from over our shoulders. "And why would I
have fuckin' tequila on my top shelf, if not for you and your
posse?"

Abi sniggered,
joined immediately by Kelly.

"You never
complain when I pour you one, big guy," Kelly managed to say in
amongst the chuckles.

"Just bein'
polite, Kels."

We'd made it
into the main part of the building by now, Ryan and Nick ominously
quiet at our backs. And I was sure, even though Ben was keeping up
the appearance of party happy pub crawlers, his eyes were darting
all about the room. Taking in every single person in the Birdcage
tonight. We'd done what we came here to do, but we weren't home
free yet.

Still, a
lightness had entered my frame, a weight truly lifted off my
shoulders. I wasn't sure what was ahead for me and Daisy, but I did
know from here on in we would be doing it on the right side of the
law. And if the planets aligned and a little of lady luck was on my
side, Dominic would have arranged a deal that allowed me to avoid
seeing the inside of a cell.

I didn't want
to think that I'd suffered enough, I was all too readily aware that
by hiding this book others may have been harmed when they could
have been saved instead. That was a guilt I'd always wear close to
my heart. But one look at my daughter would help settle the unease,
because I challenge any mother not to have done all that they could
to protect their child. I challenge them to have found the courage
to offer up the ledger at the risk of their child's life.

I wasn't sure
if I hadn't just signed Daisy's death warrant. I had to believe we
were in a better place now than before - with Roan actually behind
bars already - to survive the fall-out. But I wasn't sure. And the
lightness of finally setting the ball in motion as I had planned
all those years ago, was offset by the dread of what Pandora's box
type darkness I'd opened us up to.

I sucked in a
deep breath, failed to still my rapidly beating pulse and followed
the women out of the front door to the Birdcage, sure that I'd
never set foot inside its walls ever again. Even socially, this
beautiful old building was off limits for me. I couldn't come back
here and not feel the sense of foreboding that I was feeling right
now.

"Well, that
went better than expected," Abi said under her breath as we crossed
the street to Nick's SUV.

"Yeah, I love
it when a plan comes together, cookie," Eva added.

Abi swung
around with a beaming smile over her lips and no doubt a comeback
on her tongue and stilled. Her face fell, her brow furrowed, and
instantly Nick and Ben were flanking us and herding us to the
unlocked car doors.

"What's going
on?" I asked, only to be shoved inside the rear of the vehicle,
Ryan jumping in behind me, as Kelly, Ben and Abi took up the middle
seats, and Nick and Eva slipped into the front.

The vehicle
was started before the doors were fully closed, and Nick was
driving before seatbelts had been secured. The squeal of tyres on
tarseal sounding out in our wake, the gritty smell of burnt rubber
wafting in through the air filters.

Ryan reached
over and secured my seatbelt, and only then attended to his own.
But I barely noticed as Ben had a gun out on one side of the car
and Abi had one out on the other. Kelly simply slunk down in her
centre seat, keeping her head low and out of sight.

"What's going
on?" I asked again, but Nick had pressed a button on the dash and a
phone dial tone blared out of the speakers.

"What's up,
boss?" came Eric's voice over the line. "You're in a hurry."

"What do you
know about Simon Andrews being in Auckland right now?" Nick
demanded, the occupants of the SUV silent, but the atmosphere
decidedly thick right then.

Who the hell
was Simon Andrews? It wasn't a name I knew associated with Roan
McLaren. It wasn't one from inside the ledger either, which I
noticed with a flick of my eyes, was sitting beside Ryan's feet on
the floor of the rear foot well.

Eric whistled,
but didn't say anything immediately. The sound of fingers tapping
away on a keyboard could be heard instead.

"Released on
bail one week ago." Eric sucked in a breath of air. "Evidence was
compromised at Wellington Central Police Station. He's been
commanded to stay in the capital until his trial, which is still
scheduled despite Wellington's cock up."

"Fuck," Ben
muttered, twisting his head to look at Abi. She looked pale, her
hands gripping the gun she held in a white knuckled embrace. Her
eyes held Ben's, an angry determination evident there. "He's not
here for you, Red," Ben said with a shake of his head. "Or me," he
added, when she opened her mouth to argue his point.

They both
simultaneously turned to look at me.

"I don't even
know who he is," I said, stunned at the expressions of worry on
their faces.

I turned to
look at Ryan, but he had a phone to his ear and couldn't talk as it
had just been answered.

"Harvey, Simon
Andrews is in Auckland. Put a warrant out for his arrest, he's
breaching the terms of his bail. Last known location is the
Birdcage on Franklin Road."

"Will someone
tell me who this guy is and why he's a concern?" I demanded. As if
I didn't have enough to be dealing with right now.

"Former
Detective Constable Simon Andrews was on the taskforce that brought
Roan McLaren down," Eric supplied from over the speakers.

"He took to me
with a baseball bat," Ben helpfully supplied.

"And hauled me
by my hair into a McLaren safe-house," Abi added.

"And was
arrested for both of those assaults and his involvement in Roan
McLaren's criminal business," Ryan added, having stowed his
cellphone away.

I stared at
each one of them in turn.

"So, you're
telling me he's a bent former cop on McLaren's payroll with not a
lot to lose now that he's about to be prosecuted for criminal
behaviour and connections?"

They all
nodded.

"And he was at
the Birdcage right now?"

"Yes," Abi
said.

"Did he see
us?" I demanded.

"Yeah, he saw
us all right," Ben offered.

"Was he
armed?" I asked.

"Not
obviously, but you can guarantee he's got himself a piece," Nick
supplied from the front of the car.

Shit! How did
he know we were at the Birdcage? Was it just a coincidence or
something else? And if it wasn't a coincidence, then what else did
he know? Where Ben and Abi's home was? That Daisy and I were
staying there?

"Daisy," I
said aloud.

"Is fine,"
Eric answered immediately. "Adam's aware of our new player, and
Koki and Brook are on site as extra security. It's still the safest
place to be."

"But for how
much longer?" I asked, lifting my eyes to hold Nick's in the rear
view mirror. "He's just seen us all together, he'll put two and two
together. ASI is compromised, he'll be able to track you all down
and figure out where we're hidden."

No one said a
word, but varying looks of disquiet crossed their faces.

"I don't like
this," I announced, and Ryan's hand quietly slipped into mine,
offering a consoling squeeze of his fingers.

"Marie's
right," he announced.

"What do you
suggest?" Nick asked, sounding pissed off and put out and generally
pretty ropeable about now.

Ryan paused,
looking thoughtful, then said, his voice weighty and slightly rough
due to some emotion, "I'll take her and Daisy to my Mother's
place." Which didn't make any sense to me. If this Andrews guy
could work out all of ASI's bolt holes, then he could surely work
out Ryan's.

And wasn't
Ryan's mum dead? Stone had made him swear on his mother's
grave.

"If you think
you can handle it, Pierce," Nick said, voice solemn, "then we'll
make it happen. No one but those present in this vehicle, and Eric,
will know."

I flicked my
gaze about the car, the women were all looking at the floor not
making eye contact, Nick was staring steely-eyed out the front
window and Ben just sighed. I turned slowly to look at Ryan at my
side, noticing the pale sheen of perspiration coating his
forehead.

And knew that
Ryan had just opened his own Pandora's box and was staring down a
bleak, dark black hole at the face of his haunted past.

"Are you sure
you want to do this tonight?" Nick asked as we entered the back
door to Ben and Abi's house.

"The sooner
we're gone the better," Ryan replied immediately.

"OK,
e
hoa
," Ben murmured as he walked his big baulk
past the two men. "Come with me and we'll find you some
clothes."

Clothes? The
men all left the kitchen, leaving me alone with the women.

"Why does he
need clothes?" I asked no one in particular.

"Because he
won't have any at his mother's," Abi said, walking across the room
to the large pantry and pulling out an ice-box from beneath the
shelves. "I'll pack you guys some food, Ryan won't want to stop at
the supermarket on the way."

OK, this was
just getting a little bizarre.

"Why not?" I
asked, stepping out of her way as she reached for the fridge.

Abi sighed, it
sounded heavy with compassion and pain.

"Ryan's
mother's house is north of the city at Gulf Harbour. It'll take you
a while to drive there and knowing Pierce, he'll not want to show
up on any security camera footage at shops along the way."

"I get the
feeling I'm missing something here," I pointed out, just as Gen
walked in the room minus Daisy.

"Your girl's
sound asleep, but I gather you'll be waking her up soon?" she
asked.

"Apparently
so," I murmured, moving towards the door to the rest of the house.
"And apparently we're going on a camping trip to the back of
beyond."

"Oh," Gen
remarked, not sounding the least bit surprised. "I went on a
camping trip once," she added, but I didn't hear the rest of her
story as I'd walked too far away. There was more, I was sure of it.
Once Gen got started talking she rarely stopped.

Daisy was
curled in a little adorable ball under the covers of her bed
breathing deeply. I stood there for too long looking down at her
peaceful face and wondering just what the hell I was getting my
daughter into.

Well, Marie.
You started this, it was all of your doing. My shoulders slumped
and I turned to pack her clothes ready for our 'trip' to the other
side of Auckland. No one disturbed me, and by the time I had my
clothes packed as well, I'd still not been bothered. Whatever was
happening in the rest of the house was keeping everyone occupied. I
walked back into Daisy's room and sat down in the chair beside her
bed, and waited.

Half an hour
later Ryan walked in.

He glanced
down at the packed bags and then flicked concerned eyes over
Daisy's sleeping form.

"We've got to
go," he whispered. "Do you want to wake her and I'll carry her out
to the car."

"Is your car
back here?" I asked, aware he'd met us at the Birdcage and then
travelled back here in Nick's SUV.