Need You Tonight, page 19
‘My Amazon.’ His smile widened as said Amazon drove past them and yelled out the wound down window, ‘Love you, honey-pumpkin! Y’all be good and productive while I’m gone.’
‘I will. Love you too, baby.’
She tooted and he blew her some kisses.
‘And on that note, I’m going to yak,’ Craig said, pretending to dry retch.
Phil shoved his shoulder. ‘You’re just jealous.’
‘I don’t think that’s what you’d call it.’
Lexi snorted. ‘We all know you’re allergic to anything resembling a serious relationship, Craig, but the rest of us aren’t like that.’
‘Really,’ Craig said, turning to her, arms crossed, brow raised. ‘Does a certain Irish lead singer have something to do with you being okay with lovey-dovey and honey-pie over there?’
‘We’re not lovey-dovey and honey-pie,’ Phil grumbled, fingers flicking in a rhythm against his crossed arms.
Craig barked out a laugh. ‘Whatever you say, honey-pie.’
Phil rolled his eyes and said, ‘Do you want to jam or not, arsehole?’
Craig clapped his hand over his heart. ‘Ah, the sweet endearments. How could I say no, butt-wipe?’
Phil snorted, then clapped Craig over the back of the head.
‘Hey!’ Craig said, but Phil had taken off up the path towards the studio before he could retaliate. Rubbing his head, Craig muttered, ‘I’ll have to get him back for that,’ then followed his mate up the path.
‘Boys,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘What was that about?’
She turned to Daemon who was walking towards her from the stable and her mouth went dry. The sight of him in his jeans, a flannelette shirt over his t-shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms, an Akubra perched on his head—oh my! He looked so much at home here it made her ache deep inside. What if he stayed?
No. That wasn’t possible.
But she could hold onto the time they had left as they finished the album and make the most of it. Starting with going out with him today and doing something as normal as working with Karl.
She smiled up at him, forced her knees not to turn into mush when he reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear and was super impressed her voice sounded so normal when she said, ‘Did you know your band mates are no more than children?’
‘Yep.’
‘Okay then.’ Her lips twitched. ‘Are you ready to go?’
‘Sure am.’
‘Let’s go saddle up, then.’
***
Lexi took his hand in hers and lead him down to the stables. Tingling warmth radiated out from the point of contact, making him feel more alive than he’d felt in a very long time.
He really wanted to stop her, take a moment to talk about what had happened last night, but she hurried him into the stables, a mixture of shyness and business that was incredibly sexy, and moments later he was saddling up Sarge, the big speckled grey gelding she’d allocated him.
They headed out with Karl ten minutes later at a brisk walk, Karl in front, Daemon riding along beside Lexi.
They rode in silence for about five minutes, smiling and sharing glances. He had a feeling she was more aware of him than her surroundings. He felt the same way. Usually he’d drink in the beautiful spring morning, taking inspiration from the sounds and sights and scents around him, but all he could see was her.
Finally, she broke the silence. ‘We didn’t talk.’
‘No.’
‘Do you still want to?’
He tipped his head to the side as he watched her. Yes, he did. But he had the distinct impression she didn’t. He’d better take this slowly; he didn’t want to spook her. He was hoping to talk her into more than the one night she’d asked for. ‘I think … I think the talk I wanted to have is redundant after last night.’ She blushed but didn’t look away. It was encouraging. ‘Now what I want is to get to know you better.’
‘But I do know you. As you know me. Through the music. And last night.’
He smiled softly. ‘Sure. But there’s other things to share.’
‘Like what?’
‘About our families. Where we grew up. The first time we did something stupid. Our first crush. We don’t have to say everything now. And we could start with me if you like.’
She breathed out shakily. ‘Okay.’ She gnawed on her lip, a sign that she was thinking hard. Then finally she said, ‘Tell me how you got this scar.’ She pointed at the patch of smooth, white skin that cut through one of his eyebrows. He lifted said brows, a bit surprised by her question. Of all the things he thought she’d ask, that wasn’t one of them.
‘It’s not a bad memory, is it?’ she asked when he didn’t answer immediately.
He chuckled. ‘It’s not a bad memory, just kind of stupid, really. When I was little, I used to like to pretend I was a rock star. I’d stand in the street and sing and play air guitar with my friends.’ He closed his eyes for a moment as he lost himself in the memory. He hadn’t thought of that time in his life for a long time, but he didn’t mind sharing it at all with Lexi.
‘We were living in Dublin. My mates and I decided one day to climb up on old man O’Keefe’s unused WC—’
‘WC?’
‘Water closet. An outside toilet.’
‘You climbed onto the roof of a toilet?’
‘It was next to the fence and easy to climb. Stop interrupting the story.’
‘Sorry.’ She smiled, not looking sorry at all.
He chuckled before continuing. ‘So, we climbed onto the WC next to the alley and put on a concert—we were pretending it was a stage. Anyway, we made so much noise that the deaf old coot heard us and called the Gardaí. When we saw them coming down the alley, we tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the WC roof wasn’t stable enough to put up with four boys running across the middle at the same time.’
‘Did it collapse?’
He chuckled at her shock. ‘You betcha. The next thing I knew I was flat on my back on a bed of tin and splintered wood, surrounded by broken pots, dirt and crushed marijuana plants. Apparently old man O’Keefe’s grandson had been growing his stash there.’
She gasped. ‘No!’
‘I had a gash through my eyebrow and down the side of my face and my mate Lewis was on top of me. When he saw the blood, he passed out and the Gardaí caught us.’
She laughed, the sound tinkling around him, startling her horse. She took a moment to quiet Viking down, then asked, ‘Did you get in trouble?’
‘Not as much trouble as old man O’Keefe! They carted me off to the hospital to get checked out and have my face stitched up. We were let off with a warning.’
‘You were lucky none of you were seriously hurt.’
‘I know. Little boys are made of tough stuff. I can’t remember how many times I did things that should have been the death of me.’
‘I bet your mother was scared to let you out of the house if that was the sort of thing you went and did.’
He stiffened, the smile dying on his lips. ‘My mother was a drug addict. She barely ever noticed what I was doing unless it directly affected her.’
The look on her face floored him. He wanted to reach out, take her hand, tell her it was okay, that he was okay, but Sarge shied sideways, further away from her.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said quietly after he got Sarge under control. ‘What about your father? Was he there for you?’
He shrugged. ‘Ma took me from him when I was young. But my da never stopped looking for me and eventually found me. My ma had been arrested for drug possession and I was with child services. He came just in time so I never had to go to an orphanage or into foster care.’
‘I didn’t know.’
His mouth hitched up on one side. ‘No. We’ve managed to keep that out of the press—although I don’t know how. Probably I was with my da for long enough that nobody looked back into my early childhood. Not to mention, my ma died of an overdose in jail a year after she went in and she changed her name so many times, nobody knew what her real name was. I took my da’s name when I went to live with him so there’s no link and nobody to tell the sordid tale.’
Lexi was quiet for a moment, obviously digesting what he’d shared. It was a lot. He hadn’t meant to spill this much, but now it was out, he was glad that he had.
It showed her he knew trauma and loss too.
‘Do you see your da often?’
‘Not as often as I’d like and certainly not as often as he would like. But I talk to him every other day and he fills me in on all the latest news.’
‘I’m glad you have him.’
‘So am I.’ He smiled fondly, never one to shy from showing the love he felt for his da.
She smiled back, their gazes catching.
A cow lowed nearby, breaking the moment.
She laughed. So did he.
As the laughter died, she said, ‘So, falling through the roof was how you ended up with the scar?’
He nodded slowly. ‘Mm-hm. The wound healed up surprisingly well. People only notice if they get up close. I’ve always thought it lent a bit of roughened character to my face.’
‘You’re right. You might have been too pretty otherwise.’
He flashed her a smile. ‘Glad to know my appearance meets with your approval.’
‘It does more than that.’
‘Hey, you two. Kick those lazy nags along. You’re falling behind.’
She tore her gaze from his at Karl’s shout. The farm manager was already at the far paddock gate.
‘Oops.’ She kicked up Viking and Daemon followed, trying to think of a way of turning the conversation to her without spooking her. She was so reticent to talk about herself. He wanted to know more. To know everything. He especially wanted to know if they would have more than just last night. Not that he necessarily wanted long term. They hadn’t discussed that. Hadn’t laid down the ground rules.
He would leave. She would stay here. But before then, they could have … everything. But he couldn’t say any of that right now, so when she slowed to a walk, he asked, ‘Did you always want to be a musician?’
She glanced at him. ‘Umm, yeah. For as long as I can remember I’ve had music playing in my head. It seemed natural to follow that path. What about you?’
‘The same. Music was my world. Nearly every happy memory I have is touched by music. I couldn’t imagine the world without it.’
‘Me neither.’ She smiled. ‘I managed to play pretty much every instrument I could get my hands on, but my greatest joy was always when I was at the piano, writing and playing.’
‘What about Cat? Was she musical?’
She jerked, as if startled by his question. ‘Cat was always a better singer than me, but her true talent was dancing. I used to write songs for her to sing and dance to.’ She sighed. ‘I wish I could have those days back again.’
‘Some day you will.’
She shook her head. ‘Even if Cat comes out of her mental stasis, things will never be the same.’
Sadness. Such sadness. Laced with so much guilt. He moved Sarge closer, his leg bumping against hers, and reached for her hand. The naked emotion in her eyes as she looked at him, her fingers winding in his, it slayed him.
‘What the hell?’ Karl’s voice had Lexi snapping her head around and she gasped.
A line of fence lay before them. Well, what had once been a line of fencing. Now it was nothing but broken posts and planks busted up and scattered around amid tangled wire.
‘That’s not storm damage. Looks like someone drove through it. Repeatedly.’ He pointed at the tracks in the flattened grass. ‘Who would do that?’
Neither of them answered. He looked over to see Lexi and Karl sharing a worried look, Lexi looking suddenly pale, her lips thin with worry. What the hell? ‘Has this happened before?’
Lexi glanced over at him. ‘Not that I know of.’
‘You need to report it to the police.’
Karl’s mouth twisted for a moment as he looked at Lexi who gave a subtle shake of her head. ‘You know, it was probably Eric Straus and his mates. They get a bit wild when they get a few drinks under their belts. They were probably out for a joy ride along the old back roads and lost control when they hit that bad strip there.’
Daemon stared at the destruction in front of them. It looked like more than an accidental run off the road. Whoever had done this had gone through the fence over and over.
‘Still, you’re right, lad. I’ll report it to the police,’ Karl continued. ‘See what they can find. We can’t have the young ones around here thinking it’s okay to ruin fences. Or go down some of these old disused access roads. They’re dangerous.’ He sighed. ‘Thank the lord I moved the cattle out of here a few days ago and put them in the higher pasture, or there’d be more of a mess.’
Lexi grimaced. ‘What do we need to do?’
‘We need to take stock of the damage, see what we can reuse.’ Karl scratched his head. ‘Although by the looks of things, I won’t be able to use much.’ He sighed again. ‘I’m going to need to make a run to the lumber yard.’
‘Okay.’
They all dismounted and cleared the mess as best they could, measured up for the materials needed to fix the long line of fence. When they were done, Karl said, ‘We better check the other fences that border the old access roads on this side of the property in case there’s more damage.’
‘Yes,’ Lexi said, mouth tight. ‘Good idea.’
They mounted and headed off, hardly talking as they looked for signs of more damage.
Daemon wanted to ask her more about the fence, about what she and Karl were hiding, but every time he opened his mouth to do so, he caught Lexi glancing behind them or to either side, eyes then narrowing on the hills beyond the fence line. Her hands so tight on the reins that Viking kept tossing his head.
Did she think someone was out there watching? Who did she think had ruined the fence and why was she so afraid for him to know?
He began to look around himself but saw nothing unusual.
What the hell was going on?
Chapter 22
It had been fun wrecking the fence early this morning. He hadn’t planned to do it, but after seeing that Irish fucker go into her house last night and not come out, he had to do something to get rid of the rage.
He wished he could see her reaction when she heard about it. Wished he could see her wondering if it was him. Not knowing. Uncertain.
But he had no reason to be near her. And he had more work to do.
He had to find some way of getting her alone.
He was about to pull out onto the road to Mansfield when a shiny black Landcruiser sped past. There was only one shiny black Landcruiser with dark-tinted windows around here.
Hers.
He couldn’t see clearly through the darkened windows, but he was sure only one person sat inside the 4WD and the shape was too slight to be Billy, the only other person who ever drove the black behemoth. That meant one thing. She was in the car. Alone.
He’d never imagined she’d leave Storm Haven today, not after they’d found the girl yesterday. Had he killed her? He couldn’t remember. But it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that he had a chance he hadn’t thought to have. She was always surrounded by people on the blasted farm. Now here she was, alone, handing him the opportunity he’d been waiting for on a silver platter—a big, shiny, black, hulking, Landcruiser-shaped platter. Her car might be big, but his was a virtual tank.
He pulled onto the Mansfield-Buller Road behind the 4WD. Licking his lips, he hit the accelerator.
He would teach her a lesson for her trespasses. He was the Angel of Death sent to strike down the unrighteous.
The thought made him smile.
Chapter 23
Just over an hour later they finished checking the outer fence line that ran along the roads bordering the property and headed back. Lexi had remained silent, aware of the questions Daemon had. He was too observant not to have seen what passed between her and Karl, but she hoped to put off telling him any of what was going on for as long as she could.
She was tense and feeling not a little sick when they rode back into the stables. Exhausted, she dismounted and began to unsaddle Viking.
‘Ah thank god you’re here,’ Bev said as she ran into the stable.
Lexi’s head snapped up at the sound in Bev’s voice, her exhaustion flying away. ‘What’s wrong? Has something happened to Cat?’
Bev waved her hands. ‘No. She’s fine. She’s with Billy in the gym waiting for you to get back.’
‘Then what’s wrong, love?’ Karl asked, taking her shaking hands.
‘Constable Creeson is here. There’s been an accident.’
‘Who?’
‘Where?’
‘What sort of accident?’
She waved her hands again, eyes bleak as she focused on Daemon. ‘We have to find Phil. It’s Melissa. She’s been in a car crash.’
Lexi gasped, hand over her mouth, her gaze going to Daemon, who’d gone suddenly pale. She’d taken Lexi’s car to be safe. What the hell had happened? Oh god. ‘Is she …?’
‘No, no, but she is seriously injured. Thankfully, she was on the phone calling triple zero because someone was trying to run her off the road, so they were able to get to her quickly.’
‘Someone ran her off the road?’ Daemon snarled. ‘Reporters? If those fuckers got too close and caused this—’
Bev waved her hand. ‘I need to find Phil. They’ve taken her to the hospital, but they couldn’t get a hold of him. He’s not answering his phone and our phone lines are down from the storm last night—I didn’t realise until Constable Creeson arrived and told me they couldn’t get onto us. I tried the intercom in the Barn House and the studio, but nobody answered. I even tried their mobiles but they’re going straight to messages. I was just running down here to see if they’d taken out some horses and gone for a ride.’
Daemon cursed. ‘They’re in the studio, so they’d have their phones off and I turned the ringer down on the intercom last night when I was working and must have forgotten to turn it back up before I left.’ He gripped Lexi’s hand as he spoke and turned to Karl.
