A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (19 page)

“
Eight years. I was a cop with the Valley police before I transferred out.”

“
What part of the AFP are you with?”

“
WPP.”

“
Which means you know Ronald Coleman and Kevin Nolan.”

“
I was on the team that was working with the RAN to bring them in.” Rebekah said. She frowned slightly and asked, “How do you know them?”

“
Two of  my mates from the ship are married to their ex's.”

“
I heard about that.” She said. “It's good to know being with men like Coleman and Nolan didn't mess them up enough to make it so they couldn't find happiness in life.”

Steven smiled and said, “I agree.”

He liked that he could talk to her so easily, even though his brain kept straying towards adult thoughts, and he found himself looking forward to any conversations they might have in the future. 

Two

Day one of her holiday dawned and Rebekah was babysitting the twins while Ben took Claire to the doctors. She was in the middle of playing hide-and-seek with them when the doorbell suddenly chimed.

“
Stay hidden, guys.” She said. “I'll be back in a few minutes.”

She headed out to the front of the house and opened the door to find Steven Leigh standing on the threshold, dressed casually in a red tee and jeans.

She allowed herself a few seconds to take in his tanned skin, dark hair and friendly eyes and even found herself smiling back when he grinned at her in greeting.

“
Hey.” He said.

“
Hi. What are you doing here?”

“
I'm here to see Ben.”

“
He took Claire to the doctors.”

“
Is she okay?”

“
Stomach bug.” Not wanting to appear rude, Rebekah stood back and gestured him inside as she said, “You can wait in here in if you want. They should be back soon.”

“
Sure.”

As they headed down the hallway to the living room where the boys were hiding, James came out and ran at Steven.

“
Uncle Steve!”

He bent and picked the kid up with ease, just as James's brother, Andrew, came out of hiding and launched himself at Rebekah.

“
You still play?” Andrew asked.

“
Sure.” She replied with a smile.

“
What about you, Uncle Steve?” James asked.

“
Absolutely.” He agreed with a grin. “What are we playin'?”

“
Hide and seek!” The boys said in unison.

Rebekah's phone rang then and she left them to begin a new round, heading into the kitchen to pull the mobile out of her bag. The caller-ID on the screen of the smart-phone told her it was Michael Blake, the agent-in-charge of the WPP. She swiped the screen and answered, “Westmore.”

“
I've got some bad news, Westmore.” Michael told her. “Remember Edwards?”

“
How could I forget?”

Stan Edwards was a convicted felon who Rebekah had put in jail at the beginning of her career with the AFP eight years ago. He'd raped and murdered his neighbours nineteen year old daughter before hitting the road in a bid to escape the police, becoming an interstate fugitive when he crossed the NSW border and took a hostage, who he later killed.

When Rebekah and her partner had caught up to him, he's resisted arrest, taking wild shots at them that had put her partner out of a job. In return, she'd put a round into Edwards' knee before he went to prison.

“
What about him?”

“
He's out of prison and on his way north again.”

She frowned and asked, “How did he even manage to get out? Wasn't his sentence life?”

“
He broke out. Killed a guard and took another hostage to get out of the prison.”

“
How come I haven't seen this on the news?”

“
We're keeping it quiet because Edwards isn't really a threat to the public at the moment.”

“
He's a convicted rapist and murderer, Blake. How can he not be considered a threat?”

“
Because he's after you.”

“
What?”

“
Edwards' cell mate told one of my men that Edwards did nothing but talk about getting revenge against the bitch cop who shot him and put him in prison.” Michael told her, “And that's you.”

“
So you think he's headed up here to exact revenge against me?”

“
That's the only logical reason we can think of why he's still in the country.”

She'd gone to Cairns to get away from the dramas of being a federal agent, but now it seemed that that drama would be following her. And it was going to put her family in danger.

“
Westmore? I don't expect you to face him alone.”

“
How soon can you get here?”

“
We're meeting with the director tomorrow and, once we get the okay, we'll be on our way within twenty-four hours.”

That would put their arrival time around Saturday morning.

“
I'll be waiting for you and him.”

When Steven saw the badge on her belt, he knew something was wrong.

The call she'd taken in the kitchen hadn't lasted that long, but he'd heard her say something about someone named Edwards and revenge.

“
Guys, why don't you go outside and play until your Mum gets home?” She said to the twins.

“
Yeah!”

After they'd raced outside, Steven watched as Rebekah pulled a gun out of her handbag and checked the slide and magazine before slipping it into a black holster and attaching the holster to her thigh.

That only made her look down-right sexy.

Claire chose that moment to walk in through the front door. When she saw her sister armed and badged, she frowned and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“
No, but I can't tell you what's going on.” Rebekah said.

Steven could tell by the look on Claire's face that she wasn't too happy about that. When Rebekah ducked into her bedroom and reappeared with her bags, her sister's frown deepened.

“
Are you leaving?”

“
I'm just moving out and into a hotel for a few days.”

“
Why? What's happened, Becky?”

The pet-name made Rebekah pause in what she was doing, and she looked at her sister with a pained expression on her face as she said, “I wish I could tell you, Claire, but I can't. It could put you in danger.”

Claire crossed to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Rebekah held on just as tight and Steven could tell she was torn between being a sister and an agent. Seeing that look on her face, he felt an unusual urge to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

“
Where are you going to go?” Claire asked.

“
Just into the city.”

“
Am I going to see you while you're here?”

“
Yes, just not as much as we both thought.” Rebekah pulled back and looked down at her sister. “It's going to be okay, Claire. You've just got to trust me.”

Claire nodded and went to her husband when Ben walked in the door.

“
Everything okay with you?” Rebekah asked her sister as she resumed checking her bags.

“
Yeah. In fact, I have something to announce.” Claire said, smiling up at her husband.

“
Go ahead.”

“
I'm pregnant.”

“
Oh, my God!” Rebekah shrieked. She laughed and pulled her sister into another hug. “Congratulations!”

Steven shook Ben's hand and said, “Congrats, man.”

“
Thanks.” Ben said before hugging his sister-in-law.

But the celebration was short lived when Claire made a request that shocked both him and Rebekah.

“
You want me to move in with a man I don't even know?” 

“
Ben and I know him.” Claire said. “And it'll make me feel better if I know you've got someone watching your back.”

“
Claire, I'm a fed. I don't need someone watching my back.”

“
Please, Becky. For me.” Claire said.

Rebekah looked torn again and she looked at him as she said, “I doubt he'll even want me living with him.”

To his surprise, Steven liked the idea of having her as a house guest and he said as much.

Claire beamed and said, “There? Happy?”