A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (9 page)

Kelley was seven months pregnant, and she was in a hostage situation with the man who'd gotten her that way.

The man who'd raped her.

His grip on the steering wheel became deathly tight and he cursed under his breath.

He just prayed they found her before it was too late.Fourteen

Kelley squirmed against the restraints as Ronald dug holes into a wooden table that was on the verge of collapsing from it's own weight. Her little angel was kicking for her worth and she felt like throwing up, but Ronald had put a gag in her mouth.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

He kept looking at his watch or checking the time on his mobile.

Kelley wondered what he had planned when he suddenly came over to her and yanked the gag out of her mouth. He opened the knife with a loud click and pressed it to her throat again.

She held her breath, waiting for him to make a move.

“
Tell me what your relationship is with Daniel.”

“
We're friends.”

“
Is that all?”

“
Yes.”

Ronald swore and suddenly slapped her, causing her head to snap to one side. She tasted blood and a dull throbbing began in her head.

“
You always were a lying bitch, Harmon.” Ronald growled. “I know you've been in contact with him since you were relocated out of Melbourne.”

Kelley tried to get her head cleared so she could think straight. “He's been on patrol for most of the time I've been up here.”

“
His boss told me he took an extended leave a few weeks ago.”

She didn't know what to say to that, so she kept silent.

Ronald growled but didn't say anything else as he began to pace the area in front of her. Her daughter kicked again and Kelley closed her eyes against the throbbing in her skull.

She had to get out of here before anything happened to harm her baby.

Only problem was, she didn't know where here was, and she didn't know if Daniel knew if she was missing yet. She couldn't tell what time of day or night it was and she was beginning to regret insisting he go and have some beers with his mates. 

Did Blake even know she was gone?

Surely by now they knew and were looking for her.

Ronald was getting angrier and angrier with every minute that passed, and Kelley knew first hand what he was like when he got too angry. If she was alone with him for too long, her little angel might not get to see the light of day.

It was almost midnight and Kelley had been missing for twelve hours.

Daniel, Ric and Steven were now in farming country, and Daniel pulled over on the side of the highway. He put the GT into park before getting out and shouting his frustration into the quiet night.

No one had anything and he was getting frustrated that they still hadn't found Kelley.

“
Danny, it's going to be okay.” Ric said as he got out of the front passenger seat. “We're going to find her.”

Daniel slammed the drivers door and leaned against it with a white-knuckled grip, breathing heavy as his heart continued to pound with anger.

“
Come on mate.” Steven said as he joined him near the front. He slapped a hand on Daniels back and said, “You won't be any good to her if you give up or let your anger overtake you.”

He sucked in a calming breath and turned to face his friends. “She's been missing for twelve hours. How do I even know that bastard hasn't already killed her?”

“
You know Ronald Coleman better then anyone currently searching for him.” Steven said. “Do you honestly believe he would have killed her by now?”

“
I honestly don't know.”

“
Then you can't start thinking like that until you see the body.” Ric said. “For now, you have to believe Kelley is still alive and that nothing has happened to her.”

Daniel nodded. “You're right.”

Steven slapped him on the back again and said, “There you go. Now, let's get back on the road and get back to looking for your girl.”

Before he could get behind the wheel, his mobile rang. “Coleman.”

“
It's Blake.” Michael said. “We may have found them.”

Daniel felt his heart jump into his throat and he demanded, “Where are they?”

“
Intel hasn't been confirmed yet, but a witness put someone matching Ronald Coleman's description at an old farm not far from the city.”

“
Where?” Michael gave him the co-ordinates and Daniel entered them into the GPS he kept in the GT. When the location came up, he told the agent, “We're not far from that location.”

“
I'd be wasting my time if I told you not to proceed without me and my team, wouldn't I?” Michael said.

Daniel had to smile. “Yes. Kelley's family. I'm not going to let Ronald have the chance to hurt her anymore then he already has.”

“
Alright. Just try not to get yourself killed.” Michael said. “And try not to kill him.”

Daniel didn't respond. He couldn't agree to something he'd been wanting to do since learning what Ronald had done to Kelley a few months ago. Ronald might be his big brother, but if he'd hurt Kelley in any way, Daniel was going to kill him. He hung up on Michael and told the guys the news.

“
There you go.” Ric said, smiling.

“
Let's go get your girl, Coleman.” Steven said.

Daniel smiled. The RO sounded so confident and he couldn't help but envy that a little.

He'd finally admitted he loved Kelley and that he wanted to share a future with her. He didn't want to lose her before he had a chance to tell her.

Fifteen

The bright shine of lights woke Kelley.

She was still bound to the chair in the warehouse and a quick look around told her Ronald was at the table, asleep and snoring. He obviously wasn't worried about being found.

She looked to the wall across from her, where she thought the lights had come from, but it was all dark and nothing was moving, telling her she must have imagined it. For how ever many hours or days Ronald had had her captive here in this dark warehouse, he hadn't fed her, and Kelley knew that would be the reason for her hallucinating. She also knew it couldn't be good for her baby.

A loud snore bounced off the walls and Ronald shifted on the table, causing it to creak loudly in protest, but he didn't wake.

Kelley decided it was time to try and escape.

It was obvious Daniel and the AFP were having trouble finding her, so she knew it was up to her to try and make a move that would help them and get her out of here.

Just as she started trying to get out of the rope binding her hands, noise came from in the direction of the front door, and she froze, trying to listen. From what she could tell, it sounded like raised whispers and the occasional thud of a boot on the hard ground that surrounded the warehouse. She stopped trying to escape and listened, hoping to catch something that told her whether or not it was someone she could count on to get her out of here.

The whispers suddenly stopped, then came the creak of rusted hinges, and Kelley's heart began to pound a million miles a minute. She looked over at Ronald, who was still sleeping, and wondered who could possibly be coming into the warehouse.

The front door suddenly opened and two figures appeared, silhouetted but the grey of a pre-dawn. A third figure followed them inside and crossed to Ronald while the other two came to her and bathed her in the light of torches. Kelley blinked against the sudden brightness and frowned when she heard one of them say “It's her.” 

Who were these guys?

Ronald heard the voices and came awake quickly, pulling his gun as he sat up. He saw two black figures near Kelley, but it was the one almost on top of him that held his attention.

Even in the dark, Ronald knew who is was. “Hello Daniel.”

His brother didn't say anything, but Ronald saw the gun trained on his, aimed right at his heart.

“
You'd shoot your own brother?”

Daniel finally spoke. “You're not my brother. Not after what you did to Kelley.”

Ronald scoffed and got to his feet as he said, “I didn't do anything to her that that bitch didn't deserve.”

“
How can you say that?” Daniel demanded. “You think she deserved to be beaten to within an inch of her life, scared and raped?” 

“
Don't take the high road with me, sailor-boy!” Ronald snapped. “You're no different then I am.”

“
I'm not scum like you.” Daniel growled.

Ronald had always hated Daniel and he'd been waiting for an opportunity to kill the son-of-a-bitch. Now was his chance. He took a shot at his brother, but in his anger, the shot was wild and missed it's target. Before he could get another shot off, Daniel tackled him to the ground, clearly not willing to use his gun on his brother.

Both men had now lost their weapons and they struggled for leverage in the soft ground. Ronald came out on top after a few minutes and he got in a few well-aimed blows before Daniel managed to get the upper hand. Daniel landed a few blows as well before pulling out a second gun, but Ronald got lucky and managed to knock it out of his hand.

They continued to fight, both men getting blows that slowed down their opponent. Ronald shoved Daniel off him and got to his feet, knowing he'd need a weapon to end this. He flicked a switch that turned on all the lights in the warehouse before he began to search for his gun or his knife.

Daniel needed to realise he was a dead man.