DeadlySuspicious.epub (7 page)

“The local people up here believe in one thing and that’s looking after themselves. They follow the law up to a point but the reason they live in the rainforest is they want to be left alone,” Tuck explained. “Jacobson to them is ‘some fella who went bush with his missus.’”

“Perfect,” said Frances Beaton as she appeared in the room.

Lois wasn’t surprised to see the seventy year old women had made it to the top of the stairs under her own steam and that she wasn’t puffed. She had insisted to all of them she was capable of doing so. Lois hadn’t doubted it. She was glad to hear the older woman speak. She had been quiet for most of the journey. It was like Frances had been lost in her thoughts. “Okay, so I’m not even going to pretend to be stoic. I need to shower and then fall face down on a bed.”

Tasha nodded in agreement. “Me too. How many rooms does this place have?”

“All the living space is up here. Kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms, of which there are four.”

Tuck helped Lois to her feet. “We’ll put Frances in one, me and Lois in this one—”

Lois shook her head. “I don’t want to share with you.” Yes, she had to get over her anger with the man but sharing a room? Seeing him naked? Accidently bumping into him naked? She wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Besides, other than having sex a couple of times, living together was a completely different type of intimacy.

Tuck ignored her objection. “—and Wylie and Tasha in the other room.”

Tasha held her hand up at that. “I don’t want share with him.” She indicated Wylie who just shrugged.

“William can go in the other room that we’ll use as nursery,” continued Tuck pointing down a hallway to his left, seemingly not interested in managing anyone’s objections.

Tasha walked over to Lois and stood at her side. ”I’m going to share with Lois.”

Lois knew that, like her, she had issues with Wylie. It would be less complicated for both women if they could just have some peace for a while. “Agreed. You two,” she indicated Tuck and Wylie.

“—can share.” Odd bedfellows but not her problem. These men were strong willed and overpowering if allowed to be.
They need to cool their jets for a bit.

Wylie shook his head. “I’m not sharing with him.”

“He looks like a snorer,” Tuck added.

“Ladies, let’s be logical,” Wylie began.

Lois wasn’t interested in that. Besides, these men could not have everything their own way. “I don’t want to be nor do I have to be.”

Tasha nodded. “Me neither.” She went over and took William from his father’s arms.

“He can bunk in with us.”

Frances sighed. “You’re all stupid.” They looked at her. “Haven’t we fought enough battles against the bad guys? Aren’t you tired of that? I damn well am. Let’s not fight amongst ourselves.”

She went over and took William from his mother’s arms. “William and I are going to rest. Get over whatever your problems are and play nice.” She turned and headed down the hall.

Logically, Lois knew the older woman was right and maybe tomorrow she would follow her advice. Maybe. She took Tasha by the arm. “That room over there looks good.” Without further ado, the two women walked past the men, into the room and shut the door.

Tuck sighed and looked at Wylie. “There is no way in hell I am sleeping with you.”

“Man, I plan to have one body tight with mine and it ain’t yours.”

“Got to love their attitude though.”

“Yeah, but I’m not putting up with that.”

“Me neither,” Tuck agreed. “So let’s play this smart and give those women what they want. I’ve screwed up so many times with Lois. I don’t want to keep doing that. She’s not the easiest woman but she’s the only woman for me.”

“Nor is Tasha but damn it, I want her.” Wylie strode towards the room the women were in. He kicked open the door in one go. “Tasha, you’re coming with me.” He picked her up, ignoring her attempts to fight him.

“Put me down!” she roared, struggling in his arms.

His eyes were fierce on hers. “On
our
bed in
our
room with
you
under
me
.”

Lois was agog as she watched Wylie carry her friend away. Tuck kicked the door shut behind them. It was just the two of them. “Er—” She felt shy and awkward. The two of them were hardly love’s young dream of the perfect couple.

“Do you want me to pick you up?” Tuck started unbuttoning his shirt as he walked over to her.

Oh boy, oh boy.
“Would you?” Her eyes roamed the tanned, hair roughened chest before her.

“Yes, I would do anything you ask of me.” He dropped down on his knees before her and picked up her hand. “I don’t want to fight you, Lo. I just want to be with you.” His other hand touched the swell of her stomach. “I’m not a good man. I have more flaws than anyone can possibly count but there’s one thing I know for sure.”

Lois was agog at the tenderness coming from Tuck. “What’s that?”

“I love you.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s messy and inconvenient.”

Tuck laughed. “I’m on my knees declaring my love for you and you think that’s ‘messy and inconvenient’?”

“I think,” she said, touching his face. “You’re trouble.”

“And?”

“I love trouble.”

* * * * *

Wylie hadn’t been the slightest bit surprised Tasha had fought him. That was who they were.

Fighters who did what they had to in order not to appear weak and give in too easily. She delivered a couple of good blows to his stomach before he managed to roll her face down on the bed and spank her ass a dozen times. She yelled abuse at him as she struggled to free herself. “Give in.”

“Fuck you!”

His hand rested on her butt. “Tasha?”

“What?” she groaned, her voice muffled against the bed.

“Admit it.”

“You’re a bully.”

“You like it.” He smiled as he noticed her body start to relax. “And I think you like me.” Wylie’s hand stroked her ass. “In fact, I tend to believe you love me.”

“Well,
I
tend to believe
you
love
me
.”

He smiled. “Possibly.”

“Ditto.” Tasha rolled part way over and looked up at him. “Are we having sex or what?”

Wylie laughed at her words. “No
what
about it, madam.”

* * * *

In another room Frances held William in her arms. The baby was oddly soothing to her.

Sometimes she believed he understood the words she spoke to him and patiently listened as she unburdened her soul to him.

“He’ll find me.” She knew that as a fact. There was only one question in her mind. “Can I kill my own son?” Killing his father had been easy. She still remembered the wild sense of relief when she saw his lifeless body at her feet. There was no regret or remorse. He was dead. She was alive.

She had won. Frances looked into the dark eyes of the baby boy she held in her arms. “When it comes to kill or be killed, young William, you have to do what you can to survive.”

Chapter Seven

They had been driving for about an hour and a half before Denby decided to talk to Sirius. It had taken a while for her to make up her mind to do so. Not talking to him indicated she might have been scared to deal with him. She didn’t want Sirius thinking she was intimidated by him or that she was being childish. While she wasn’t happy how they parted, Denby had to make herself get over it because they were over. She had accepted that as a fact. Problem was, she still didn’t like or agree with the Committee and she was having a hard time believing Sirius was no longer part of it. To be a part of something so ravenous in venting their spleen against women had to have changed him.

Did it make him a better man who’d seen the error of his ways as he wanted her to believe, or was he a deceptive man with a hidden agenda of his own?

“So why do you hate women?”
May as well put it out there.
Denby wasn’t looking for an argument. She just wanted to know who this man was. Once, she had thought him sweet and loving.

But his relationship with her father had kicked that to pieces.

Sirius glanced at her for a moment before looking back at the road. “I don’t hate women.”

“Any man who joins the Jacobson losers hates women.” That was probably the thing that had wounded her the most. He stood with a group of men who were trying to erode the rights of women.

He sighed. “It’s a long story, Denby.”

“It’s a long trip,
Rabid.
” Yes, she had said the Committee was rabid but it was the last name she would have called him despite how they parted. In the time she had known him he had always been sweet, even tempered and in control without being dominating. She liked that in a man. That he had taken ‘Rabid’ as a name surprised her. The Committee was rabid. That he was found to have been on it was more confusing than anything. Him taking that name? Extra confusing knowing her words had scored him so deeply.

“My name is Sirius. You know that Denby. If you’re trying to get a rise out of me call me

‘spunky’ like you used to.” He grinned. “You made all sorts of things
rise
when you used that word.”

She felt the heat rush to her face as she remembered those moments.
Damn it.
Only Sirius could make her blush. Denby needed to get back on to the subject. “If you’re not up to the truth….” She let her words trail off, waiting his response. She settled back in the lime green and black of the leather upholstered seat. Denby had to admit he had great taste when it came to stealing a car. The 1971 midnight blue,
Mustang Flashback
he had procured was all luxury with ass kicking muscle.

“
Where did you get this?”

“
I know people.”

“
People with excellent taste.”

“
You like it.”

“
It’s okay.”

“
Liar.”

“
That makes two of us then.”

“You’ve changed,” Sirius observed as he overtook another car on the Bruce Highway. They had just cleared the traffic of Brisbane and were cruising along the main route to Cairns.

Denby knew she had. Life had made her ratty, harder and less likely to believe anyone, more so after what happened with Sirius. She’d trusted him like no other. Her already shaky faith had taken a major hit with his betrayal. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You used to be sweeter.”

She crossed one leg over the other and toyed with the seatbelt. “I was never sweet.”

“To me you were.”

Yeah, well, maybe
. All her defenses had come down with him. She had enjoyed being with Sirius. But that had changed as all things do. “Well, life isn’t sweet.”

They rode in silence for a while. “I don’t hate women and I don’t hate you, Denby.” He sighed, his hands clenching the wheel. “I was just very, very angry at someone.”

Very, very
. Denby couldn’t recall Sirius ever being angry with her. But then, they had only been together a short time.
What do I really know about this man?
Sex often blinded people to another’s faults because the moment of coming together blinded you to anything else. She could almost feel the sudden rush of tension in his body. “An ex-lover?” Only one of them could make you angrier than a fire ant.

“Yes.”

Denby waited for him to elaborate but Sirius was silent. “Did she cut the crotch out of your pants?”

“What?” He barked out a sudden laugh.

She remembered how Sirius had the best laugh. “She slept with your best friend?”

“No.”

“Played with a man tool like your favorite drill and broke it? Dented your car? Washed your white shirt with her red undies?” What had the woman done that made his knuckles go so white?

He chuckled. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

Denby shrugged. “I’ve been around. I’ve seen stuff. So what did she do?”

“She aborted our baby.”

Her jaw dropped. It was the last thing Denby expected to hear. “She did
what?
”

He glanced at her. “Yeah, it cut me pretty deep and I went a little crazy.”

“Did you know she was pregnant?” She had the irrational urge to hunt down that woman and beat her up for hurting her man.
I mean him. He’s not mine.

“No.”

“Bitch.” There were other words Denby could have applied but it wouldn’t change the situation or make this man feel better. No wonder he was angry. While Denby wasn’t against abortion, she believed no one had the right to take away human life without discussing it with the person who helped to create it. She could see how the insidious Committee may have played on his anger.

“I thought so.”

“Well, she was wrong. Dead wrong to have done that to you.”

* * * * *

Sirius felt his hands relax on the steering wheel. He hadn’t told anyone about Penny and the abortion. The Committee hadn’t known anything more than he was an angry man who wanted abortion law reform. He understood there were circumstances where it was necessary. But in a non-violent relationship between two people who were supposedly in love, at least he thought they were, it should have been something they discussed.

Telling Denby the truth made him feel less tense. That she understood assured him she wasn’t as tough as she was making out. He knew why she acted as she did. She had a dangerous father and was living outside the law of the land, not just to thwart her parent, but she passionately disagreed with what he was doing. It hadn’t surprised him she had been upset when she had found about his involvement in the Committee. He had been a part of everything she abhorred. “So, after she did it, I went a little nuts.”

“A little? You helped create a law that’s squashing women’s rights.”

He nodded, accepting his part. “I know and I feel tremendous guilt.” There was not a day that went by he didn’t. If he read a newspaper or watched television, the fallout from the Committee’s reforms smacked him in the eye.

“Is that why you’re doing the long hair, open shirt thing? Because technically, if you were doing the whole guilt thing, it’d be a hair shirt while you flayed yourself.”

He laughed out loud. That was Denby. Irreverent, politically incorrect and not about to change it.