You're the One (34 page)

“What if I
said your Jezebel was a tart?”

“Was.
Was
a tart. She’s sterilised now.”

Kirk rocked
Lily, who was sleepily watching the by-play.

The sound of
friendly bickering filled the air for several minutes, insults were
traded and then the blokes got back down to the business of
motorbikes.

Ah yes, an
almost perfect day.

Moz’s mobile
rang out the ring tone of “All My Life”. Pulling it from his
pocket, he placed it to his ear. “Hi, baby.”

“Hey.” Behind
Del’s voice came the sound of low feminine chatter. “We’re on our
way back from Ellor’s Loop.”

“Did you get
your parcel?”

“Yep. Not to
mention that the boot is full of crap.”

“Hey!”

“Zip it,
Molly, I’m on the phone. Geez, it’s rude to interrupt someone on
the phone. So, Moz, my boot is
full
of
crap
, mostly
Molly’s
.
Can you believe she dragged us to a bloody sex toy
shop?”

“What?” Molly
yelled. “I did not! You lying-”

“Dee bought
something for Ryder.”

Moz grinned.
“Is it a cock ring?”

Every man
looked up, startled.

“No, a limited
edition of some superhero comic Ryder’s into. Crikey Moses, Moz,
your mind is disgusting sometimes.”

“I do
apologise.” To Ryder, Moz gestured an imaginary dick, used thumb
and forefinger to pull on an imaginary ring, and made an agonised
face. “Special present from your wife coming.”

“I don’t
bloody think so!” Ryder said indignantly.

Obviously Del
knew he’d done something, because she gave a snort of laughter.

“What the
hell?” Dee demanded. “Give me the phone, Del.”

“What? No, get
back.”

“You’ll have
Ryder after my blood. What the hell are you telling them,
Miller?”

“Nothing but
the truth, sweetheart. Besides, you like it when Ryder’s after your
blood. Sicko.”

“I will kick
your arse.”

“Now, girls,”
Ash said soothingly. “I’m sure Del didn’t mean any harm-”

“Oh, she did.”
Molly stirred the pot happily.

“I don’t think
that gesture is very lady-like,” Elissa commented.

“You’re not
exempt from an arse-kicking, Baylon,” Dee stated.

“Oh. Okay. In
that case, I’m sure you learned that gesture from the Ladies School
of Etiquette.”

“Moz, this
trip has been enlightening,” Del continued blithely, obviously
ignoring what was now happening in her car.

“You don’t
say.” He had no doubt any trip involving those five women would not
only be enlightening, but highly entertaining.

“But listen,
we’re going to be a little later home than planned, as I’m going to
swing past Maryanne Dooley’s place to deliver a couple of things
she wanted that we picked up. Then we’re swinging past Old Jack
Stanton to drop off those toffees he loves so much. But we should
be home by seven.”

“Okay, I’ll
tell the others.”

“No worries.
Listen, can you pass the phone to Kirk? Molly wants to whisper
sweet nothings in his ear.”

“No worries.
See you when you get home. Love you, baby.” The words slipped from
him before he realised it. Oops. He’d certainly never said that
before in her hearing.

There was
silence for several seconds, then Molly’s voice came on clear. “Hi,
Kirk?”

“Uh - no, it’s
still Moz. Hang on.” He waggled the phone at Kirk. “Your
missus.”

Taking the
phone, Kirk placed it to his ear, speaking softly. He laughed
quietly so as not to disturb Lily who had fallen asleep in his
arm.

None of the
other men seemed to have noticed what Moz had said, all of them
doing what they had been doing before the call, Simon swinging in
the hammock, Scott and Ryder squatting by the motorbike talking,
Grant staring off into the distance while still stroking Tilly, who
was taking it as her God-given right, eyes shut, purring
loudly.

Moz rubbed his
jaw. Had Del notice what he’d said? Would she think he meant it
lightly? Because he certainly hadn’t, in fact, it had slipped out
so naturally. Or was she freaking a little?

Did she love
him back?

Did he even
want to go down that pathway of thought? Fingertips holding the now
empty glass loosely, he rolled the base on his knee. Yes and no.
Yes, he wanted to know if she loved him in turn, had even the
beginnings of some feelings for him as more than just a lover. No,
because if she didn’t love him - but then she’d always said she was
waiting for ‘The One’. And he was in her bed. So that meant she saw
him as more than just a lover, felt more for him.

Del didn’t
take a man to her bed unless she felt something more than just
attraction. She’d stated it, believed it, and he knew it
personally.

His heart
skipped a beat.

Kirk said a
few more words into the phone before handing it back to Moz.
“Thanks, mate.”

“Yeah, no
worries.” Moz checked the phone was silent before placing it on the
grass beside the deck chair.

Kirk looked
past him, his expression still calm but a flicker in his eyes. Moz
turned to see what had caught his attention to see the cop car
pulling into the driveway. Phil and Maggie got out.

“Sorry to
interrupt your day.” Phil looked at Moz. “We’ve got news on the dog
fighting ring.”

Immediately
every man grew alert. Scott and Ryder joining them, Simon pushing
his cap back to sit upright on the swing.

Moz stood up.
“What’s the news?”

“There’s a
fight on tonight, one hundred and twenty kms south of here.”
Maggie’s face was grim. “At nine o’clock dogs will arrive with
their various owners from all over the place, not sure who is
turning up yet but the stakes are high, so they’re expecting a big
turn-out.”

Moz looked at
Kirk. “We get those ring-leaders, we can crack the ring
completely.” Anticipation coursing through him, he cracked his
knuckles. “Shut it down once and for all.”

Scott angled
his head. “Doesn’t Dawson’s uncle own some land out there?”

“Bundy’s
place.” Simon nodded. “We did a fire break out there recently
because that moron didn’t do it. Got a bloody good fine but -
anyway, we didn’t see anything, and we’ve been keeping our eyes
peeled when we go out anywhere isolated.”

“Ditto,” Ryder
agreed. “On every ambulance call out we’ve been keeping our eyes
peeled like you told us to. Seen nothing so far.”

“They’re hard
to pin down,” Moz said. “They shift places, move around. But
now...” His gaze shifted to Phil. “How did you find out?”

“And how
reliable is the information?” Kirk tucked Lily’s head under his
chin, running his hand soothingly up and down her back when she
gave a soft whimper in her sleep. “Easy, honey-bunch.”

“Caught a DUI
out on the highway,” Phil replied. “Address on his license was
Marcor Downs. Had a little chat with the cops there and this
bloke’s been done before for some very shady things, amongst them
dealing dope.”

“Wanker,”
Ryder muttered in disgust.

“Yep,” Maggie
agreed. “So we had to do a little search on him, and guess what
came up? A little black diary in his top pocket.”

Moz looked at
her. “You’re not saying…?”

“Yep again.
Dumb bastard had marked today’s page with ‘Dog fight, 9pm,
Bundy’s.’ Don’t you just love when the crooks are so helpful?”

“And so
stupid,” Simon remarked.

“Oh, this
bloke’s a real dickhead, trust me. High on dope, high on drink, and
with a very loose mouth.”

“How much did
he spill?” Kirk asked.

“Most of it
was garbled, Sarge, but we got our old friend Dawson and Harding
both named.”

“And Cutter?”
Moz asked.

“Cutter’s
supposed to be there. He takes the bets, holds the stakes, arranges
the fights.” Maggie pushed a stray greying curl behind one ear.
“Sarge, he organises the out-of-state dogs coming in.”

“Shit.” Scott
looked at Moz. “How big is this ring?”

“Oh, I’d say
we’ve stumbled on something really big.” Moz smiled with grim
satisfaction. “Really big.”

Kirk rocked
Lily, his face thoughtful. “There’s no time to get more RSPCA
officers flown up. You’re the only one in hundreds of kms.”

“We’ll need
the rangers to help.” Grant broke his silence. “We’ll need cages,
experienced dog handlers, police for back-up not only to help catch
this mob, but if those dogs are savage and break free.”

Moz’s gut
tightened. “We need to keep this operation tight, fast,
controlled.”

“You don’t
say,” Maggie said dryly.

Kirk shifted
Lily slightly. “We need to start planning this, make phone calls,
get everything organised.”

Moz looked at
Grant. “We’ll need you as well, God knows what condition we’ll find
some of those dogs in.”

“That was
always the plan,” Grant answered calmly.

“Damn.”
Scott’s expression was tight as he looked at Tilly still sitting on
the newspaper. “Wish we were going with you. Bastards deserve a
bloody good beating.”

“You’ve done
your part,” Moz said. “The firies and ambos keeping a look out on
their call-outs helped us. You blokes are everywhere, right out in
the country, you see a lot.”

“We didn’t see
this.” Ryder scowled.

“But you could
have done. Having more eyes watching helped.” Moz clapped a hand on
his shoulder. “Thanks.”

Ryder’s knees
wobbled a little under the weight. “Don’t thank me. Really. And I
mean that.
Really
.”

“I’ll meet you
at the station,” Kirk said.

“What about
Lily?” Ryder queried.

Kirk rubbed
his cheek on his sleeping daughter’s head. “This is going to take
awhile to plan. Molly will be home before we have to leave. I’ll
ask Mrs Miller if she can baby-sit Lily meanwhile.”

“Dee’s Mum
will be all over that.”

“I’ll ring Mrs
Miller then Molly.” Kirk slid a mobile from his shorts pocket,
scrolled through the contact list, put it up to his ear as he paced
away.

Good idea. Moz
should let Del know he wouldn’t be home until, well, God knew when.
Early hours of the morning, maybe later. So much to plan, so much
to do, a lot of it dangerous.

On the phone,
Del was uncharacteristically quiet for several seconds.

“I’m sorry,
baby,” Moz said.

“Moz, there’s
nothing to be sorry for. You just…” She hesitated, mindful that
those in the car with her didn’t know anything. “You do what you
have to do.”

“I’m hoping we
can get it done quickly.” But he doubted it.

Dogs of
dubious temper, mongrel owners trying to run or talk their way out,
police, cages…it could go either way - better than hoped for or
downright ugly.

“Moz?” She
interrupted his thoughts.

“Yeah,
Del?”

“You be
careful.”

“I will.”

“You get hurt
and I will bust your arse when you get home.”

He chuckled.
“I promise to be careful.”

“Okay,
then.”

There was
silence for several seconds, he could hear her breathing, pictured
her driving, one hand on the wheel, the other - “Del, you aren’t
driving while talking, are you?”

“No, I’m
sitting on the side of the road, Baylon. Geez.”

“Just want you
to stay safe.”

“Same
here.”

“Okay, I
better get a move on. I have to get in touch with headquarters, do
some phoning.”
See where the police want me to wait until it’s
safe for me, Grant and the rangers to move in.
No need for her
to know that last part.

“Moz?”

“Yeah,
baby?”

“Stay safe.
I’ll see you when you get home.”

“You bet. Give
Mozart a hug for me.”

“I will.”

Beforehand it
had been a slip of the tongue. This time…well, he didn’t know what
could happen tonight. Best laid plans and all that. Wanted her to
know just in case. “Love you, baby.” Not forcing her to reply to
that, he was about to hang up when she said softly, “Love you right
back,” and hung up.

Blankly, he
stared at the phone in his hand. Had he heard right? Had she really
said - yes, she had. It was burned into his brain.

Kirk nudged
him. “Let’s go, there’s a lot to do.”

Focussing on
what was coming, Moz pushed the blossoming joy down, buried it to
take out later and examine. He wanted to laugh, wanted to call her
back, wanted to hear Del say it again.

Later.

Later when he
was with her, when he could see her face while she said it, when he
could gather her close and - later.

First he had
unpleasant business that would take him from her and place him in
what could be a battle zone. Do that first then come home to her
arms.

Pocketing the
mobile, he nodded to Kirk. “Molly okay?”

“She’s more
worried about me than Lily.” Kirk started for the car. “Mrs
Miller’s coming to our house to look after Lily. The girls are
coming straight back, no detouring, so they’ll be here around six.
We’ll be gone by then. Scott, can you grab Lily’s bag of
stuff?”

And just like
that the lazy, pleasant afternoon was over.

~*~

It was a long
night.

Del was hoping
she’d see Moz, but by the time she got home he’d already left town.
Unpacking the car, she brought everything into the house, locking
the security screen behind her, leaving the wooden door open so a
cool breeze could sweep down the hallway.

Mozart and
Missy danced around, meowing for food. Both tucked into bowls of
‘roo meat.

A quick check
of the mobile and another of the answering machine showed no calls.
With a sigh, Del had a shower before retiring to the sofa to curl
up with a bowl of ice cream and the TV for company.

Not long
after, her father rang. “Hello, sweetie.”

“Hey,
Dad.”