A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (21 page)

He wasn't.

He had to get moving.

With a knife in his pocket and a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans, Stan began scouring the streets for one or both of his needs.

A hot mid-morning sun was beating down on him and his stomach was growling for food, but he ignored that. Food wasn't one of his needs at the moment, and he'd just spotted what he needed.

A blonde slut was climbing into a black Skyline, her barely-decent dress and sky-high heels making the simple task nearly impossible.

In about twenty seconds, he'd be taken care of and on his way to Cairns.

A grin spread across his face; I'm coming for ya, Agent Bitch! 

Back to the north, Rebekah was taking some time to shoot targets.

Empty bottles, cans and rusted equipment that could no longer be used were supplied by Martha and the jack-a-roo's and lined up along an old log that had fallen several years ago.

Shots rang out in the quiet mid-afternoon, echoing through the area around them as target after target fell from the log.

Steven leaned against the railing of his back verandah, watching Rebekah, along with his jack-a-roo's, Martha and Claire.

Rebekah emptied her magazine and swapped the hand pistol she held for a shotgun he didn't even know she'd brought along. One of his men said something that made her laugh and Steven felt a sudden and very swift surge of jealousy course through him.

The idea of someone else touching her made him mad, and it was something he couldn't explain.

The boom of the shotgun made the wood beneath his hands vibrate as the jack-a-roo's whooped and high-fived. Claire placed a hand over her growing belly and shared a look with him as Rebekah came up onto the verandah.

“
All good?” He asked her.

“
All good.” She agreed.

As she went inside, Steven looked down at where Claire sat on the stairs and saw the look of concern on Claire's face.

“
Claire? You okay?”

“
Yes and no.” She replied. “I just worry about her.”

“
I know. But she can handle herself.”

“
It's the emotional side that has me concerned.”

Steven frowned and asked, “How do you mean?”

“
Rebekah doesn't show her emotions the way most women do. She has a habit of bottling everything up inside and saying nothing as to how she's feeling.”

“
You think she might be hurting more then she's letting on about this Edwards thing.”

“
I do.”

Now that he knew that, Steven would keep a closer eye on her.

He wouldn't have Rebekah getting hurt while under his watch.

Five

Later that night, he found Rebekah on the verandah.

She sat on the top stair, seated sideways with her long legs stretched out along the stair and her eyes on the dark, star-studded sky.

Grabbing two beers from his fridge, he went outside to join her.

“
Hey.”

She accepted one of the bottles and smiled. “Hey.”

“
Countin' stars?”

“
No. I'm just reminding myself what a star-studded sky looks like.”

“
How long have you been away from this place?”

“
Eight years.” She replied. “Always buried in a case for either the FVPD or the AFP. Always working.”

Maybe Claire had been wrong about her sister's emotions because Steven could hear anger and regret in her voice.

Just to keep her talking, he asked, “What was the first case you worked?”

“
The six months I worked with FVPD were quiet, but two months into my time as a federal agent, I landed this murder.” She told him. “A drug dealer went out on the town late one Friday. He was high and looking for a good time. He came across these two under-aged girls, abducted them and took them to this old abandoned warehouse. By the time we figured out where he was, he'd raped and murdered them.”

“
Bastard.” He muttered. “But how did that become a federal case?”

“
The guy was wanted for numerous crimes in both The Territory and here. When the local LEO's identified their perp, they called us in and we took over the man-hunt.” Rebekah said. She smiled slightly and added, “It wouldn't have mattered about jurisdiction, thought, because the son-of-a-bitch never got the chance to stand trial.”

Steven frowned. “He got away?”

“
No. I shot him.” Using two fingers, she tapped her chest, adding, “Double-tap to the heart sent him straight to Hell.”

He smiled and congratulated her.

Looking at him, Rebekah said, “Stan Edwards will be joining him if he does anything to hurt my family.”

He didn't doubt that.

* * * *

Early the next morning, Rebekah was in the living room, her laptop braced on her legs as she logged into the AFP's database.

She couldn't just sit around and wait for Edwards to come to her.

Part of her job was to understand criminals so she could predict how they were going to behave, and one thing she knew about Stan Edwards was he liked to take things that didn't belong to him.

The last time they'd danced, he'd stolen a car to cross the border.

Logging into the database, Rebekah began searching reports from local LEO's and her colleagues in an effort to find Edwards and pin-point his exact location.

She wouldn't let him get close to the people she cared about the most.

Six

That night, Steven was in the middle of packing his duffel-bag for a return to the ship in less then three days. He's short vacation was over and it was nearly time to head back to work.

Which meant he'd be leaving Rebekah behind unprotected if they couldn't end this thing in the next seventy-two hours.

A knock sounded on his door just then.

“
Yeah?”

“
I've got a break, but I need your help.” Rebekah told him through the door.

He opened it and asked, “What's happened?”

“
Edwards has stolen a car with ATT and I need to get to his location before he can move.”

“
Whoa, slow down.” Steven said. “What's ATT?”

“
Anti-Theft Tracking.”

“
Okay. Where is he?”

“
Thirty k's outside of Ingham.”

Looking at his watch, he told her, “It'll take you over two hours to get there.”

“
That's why I need to move. But I need your car.”

“
What happened to your rental?”

“
It's at Claire's and if I go there, she's going to know something is up and worry about me.” Rebekah said. Holding out her hand, she asked, “Are you going to help me or not?”

Before he could answer, her phone rang.

Pulling it out of her pocket, Rebekah checked the ID before swiping the screen and putting it to her ear. “Westmore.”

Steven didn't know who she was talking to, but she kept calling him Sir and agreed to meet him in Mission Beach.

“
Gimme your car keys, Officer Leigh.” She said when she'd hung up.

“
I'm coming with you.”

“
No, I need you to stay here and look after my sister.”

“
You're sister has her husband.”

“
And I have a team of federal agents about to land in the next couple of hours.”

“
I'm still coming with you.” He said.

He wasn't about to back down.

He didn't want her facing off against Edwards without him to back her up.

Rebekah placed her hands on her hips and huffed out a sigh. “You're a stubborn one, Leigh.”

He just grinned and said, “Let's go.”

They drove for two hours before both of them were too tired to drive anymore. Steven suggested pulling into a near-by B&B so they could catch a few hours of sleep and Rebekah agreed.

She needed to be energised and alert for when she faced-off against Edwards.

The B&B was big enough to allow them each their own room, but she insisted on sharing one, telling Steven it'd be easier for them to get mobile if Edwards moved. They were given a large room with a king size bed, and although she told Steven it would be okay for them to be in the same bed – after all, they were adults – Rebekah began to have seconds thoughts almost immediately. Despite the bed being massive, she could still feel Steven beside her, his heat wrapping around her like a blanket as they slept.