The Predator (32 page)

When he’d deemed her strong enough, Brandon told her what had unfolded in the cabin outside Brooklyn. He’d explained in a gentle tone how it had been her bullet that had found its mark. James had died instantly from a single bullet to his heart.

Although she’d been overwhelmed with guilt, Brandon had reassured her that her quick thinking actions had saved her life. He’d crashed through the door in time to see James take aim at her and if it hadn’t been for her sharp aim, she and Cassie could have died.

She’d killed Lily’s stepbrother…

Brandon’s reassurances and his love had helped eradicate some of the guilt, but every time she thought of Lily, the guilt resurfaced. James had been her stepbrother, after all. And Alex had killed him.

Brandon gazed at her, his eyes filled with understanding.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

She drew in a deep breath and nodded. “I guess so.”

“You’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

* * *

The yard already overflowed with people when they made their way through the French doors that led out the back. Sam immediately took off running in the direction of a group of children that included his cousin, Joe. Alex felt a surge of gratitude that Sam’s injuries had healed so well.

She looked around and nodded greetings to several of her colleagues, including the superintendent, Ryan and Declan and some of the men she recognized from the Hornsby LAC.

Her stomach clenched when she saw Lily across the lawn. Catching her eye, she lifted the pan of potato bake in a questioning gesture. Lily headed toward her. Alex tensed in anticipation. The smell of Lily’s perfume surrounded her as her sister-in-law engulfed her in an awkward hug.

“Hi, Alex. Thank you for coming. It’s so great to see you up and about.”

Alex nodded and adjusted the pan in her hands. “I made some potato bake.”

Lily glanced down and smiled. “Thank you; that was very kind of you. Let’s put it inside for now.”

She turned and walked in the direction of the house. Alex hesitated and then took another deep breath and followed her. It was now or never.

Depositing the still-warm pan on the granite counter top, Alex nervously wiped her hands on the back of her jeans.

“Lily… Um, I just wanted to say sorry for…everything. We haven’t had a chance to talk about what happened. I feel so…”

God, this was harder than she thought. She cleared her throat and tried again, not daring to look at the woman who stood across from her.

“I feel so responsible. I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? I would have done exactly the same thing. If you hadn’t shot him, he would have shot you
and
Cassie.”

Alex peeked at her in surprise. Lily’s expression was fierce.

“The bastard shot you. He
shot
you! I’m so lucky to have you and Cassie alive, still here. I’m thankful every single day that you did what you did. You had no choice, Alex. Please don’t feel responsible for his death.”

Alex shrugged helplessly. “He was your brother.”

“My
step
brother,” she clarified, her face grim. “You don’t know how hard I tried over the years to make him feel part of the family, but he was never interested. He’d show up every now and then and pretend to make an effort, but now I wonder if he only did it so that he could be around Cassie.”

Her voice broke on the last word and her shoulders shook. Alex stepped forward and put her arms around her friend.

Lily cried quietly against her shoulder. Her voice was muffled when she spoke again.

“I can’t believe how stupid I was. I never even guessed. Tom didn’t like him from the start and Brandon felt much the same. I guess I felt like I had to defend him. He was my stepbrother, after all.”

She sniffed and Alex reached for a tissue. Lily accepted it gratefully and pulled away to wipe her eyes. With a wobbly smile, she continued her explanation.

“Jim had a rough childhood. His mother was an alcoholic and a drug addict who spent more time in jail than out and his father had no idea how to raise a son. It was only after Jim’s father married my mother that Jim had a semblance of stability in his life. By that time, he was nearly an adult and the damage had already been done.”

She shook her head slowly. “My mother did her best, but Jim had already left home and we only saw him on rare occasions. None of us had any idea what he’d become.”

Lily closed her eyes. Alex felt her pain and wished there was some way she could alleviate it.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lily. It was nobody’s fault. Jim made his own choices. Nobody forced him into that lifestyle. You have to believe that.”

Lily nodded and sniffed again. “I do, but it’s not easy.” She turned and met Alex’s gaze. “Do you know what the hardest part is?”

Alex shook her head.

“That it was me who invited him into our home, into our lives. Into Cassie’s life.”

“You can’t think like that, Lily. I won’t let you. He met Cassie online. She’d been chatting to him for weeks. It had nothing to do with you or him or your family. It was one of those freak things. It could have happened to anyone.”

“Tom told me Jim was involved in something much nastier, some international pedophile ring?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, we’d been working on the investigation for months. INTERPOL, the FBI and a handful of other international law enforcement agencies had been tracking suspected online predators for some time. James was one of them. We didn’t know for sure it was Jim until after he kidnapped Cassie.

Lily shook her head, her eyes wide. “I had no idea. Not the slightest, foggiest idea, all that was unfolding right under my nose.”

“That’s the danger of it. That’s why so many of them get away with it. To most of us, they are ordinary, everyday people.”

“But he was my stepbrother,” Lily protested. “I should have suspected
something
.”

Alex patted her shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. These men don’t exactly go around wearing signs around their necks.”

“Yes, but
you
guys suspected. He was on your list.”

Alex shrugged. “That’s what we’re trained to do. It took a lot of man hours to get to that point; believe me. Cassie told Brandon she’d been chatting online with James who went by the chat room name of Justin. Only then did I realize I’d chatted to him, too, as I worked the case. That really freaked me out.”

“What happened with the investigation? Did you identify any of the others?”

With a nod, Alex answered. “The operation went well. There were another four raids in Sydney, two on the south coast, a couple in north Queensland, two in Perth and two on the outskirts of Melbourne.” Her voice turned grim. “We have strong evidence against ten of the twelve and will prosecute for child sex-related offences, including hours of video footage taken by James. We’re still trying to identify his victims.” She paused. There was no way she was going to tell Lily about the footage they’d found of Cassie. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach, even now. Forcing it aside, she continued.

“We also pulled apart his hard drive. It contained evidence of numerous sales of child pornography. With a bit of luck, we’ll put even more of them away.”

Silence fell between them. Alex was the first to break it.

“How’s Cassie bearing up?” she asked quietly.

“She’s going well, considering. Kids seem to be able to bounce back so much quicker than we do. She’s been seeing a counselor every week and appears to be making a lot of progress. In fact, most days, she’s almost like her old self. She went back to school not long after she was discharged from hospital. She’s even back playing netball.”

Alex felt relieved. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

A flash of movement caught her eye. Sam rushed past, nothing more than a flash of bright color through the clear glass of the French doors. He saw Alex and waved, a huge grin splitting his face.

Gratitude and love flooded through her. Lily noticed her smile and followed her gaze.

“It’s good to see Sam’s recovered. I was so concerned when Brandon called us. He was almost out of his mind with worry. I called the hospital, but they said they were restricting Sam’s visitors. We were waiting for him to come out of Intensive Care before we visited.” She shook her head. “That seems like a lifetime ago now.”

Alex’s eyes filled with tears. Why had she ever stayed away so long? Over the years, she could have done with the support of a good friend. Guilt and regret flooded through her, scorching her face. She could barely bring herself to look at the woman who stood across from her.

“You knew Brandon was his father, didn’t you?” she said quietly.

Lily moved away and pulled out a barstool. “Not at first,” she replied, taking a seat. “But when he told us you said Sam was two, I knew something wasn’t right.” The hurt in her eyes pierced Alex’s heart.

“Lily, I’m so, so sorry. I-I—”

“Brandon told us why you separated. I understand why you didn’t tell him about Sam. I-I only wish you had told me. I could have been there for you. That’s what friends are for.”

Guilt and shame almost overwhelmed Alex. She shook her head. “It’s easy to look back now and know what I should have done. At the time, it seemed like the only option was to keep it to myself. Brandon was always so close to his family. I-I didn’t want to give you a reason to have to choose.”

She looked away. “I can’t tell you how much I wanted to, Lily, how I wished things had been different…but at the time, I didn’t feel I had any other choice. Brandon never wanted a baby. By that time, he was back working overseas. I couldn’t call him. All we had was email.”

She shook her head as the memories resurfaced. “It was too much. I-I guess I just wanted to run and hide and deal with it on my own. Sam was a reality I had to quickly come to terms with. So was raising him on my own. It was…” She shook her head helplessly.

Lily’s face filled with compassion. “I wish you hadn’t faced all of that on your own.”

Alex sniffed. “I had Mom. She was a rock. Dad had died just before Sam was born and she had every reason to wallow in her own self-pity.” Alex offered a wobbly smile. “But she didn’t. She sold her house and bought another right down the road from us. She’s been there for Sam and me from the very beginning. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Without a word, Lily stood and put her arms around her. It was the catalyst Alex needed to finally let go—of her anger, her grief, the strain of maintaining her deception, her stress over the shooting.

A sob escaped and then another. She cried quietly while Lily rubbed her back with comforting strokes and said nothing. When it was over, Alex grappled for another tissue and swiped at her eyes before turning with gratitude toward her friend.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. And I’m sorry for blubbering all over you like that. I’m supposed to be comforting
you
.”

Lily smiled gently. “I know, and I love you for it. “I’m glad. I’m so glad you had someone. That you didn’t have to do it all on your own.”

Alex nodded and squeezed Lily’s hand. “Thank you for being so understanding. I didn’t think you would take it like this. It’s one of the reasons why I never told you.” She flushed. “I’m so sorry I misjudged you. I should have known better.”

Lily returned the pressure and smiled. “None of that matters, now. I’m just glad everything’s turned out okay. With you and Brandon. With the shooting.”

Tears formed again in Alex’s eyes. “Thank you, Lily. Thank you for being so understanding. I don’t know if I would be as strong as you in the same circumstances.”

Lily offered a sad smile. “We do what we have to do, Alex. None of us knows what we’re capable of until our hands are forced. That’s just the way it is.”

The French doors slid open and Brandon’s head appeared in the opening. Spying the women, his expression grew somber. “Hey there,” he said, his voice neutral. “I was wondering where you got to.”

Alex pushed her stool away from the counter and stood. Meeting him halfway, she put her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.

“We’re fine,” she whispered. “Just fine.”

* * *

Hours later, she lay snuggled against Brandon’s side, relaxed and content after a slow and sweet session of lovemaking. A balmy breeze drifted across the balcony of Brandon’s apartment—
their
apartment—and in through the open window.

It had taken her less than thirty seconds to agree to Brandon’s suggestion that she and Sam move in with him. Sam had taken the news that Brandon was his father with remarkable aplomb. After some initial confusion and a handful of blunt questions, he’d seemed to accept it and now appeared pleased to have a father in his life.

Her mother, of course, had been overjoyed.

Brandon’s arm snaked out and drew Alex in close against him. She lay her ear against the warm, naked skin of his chest and listened to the strong, sure sound of his heartbeat. This was how it was meant to be. Brandon was her husband. The father of her child…

He was her heart.

They were home.

NOTE TO READERS

I do hope you have enjoyed reading Brandon and Alex’s story. It was a difficult and challenging topic, but as a mother of five pre-teens, the issue of online safety is very much at the forefront of my mind. I love that neither Brandon nor Alex are without flaws. I love to think they could be any one of us, doing their best to live their lives in a good and honest way. Some days that’s harder to do than others.

In Book Four of the Munro Family Series, you will meet another Munro brother.
The Betrayal
is Declan Munro’s story. You first met Declan in
The Predator
and yes, he’s every bit as gorgeous as his brothers. Here’s a sneak peek:

When much-decorated Australian Federal Police officer 
Declan Munro
is accused of illegally accessing confidential police files containing child pornography, his world is turned upside down. Fronting the investigation into his alleged criminal behaviour is Senior Internal Affairs Investigator 
Chloe Sabattini
.