Shield, page 9
Jamie’s lips curled up. “Might be worth it.”
Elijah’s body stirred. No. He wasn’t going there. Not with someone who wanted to hide who he was. “No.” He scowled and strode away.
He didn’t stop until he reached the machinery shed and then he let out a long breath as the bus’s engine roared to life. He shook the tension from his shoulders and checked the equipment in the ute’s tray.
The forecast was for constant rain, but the work still had to be done, and he wanted to check whether his car had been dumped at Foley’s. He threw on his Driza-bone coat and drove out to the border of Kit’s property. The school bus was nowhere in sight which meant Kit wouldn’t spot him. She wouldn’t want him going to Foley’s by himself.
He kept his distance from Alyse’s beehives in the paddock, parking instead close to the fence line. He ducked between the wires and walked out to the road which ran between Kit’s place and Foley’s. It was a long shot. Only an idiot would continue to leave stolen cars in a place the police had already discovered.
The gate into Foley’s was closed and padlocked shut. Elijah climbed over it and rounded the burnt out shell of the shed.
Clear.
Shame. He needed his car.
Pulling his jacket closer, he lifted his face towards the buildings in the distance. The roar of a motorbike reached him. Elijah glanced to the road. No, it was definitely coming from the direction of Foley’s shed.
He ducked inside the burnt shell to get shelter from the rain and rang the police. Adam answered.
“We haven’t found your car yet,” he said.
“It’s not at Foley’s place either,” Elijah told him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m standing there right now.”
An exasperated hiss and then Adam said, “Elijah, you’re trespassing. You shouldn’t be there.”
Elijah shrugged. “I was in the neighbourhood. That’s not why I’m ringing. I heard a motorbike near Foley’s sheds. Has someone moved in?”
Silence stretched between them.
“Adam. Are you still there?”
Adam cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’ll tell Lincoln. He might want to check it out. You should get back to Kit’s.”
The roar of the motorbike was getting closer. Elijah’s shoulders tensed. “Yeah. I’ll do that as soon as I can.”
“Now, Elijah.” Adam had his authoritative police tone working.
“About that…” The roar echoed through the structure. Elijah hunched behind a bit of roof metal.
“Is that a motorbike?”
“Yep.”
Adam swore.
Elijah breathed deeply. The last time he’d confronted a man on a motorbike, he’d been shot. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat. His skin prickled and his chest tightened.
The engine settled into an idle, but it wasn’t too close. Elijah peered out from behind the metal. The red and white farm bike was at the gate and the rider wore a black dirt bike helmet and a thick black puffer jacket, his back to Elijah as he cut the padlock. Even with the jacket on, he was broad-shouldered with thick legs, built like a rugby player, but tall as well, over six-foot. He’d bench-press Elijah with no problems.
No number plate on the rear of the bike so it wasn’t licensed for the road, not that it would stop the rider. Still Elijah snapped a photo as the man opened the gate and pushed the bike through. As the man turned to close the gate, he looked towards the shed and Elijah ducked back behind the roof panel and held his breath, heart thumping. With shaking fingers he sent the photo to Adam.
The bike continued to idle.
“Elijah, what’s going on?” Adam’s voice was faint.
He didn’t dare answer him.
“Elijah, if you can hear me, we’re on our way.” Then Senior Constable Sue Wintie came on the line. “I’m staying on the phone. Talk to me when you can.”
Elijah winced. He strained for any sound aside from the bike’s engine; the crunch of footsteps, a cough, the snick of a gun.
Sweat beaded on his brow.
It would take at least twenty minutes for the police to get here. A lot could happen in that time. A man could bleed out. The trespasser could get away. He didn’t dare peek out. Any movement might attract attention.
The engine revved and Elijah flinched. Then a roar, and it slowly faded.
Elijah stayed where he was for a good few minutes before he lifted the phone to his ear and said, “He’s gone.”
Sue immediately responded. “What did he look like? What motorbike was he on?”
“I sent a photo to Adam.” Elijah slowly crept to the entrance of the shed. He scanned the road. It was empty. Still there was a chance he might come back. “I’m going to Kit’s.”
“Stay where you are. Adam and Lincoln are almost there.”
Would they drive past the rider on the way?
He shifted his feet, the urge to run to safety strong. But he should listen to Sue. She knew what she was talking about.
He moved towards the back of the shed, undercover and stayed still. It was hard to hear anything past the rain pelting what was left of the roof. Hopefully the rider had decided any motion he’d seen was a bird or imagined.
He rubbed his arms. How was it that he was messed up in this stuff again? It had been a case of wrong place, wrong time when he’d been shot and today could have been the same. He had to learn to not stick his nose into other people’s business. Had to leave things to the experts.
Finally the growl of an engine reached his ears. “I can hear a car,” Elijah said to Sue.
“It’s Lincoln and Adam,” she said.
The police car pulled up outside the gate. “Thanks, Sue.” He hung up, stuck his phone into his pocket and quickly vaulted the gate the rider had shut behind himself. He shook away the remnant unease. “Did you see him?” he called to Lincoln who wound down the car window.
Lincoln shook his head. “Get in the car.”
Shaking out his jacket, he climbed in.
“Why the hell were you there?” Lincoln demanded.
Immediately his spine stiffened. “My car was stolen. They might have dumped it here.”
“I should charge you with trespass,” Lincoln muttered. “Tell us what you saw.”
Elijah shuffled into the middle of the seat. Adam stared towards Foley’s property. Shit. He should have called the Albany police rather than subjecting Adam to this place again. “Should we go back to Kit’s?”
Lincoln glanced at Adam and shook his head. “Be quick about it. Adam, you take notes.”
At his name, Adam flinched and reached for a notebook in his top pocket.
Nice work distracting him. Elijah explained again what he’d seen. “I sent you a photo.”
Adam pulled out his phone. “Same build as Henk’s guy.”
He was one of the two guys the police were still searching for after they’d raided Henk’s property for being involved in an illegal migrant ring. He was bad news.
“He must have headed into the bush,” Lincoln said. “An unlicensed bike would have caught someone’s attention.”
“Not necessarily,” Elijah disagreed. “There aren’t many people in this area.”
Lincoln sighed. “You’re right. Do you need a lift somewhere?”
“No. The ute’s through the trees.” Elijah reached for the door handle.
“Elijah, don’t investigate this,” Lincoln said. “These guys aren’t messing around. I don’t want you hurt again.”
He didn’t want that either. He met Lincoln’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “I won’t. Let me know if you find my car.”
“Will do.”
Elijah waved goodbye and jogged across the road and through the thin bush to Kit’s property. When he got into the ute, the tension in his shoulders fully released. He definitely wouldn’t be looking for trouble in the future. He fully believed in the police’s ability to do the job properly.
Now he needed to get those fences fixed.
Otherwise he’d be in trouble with Kit.
And that was a scary thought.
Chapter 7
Elijah briefly considered not going to SES training on Wednesday evening. He’d seen quite enough of Jamie Zanetti over the past few days and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore his attraction to him. He was seriously thinking about ignoring his own rule about being in a secret relationship.
But he wasn’t a teenager, he wasn’t going to avoid a commitment because of a crush. So he put on his big boy’s panties and walked to the depot. Only Morgan was there when he arrived and he was setting out harnesses while talking on the phone. “I’m not doing any more,” he growled. “I’ve had enough.”
Elijah placed his kit bag in the change room and by the time he returned to the main room, Morgan had hung up. “What are we doing today?”
Morgan jumped. “Shit. I didn’t hear your car.”
“Still missing,” Elijah answered. “I walked.”
“Oh, right. Siobhan told me.” He looked up from the harness he was examining. “Police have any leads?”
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t dumped in the same place as the others.”
Morgan frowned. “Others?”
Lincoln hadn’t said it was a secret. “I found Barbara’s car at Foley’s place.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “Really? What were you doing there?”
Elijah shrugged. “Checking Kit’s fences. Foley’s gate was open so I went to close it and saw the car.” Time to change the subject. “So, what’s happening today?”
“Roof safety systems and rescue,” Morgan answered. “We’ll have a lot of roof work coming up in the next few months and I want to confirm everyone knows the correct procedures. You were lucky not to injure yourself the other night.”
Elijah’s stomach clenched. “I should have taken the time to clear the tiles.”
Morgan scowled. “You shouldn’t have had to, but don’t get me started on people’s inability to do simple maintenance on their homes.”
Elijah bit his lip. Had he cleared out his gutters yet? “What do you need me to do?” He gestured at the harnesses and swallowed hard. If he exposed himself to heights regularly, the vertigo might disappear. He hated the idea something Alex had done could have such a hold over him.
“I’m about done.”
Siobhan walked in chatting to Jamie. Scratch that, flirting with Jamie. The smile, the way her body was turned towards him, not much distance between them, her hand brushing through her short blue hair. And Jamie was being just as friendly back.
His spirits fell and a different type of vulnerability hit him. Yeah, Jamie would date a woman before he dated Elijah. It was easier. He turned back to Morgan. “Want me to go first?” At least getting on a roof would work on one area of vulnerability.
“Sure.” Morgan handed him a harness and Elijah moved across the room away from Jamie to get ready while the others arrived. During the toolbox meeting, Morgan explained the exercise, and then they moved outside where it was icy cold.
No clouds in the sky tonight and the wind blew right through him. Elijah rubbed his hands together and slipped on his gloves. He stood back while a couple of volunteers set up the safety ropes over the top of the roof. He was going up there. His shiver had nothing to do with the cold. The depot building had high walls and the roof was further off the ground than Alyse’s had been.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He jumped at Jamie’s voice, but kept his gaze on the crew. “Of course.”
“Aren’t you afraid?”
Elijah ignored the concern in Jamie’s voice. “I’ve got to face it someday.” He gave Jamie a pointed look. “I won’t let it rule my life.”
Jamie winced.
“Elijah, you’re up,” Morgan called.
Without another word, Elijah strode to the ladder and examined his harness again before he stepped on the first rung. Nausea swirled in his stomach, and his skin flushed as he moved up the ladder. He squeezed his eyes shut as the vertigo danced in his head. Funny how anger could only carry you so far.
He could do this. One step after the other. Three points of contact at all times.
Releasing his grip on the rung got harder and harder the further he climbed. As he reached the edge of the roof, he stopped. This was definitely the worst bit. He clipped onto the safety rope and hauled himself onto the aluminium roof, then crawled away from the edge. Swallowing hard, he gave the people on the ground the thumbs up. Another volunteer joined him on the roof and clipped in. He would supervise the exercise from up here.
“All right, Elijah,” Morgan called. “Time for you to fall.”
He gritted his teeth. The point of the exercise was to practise how to rescue someone who had fallen off the roof, but was clipped on to the safety system. He breathed deeply again and tugged on the rope holding him to the roof to make sure it was secure, then checked the connection on his harness. It all looked good. But it was a long way down.
His team waited below, watching, and Elijah swayed with dizziness. Volunteering for this had to be one of his dumbest ideas. Sweat broke out on his forehead and panic welled in his chest. He caught Jamie’s eye and Jamie gave him a little nod.
Elijah breathed out, refusing to let panic take hold. All he had to do was abseil off the roof. He shuffled backwards closer to the edge, his stomach doing its best impression of a cement mixer. His heels found the edge of the roof and his grip tightened on the rope. The safety line was still connected on both ends. He only had to lean backwards like he’d been taught. The rope held and he lowered himself over the roof, legs braced against the side of the shed.
“Hang there for us, Elijah,” Morgan yelled. “We’ll get you down in a jiffy.”
Elijah didn’t look down. Very slowly he lifted his legs away from the wall and let himself hang. The rope jerked at the extra weight and he clung to it, squeezing his eyes closed. It was fine. He would be fine.
Below him, the team called to each other as they ran through the scenario. Already someone was climbing the ladder onto the roof.
Rip.
He jolted and his breath froze in his lungs.
What the hell was that? The tension under one of his butt cheeks wasn’t as tight as it had been. He felt under his butt, but the harness strap was gone. Hot fear swept through him and his hands sweated in their gloves. The rope swung in the wind and there was another rip. He gripped the rope as one leg dropped. He was going to fall. He swallowed hard to get some moisture back in his mouth.
“Morgan!” he yelped. “My harness ripped.”
The only thing holding him was the strap around his waist and one thigh. His fingers hurt from clenching the rope. “This isn’t a drill,” he added in case they thought he was playing the part.
“Hold on, Elijah. We’ll get you down.” Jamie’s voice.
Some of his panic receded momentarily until the fabric ripped again.
Not good.
“Hurry!” he squeaked. The harness was still attached at the front. If he braced his feet back against the shed wall and kept a tight grip on the rope, he could stay there until they got him down.
Lifting both legs he stretched them towards the metal wall and used his arms to take some of the weight off the harness. His muscles burned.
He risked a glance below and wished he hadn’t as his head spun. A long way to fall. Jamie stood beneath him while Siobhan set the ladder back in place.
He panted as his arms shook at the effort of holding on. The ladder appeared next to him. Would the harness hold while he reached for safety? He was too scared to try, but his arms burned. He couldn’t hold on for much longer.
“Grab the ladder, E,” Jamie called.
Legs first. He lifted his right leg, felt around until it connected with the ladder and found a rung. Hooking his foot on the strut, he pulled himself closer, placed both legs on a rung. He had to let go of the rope, but his centre of gravity was back, away from the ladder. If he let go, he’d fall. Using core muscles he hadn’t realised he had, he leaned forward, shifting towards the ladder. He grabbed the rung nearest to him, his grip like a vice, and released the rope with his other hand and held on to the ladder. He stood there a moment, legs trembling, arms numb and a death grip on the rung. One of the crew called out from above. “Are you secure, Elijah?”
Secure wasn’t the word he’d use. He wanted to hug the ladder and never let go. In fact they might have to pry him off it with a crowbar. Still, he glanced up. “Yeah.” He swallowed hard so he could speak. “You want to release the rope so I can get down?”
“Doing it now.”
A few moments later, the rope looped through his harness slackened. Time to get on firm ground. But it meant letting go of the rung and his fingers were curled around it like chicken claws. He closed his eyes. He couldn’t stay here all night.
When he opened his eyes, another ladder was next to him and Jamie appeared.
“You can do this, E,” Jamie said. “One rung at a time.”
Elijah’s chest was too tight to breathe. Jamie touched his hand and the contact thawed a small portion of his fear. “I’ve got you. Start with your right foot, OK?”
He gingerly lowered one foot until it reached the next rung.
“Good, now your left foot.”
Focusing on Jamie’s instructions, slowly, rung by rung he climbed down the ladder. His breath whooshed out of him as his boots hit the concrete. “Smashed it.”
“Title of your sex tape,” Jamie joked.
It surprised a laugh out of him, as he tried to make his jelly legs hold him. “That was a little more excitement than I was expecting.” Jamie clapped a hand on his shoulder and Elijah desperately wanted to fling his arms around him. Instead, he stepped away.
Morgan’s frown would have frightened a child at ten paces. “Take off the harness. I want to know what went wrong.”
With pleasure. He loosened the buckles, stepped out of the harness and handed it to Morgan.
The blood drained from Morgan’s face. “Shit. I gave you the harness I was about to bin,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
