Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (29 page)

‘
You were a cop in New York. What would make me think you had changed to a different line of work? Oh
,
right
,
because you let it roll of your tongue like it was the truth in the bar the other night
,
that
’
s why.
’

‘
Come around this side and the gun won
’
t poke into you.
’

‘
I
’
d rather walk on my own.
’

‘
Have it your way.
’

When they arrived at the entrance to the park
,
Jake pulled her into his right side. She fitted snugly under his shoulder and she had to admit she felt safe and if she was honest
,
she did like him and she didn
’
t want to be mad at him. Keeping up the fight with him was hard yet she was hurt. It had been a long time since she had started to let someone in and this is what happened.

‘
When he sees us
,
he
’
ll know he has to deal with me now
,
too. And I
’
m not saying you can
’
t deal with him
,
Grace
,
however
,
another man is confronting.
’

‘
Really?
’

‘
Yes.
’
He stopped dead in his tracks
,
turned her to face him and said
,
‘
Grace
,
you
’
re probably the smartest girl I
’
ve ever met
,
you
’
re clever
,
intelligent and witty. Yet
,
you
’
re a bit thick sometimes.
’
He held up a finger to her mouth to quieten her.
‘
You
’
re also beautiful
,
sexy and you have this way about you that attracts other people. When you walk into or out of a room
,
everyone stops talking and looks at you. You have this
,
this presence. If you even knew you had it
,
it would be considered a lethal weapon.

‘
And I have no doubt this guy
,
The Voice
,
whoever he is
,
is probably enamoured by you. Why didn
’
t he give you all the information in the first meeting? He wanted to see your stunning face again. Most guys will do anything to be around someone like you and
,
unfortunately
,
they will also take advantage of it. He
’
s already put you in danger once and I
’
m going to do everything I can to make sure it does not happen again.
’

‘
I don
’
t know what to say.
’
She liked what she heard though she failed to see his point.

‘
S
o
,
l
et
’
s see what pearls of enlightenment he has for us today.
’

They headed to the amusement park underneath the north side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Luna Park. Another one of Sydney
’
s famous landmarks.

28

Jak
e
’
s arm
tightened around Grace as they traversed their way through the crowds at Luna Park. They spoke little as they scanned the hordes of people and waited for a glimpse of the man they had come to meet. Grace hoped he would bring them information as valuable as diamonds to work out this web of intrigue and bring those who deserved it to justice.

‘
Jake
,
I can
’
t breathe
,’
Grace said.

She was still battling with his lies versus how he made her feel on an emotional level. Could she trust him? She wasn
’
t sure.

He loosened his hold on her
,
though minimally.
‘
Better?
’

‘
Yes
,
thank you. How will we find him in this mass of bodies?
’

‘
I
’
m sure he
’
ll find us
,
don
’
t worry.
’

They stopped to look at the stalls where you could push balls down a clown
’
s throat or shoot at moving ducks to win a plush toy. They watched as people raced against friend and foe in the dodgem cars and noticed those who waited nervously for a turn on the rollercoaster. Grace smiled as she saw families
,
couples and groups
,
laughing and enjoying good times. She wished they were there under different circumstances. As they walked through Luna Park
,
she had one eye towards the front of the crowd and another keenly looking over her shoulder. She would recognise him in an instant and she would be sure to stay by Jake
’
s side for every part of their discussion with the man in the dodgy disguise. 

‘
You
’
re late
,’
The Voice said from behind them.

‘
We
’
ve been walking through here for ten minutes.
’
Jake said
,
refusing to take any lip from The Voice.

‘
Let
’
s sit down and talk
,’
Grace said.

‘
I told you not to tell anyone
,
Grace. Could have guessed it would be your boyfriend
,’
The Voice said.

‘
What
’
s that supposed to mean?
’
Grace could feel her temperature rising.

‘
Ignore him
,’
Jake said loud enough for The Voice to hear. Then into her ear
,
‘
Love the disguise.
’

Grace gave him a knowing look.

‘
There
’
s not much time
,
we have to be quick
,’
The Voice said.

‘
Grace tells me you
’
re constantly pushed for time. We need answers to some tough questions and we don
’
t want to waste any more of our time.
’

‘
I understand
,
let
’
s go.
’
Then The Voice said to Grace
,
‘
What happened to not telling anyone?
’

‘
I ended up in hospital trying to uncover your secrets. What did you expect?
’
She didn
’
t tell him she
’
d divulged the information about the story to Jake before the accident.

The three made their way back through the multitudes to inside the entrance of the park. Grace wondered if they would find a coffee shop out of the park as there weren
’
t any in the direction they were headed. The Voice led as Grace and Jake followed. A donned sheik with a covered face dressed all in white cloaks would look less conspicuous. Grace accepted Jake would not let her go during this rendezvous with The Voice and humbly submitted to his protective nature
,
trying to forget the revelation of a few moments ago. If she was honest
,
she was glad she had a minder. She was tired and needed him. In the next instant
,
the trio were at the front of the line to take a ride on the large Ferris wheel.

‘
You
’
re joking
,
right?
’
Grace questioned The Voice.

There was no time for chit-chat. The Voice handed tickets to the carnival ride worker and before Grace had time to blink she was bundled up and sat beside Jake
,
with The Voice opposite them
,
in an open-air carriage. They sailed high into the sky with a bird
’
s eye view of her favourite harbour in the world. She watched and marvelled at how The Voice had planned such an outing on such short notice.

‘
It takes my breath away seeing the city from this perspective
,’
Jake said.

Grace smiled at Jake and wished she could enjoy his enthusiasm. However
,
the chilly wind took the fun factor out of it for Grace.
At what point is it too gusty for the ride and they close it down for the day?

It was impossible not to survey the grandiose scene around her. There were blue skies with scattered clouds and a cold breeze. The view of the harbour was grand. It was indescribable yet those who had tried described it as a feeling of connectedness with the energy of the earth. She felt a little nervous being high in the sky with The Voice and had no idea where to start with the many questions that flooded her mind.

‘
American or Canadian?
’
The Voice directed the question to Jake.

‘
American
,
New York.
’

The Voice nodded to Grace.
‘
Firstly
,
I want to say I am sorry about the accident yesterday
,
Grace. I can
’
t tell you how much I feel responsible for what happened. I should have thought twice about involving you.
’

Now he
’
s Mr Nice Guy?
‘
Is there a broken record playing?
’
Grace asked rhetorically.

‘
I
’
m sorry?
’
The Voice asked.

‘
It
’
s nothing
,’
Jake said.
‘
We
’
re all feeling a little responsible. Why was Grace
’
s accident your fault?
’

‘
Trust me when I say Sleen is as corrupt as the Godfather. He would have the people who work for him stoop to any level to get what he wants completed. He must have had you followed after I dropped the package in your car yesterday
,’
The Voice said.

‘
How would this guy have known to wait in North Sydney for me?
’
Grace asked.
‘
There
’
s no way he could have known I would take a detour there from the air force base.
’
She couldn
’
t fathom how the Hummer knew her location
,
unless
,
wait. He had to have tailed her from much earlier in the day.
‘
I saw a Hummer when I was at the RAAF
,
now I think about it. I didn
’
t pay it much attention at the time. It had to be him. He must have followed me from Sleen
’
s office yesterday.
’

‘
You were at Sleen
’
s office yesterday? What were you thinking? You
’
re asking for trouble
,’
Jake said.

No wonder I didn
’
t tell you.
‘
Why? He was on the news the night before and it
’
s normal procedure for a journalist to interview a minister in regard to their portfolio plans. However
,
there
’
s nothing normal about a Henchman running me off the road because I wanted to ask a few questions.
’

‘
You
’
re getting too close. They know you know more than you should about stuff you shouldn
’
t know anything about
,’
The Voice said.

The wind had picked up and their carriage had stopped at the top of the ride and there it began to sway in the breeze. They all pulled their jacket collars up around the back of their necks and folded their arms across their chests to protect themselves against the foreboding weather. Grace looked up and noticed thick
,
dark clouds were rolling in from the coast and felt drops on her forehead.

‘
What do I know? We have a few maps
,
some photos of Sleen and some documents. Oh
,
and the voice recording about
‘
making it look like an accident
’
. Apart from these measly pieces of information
,
I don
’
t know anything except you
’
ve told me a hundred times he
’
s up to no good but what
‘
no good
’
I
’
ve no idea
,’
Grace added.

‘
What about the final package from yesterday?
’
The Voice asked as he looked at both of them.

‘
That
’
s right
,’
Jake said.
‘
We forgot to open the package after we arrived back from the hospital. Then the call from you came through and we came here as quickly as we could. Why don
’
t you tell us your real name?
’

‘
I can
’
t right now
,
all in good time. The information in the package will make everything clear. I can
’
t tell you how hard it
’
s been to find this information
,
please
,
trust me. There
’
s plenty in there to send him to jail for a long time
,’
The Voice said.

‘
Then why didn
’
t you tell Grace everything in the beginning and save all the theatrics she
’
s endured over the past few days? She
’
s continually gone out of her way to meet you and now
,
when she should be at home resting after her accident
,
she
’
s stuck at the top of this ride
,
freezing.
’
Jake put an arm around her to buffer her from the cold wind.

‘
I give it to you as I get it. I
’
m not holding out on you.
’

‘
I
’
m sure this is all going to come to a head soon
,’
Grace said.

‘
I didn
’
t have all the information at the beginning
,
please don
’
t hang me. Now you have everything you need to bring this man down and find out what he
’
s been doing with his position of power that
’
s gone to his head.
’

Although it was difficult to decipher in the windy conditions
,
they heard a loudspeaker from far below shouting directions to all the passengers on the ride. Then they heard it clearly.

‘
If you could all remain seated and we
’
ll have the ride operating as soon as possible. Then we
’
ll be ensuring each of you is safely back on the ground before we close the ride for the day due to these unexpected
,
adverse weather conditions
,’
the operator said.