Sweet Seduction Shield (11 page)

We were both
quiet for a while, drinking our beers, lost in our thoughts.

"I was on the
roof that night," she said softly. "Looking at the stars and
wishing I was as far away from that place as they were." Her sad
eyes tipped up to look at mine. "I saw them drag you both out
there. I heard everything that was said. I watched as Roan McLaren
pulled the trigger, because I was too frightened to move."

I was shaking
my head, gripping the bottle neck so tightly my knuckles had gone
white.

"You couldn't
have stopped it," I said on a breath of air.

"I know," she
agreed, quietly. "But I..." She broke off and reached out with a
shaky hand to lift her own bottle up off the table's surface to
take another large drink. She didn't stop until the bottle was
empty.

"You know
what," she said, after slamming the bottle back down and wiping her
mouth with the back of her hand. "As my good friend Kelly Quayle
would say, let's get shitfaced."

I huffed out a
laugh and swallowed the last of my beer.

"I have a five
year old to set an example for," I pointed out, not dismissing her
idea completely though. It sounded like a bloody good one, right
now.

"All right,"
Abi announced. "We'll hold off on the tequila until Daisy has gone
to bed, but you and I need to let loose a little. Hell, after the
brush up you just had with the sexy detective, I think I might get
Ben to go out and grab us a case."

I groaned.
"Did you hear all of that?"

She offered an
apologetic smile. "You both weren't keeping your voices down." She
stood up and swiped the empties off the table and threw them in the
recycling bin by the door, then added, "He has so got the hots for
you."

"Excuse me?" I
said, spluttering slightly. What the hell?

She smirked.
"Man was muttering to himself as he stormed out to his car. I heard
that too." She winked.

Oh. Could I
ask?

Fuck it!

"And what did
he say?"

She chortled,
as she started dragging the steaks out of the fridge.

"Oh, something
about a frustratingly beautiful woman who need a good spanking and
how his hand was itching to deliver her one."

"What?" I
exclaimed.

"Honey," Abi
said, cocking her hip and giving me a purposeful stare. "Ryan
Pierce is from the school of see 'em, like 'em, want 'em, take
'em."

"The what
school?" I asked on a laugh. This woman was hilarious.

"It's the same
school my Ben went to. The same school Genevieve's Dominic went to.
The same school Eva's Nick went to. And the same school Katie's
Jason went to," she said counting them all off on her fingers.

I guessed
Genevieve was the blonde at Sweet Seduction, but I didn't know
either Eva or Katie. But I think I was getting the picture.

"Would that be
the chest thumping, me Tarzan you Jane school, by any chance?"

She burst out
laughing. "Oh, I see you've met some of the alumni already? Then
you should be well prepared for what Detective Ryan Pierce has in
store for you."

"Oh,
girlfriend," I said in my best impersonation of sass, "he doesn't
stand a chance."

She guffawed
as she led the way out onto the deck and placed the steaks next to
the barbecue, which had been turned on at some stage, I was
guessing by Ben. Who to my utter surprise was pushing a now awake
Daisy on the swing under the Cherry Tree.

The image
stopped me in my tracks. Daisy had never had a father figure to
push her on a swing before. I hadn't dated much in the nearly six
years since Rick died, and certainly not enough to bring a man into
her life, so she could establish a relationship with him. It was
too hard to see her get attached and then have to say good-bye.

It had been
hard enough for me and I was an adult and married.

"How're you
holding up there, drinking buddy?" Abi said, offering me a second
beer.

"He'll make a
great dad," I said, nodding towards her man.

"Yeah, he
will," Abi replied wistfully.

"Any plans for
kids?" I asked, thinking we were well past social boundaries by
this stage.

"Not yet.
Gen's pregnant, she's the first of our group to bring a new life
into the mix. Everyone's cock-a-hoop about that. Ben and I need a
little longer enjoying each other before we have to share with
anyone else." She must have realised what she'd said, because she
quickly added, "Sorry, that was thoughtless of me."

I offered a
genuine smile. "No need to apologise. And don't get me wrong, I
can't imagine a life without Daisy in it. She is my life. But Rick
never knew I was pregnant, neither did I at the time. And sometimes
I wonder whether things would have been different if we knew. Or if
she wasn't there for me afterwards how things would have gone, you
know?"

Abi nodded,
throwing a couple of steaks onto the grill. The sound and smell of
sizzling beef permeated the air. I moved and sat on the raised edge
of the deck.

"Ben usually
does this," Abi said, flipping a steak. "But I think he's having
too much fun entertaining young Daisy there."

I smiled.
"Maybe kids are closer on the horizon than you imagine," I
suggested, thinking she'd been pretty much a natural with Daisy
from the moment we arrived.

"You never
know," she declared, keeping her attention on the meat.

A car engine
sounded out as it drifted down the drive, and before it came into
view I watched Ben still, casually place a hand to his waistband at
the back of his trousers, and step in front of Daisy on the
swing.

My heart leapt
into my throat at the reminder that our lives were not normal, were
not safe. That drinking beers in the waning sunshine on a big deck
as our dinner grilled on the barbecue, were probably luxuries we
shouldn't be entertaining right now. I slowly lowered my beer
bottle, shifting my hold on the neck, so I could throw it if need
be, as Abi turned around with just the spatula and tongs in her
hand.

This was
ridiculous, as far as safety went. We could hardly be called an
alert and well armed guard.

The car came into view for Ben first, who removed his hand
instantly and offered up a wave instead. Then when Abi saw the Ford
Focus come to a stop and simply returned to the grill, singing
happily,
"Let's get this party started,"
I finally allowed myself to relax as well.

Blonde number
two from Sweet Seduction bounced out of the car, curls bobbing,
smile in full force, and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "I heard
this was party central tonight. At least it is now I'm here!"

"Kelly," Ben
growled, gently pushing Daisy on the swing again. "I hope you
brought more beer."

Kelly let out
a mock gasp and said, "For shame, Ben Tamati. You don't know me at
all, do you?" Then reached into the rear seat of her car and
grabbed a crate full of clinking bottles of booze.

Spinning
around to face us, she asked, "Drink anyone?" Just as Daisy leapt
off the swing and ran straight towards her shouting excitedly,
"Kelly! I painted a room full of penguins!"

And for a
single moment in time I forgot. I forgot we were in trouble and
hiding for our lives. I forgot all the mistakes I have made and the
tragic consequences they brought. I forgot a sexy, mysterious
police detective wanted more from me than I could possible afford
to give.

I just
forgot.

And it was,
perhaps, the single most wonderful moment of my life.

Stars began to
twinkle into sight across an indigo fading sky, as crickets
announced the onset of twilight. Dinner had been delicious and
relaxed, and filled with laughter and a surprising - for me -
amount of comfort. Abi, Ben and Kelly had included us in their
circle of friends as though we belonged there, even if it was just
for a few days.

The first few
notes of Guns N' Roses'
Paradise City
started to play on the stereo from inside the house where Ben
had disappeared to. Gently wafting out the windows and open door,
adding to the atmosphere, and relaxing me further into my seat. Abi
started to chuckle as soon as she recognised the song.

"Guns N'
Roses, Ben? Really?" she called out over her shoulder and then
swigged from her beer bottle with a small knowing grin on her
face.

"Guns N'
Roses, Red. And lots of 'em," came Ben's muffled reply from inside
the house.

"What's wrong
with Guns N' Roses?" Kelly asked, from her position on a lounger,
Daisy sitting between her legs as she carefully brushed her
pigtails out. Despite having had an afternoon nap, the gentle,
rhythmic stroking of the brush through her hair, was making Daisy's
lids droop.

"Nothing," Abi replied. "Nothing at all. Especially late at
night when we're lying in bed and Ben sings
Sweet Child
O' Mine
in my ear."

A smile curved
my lips at the cute image, which was soon wiped away by shock at
Kelly's words.

"Oh yeah, I bet you were just lying there doing nothing
listening to his sexy, rumbling voice when he was crooning,
'Sweet lover o' mine.'"

"It's
"'Sweet love o' mine,'"
Abi corrected, just as Daisy said in a sleepy voice, "What's a
lover?"

"Yeah, Kels?"
Abi asked, innocently. "What's a lover?"

"OK,
sleepyhead," I interrupted. "Time for bed."

"Awww," Daisy
grumbled, but clambered off Kelly's lounger and slipped her hand
into mine without further complaint.

She mumbled a
goodnight to both women and as we headed indoors I heard Kelly say,
"Are all kids that well behaved or is Daisy an exception to the
rule?"

"You keen to
find out?" Abi asked.

"Fuck off!"
Kelly shot back, which segued into a yelp as Abi threw something at
her.

I didn't hear the rest of Abi's reprimand, which thankfully
meant Daisy didn't either. Ten minutes later, having completed a
round of
Daisy Bell
and a made up
bedtime story, I left Daisy gently snoring and returned to the
deck. Ben was back, sipping a bottle of beer, which I thought might
just have been the same one he'd been nursing for the past
hour.

And the girls
had opened a bottle of tequila.

"Tequila
time!" Kelly declared, passing a shot over to me as Abi lined up
cut wedges of limes and a salt shaker.

Ben made a
grunting sound and placed his beer bottle down, accepting a shot
from Kelly when she handed it to him.

"Should we be
getting tipsy right now?" I asked, feeling a little unsettled that
McLaren's tattooed goon could take advantage of us when we were
under the influence of alcohol.

"Tipsy," Kelly
snorted, but Abi interrupted her next words.

"Ben's hardly
had a thing to drink, Marie and besides, ASI are keeping an eye on
things."

"ASI?" I
prompted.

"Anscombe
Securities and Investigations," Ben offered, downing his tequila
with a grimace. He didn't bother with the lime or salt. "We work
for them. Didn't Pierce mention this place is under electronic
surveillance?"

I frowned,
staring at my shot glass. "He mentioned Anscombe Securities and
Investigations, but nothing else."

Kelly
chortled. "That'd be Pierce. Ever the silent type."

"And so we segue into the 'cataloguing physical attributes'
part of the evening," Abi slurred slightly.

"Jesus, Red.
How many shots have you had already?"

"Not nearly
enough, lover o' mine," she threw back, spilling tequila over the
side of her shot glass as she attempted to refill it.

"Fuck me,"
muttered Ben in return and took a swig of his beer to hide his
amusement. "You better hurry up, Marie. The terrible twins are out
drinking you by a mile."

Kelly slammed
her shot glass down on the table and let out a very unladylike
burp. "'Scuse me!" she exclaimed.

"And you
wonder why you can't keep a man?" Abi offered with a smothered
hiccup.

"I can keep
'em," Kelly replied. "But then I'd be stuck with 'em. No fun in
that."

"How many you
got on the trot now, Kels?" Ben asked, no longer drinking anything,
just sitting back and enjoying the show.

"Five!" Kelly
announced proudly.

"Five men?" I
spluttered, and in the surprise of her announcement downed my shot
of tequila without registering. The burn felt good, so when Kelly
automatically handed me an already filled shot glass, I just
accepted it. What the hell. Ben said this place was under
surveillance and he'd stopped drinking, for once in my life I'd get
a little tipsy.

Just a
little.

"Spike, Matt,
Dan," Kelly started listing names as she ticked them off her
outstretched fingers, "Kane and, um, one other," she finished
lamely.

"One other?"
Abi queried. "What, you forget his name?"

Kelly snorted.
"Not likely. He makes sure I remember it every time."

"Then what's
his name?" Abi pressed.

"Um, Fred,"
Kelly offered, clearly picking a name off the cuff.

"Ah-oh," Abi
said, wiping her lips after downing another shot. "Me thinks you
got a secret."

"You thinks
too much," Kelly shot back.

"Oh!" Abi
gasped. "We know him, don't we?"

Kelly stared
at her with a look that clearly threatened death if she continued
this line of thought.

"Leave her be,
Abs," Ben chastised softly.

"Thank you,
Ben. A girl should never kiss and tell," Kelly said in an
exaggerated posh voice, making Abi snort her mouthful of tequila
out over the table.

"Abi!" Ben
groaned. "Get a grip, woman."