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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BINDI TUCKED HER hands between her knees and stared at Aaron across the large boardroom table. He was talking animatedly to Mack, with Steve listening intently, and even though she was supposed to be paying attention, Bindi tuned out and instead took the opportunity to compare the men. Aaron had the physique of a bodybuilder, broad across the shoulders and heavily muscled, with biceps larger than the width of her thigh. When she’d first met him, she’d hardly been able to look away, fascinated by his multicolored eyes; one brown, one blue. But now, she hardly noticed them. He was often serious, rarely smiling—unless Julie was around—and was a man of few words. But when he spoke, everybody listened. Bindi liked Aaron, he’d become a trusted member of the Stormcloud family. Strong, reliable, stable.
Mack, however, was almost the complete opposite. Where Aaron was dark and mysterious, Mack exuded light and charm and warmth. And where Aaron was muscle-bound, Mack was lithe and sinewy. The hard, flat planes of his chest and abs were still well-defined—as she could well attest to after their one night together—but with none of the beefcake that Aaron carried. When she’d first met Mack, she’d passed him off as arrogant, full of corny Americanized glamour. But she come to realize that was more of an act, to cover his more reserved side. His personality went deeper than most people were aware, and his need to please people, to be the best at everything, including his beloved bull riding, was a cover for a lack of self-confidence. As if he felt like he always needed to prove himself. Bindi wondered about Mack’s early life. Had something happened to him to make him feel this way? Where Aaron was reliable and stable, Mack seemed vivacious, mercurial, but with a lack of commitment to anything long-term.
Which was the thing that was bothering her right now. Even though she knew she shouldn’t be considering it, because she wasn’t interested in long-term anything with Mack. Her mind flitted back to this morning before Mutt had chased them.
Once they’d overcome the awkwardness of the first few minutes on the drive into town, they’d developed an easy, friendly banter. It felt natural to talk to him, and as long as she managed to keep her libido in check and her mind out of the gutter so that she could actually listen to what he was saying instead of letting fantasies rule her head. She found he was knowledgeable about a lot of the same things she was interested in. But she was confused how he felt about her. Did he care about her, or not? They were supposed to be friends, but the way he’d looked at her in that moment after Mutt had driven their car off the road; it’d been more than mere concern for a fellow workmate she’d seen echoed in his eyes. And then he’d covered her body with his own when he thought Mutt had been about to ram them. There was no doubt in her mind that he’d do anything to protect her, he was courageous and fearless. But had he done it because he felt responsible for putting her in that position? Or had he done it because he’d cared more than he let on?
It was confusing. He was confusing. And it was all made even more confusing because she’d already made the decision to stay away from him. One night was all they were ever going to have.
Steve suddenly got up out of his chair and began pacing across the room, drawing Bindi out of her spiraling thoughts. Aaron was talking about the company who used to employ him as a bodyguard, Shield Solutions.
“Timmo said he could be here by tomorrow if we decide we need him. What do you think?” Aaron also stood, watching Steve closely. Timmo, short for Timmothy, was one of Aaron’s old teammates, if Bindi remembered correctly.
“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Steve answered slowly. He turned to stare thoughtfully at her. “The last thing we need is this getting any more out of hand. Not with the wedding coming up, and all our family arriving in the next few days.”
Bindi swallowed the bile threatening to rise up her throat. The last thing she wanted was to cause any problems for Dale and Daisy and their family. And that was exactly what she was doing.
“I don’t believe this Mutt person poses a threat to anyone else but Bindi,” Aaron said. “So, we’ll concentrate Timmo’s protective services on her.” Bindi took it that when Aaron said we’ll, he meant that he’d also be stepping back into his role of bodyguard for the next little while. Bindi remembered how he’d carried a gun in a shoulder holster when he’d first arrived at Stormcloud. Back then, he’d been employed to guard Julie from her crazed stalker, but he’d never really lost that vigilant demeanor. She guessed it wouldn’t take much for him to take up his old mantle for a few days, or weeks, whatever was called for.
“I can still leave,” she said. “Then you wouldn’t need to take these precautions.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Steve said with a barely disguised sigh.
It was the same conversation she’d had many times with him and Daniella, Skylar, and Daisy over the past few hours. They’d all been adamant she wasn’t leaving. Daisy said there was no way Bindi was going to miss her wedding, and one stupid psychopath wasn’t going to put a damper on her nuptials. Skylar said she couldn’t possibly produce the complicated wedding menu they had planned without her—which was possibly true, as Bindi would be an integral part in preparation and then executing on the day. Daniella and Steve had taken it all in their stride, Daniella blithely saying that it wouldn’t be a wedding without some form of trouble, and they were getting used to this sort of thing at Stormcloud. Like it was a badge of honor to have something else go wrong.
Bindi felt ill at the idea that Steve and Daniella were having to pay Shield Solutions to protect her. Almost as much as she hated the idea of Aaron having to take up his old role again. Just for her.
“We might also get Jake up here to help on the day of the wedding,” Aaron mused. “How many people did you say were coming?”
“A hundred and fifty guests,” Steve replied, with a mock eye roll. “I’ll never understand where on Earth Daisy and Daniella dig all these people up. If I was organizing this, there’d be twenty people, tops.”
The three men all nodded sagely in agreement, but Bindi mentally shook her head. Twenty people at a wedding, how ridiculous.
“Right, I’ll go and fill Daniella in on the plan.” Steve collected his hat from the table, but stopped in the doorway and turned to face Bindi. “Stop worrying,” he said kindly. “None of this is your fault. Nash will hopefully find this maniac before he does anything else stupid, and the wedding will all go off without a hitch.”
She pursed her lips. She wished she had his optimism. Steve always saw the good side of people, found the silver lining amongst the clouds in even the darkest scenario. “Thanks, Steve,” she mumbled.
Nash had called into Stormcloud, returning empty-handed after pursuing Mutt’s vehicle, apologizing profusely to Bindi. He said he’d only got the call through from Senior Sergeant Johnson a few minutes before she called him in a panic, telling him Mutt was chasing them. Nash was livid that the Cairns police didn’t seem to take this problem as seriously as they should, and he’d promised Bindi he was going to drum into them that their lack of surveillance had nearly cost Mack and Bindi their lives.
“Aaron, are you ready to take off soon? Dean and Naomi’s plane lands in Cairns at five-thirty. I want to make sure we’re there to meet them when they disembark,” Steve said.
“Sure am, boss.” Aaron gave a grim nod.
“Good, I’ll go and hurry Daniella along, then.”
Oh, God. In all the hullabaloo, Bindi had clean forgotten Dean and Naomi were arriving this evening. Daniella must be beside herself. She hadn’t seen her brother, Dean, in over six years, and she’d want everything at Stormcloud to be in tiptop shape for their arrival. She was probably running around in a flap, putting the finishing touches on everything before she hopped on the helicopter with Steve and Aaron to collect them.
“I’d better go and give Skylar a hand,” Bindi chimed in. Because if Daniella was in a flap, it probably meant she was harrying everyone else, including Skylar, and she’d need her help.
“Good,” Steve acknowledged. “Mack, you right to finish up that dance floor by yourself? There are only a few more planks to go in, and now we have those extra screws, it shouldn’t take long.”
“I’m on it,” Mack promised, also standing and taking up his hat, watching as Steve turned and left the room.
“Anything else you need me to do before we go?” Aaron asked, following Steve down the hallway. Their conversation became muted as they turned into the great room.
Mack surprised Bindi by waiting by the door, hat dangling from one hand.
