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CHAPTER EIGHT
JULIE SAT AT the end of the boardroom table, watching everyone file in. The blinds had all been drawn on Aaron’s orders, and it felt crowded and claustrophobic. Even though it was after nine at night and dark outside, they rarely, if ever, drew the blinds. The lodge had been built to take in the amazing natural beauty surrounding it, and even at night all the windows remained open, to let in the moonlight vista over the billabong, backlit by the starry skies. But not anymore. Not with a crazed stalker perhaps prowling around outside. She might have to get used to feeling caged in for a while.
Dale and Daisy came in holding hands and took their seats at the other end of the table. They were so cute together; Julie couldn’t help but flash them a happy grin as they sat down. Dale raised a quizzical eyebrow, but kept his questions to himself.
Bindi, Sasha, and Wazza were already seated on the far side. The two girls had their heads together, talking quietly. They’d become firm friends from the very first day Sasha had started work at the station six months ago. Bindi was Skylar’s assistant cook, and Sasha attended to front reception, as well as other odd jobs, like helping with table service at mealtime, and even cleaning the cabins if the cleaning staff were run off their feet. Everyone who worked at the lodge all had various duties, often mixing and matching skills to fill a hole if other staff were busy. It came with the territory when working for a family-run property. Even Julie herself, who was primarily employed to do the marketing and help Daniella out with the admin, often found herself in the kitchen with Skylar—she’d even taken over the cooking for a few weeks when Skylar had been involved in the helicopter crash and subsequent kidnapping—as well as helping her dad with the horses. Julie was a natural with the horses; it came from long hours spent in the saddle as a kid working on Tony’s sheep farm. She was always the first to put up her hand to lead a trail ride, and had even assisted Wazza a few times moving small mobs of cattle near the main lodge.
Wazza was the only one who had a clearly defined role of lead station hand, dealing with the cattle and horses, but even his duties were large and varied. One day he could be out fixing a fence, the next moving cattle, and the next he could be teaching a guest the basics of good horsemanship. Wazza finally remembered to remove his Akubra, circumspectly placing it on the table in front of him. Daniella hated it when he wore his hat inside, but that hat seemed to be permanently fixed to his head, and he was always suffering the lash of Daniella’s sharp reprimands. Her stepmother didn’t seem to have noticed this time, however.
Skylar and Nash trailed in, Nash still in his police uniform, which meant he must’ve come straight from the station in Dimbulah. Skylar inclined her head in Julie’s direction, then she led Nash to the seat next to Steve, opposite Bindi and Sasha. Nash whispered something into Skylar’s ear, and she giggled like a schoolgirl. Which made Julie want to giggle. Nash was so good for Skylar, his lightness and kindness a contrast to Skylar’s often darker and more reserved moods. They were a foil for each other, bringing out the best in each other. It was great news when Skylar had announced she was moving in with Nash, who’d bought a small hobby farm twenty minutes down the road. Everyone had cheered, they were so delighted. Even Daniella had looked happy, which spoke volumes.
Alek was the last to enter. Pulling the door shut behind him, he looked a little flustered. Alek was in charge of guest activities, and Julie knew he would’ve been corralling the last of the straggling guests down to the open-air cinema, so he could finally leave them to their own devices and join the meeting. Alek ran a hand over his hair, patting it down and making his man-bun look respectable again. He put his clipboard on the table and then looked toward her end, where she sat with Aaron on one side and Daniella on the other. The question in his gaze was unmistakable.
Julie pulled a breath deep into her lungs, held it there, and then expelled it slowly. Everyone was about to learn the truth about her, and she wasn’t sure she was ready. Drawing in another deep breath, she tipped her head back, so she didn’t have to look at the sea of faces now before her. Feeling a little calmer, she cast a quick glance at Aaron in the chair next to her. His hard, competent mask was back in place.
This afternoon they’d talked as he fixed the extra security on the door in the family lounge. Talked about normal things, like how she’d done a degree in marketing, discovering she was really good at it, and had found a job almost straight away, then working her way up through the company. They even realized they loved the same type of movies. She’d followed him through each bedroom as he checked for other entry points and made sure all the windows were secure, continuing to chat and get to know each other again. Apart from when he’d found that damned photo, an uneasy sort of truce had formed between them. She still wasn’t going to forgive him for what he’d done, but it was also intriguing, digging deeper into his life, finding out how he’d lived over the past twelve years.
At one stage, he’d removed his sports coat, revealing the gun he carried so comfortably in a holster strapped to his shoulder. Out of everything she’d learned about him today, the sight of that weapon really drove it home to her. Aaron was no longer the warm-hearted, caring, and courageous man she’d once been in love with. And she needed to remember that. He was a ruthless killer. Well, maybe that was being a bit melodramatic. But he was certainly much harder, both on the inside and the outside.
She could personally testify to the way the outside of him had changed. Heavily beefed-up shoulders and neck, and from what she could make out through the black T-shirt, rock-hard abs and pecs, as well. Julie had watched surreptitiously as he’d flexed his arms and back, bringing out a low sheen of sweat as he worked on the door fasteners. At the thought of all those hardened muscles, a warmth pooled in her lower abdomen. Perhaps, if he got hot enough, he might take his T-shirt off, as well…then—
Daniella stood, and a hush descended over the room, and Julie pushed away all the wildly inappropriate thoughts of Aaron.
“Thanks for coming, everyone. I know you’re all busy. You’re probably all wondering why we’ve called this meeting.”
Murmurs of accord rumbled around the table. And by the looks of the glances everyone was throwing in Aaron’s direction, they were all wondering who the stranger in their midst was, as well. Daniella pre-empted them all, by saying, “Let me introduce you to Aaron Powell. He can tell you who he is and then we’ll go into the details.”
Aaron stood, his presence suddenly filling the room. “Hello,” he said, deep voice echoing around the table. “As Daniella said, I’m Aaron, and I work for a company called Shield Solutions. I’ve been called out to help with a security problem.” He paused and drew in a breath. “I don’t believe many of you know this, but Julie is being harassed by an unpleasant individual, and those threats have escalated in recent days.” A rumble of dissent started, and Julie suddenly felt all eyes on her. “I’m here to provide her protection and guidance until we track down this…person.” Aaron sat down again and leaned in toward Julie, almost as if offering comfort, as if shielding her from what was about to come.
There was dumbfounded silence around the table. Nash was the only one—besides Steve and Daniella—who had any idea of Julie’s secret. The looks people were throwing at her made her want to disappear through a hole in the floor. But she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“Do you mean you’re a bodyguard?” Wazza called out, the first to recover his voice.
Julie wanted to smirk in Aaron’s direction.
“Wait, are you saying that Julie has a stalker?” That was Skylar, and she threw Nash a suspicious glance. Nash grimaced but said nothing, and Skylar’s look clearly said that they were going to have a conversation later.
Aaron looked at Daniella, signaling that perhaps she should take over.
“Yes, I guess you could say that,” Daniella replied, slowly standing up.
Questions began to fly around the room, and Julie could hardly hear herself think for the noise.
Steve also stood up quietly next to Daniella, never saying a word. People slowly stopped speaking as they noticed him. Julie loved how her father commanded such respect. He had a quiet strength that everyone gravitated toward. “Let Daniella finish,” he said. “Then if you still have questions, we’ll try and answer them as best we can.”
Daniella cleared her throat. “The short version is, a man took an unnatural interest in Julie while she was still living in Brisbane. He sent her menacing letters and texts, and even broke into her house one night, but thank God Julie wasn’t home.”
Skylar gasped and covered her mouth. Julie understood her shock. Julie would’ve been just as appalled if she was the one hearing all this for the first time. Looking into Skylar’s frightened blue eyes, Julie suddenly wished that she’d made time to tell her stepsister personally what was going on. After what Skylar had been through lately, of course, this news would traumatize her. But after the frightening phone call today, Aaron had kept her sequestered in the family wing all afternoon. She hadn’t had time or space to talk to either of her step-siblings. It was an oversight, and Julie now wished she’d pushed Aaron harder to let her talk to her family. But at least they were keeping the abortion side of the story a secret for now, which would give her time to fill Skylar and Dale in personally later. She made a mental pact with herself to talk to her step-siblings tonight. It was unfair to keep them in the dark any longer.
“But she thought she’d got rid of him when she moved to Stormcloud,” Daniella continued. “It seems she was mistaken, however, as his threats have started up again. Julie only told us about this yesterday, otherwise we would’ve done something earlier.” Daniella was obviously doing her best to keep the condemnation out of her voice, but Julie heard it. And Daniella probably had a right to be mad. Julie had possibly put everyone on the station in peril by keeping her problem to herself. “The man in question also attempted to contact Julie via her cell phone today, and now we have reason to believe he may be in the area. This is no longer an idle threat; we need to stay alert and on the lookout. If this person has in fact been on the station, we need to find out how he got here and if he’s still here.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Wazza also stood, directing his question at Steve, ignoring Aaron. Which wasn’t surprising. Aaron was a stranger, and Wazza—perhaps rightly so—didn’t trust him. “Because you know we all have your back.” His steady gaze found Julie’s. “You know this asshole won’t get near you with us around.” He gestured around the table and there were murmurs of agreement. “If you see him, just point me in the direction. I’ll soon make him wish he’d never laid eyes on you.” Wazza flicked a quick glance in Nash’s direction, but the senior constable merely twitched an eyebrow and retook his seat.
Sudden tears pricked at the back of Julie’s eyelids. She’d seen firsthand how loyal and protective the staff were during the trouble with the murderer, as well as Skylar’s hitman. But it was something else to know that same staunch commitment she saw in all their eyes was also attributed to her.
“Thank you,” she replied softly with a smile, pushing the lump in her throat back down. The last thing she was going to do today was cry in front of everyone.
Steve nodded in Wazza’s direction but remained seated. “Thank you, Wazza. And thank you everyone else. But there is no need to get physically violent. That won’t help anyone,” Steve warned, wagging his finger in Wazza’s direction. “Nash is also helping, he’s already alerted the office in Mareeba, and they’ll conduct their own investigation into trying to find this man.”
