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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I THINK I’M falling in love with you.The words still made Kee’s heart beat faster every time she thought of them. And she thought of them a lot. Risking a quick glance, she took in Wazza’s profile as he drove. Strong, square jaw with three days’ worth of stubble, high forehead, straight nose, lips curled up in a slight smirk, with those blue eyes of a hawk. He was good-looking, there was no doubt about it. Her gaze lingered on his lips a second longer than it should’ve. Oh, what a revelation those lips had been last night. Scorching her skin with his kisses. Her whole body felt languorous and lethargic, as if she’d feasted on Wazza’s body and was completely satiated now. She couldn’t believe she’d actually gone through with it. It was true that Benni slept like the dead most nights, but they’d still taken a risk. What if Benni had woken? Had called out for her mother? But she hadn’t. And Kee regretted not a minute of it. It’d been the best night of her life. But now, reality came crashing down over her little bubble of intimacy. That’d been the first and the last time she would make love with Wazza. It’d been a night of carnal sin, a night where she’d allowed herself the freedom to take what she wanted. But now duty rode her like a heavy cloud. Benni’s safety was all that mattered, not her stupid heart.
Wazza had been careful not to mention her plans for after she crossed the border. She knew he was hoping she’d ask him to come with her. But she still hadn’t decided. It was complicated. Her growing feelings for him made her want to be selfish. Want him by her side. Was it even fair of her to ask him to leave his whole life behind to help her and Benni? Then there was his declaration last night. Was she just leading him on if she let him come with her, perhaps going to break his heart? Maybe that was the best reason of all to leave him at the border. And she still hadn’t told him what her father had proposed over the phone yesterday. She was sure he wouldn’t like that, either.
Returning her inspection to the track unfolding ahead of them, she thought about what Wazza had said this morning. This track followed the Norman River north, most of the way to Normanton, where they would re-join the highway. They were taking a risk, returning to the main road, but Wazza assured her it was only for twenty kilometers or so, then they’d be through Normanton and onto the less travelled road toward the coast and the little town he’d mentioned. Kee was excited; Wazza said the town was on the Gulf of Carpentaria. This area was often called Gulf Country; even more Wild West than the outback, if he were to be believed. And while she’d heard of it, she’d never dreamed she’d actually come here one day. Wazza was regaling Benni with tales of the huge fish they caught at the mouth of the Norman River, called barramundi. Scaring her with stories of the greedy saltwater crocodiles that also lived there, and how sometimes a fisherman would have his catch stolen even as he reeled it into his boat by a marauding crocodile. Kee hoped they didn’t meet one of those.
“Do you think we’ll see a crocodile?” Benni asked, brown eyes wide with wonder. “Will they eat me, too?”
Wazza laughed. “I really hope they don’t eat you. Although you might make a tasty little morsel.”
Kee smiled along with their happy banter. But she needed to talk to Wazza, preferably without her daughter overhearing. “Would you like to listen to some of your music?” she asked, fiddling around in the back pocket of the seat until she found Julie’s old music player. This thing had been an absolute godsend, she needed to remember to ask Wazza to thank Daniella again profusely for her gift. Kee scrolled through the little tapes and found something called “The Kidboomers Playing Kindyrock”. Whatever that meant, it sounded right up Benni’s alley.
“Here you go.” She handed Benni the earphones and then tucked the little player down the side of her child seat.
“I take it that means you want to talk,” Wazza said as soon as she faced forward again, waggling one eyebrow at her.
“You’re so perceptive.” She caught herself reaching to put her hand on his knee. It wouldn’t do for Benni to see any public displays of affection; it’d just confuse her. But it was hard not to touch him sometimes.
“I wanted to ask your opinion on something my father mentioned yesterday.”
“Shoot,” he replied.
“My dad made a suggestion.” She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. “When I told him I was most likely going to end up in Darwin—”
“Was that wise?” He growled. “Telling them where you’re going?”
“I trust them,” she said honestly. “Even though my father disowned me, he’d never betray me.” Kee wasn’t sure she could explain it to Wazza, the way Vijay’s twisted pride worked. Betrayal was worse than death in his eyes. He may never want to see her again, but he’d never give her up to the police. “Anyway,” she continued, “He wanted to meet us in Darwin. Him and my mother. Said he’d buy us tickets to anywhere in the world I wanted to go.”
It took Wazza a few seconds to grasp her meaning. “What, you mean leave the country? Wouldn’t that be illegal?”
“I guess.” She gave a small shrug. Vijay had even offered to go with her and Benni, or meet up with her later, in whatever country she ended up in. It’d touched a chord deep inside her, that her parents were prepared to put their lives on hold, defy the law to help her and their granddaughter.
“But everything I’ve been doing over the past month has been illegal, so that’s no different. I could perhaps take Benni back to India. Re-connect with the rest of our relatives,” she added hesitantly.
Wazza made a scornful sound. She’d been right in guessing he wouldn’t like this idea. It was by no means the answer she was looking for, but she wasn’t going to discount it completely.
Lifting her chin, she narrowed her eyes. This was her life and her decision, in the end. “Is it really that much more of a stretch from what I’ve already done? In the eyes of the law, I’m a kidnapper. I’ll probably go to jail.”
“Not once they see you’re innocent, that you were framed by your jealous ex-husband,” he replied quickly. His mouth was set in a firm line of unease, a slash of red against his tanned face. He slowed the car to steer around a large pothole before he continued. “And yes, I do think smuggling her out of the country is taking this thing to a whole other level. If you do that, it escalates everything, you may never be allowed back into Australia.”
She almost said, would that be such a bad thing? Even as far back as a week ago, her answer would’ve been a resounding no. There was nothing in Australia to hold her here. But now she’d met Wazza…things were different.
“You do know that Australia has an extradition treaty with India?” he added with a grimace. “I don’t think that idea would work.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. I guess it doesn’t have to be India, though.” She furrowed her brow in thought.
“Yeah, you could go to China or Russia,” he said, a sarcastic note creeping in.
She glared at him. He was being no help. The cabin was quiet the rest of the way to Normanton, as Kee considered her options. Which all seemed to be bad ones, no matter which way she looked.
Had she seriously been considering her parent’s offer? Possibly. It probably went deeper than a mere desire to get out of Australia, it was also tied to her need to please her parents. She’d just reconnected with them and didn’t want to lose them again so quickly. If she agreed to this crazy plan—and if they joined her at some stage—at least she’d be doing it with her family, enfolded in their embrace once more. That wasn’t to say they’d reject her if she refused their offer. Vijay had made it clear he’d do whatever she decided, and all they wanted was to help keep the granddaughter they’d never met safe.
A line of trees appeared in the distance and Wazza sat up straighter in his seat. The highway must be up ahead. She held her breath as they turned onto the bitumen road. Not a single vehicle in either direction. She let out the breath.
“Not too long now,” Wazza said reassuringly.
Kee scanned the line of road stretching out before them intently. A truck appeared over a hill, coming toward them. It swooshed past with a buffeting of backdraft. Then an older model four-wheel drive flashed past a few minutes later. Not the type of car Bruno had been driving. None of them was a police car, either. Kee let out another relieved breath.
