The Outback Wedding Takeover

He jackknifed forward, picked up the telephone from his desk, made a call, still frowning as he waited for a response which came within a few moments. ‘Patrick, it’s Mitch. Have you heard from Ric today?’

The reply must have been negative because he quickly ran on, ‘I think he’s heading your way. Took Johnny’s plane out. If you hear from him would you please let me know?’

Another pause, a grimace, then, ‘He left me with a problem and I’d appreciate more instructions. If he calls you, tell him to call me. Okay?’

Phone down. He knew Johnny Ellis, too, Kathryn thought, and all three men were obviously connected to this Patrick whom Mitch had just called.

‘Ric didn’t tell me where he was going,’ she offered.

The laser-sharp eyes bored into hers again. ‘He wouldn’t. Not in these circumstances. Fill me in on the whole story, Kathryn, as much as you know.’

His gaze alone seemed to be picking at her brain. Kathryn felt constrained to remember every little detail in case it was vitally important. ‘You know Ric’s business,’ she started.

‘Brokering photographs to all forms of media around the world,’ he rapped out, tapping the one he’d now laid on the desk in front of him. ‘This one was e-mailed in?’

‘Yes. Taken at the airport. Dated yesterday. We were checking through the computer file this morning…’

‘What time was it when Ric saw this?’

‘About nine-thirty. Normally we don’t deal in shots that might cause people problems. I was about to delete this one when Ric stopped me. He asked me to print it, give him a copy, put five more copies in the office safe and buy the copyright from the photographer so no-one else could print it. He said he didn’t care how much it cost…just get it.’

Mitch nodded thoughtfully. ‘Did you acquire the copyright?’

‘Yes. After Ric left. Which he did as soon as I’d printed out his copy. He took it with him. I didn’t know what he was going to do. He simply said he and Lara Chappel…Lara Seymour…went way back and she wouldn’t want that photo published. I felt…’ She hesitated, wondering if she should colour the facts with her feelings or not.

‘Tell me,’ Mitch encouraged.

She sighed. ‘All this was out of character. That photo got to him personally. In a big way. It wasn’t normal business, if you know what I mean.’

It evoked a wry little smile. ‘I guess we all have moments that aren’t…normal.’

A flood of heat whooshed up her neck and scorched her cheeks. Kathryn couldn’t remember the last time she had blushed. She was thirty years old, a successful career woman, adept at handling all sorts of people and situations. Yet here was embarrassing proof of how abnormal her reaction was to this man. Was it horribly obvious that he’d put her in such a spin, even her blood temperature was affected?

Stick to the facts, girl, she berated herself. Best to steer right away from feelings, because she was in a high state of confusion about her own.

‘It was just past eleven when Ric called me from his car,’ she went on briskly. ‘He said he was heading back to the office, should be there in ten minutes. He had Lara Chappel with him and he needed my help. He instructed me to tell my secretary I’d be away for a couple of hours at a business meeting with a magazine editor—nothing unusual about that—and meet him in the basement car park with my bag and car keys.’

‘You didn’t question what help Ric wanted?’

Kathryn shrugged. ‘He’s my boss.’

‘How did he sound?’

‘Very much in command.’

Mitch Tyler nodded. ‘Ric has worked in war zones. He’d keep his head.’

Kathryn didn’t know if Mitch was reassuring her or himself. Certainly the familiar way he spoke of Ric’s past suggested a long and close friendship.

‘So you were there waiting for him when he drove into the basement car park,’ he prompted.

‘Yes. Ric said they’d been followed by a grey sedan—male driver wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses—bound to be hanging around outside since there was no entry to the private car park without an official identification card. He wanted me to drive him and Lara Chappel to Bankstown Airport. They got into my car and scrunched down in their seats while I drove out, and they stayed down until I could assure them we weren’t being followed by the pursuit vehicle.’

‘Did Lara Chappel say anything to you?’

‘Not until we arrived at the airport. She simply did whatever Ric told her to.’

‘How did she appear to you? Her reactions to what was going on?’

Kathryn paused, wanting to be accurate in her impressions. ‘Nervous, frightened, distracted,’ she answered slowly.

Mitch cocked his head to one side, a musing expression on his face. ‘Did it occur to you that you could be accused of assisting in an unlawful abduction?’

Kathryn was shocked into protesting. ‘It was a getaway, not an abduction. Lara Chappel was willingly following Ric’s lead.’

He leaned forward and tapped the photograph on the desk. ‘Ric might have used this for leverage.’

‘He wouldn’t do that.’

The blue eyes glittered mockingly. ‘How can you tell what a man will do…when he wants a woman very badly?’

His gaze slid down to her mouth and Kathryn found herself holding her breath while her heart skittered, reacting to what felt like a simmering passion aimed directly at her. Was he just projecting what he thought Ric might feel toward Lara Chappel? Was a clever barrister a brilliant actor, as well? But why target her like this? It felt really personal. And terribly unsettling.

‘It wasn’t like that,’ she burst out in an urgent need to defend herself. ‘It was obvious that Lara Chappel trusted him. She was with him willingly, anxious to make good her escape. Once we arrived at the airport, she thanked me very sincerely for my help. And I noticed she wasn’t wearing any rings.’

It reminded Kathryn of the ring she was wearing herself—the ring proclaiming she’d agreed to marry Jeremy Haynes. Her gaze dropped to the flashy solitaire diamond he’d chosen for her and she told herself once again it was a measure of how much he valued her, not a status symbol of how much he was worth. Of course, money was useful. Life was a lot easier with it than without it. But sometimes…

She twisted the ring around on her finger, wishing it was an emerald, something more personal to her. Jeremy knew she loved green. Yet she couldn’t very well argue against his romantic declaration that ‘Diamonds are forever.’ She heaved a rueful sigh and raised her gaze to the man who was stirring all sorts of troubling confusion in her.

He was staring at her ring, watching the agitated movement of it around her finger. She instantly stilled her hands and spoke very firmly. ‘If a woman takes off her rings, it’s a very deliberate action, meaning that relationship—her commitment to it—is over. Lara Chappel wanted out of her marriage. I have no doubt of that. Ric wasn’t abducting her. She looked at him as though he was performing a miracle for her.’

‘A miracle…’ Mitch Tyler’s mouth twisted with irony as his gaze flicked up to meet hers. ‘I see you’re engaged to be married, Kathryn.’

‘Yes.’ Why did she feel defiant about that? He wasn’t attacking her on it…was he?

‘When is the happy wedding day?’

‘We haven’t decided yet.’

‘No keen rush to the altar?’

She frowned, uneasy with these personal questions. ‘It depends on work factors.’

‘Your work or his?’

‘I don’t see how this is relevant to the situation that brought me here,’ she flared at him.

‘I assure you it is highly relevant,’ he retorted, making a languid gesture that denied any attack. ‘I’m simply ascertaining how long you want to remain in the position of Ric’s executive assistant. Should your fiancé be happy for you to walk out of it today…’