An Outback Affair/Runaway Wife/Outback Bridegroom/Outback Surrender/Home To Eden (17 page)

“Don't insult both of us,” she said. “I need you to know precisely what went wrong with my marriage. Why I felt little guilt loving you. Only then can you judge me.”

She walked towards him, with no hint of the thrilling, unconscious seductiveness that always left him tingling. She looked like a woman hell-bent on holding nothing back.

“You won't want to hear this,” she said in a low, perfectly steady voice, taking the armchair beside him. “And to tell it will only cause me pain and humiliation. But it must be said. I was an abused wife. Physically, mentally, emotionally. The ugly truth. I don't want to talk about it at all, but I must. You need to understand what drove me to break my vows.

“The vows were meaningless. Colin turned his back on them the same day we made them. The abuse began on my honeymoon and continued for almost a year. Finally I found the courage to escape and come here. I felt so battered I'd almost resigned myself to a life on the run.

“You might say I should have gone for help. Once I went to a friend, but Colin persuaded her I was the one having problems. He's super-convincing. I could have gone to lawyers. But wherever I went I knew he was going to find me. He's been concentrating his attentions on my mother in New Zealand, certain she's helping me hide. But he's not giving up. Until I confront him I'll never have any peace of mind.”

 

It was the easiest thing in the world to change one's appearance, he thought, lightly fingering his dark moustache into position. He thought he actually looked better with dark hair.
It made for a startling contrast with his eyes. Of course he'd had to mask his natural elegance. He wore the Outback tourist's ordinary gear. Bush shirt, jeans, high boots, warm coat for the evenings.

He smiled to himself every time he put on his black akubra, which he'd punched into well-worn shape. People might have remarked on his skin colour, which was pale, so he'd invested in some fake tan. He sure as hell was handsome with smoothly polished gold skin. But he had to hide these qualities a little, letting his beard grow into a fuzz, pulling the akubra down over his head.

He'd been in town—or rather on the outskirts of town—in a caravan park for two days. His dark blue Mercedes was in the garage at home. He was driving around in a dusty four-wheel drive, the tyres caked in red mud. It looked a bit on the battered side, which was what he wanted, but it was in tip-top condition. If they had to get away he had to do it right.

He knew where they'd been. According to the information he had received Ayers Rock. How absurd. He'd never thought Laura the type to go bush. He knew they were home. He knew where they lived. God, could you believe it? Side by side.

He'd driven past—fairly fast the first time. Some old girl had been coming out of the front door, probably taking care of the place in Laura's absence. The second, he'd taken his time. So his darling pampered wife had rejected his state-of-the-art home for some pitiful worker's cottage that looked more like a doll's house? God, it had made him so angry he'd had to stop and massage his temples.

At least the private investigator he'd sent out here had done a good job. He'd found out more than where they lived. Something unexpected. The guy's name. Amazing what one could learn from a photograph. Evan Kellerman, not Evan Thompson as the town knew him. And his darling little unfaithful wife. Laura Graham. He'd only just recently discovered Laura's mother's maiden name.

He had succeeded in getting a ticket for a concert they
were giving tonight. How many top-flight foreign correspondents—and apparently Kellerman had made quite a reputation for himself—also played the bloody cello? Now, wasn't that too richly bizarre? They must have had wonderful musical evenings together.

He knew he was taking a bit of a risk, going to the concert, but he couldn't sit calmly back at the caravan park, slumming it while his wife and her lover were part of a concert in the town. Not that he would hear the music! But it would be fun watching them.

His face abruptly twisted itself into fury. No way was Laura getting away with it. She'd never run from him again.

The concert was going to be very successful. Apparently the whole bloody town had turned out. It was as crowded as an opening night at a city theatre. Surely they couldn't actually be interested in classical music? Beethoven. Schubert. And something else on the programme. A local guy. Alex Matheson.

That'd be good, he thought with weary contempt. He didn't care. This lot were just making the best of what was on offer. He hunched himself in a back seat, all nerves and quivering anger. People glanced at him. After a while he remembered he ought to nod and maybe give a smile here and there.

An hour and a half passed, during which his stomach churned so much he felt like rushing out of the theatre and being ill. The old girl he'd seen at the house was one of the quintet. And treacherous Laura, looking absolutely beautiful in a long black skirt of ribboned lace with one of her glittering little tops, sat at the piano, fingers running up and down with brilliance, full of music.

Damn her! Pulses were beating a rhythm in his head like one of those old military band marches. He turned his attention again to Kellerman. Big guy. He looked as if he'd have bone-crushing strength. Until this moment he'd thought playing a musical instrument wasn't manly, but this guy laid that idea to rest. He was damned good. The whole ensemble was damned good. He had expected the recital to be pathetic.

Before the deafening applause was over he got quickly away. He'd left his vehicle in a side street. He felt stupid. Almost bested. Badly shaken by what he had seen and heard. He had a career. A reputation. His peers considered him brilliant. There was no place in his life for violence. Except he wanted Laura back.

 

Harriet had organised the supper—marvellous food—everyone was on a high, enjoying themselves immensely, mixing with all the locals who had been invited.

“I feel so much like celebrating!” Harriet cried warmly, her manner so vivacious she might have received a light electric shock. She put an affectionate arm around Laura's waist. “We're so proud of you, Laura. It isn't always easy settling into a group, but you've done wonderfully well. So in possession of your instrument, and such a lovely touch! I think we did extremely well. So does the audience, apparently. I take it you've told Evan about you know who?” she whispered, leaning her head closer.

“I have.” Laura smiled.

“How did he take it? Forgive me for being an old busy-body, but I have to know.”

“He was appalled, Harriet. First of all that I had a husband. But then when I told him all about the ruins of my marriage he forgave me. He's determined to go to Brisbane and confront Colin. I can't stop him. He won't listen and he insists he doesn't want me there. At first anyway.”

“Probably he's got a point,” Harriet considered.

“I'll be starting divorce proceedings as soon as possible after that.”

“And marrying Evan, my dear?” Harriet's grey eyes were full of sympathy and interest. “Seeing you both together, I can't believe it's just an affair.”

“I love him, Harriet, and he loves me.”

“The most beautiful words in the world. You both have to get on with your lives.”

 

“I don't want you to go in the morning.” They were inside the house and she was speaking very softly, almost whispering.

“We've discussed this, Laura,” he said firmly, picking her up in his arms and carrying her through to the bedroom.

“I don't want you to go on your own.”

“And I don't want you there, my darling, when I confront him. You'll have your turn. I'd like to see to Dr Colin Morcombe privately. It's one thing to terrorize a woman, and quite another to try the same tactics on a man. I'd be quite happy to slap him around a bit so he knows how it feels.”

“He certainly needs it, but that might rebound on you in some way. He's very vindictive. He'd say and do almost anything to cause you harm.”

“We'll see about that,” Evan said grimly.

“You might find it difficult to reach him. He has people fronting for him. Staff.”

“You just leave that to me,” Evan said, fiercely despising the man Laura had married. “For now I want to make love to you. Okay?”

“Perfect. I'm terribly terribly sorry I married Colin. I only want you.”

“That's why I have to get things settled,” he said, gently starting to undress her. “What sort of a man is he to willingly and brutally abuse you? A doctor too. It's beyond imagining. I don't fancy he'll want the story to get around, or people wondering where he got his black eye.”

“You wouldn't!”

“My darling, I'm going to make him perfectly well aware of what might happen to him if he dares approach you again,” Evan said, very crisply.

He reached out a hand to caress her—just a brush of the skin, yet it sent desire rippling all over her.

This was Evan's great gift to her. This wonderful sense of herself as a woman.

I
T WAS
going to be a very long day, Laura thought. Evan by now would be at the heliport, awaiting his connection for the long flight to Brisbane.

He'd already called ahead to make sure Colin was at his city practice, inventing a story about needing urgent medical attention. Dr Romsey, Doctor Morcombe's partner, had a cancellation the following day, he'd been told. Would Dr Romsey do? No, Evan insisted. He was coming a long way to see Dr Morcombe on excellent recommendation.

The truth. There was something urgent to be dealt with. Still, she wished he'd let her go along with him all the same. She wouldn't be able to stop worrying until he got back. It wasn't easy dealing with a man who was sick in the head. That was how she thought of Colin. Sick in the head. And because of it very dangerous.

It was everywhere, his threat: I'll never let you go.

How far would he go to keep her? Evan was an experienced man, big and powerful. A man who had lived through many dangers. He would be able to handle Colin, she comforted herself. Colin wouldn't be so shockingly aggressive with Evan around. Neither could Colin afford a scandal. His parents would hate it. They might even consider censuring their son. Laura flipped back and forth with the positives and the negatives until she heard a rap on the back door.

No one came the back way, she thought in surprise. Then she remembered a woman who made excellent jams and preserves sometimes left her car in the vacant allotment to the rear of the cottage when she worked the area.

With her darling little Freddy purring happily in her arms, Laura went to the door. She was already smiling as she opened it, standing back framed in the doorway.

For an instant she had a sensation of being separated from
her own body. Her eyes were wide open, yet she felt she might be in the middle of a nightmare.

Colin! She understood the deadly seriousness immediately.

“Having a good time in Koomera Crossing, are we, darling?” he asked with a sinister smile.

She might be fooling herself, but she no longer felt completely at his mercy. “Get right away from here, Colin,” she warned with considerable fire. “This is my home.”

The anger in her voice and body alerting Freddy to the fact that the visitor wasn't welcome. Instead of high-tailing it out through the back door, the kitten flew for Colin's chest, claws digging in so sharply Colin gave an involuntary yelp.

“Bloody thing!” His face contorted as he tried unsuccessfully to fling Freddy away. Only Freddy was no longer a sweet little kitten, but the complete cat ready for a scrap. “Bloody thing scratched me,” Colin howled in amazement, continuing to wrestle the kitten until finally he managed to rip it from his shirt and throw it forcibly outside.

“Did you have to do that?” Laura watched the kitten collapse, then struggle up.

“Boy, have you got problems,” he chided. “Listen to you. All up in arms about a cat.”

“How did you get here, Colin?” Laura stood her ground. “You're supposed to be in Brisbane.”

“Ah, yes! That worked just like I thought it would.” He pushed her so hard she had to clutch at something to prevent herself from falling. “I told my staff not to give out any information to the contrary. Good thinking, eh?” He gave her the familiar look of triumph. “So your lover went rushing off, delivering you nicely into my hands. Bitch!” He reached out a long arm and slapped her so hard across the face she thought her neck would snap.

Were more calamities coming? She shook her head to clear it, nonetheless realizing she wasn't as physically afraid of him. Evan had taught her a few karate moves. She could use them.

Colin kicked the door shut, then turned the lock. “Nothing to protect you now, Laura.” He glanced around like a pred
atory hawk. “This place is disgusting. A joke! How you can live in it I can't imagine. Are you sure you haven't totally lost it?”

“It's heaven without you, Colin,” she assured him, wondering the next move to make. If the worst came to the worst there was a lock on her bedroom door and she could cry for help from the window. “By the way, that's a terrible disguise?”

“Definitely not me.” He smirked. “But I needed to move around without being noticed. I do attract attention, as you know. I was at the concert last night. You were very good. And so was Kellerman. Quite a surprise, though I didn't give you any applause. How was Ayers Rock?”

Laura wondered when the rage was coming. How she would cope with it. “None of your business.”

“Are you serious? You're my wife.”

“Not for much longer. I want a divorce, Colin.”

Now the arctic eyes flared. “You might be a rotten wife, but there's no divorce.” There was a strange finality in his tone. “We need to be together. That's what makes my life work.”

“You mean you need someone to torment.” Laura saw her chance. She moved very quickly, darting into the kitchen. The counter was between them, with its drawer full of knives. “I'm never coming back to you, Colin.”

“Of course you are.” He turned on another smile for her. “You made a lifetime commitment, darling, remember?”

“Your actions changed that.” Laura took strength from the fact that her voice was quite calm.

“Trying to prove how brave we are, are we?” He snaked out an arm for her but she backed away.

“I have friends in this town, Colin. Even with Evan gone I have people who will come to my aid.”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law, darling,” he reminded her. “They won't find you here, anyway. You won't be allowed to yell for help either, if that's what you're considering. You're my wife, Laura. Doesn't that mean anything to you?”

“It stopped meaning anything to me on my honeymoon,” Laura countered, her expression full of condemnation. “I made a terrible choice in life with you, Colin. You're vicious. A cruel bully who used me, a woman, your wife, for a punching bag. I think that makes you a gutless wonder. And you're a man who's supposed to be devoting his life to caring for people. That's something your colleagues really should hear. How your wife got to know the inner workings of a psychopath. I bet I don't have to tell your mother either. I've seen the worry in her eyes.”

“You leave my mother out of this,” he rasped, the familiar glare in his eyes.

“When she realizes what you've done, Colin, she might turn her back on you.”

“As if she'd believe you over me,” he said coldly, although his handsome features were distorted with anger.

“I think my lawyers might be able to wring the truth out of you, Colin,” Laura said very quietly. “You see, it's all over. God is giving me a second chance.”

“God is?” His voice rose comically. “You don't seem to understand, Laura. God is on my side. Our marriage was made in heaven. I'm your husband. I'm not letting you go.”

“There are rules, Colin, even you have to obey,” she continued, using the same quiet, reasoning tone. “I'm free under the law. You mightn't appreciate a scandal. I'll make one if I have to. You can count on that.”

“And
you
can count on something happening to Kellerman.” His face and voice assumed a blaze of menace.

“What are we talking? Murder? I wouldn't put it past you. But you wouldn't do it with your own precious hands. You'd find some career criminal.”

He nodded, as though there was nothing unusual about what she was saying. “I see it as a legitimate way to get rid of a rival. All's fair in love and war, don't they say? There are people who'll do anything for a price.”

“So there are, but they usually go to jail.”

“My darling, I'd go to jail before I let Kellerman have you,” he said simply. “Now, don't make me furious,” he
advised, with another malicious smile. “Pack a few things and throw them in a bag. Leave a little note for your so-called friends saying you're going off exploring with a friend. We're getting out of here.”

He'd all but broken her once. He wasn't going to do it again. “Sorry, Colin,” she said. “That's not about to happen. You're the one getting out of here. Not me, you monster!”

Unable to contain herself, Laura picked up a pottery bowl that usually held fruit, throwing it with some force.

“Goodness me!” he scoffed, though the bowl had found its target, grazing his temple before shattering on the tiles. “Isn't this just the perfect time for you to find a little guts? Are we going to have a big fight? I'm one hundred per cent sure who'll win. Don't be a fool, Laura. I don't want to hit you, but you always provoke me. Do as I say now. Make it quick. I'm itching to be out of here.”

“I bet!” Laura muttered, feeling a strange sense of detachment. “It's all got to stop now, Colin. I'd rather die than live my life with you.”

“Never say that!” he snarled, endeavouring to corner her, but she took off in the direction of her bedroom, where she planned to yell like hell.

“No need to die, Laura.” He came after her with his long stride, tugging viciously at her flying mane of hair, using it as a rope to jerk her back to him. “We'll work something out.” His breath fanned her cheek; his hand sought her breast. “I love you. I do. I never feel the excitement except with you.”

“You're mad!” She was fighting in earnest now.

“You made me mad. I wasn't always like this.”

“Oh, yes, you were. I bet you tortured little animals. Cut them up. Let go, you cowardly bastard!” She struggled wildly, but to no effect.

How do I stop him? How do I stop him? The little bit of training she'd had was turning out to be useless against his superior strength. That got to her. She kicked and kicked, but his surgeon's hands were like steel claws, ripping at her hair, ripping at her clothing.

This wasn't going to happen. It all fitted together now. He was obsessed with her. In desperation she screamed, “Evan!” though she knew Evan was hundreds of miles away by now.

“Shut up!” There was an electrifying anger in his voice, and an edge of panic too. She had never been this hard to subdue, but he'd come equipped with the answer. He was a doctor after all. Pain shot through his shin as she kicked back at him. He gave a low growl, cruelly cuffing her with one hand and removing his glove with the other.

“Someone please help me!” Laura shrieked, her heart hammering in her chest. Oh, God, surely someone would hear? Hadn't she suffered enough at Colin's hands? She caught a strong whiff of some chemical or other. It was coming off a bandage or white pad he wore beneath his glove.

She felt horror. Ether? Chloroform? Which one had the odour? What did it matter? Before she could figure it out his hands clamped down hard over her nose and mouth. “You really are a naughty girl!”

She fought harder, determined she wasn't going to stop, but her brain was turning fuzzy. She tried to jerk her head away, knowing he was going to abduct her. She couldn't give up the fight…couldn't…

Somehow she managed to twist her body side-on, hoping she could aim a good kick at his groin.

“Bitch!” He cuffed her again, viciously, getting the pad back into position over her nose and mouth.

She was going to black out.

Evan, I tried.

He scarcely had a minute to bundle her up before he heard a car door slam.

“God!” The very air around him started to roar. Nothing and no one was going to get in his way.

He left her lying on the floor, making a rush to the front window to stare out. Incredibly, the caller was Kellerman. Very large. Well muscled. Very strong. He'd need a weapon to stop him.

Colin's eyes whizzed around swiftly, spotted the very
thing. A heavy brass ornament. That should put a dent in Kellerman's skull. He took up a position behind the door. Every pulse was hammering. This wasn't supposed to happen.

The bastard had a key. A key to his wife's miserable little cottage. Hell, the last person on earth he'd expected was Kellerman. What had brought him back? And surely Laura had made a sound?

He turned his head briefly, ears straining. She shouldn't have made a sound unless the strength of the anaesthetic had dissipated beneath his glove.

In the ringing silence Colin Morcombe got ready to strike, only Kellerman was ready for him.

Incredible! He must have received some warning. This couldn't be happening, he thought, his rage surging. He'd planned it all perfectly, every step. Nothing could go wrong. Yet for a terrifying minute he was hurtling across the room, smashing into the wall.

The man was unbelievably strong. Colin was actually powerless to get up. The realization called forth unfamiliar humiliation. He was meant to win.

“Morcombe, is it?” Evan stood over the cowering figure on the floor, loathing what he saw. Smooth and handsome, like a reptile, died black hair slicked back. “Where's Laura?” he demanded, wanting to hurl Morcombe again.

“She's not ready to talk to you right now,” Morcombe said, and incredibly smiled.

“Laura?” Evan called, unable to keep the fear and urgency out of his voice. “If you've hurt her, God help you.” He sucked in a harsh breath.

“You're talking about my wife, Kellerman.
My
wife, not yours.” Colin's voice dripped with irony.

“The one you were supposed to love and cherish?” Evan reached down powerfully to grab Morcombe's collar, dragging him clear across the hallway with one furious tug.

“You can't want that stupid little bitch? She's a pathological liar. She's got problems. Ask her about her father. He was the abuser, not me.”

“Shut up, you screwed-up bastard,” Evan warned, feeling a terrible violence against this man. “Don't talk your poison to me.” Now Evan could see Laura's crumpled up body. “Oh, God, what have you done to her?” He dragged the reptile up. This wasn't a man.

“She's just taking a little nap. Trust me.” There was sheer hatred in Colin's eyes.