A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (7 page)

Kelley smiled against his mouth when he kissed her on the lips and murmured, “If you keep doing that, I'm never going to get this bag sorted.”

“
That isn't necessarily a bad thing.”

She swatted at his arm and said, “I'm too large for sex. So, down Lieutenant.”

Daniel chuckled and went back to massaging her shoulders, the baby blanket thrown over his shoulder. As Kelley continued to pull things out of the bag and put them back in, he asked, “So what is all this stuff for again?”

“
It's a precautionary measure in case the baby decides she wants to make an early appearance.” She told him, tucking a pacifier into a front pocket.

“
Right.”

Kelley took the blanket back and folded it before placing it into the bag and zipping it shut. As she put the bag on the floor, she said, “Danny, can I ask you to do something for me?”

“
Sure.”

“
Can you be with me when the baby comes?”

“
In the delivery room?”

“
Yeah. Is that weird?”

“
Not at all. And I'd be honoured to be there with you.” Daniel told her. “But what about Arthur?”

“
Dad will understand. After all, he thinks you're the father.”

“
That's because a certain daughter told him I was.”

“
I know what it will do to Dad if her learns I got pregnant to a man who raped me.” Kelley said. “It's better this way.” She turned around to look at him and asked, “Are you okay with playing Dad when Dad is around?”

“
Not at all.”

In fact, Daniel had found himself fantasising about having a family with Kelley. More then once, he'd imagined what it'd be like if the baby she carried was his.

As he held her in his arms, he began to think of ways to make that happen.

Kelley's first born would always belong to his brother, but what was to stop them from having one or two of their own?

Ten

Ronald Coleman was pissed.

He'd arrived at the address his reluctant AFP informant had said was Kelley's new home, only to find the place abandoned.

The lights were off, so at first, Ronald had just assumed she wasn't home or already in bed. But when he'd slipped in through a back window, he'd found the apartment completely empty.

Void of any sign of life and there was no proof anyone had even lived here.

Standing in the bare living room, Ronald swore again and wondered how in the hell he was going to find her now.

Then something hit him.

Instead of using Kelley to lure Daniel into a trap, he could use Daniel to lure Kelley back to Cairns.

A slow grin formed on Ronald’s mouth; he'd get his revenge, and it was going to be better then he'd hoped.

Further up north, Kelley was watching Daniel as he and his dad worked on a horse they'd recently purchased. The heat of the day had caused both men to remove their shirts, and Kelley couldn't take her eyes off of the man who was slowly stealing her heart.

Beautiful tanned skin pulled tight over a muscular torso that was void of hair.

Hard, wash-board abs that were testimony to how many hours he put into staying in shape for the Navy.

Long, muscular legs that were wrapped in tight Levi jeans that also helped showcase a firm behind.

She may have been attacked a few months ago, but Kelley could still appreciate a fine male specimen.

And Daniel fit that bill to a T.

Yvette joined her then, handing her a glass of iced water as she asked, “How are you feeling, Kel?”

“
Very good.” She replied, rubbing a hand gently over the small swell of her stomach. “She's been a good girl today.”

An ultrasound had confirmed the sex of the baby and Kelley was really excited, counting down the days until she got to meet her daughter.

“
Have you decided on a name yet?” Yvette asked.

Kelley nodded, but said, “I want to keep it a secret.”

“
Of course.” Yvette checked her watch and said, “I've got a pot of spaghetti cooking, so I hope you're hungry.”

“
Starving.”

“
Excellent. I'll shout when it's ready.”

Yvette went back inside as a sudden thought hit Kelley.

She was now over thirty hours from the Gold Coast and her father. She wanted Arthur Collins present when she went into labour, and she knew her Dad would want that, too. So, she was going to have to convince Agent Michael Blake to either bring Arthur up or take her down. Either way it happened, Arthur Collins would be present for his granddaughters birth. 

A sudden midday shower hit just as Yvette called everyone into lunch, which meant Daniel and his dad might get a few hours of leisure until it let up. Kelley appeared as they all sat down around the table, and Daniel drank her in like a man dying of dehydration.

She was starting to show more, her small belly revealed beneath a white peasant-style top that she wore over a denim skirt, and Daniel thought she couldn't look more beautiful then she did now, with that healthy, pregnant glow on her beautiful face.

“
Hey. Having fun?” She asked as she sat next to him at the table.

“
Sure. It's always nice to be present when a new horse gets broken in.”

They all dug into the simple spaghetti with mince that Yvette had cooked and Daniel noticed Kelley was eating more then she normally did. He liked being part of her progression as she went through the different stages of pregnancy as her due date got closer.

“
Those Feds sure are quiet.” Yvette commented as one passed by the window on his half-hourly round.

“
That's their training.” Kelley stated.

“
What? To freak people out by walking like a Ninja?”

“
Yeah. And if that doesn't work, they resort to their tactile training and use violence.”

She said it with no emotion in her voice, and everyone at the table grew silent, making the house quiet enough to hear a kookaburra laughing in a tree a good five-hundred meters away. Yvette and Hank didn't know what to say, but Daniel noticed Kelley was doing that fast-talking chatter-box thing she did when she was hiding something.

“
Kel? What's wrong?”

She looked at him, and he noticed a trace of fear in her eyes. “Nothing.”

He wasn't buying it.

Excusing them, he grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to his bedroom. After locking them in and placing himself in front of the door, he looked at Kelley and said, “Tell me.”

Kelley sat down on his bed, a conflicted look on her face that had him wondering what was wrong.

“
He did what?!” 

Kelley cringed as Daniels enraged shout bounced off the walls.

She'd known telling him about the call she'd gotten from her old landlord through a secured line on Agent Blake's satellite phone would be a mistake and make him angry, but the Lieutenant had managed to get it out of her.

“
You're telling me that, not only did Ronald manage to discover where you lived, but that he broke in also?” 

She nodded.

“
Shit!” Daniel ran a hand through his hair and began pacing the length of floor at the foot of his bed. “Obviously, the police are no good at stopping a convicted criminal. And, given that there's an obvious leak within the WPP, there's only one solution to this problem.”

Kelley didn't know what he was up to, but she didn't have anything to worry about because she knew Daniel would keep her and her baby safe.

Eleven

Kelley slept peacefully in the passenger seat of his GT as they continued south to Cairns.

Daniel hadn't wanted to do this, but he hadn't seen any other way to protect her.

The AFP clearly weren't doing a good enough job at locating Ronald, and he wasn't going to stand by and let the that bastard kill her.

And his plan was simple; they were going to make it look like Kelley had moved back into her old apartment, then wait for Ronald to make his move. And when he made his move, Daniel would be waiting to arrest him, or kill him.

He looked over at Kelley as they passed under a streetlight, the yellow glow passing over her slumbering form and shedding light on her baby bump. Unable to resist, Daniel reached over and placed his hand on the small mound, smiling when Kelley mumbled something in her sleep and rested her hand on top of his.

In that moment, he realised he was, without a doubt, in love with Kelley Harmon.

She was a strong woman.

A fighter.

The kind of woman that a Navy man like himself needed as a wife.

Her daughter could become his, and he could provide for them both.

But how would Kelley react to the suggestion?

They'd slept together once and shared half-a-dozen kisses in the two short months they'd been in Weipa.

Would that be enough to convince Kelley that he loved her?

They arrived in Cairns early Wednesday morning and Daniel put his thoughts to bed as he pulled into the parking lot of Kelley's old apartment building. After a quick explanation to the landlord who lived on-site, he took her to the bedroom and placed her in the bed, grateful to Steven and Ric for getting all of Kelley's furniture out of storage. He left her to sleep and went back out to the GT to get their bags, all the while praying that his plan worked and that nothing happened to Kelley or her baby.