The Deception (27 page)

“Did you talk to him about it?”

“No. He would have thought I was accusing him of returning to his old ways. It would have caused an ugly scene and, to tell you the truth, I was pleased to see him. It’s been awhile since I visited him. I-I missed him.”

“You’re too kind to him.”

“Maybe I am. Maybe I should have been harder on him when he didn’t behave the way he ought. I don’t understand why he seems so intent on destroying himself and causing pain for the one person who loves him. I-I don’t know how to help him.” Her voice broke on the last words. All of a sudden, she felt overwhelmed. Hot tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

Will hugged her tightly and pressed his lips to the top of her head, murmuring words of comfort against her hair. A long while later, he spoke.

“The night you saw me getting cozy with Maranoa, I’d just discovered my father was a regular patron of his brothel. In fact, he was there that night, sitting right beside me at the bar.”

Savannah frowned in thought. “I recall seeing an older man in the vicinity. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize him. I guess my attention was focused elsewhere.”

Will smiled briefly and then sighed. “I’d never thought about what his life must have been like after Mom died. At the time of her death, I was a self absorbed teenager with troubles of my own. Dad and I have been estranged for years. The other night, he had the opportunity to blow my cover in front of Maranoa and I would have been in a world of hurt, but he didn’t. He played along and Vince was no more the wiser. I went and saw Dad at his office yesterday.”

Savannah looked up at him in surprise. “How did it go?”

Will drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding beneath Savannah’s ear.

“It went surprisingly well. We talked about Mom and Cole and about our relationship—stuff we’d never ever discussed. He told me he was proud of the fact I was a copper. After all these years, it was good to hear it.”

“Did you talk to him about the Black Opal?”

“A little. He goes there for the same reasons most men go there—to relax and enjoy the companionship of a woman. I never thought about it before, but he’s right. Mom’s been gone a long time. He hasn’t remarried and apart from the odd eye candy on his arm at social events, he’s never had a girlfriend. He told me he gets lonely.”

Savannah caressed his cheek tenderly with her fingers. “We all deal with life’s hurdles in our own way. He’s not doing anything illegal. He’s dealing with it the best way he can.”

“Yeah, I just wish he’d chosen someone else’s brothel to relax in. Why did it have to be Maranoa’s?”

She had no answer for that and Will didn’t expect one. The rumble from her belly brought a smile to his lips.

“Is that your subtle way of telling me you’re hungry?” He grinned when she blushed.

“I haven’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday. I must admit, I’m a bit famished. What time is it anyway?”

He glanced over at the clock. “Eight-thirty.”

Savannah sighed. “I’d better call Max and plead illness.”

“Damn! I nearly forgot!” Will reached for his cell phone on the nightstand.

“What is it?”

“I promised a mate of mine we’d go sailing this morning. He’s been doing it tough lately. I thought a day out on the water would take his mind off things.”

A pang of warmth surged through her at his thoughtfulness. “Please don’t change your plans on my behalf. It sounds like your friend needs you.”

Will smiled at her tenderly. “Thanks, that’s nice of you. Perhaps we could all go together? There’s plenty of room on the yacht. I’ll call Andy and see if he’s okay with it.”

Will punched in a number and Savannah reached for the discarded sheet. Tugging it around her, she padded down the hall to the kitchen. She found her handbag on the countertop and quickly left a message with Max’s secretary that she wouldn’t be in.

Feeling like a naughty schoolgirl playing truant from class, she headed back to the bedroom. Will stood gloriously naked in the doorway which led to the shower. He turned when he saw her. “All good?”

She nodded.

He grinned. “Excellent. I spoke to Andy, but he’s come down with a stomach bug. He’s going to give today a miss, so it’s back to just you and me. What do you feel like for breakfast?”

Savannah deliberately let her gaze drift over his naked form, taking in his smooth, tanned chest, flat stomach and the impressive male length of him which now rested innocently on a thick bed of dark, springy hair.

Her eyes stayed steadily focused on his cock. “What did you have in mind?”

“I thought
I
was insatiable,” he teased and reached out to her. “Wanna join me?”

 “I thought you’d never ask.”

CHAPTER 22

Friday afternoon

Savannah and Will spent most of the day getting to know each other. He took her to the marina at Rushcutters Bay and wowed her with his sailing prowess. He told her stories of times before his brother had been born when his father and mother had taken him out on their yacht to while away the hours swimming, fishing and enjoying each other’s company.

He told her about one occasion when a toddler had stumbled and fallen over the side of a neighboring yacht and how he’d dived into the water to rescue the baby without thought or hesitation. He’d been all of eleven and had been totally embarrassed by the attention his heroic actions had caused.

She finally clued him in about her age. She could tell he was pleased to discover there were only four years between them. They dropped anchor near Watsons Bay and over a picnic lunch on the deck, he shared stories about his sixteen cousins and their myriad children. The light in his eyes when he spoke about his extended family touched her heart and a pang of sadness surged through her. With the death of his only sibling, it was possible he’d never know the joy of being an uncle to nieces and nephews.

Just like her
. The thought sobered her. If anything ever happened to Dylan, she’d be as alone as Will was. Even more so. At least he still had his father.

With a determined effort, she pushed away the sad thoughts and vowed to make a bigger effort to set aside her differences with her brother and accept him, warts and all. If he had gotten himself caught up with the likes of Vince Maranoa, she’d do all she could to help him. Surely, he hadn’t been out of rehab long enough to become too involved? She’d prevail upon him to see sense, like she had the last time he’d gone off course and hopefully, he’d return to the hospital.

She’d accepted that it wasn’t her place to try and change him. He had to walk his own path. All she could do was to be there for him, to help him through the good and the bad, and to love him without reservation.

Now, as the sun sank in the west, casting a rainbow of red and orange and pink across the water, Savannah closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the headrest of the cane chair on Will’s balcony. Inhaling the scent of the salt water, she listened as it lapped at the shore below.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she murmured. “I can’t believe I’m only fifteen minutes from the city. It feels like a world away.”

“You’re right,” Will smiled from his spot in the matching chair opposite. “It does.”

“I thought my little unit in Waverton was great, but it has nothing on this.” She smiled.

“Waverton? Do you mean all this time you’ve been living right around the corner?”

“Yep, at the bottom of Carr Street, near the train line. It’s funny, after awhile, you don’t even hear them as they rattle past. And I do have a great view of the water from my living room window. Not as good as yours,” she grinned wryly, “but it’s pretty nice.”

“I’d love to see it.”

She winked at him. “And so you shall.”

He smiled back at her. She took a sip from the glass of chilled white wine he’d handed her only minutes earlier and sighed.

“Today’s been so perfect.” A moment later, she giggled. “I can’t believe I took a sickie.”

Will shot her a teasing grin. “Yes, it was very naughty of you, Red, but I’m eternally grateful. Who knows? You might even do it for me again.”

She nodded and then frowned as if giving the idea serious consideration. “I think I could get used to it, especially if you go out of your way to pamper me like you have today, but I doubt Pete will go for it. Or Max, for that matter. I wonder if he ran with my story?” she mused.

“I remember you said something about Max’s opposition. Was there a possibility that he wouldn’t use it?”

“Oh, yeah. He and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye on the whole Black Opal thing.”

Will leaned forward in his seat. “How so?”

Savannah frowned. “It’s really quite weird.” She took another sip from her glass and proceeded to tell him about Max’s odd reactions.

“At one stage, he even implied I’d be doing
you
a favor if I left the Black Opal alone,” she added.

Will frowned. “Me? What did I have to do with it?”

“Something about Rutledge advertising dollars,” she replied, embarrassed to admit she’d told Max about her suspicions. To prevent him from questioning her further, she hurriedly continued.

“It’s not like him to care about whose toes he might tread on. All he used to care about was selling newspapers, but he’s made it more than clear he isn’t going to print any more stories on the Black Opal.”

Renewed feelings of anger and frustration surged through her. Unable to sit still any longer, she pushed away from her chair and paced the confines of the balcony. After awhile, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Is it just me? What do
you
think about his behavior?”

“I think it sounds a little strange, too. Did he say anything about your job still being on the line?”

“No, it was almost as if he’d forgotten about it and I certainly wasn’t going to raise it.”

Will stood and drew close. Bending low, he pressed a soft kiss on her lips. “Let’s not worry about it right now. Finish your drink so we can go inside. I think it’s well past time I ravished your body again.”

CHAPTER 23

Saturday morning

Vince Maranoa’s lip curled upwards in a feral snarl. Anger coursed through him. His fist clenched around the newspaper in his hand. It infuriated him when his orders were ignored. He snatched up his cell and punched in a number.

“What the fuck, Max? You told me you’d deal with the bitch. You’ve fuckin’ let her write another story. What the fuck is this shit? She’ll have every copper in Sydney on my tail if she keeps this up.”

“I’m sorry, Vince,” came the sniveling reply. “I couldn’t help it. She went against my express instructions to leave the Black Opal alone. When she told me she’d been back, I ripped her head off.”

“She’s on your fuckin’ payroll, Max. You’re the boss. She does what you say. She writes what you tell her to write and at the end of the day, if it doesn’t fuckin’ work like that, then what the fuck are you doin’ there?”

“I’m sorry, Vince. I truly am. But the girl’s right. It’s a hot story. I took a call from Reid Marchant late Thursday, after I’d spoken to you. Reid owns the paper. He called me personally to make sure I was going to do a follow-up. I sure as hell couldn’t argue with him. He would have asked too many questions if I hadn’t run it. You’ll have to keep your head down until it blows over.”

“Don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do, Max. There’s no way in the world this is goin’ to blow over. You’ve already told me this bitch has gone to the cops. We’ll be crawlin’ with pigs and it’ll be all your fault. We got lucky the last time they raided us. They didn’t find the cellar. But there’s no way I’m riskin’ it a second time. You can bet your ass they’re not gonna go away empty handed a second time. I’m gonna have to move the shit. Find somewhere safer to store it. This is gonna fuckin’ cost you, Max. You mark my word.”

“I have an idea,” Max exclaimed. “Take it to the warehouse in Surry Hills. The place is virtually empty. It’s been a dumping ground for dinosaur printing presses and other junk for years. You might have to clean it up a bit, but it’s yours if you want to use it. No one will guess you’re storing gear at a newspaper warehouse.”

Vince went silent. His brain ticked frantically in time with his pulse.

It could work.
Fuck, yeah, it was brilliant. He curbed his enthusiasm before he spoke again. No sense having Max feel like all was forgiven.

“The
Daily Mirror
warehouse, you say? Who has access to it?”

“I do, of course and I assume Reid does. I’m not sure if there’s anyone else, but the place hasn’t been used for years. You’ll wade through a foot of dust just to get in there.”

Excitement leaped in Vince’s veins. He knew the warehouse Max referred to. It sounded perfect. Situated in an area surrounded by a lot of similar warehouses, the comings and goings of delivery trucks wouldn’t necessarily arouse suspicion. Max was fuckin’ brilliant. Not that he’d tell him that.

“It sounds like it might work out, at least in the short term. It has to be better than leavin’ it here. I expect I’ll be served with another fuckin’ search warrant any day.”

“I’m sorry, Vince, I really am. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“That’s what you fuckin’ said last time,” Vince growled. “What’s the bitch’s name, anyway?”

“S-Savannah O’Neill. She’s only been here six months.”

“Six months too long from the sound of it. Leave her to me, Max. I’ll deal with her.”

“W-what are you going to do?” Max sounded fearful.

Vince grinned. “Don’t you worry your fuckin’ little head over it, Max. I’m all over it.”

Vince ended the call and swore long and loudly, excitement warring with relief. He’d found a solution to his problem. Who’d have thought Fat Max would come to his rescue? It had never been that way before.

Not wishing to waste another second, he spun on his heel and strode into the main room of the brothel. Georgie stood behind the bar, polishing glasses. He worked a cloth into the narrow openings, his thick biceps bulging from the effort.

“Where the fuck is the Kid?” Vince growled.

Georgie looked up and shrugged. “I don’t know, boss. Last I saw him, he was with the new girl. She might only be fifteen, but she has the sweetest ass—”