The Finest Line (34 page)

Something in his tone told her
to run but before she could move he had flipped her over across his
lap. She struggled to get away but was quickly secured. The shirt
was pulled away to expose her.

“I agreed,” she pleaded. “I’m
going home. I’m not going to complain.”

James rubbed and pinched her
cheeks. “What part of ‘don’t leave the house under any
circumstance’ did you fail to understand?”

Mairead sighed, “Probably the
part where I thought I had gotten away with it.”

Raising his knee, her backside
was lifted into the firing range. James patted her, “Well then
allow me to teach you not to think so foolishly again.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

The limousine pulled up in an
isolated area of the airport and was met by an airport security
officer. Sean was the first to get out and shook hands with
him.

“We’re taking you through a
sealed off area straight to the VIP lounge.” The officer told him.
“As far as we are aware there have been no alerts to the media and
you should be able to board your flight without hassle.”

Sean nodded gratefully. “Thank
you Steve. It’s been a tough day without those bastards on my
back.”

Mairead was next to get out with
James behind her. He also greeted Steve with a handshake that
implied they were well known to each other.

The officer grinned at him,
“Good picture in the paper James. Not like you to get yourself into
trouble.”

James smiled. “Why do you think
I’ve tried to stay single all these years?”

Steve laughed and nodded. “Best
of luck to you man.”

Turning back to Mairead, James
laughed quietly as he watched her rubbing her backside.

She caught his amusement and
glared at him as he took her a short distance from the others.

“That was a bloody long drive.
Couldn’t Vanessa have bought something closer to the city?”

James laughed louder and picked
her up, holding her tightly against him. “It will give you
something to help you think about me.”

“Yeah it will,” Mairead frowned,
“While I have to sit for another bloody hour on the plane, wearing
these ridiculous clothes you bought me. I’ll be thinking of you
alright.”

She looked down at the flowery
t-shirt and track pants. “You’re really telling me you couldn’t
have done better?”

“Not without driving for half an
hour each way,” James replied. “Pukerua Bay is known for its
beaches, not its shopping experience. An op shop was all they
had.”

She pointed down to a pair of
black leather tie up shoes. “I’m wearing school shoes James.”

He grinned. “I contemplated
buying the uniform to go with them.”

She continued to glare at him.
“I can’t believe you would even think I would put on second hand
underwear.”

He laughed. “Well now you have
nothing on underneath which is really sexy but if you don’t stop
complaining and kiss me, I’ll pull your track pants down and let
everyone see your bright red bum.”

She quickly planted her lips on
his and allowed it to evolve into a passionate kiss. It was their
first display of public affection and Mairead was pleased that it
didn’t bother James any more than it bothered her. Only when he
looked at Sean did he grin as he brought her back.

“Look after her for me.”

Sean nodded and smiled. “It’s
definitely my turn. Good luck James.”

Tears were already running down
her face as Mairead looked up at him. James held her against him
once more as he turned to Steve.

“Stay with them until they board
the plane and then wait until it takes off.”

“I will take good care of them,”
Steve assured him.

Mairead pulled away enough to
look up at James sadly. “Come back to me.”

His smile showed all the love he
had for her. “Try stopping me.”

Mairead was crying before he got
back into the car and buried her face into her father so she didn’t
have to watch him be driven away.

“He’s going to be fine Mairead,”
Sean assured her. “The lawyers have your statement. He will have to
go through the processes but he will be released and back with us
in no time.”

“I love him Daddy,” Mairead
gripped her father’s hand.

“I know you do, and I’ve
probably known longer than you.” He turned to Steve. “Lead on
Steve. I need coffee.”

There were only several patrons
in The VIP lounge and each too involved in their papers and phones
to give them a second look. Sean collapsed down on a leather couch
and breathed a big sigh.

“Give me your card Daddy, and
I’ll get us coffee,” Mairead held her hand out.

Steve interceded. “You sit down
Miss Kavanagh. I can get those for you if you would like to tell me
what you want...”

“It’s Mairead,” She replied
firmly. “You stay here and talk to Dad. I want to see what food
they have.”

She had no desire to sit any
more than she had to. It had been a long drive, but apart from the
discomfit it had brought, it had allowed her time to think about
her options. Going back to North Shore was not one of them. She had
no concrete plan except that she needed money.

Once she had made their order,
she slipped the card into her pocket. While she waited, a young
woman came to stand next to her. She didn’t look at Mairead as she
spoke.

“Mark wants you to ring him,”
She pushed a cell phone in front of her.

Mairead looked at her in
disbelief. “Who are you?”

“He wants to let you know that
Kylie is safe and well, but he can’t guarantee that she will stay
that way.”

Her blood ran cold and she took
the phone, hurrying away to the rest rooms. As soon as she was
inside she rang the only number in the phone.

Mark answered immediately.
“Hello sweetheart.”

“What have you done with Kylie?”
Mairead was trembling.

“Not a thing,” he assured her.
“I’m sitting outside her place now, looking at her car. White
Honda, registration number NTS977.”

“How the hell did you find
me?”

“I didn’t but I figured the
airport was a good place to watch. Sarah was quite content to sit
there all day at my expense and knows she will be amply
compensated.”

Mairead hesitated before asking,
“What do you want?”

Mark laughed. “I wanted to fuck
you but I missed out again. I suppose your chauffeur has had his
cock in you for the last two nights. I’m in the wrong line of
work.”

Her anger was rising. “Just tell
me what you fucking want.”

“I take it you’re not buying
that whole story of how Josh fell off the balcony.”

“You fucking selfish arsehole”
Mairead hissed into the phone. “You let me believe that I had
killed Josh when all along it was that fucking cunt of an old man
of yours.”

There was a moment silence
before he spoke again. “What the fuck are you talking about
Mairead?”

“Your father killed Josh. He
threw him off the balcony. It was all captured on Josh’s cell phone
which I have.”

She knew that she may be caught
out in her lie but it was worth testing it. Mark’s long pause and
sombre reply assured her that he believed her. It was now her turn
to fuck him over with a story.

“Bit of a stalemate here
Mairead. We really need to get together and talk.”

“Yeah we do,” she agreed. “But I
dictate where and when. First thing I have to do is get out of this
airport and then I will ring you.”

She hung up on him and felt a
sense of power momentarily until the reality of the situation set
in. What the hell was she doing? What did she even hope to
accomplish by meeting up with Mark. Hopefully she was getting Kylie
out of danger and with that thought came a sense of justification
for her actions.

Something else entered her
thoughts, something James had said. Mark was in love with her and
that alone gave her some power. She knew he hated his father nearly
as much as she did. Could it be possible to somehow persuade him to
help her? Did he hate him enough to see him go to prison or at
least stop the West Auckland development.

She remembered what Mark had
said, that he had the means to stop his father from ever hurting
again. What had he meant by that?

The only way she was going to
find out was to see him and hopefully she could do it as safely as
possible and at the same time make Kylie aware that she was in
danger. Now all she had to do was evade airport security and get
out. She tucked the cell phone into her pocket.

Returning to the lounge, she
found their order had been delivered to the table and Sarah was
gone. She sat down next to her father.

Sean gave her a worried stare,
“Are you alright, baby?”

She nodded. “Bit of an upset
tummy.” She looked up at Steve. “You wouldn’t have any paracetamol
for a headache would you?”

He nodded. “I’ll get you
some.”

She watched him go behind the
bar and out the back before she turned to Sean.

“I love you Daddy and I would
never hurt you, without the best intentions.”

He looked puzzled as she hugged
him and planted a kiss on his cheek and then she ran. Outside the
lounge, she took a moment to get her bearings and continued to run
until she saw the exit with a row of taxis waiting outside.

Her pace only ceased as she
climbed into the front seat of the first taxi in line.

She looked at the young Indian
driver, “Take me to the city as fast as you can get there.”

The driver beamed with
excitement. “You’re Mairead Kavanagh! I’ve seen your video on You
Tube.”

“There are reporters after me.”
It sounded reasonable. “Can you help me?”

He nodded, starting the car
immediately and pulling away. “I’ll do a few weaves in and out of
traffic and go down a few side streets. If anyone is following I
will know. You can rely on me.”

For the next twenty minutes
Mairead was amused by the dedication of her driver who introduced
himself as Chandi. He took his role seriously and manoeuvred the
taxi in fast lane changes and spinning off around corners into
narrow streets before getting back on the main road. Eventually he
slowed down.

“No one is following,” he
announced. “I am absolutely positive. Now Miss Kavanagh, where
would you like to go?”

Mairead smiled. “I have no idea.
I need a place to meet someone where I’m not going to be noticed.
It has to be somewhere public and safe, where you can’t park a
car.”

She had visions of being
snatched away before she even saw Mark.

Chandi gave it some thought “How
about the Queen’s Wharf cafe? It is set back into an area for
pedestrians only and it has a downstairs bar that is often quite
dark even in the day.”

It sounded perfect. She nodded,
“Queens Wharf cafe it is then.”

Chandi smiled proudly and his
excitement grew.

“Are you going to do something
special like you did that day on that building?”

Mairead grinned and shook her
head. “Nothing special, just meeting someone without reporters
bothering me.”

“If you want me to film
something, I am more than happy.”

“No thank you Chandi,” Mairead
laughed. “I have more than enough footage on You Tube.”

“I will have you there very
quickly for whatever covert operation you have. This is very
exciting.”

She wished she could share his
enthusiasm. Instead her stomach was becoming a knot of nerves.
While she still could, she took out the phone and rang Mark.

“Mairead, my sweet,” Mark
sounded as slimy as ever. “What can I do for you?”

“Queen’s Wharf cafe, half an
hour, be there alone and if I even think you have anyone else
planted in there, I will run.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it babe.”

She hung up, still not believing
that she could go through with this. She noticed Chandi giving her
concerned looks and then he pulled over. Reaching to the back seat,
he picked up a folded newspaper. Mairead sighed as he skimmed the
headlines.

“I know this is none of my
business.” Chandi had lost his excitement. “Tell me I am not taking
you somewhere where you are in trouble.”

“I’m hoping that this is
somewhere where I am going to get out of trouble.” She smiled
hoping to reassure him. “Please, Chandi, don’t do something like
ring the police or such. That’s why I need somewhere safe and if
you want to you can wait for me to return. I should be no longer
than twenty minutes.”

He nodded determinedly. “I will
wait and if you are not out of there, I will come looking for
you.”

He was looking very staunch as
he drove to her destination and Mairead was deeply touched and a
little sorry for his concern. He was yet another one of those who
had to suffer her antics. When James finally got to catch up with
her, if he caught up with her, she would be only too happy to
submit to whatever chastisement he decided.

The taxi turned into a narrow
street and Chandi stopped. “You see, I can go not go any further
than this. That area is for walking only.”

“It’s great.” Mairead surveyed
the wide expanse of paved promenade ahead that she had chosen for
the meeting. No vehicles allowed in the area, foot traffic only.
Enough restaurants, bars and public buildings surrounded the area
that it did not seem isolated but lacked the chaos of the city. She
was very satisfied that it was a good safe choice.

“See you in twenty minutes,” She
tried to sound cheerful.

His wide smile encouraged her.
“I will be here.”

The cafe reminded her of the one
she had dined at with James, with its tables and chairs set out
under sunny blue skies. Mairead walked passed them to the stairs
that led to the underground bar. Here the bright outdoor light was
exchanged for the dim artificial variety.

She spotted Mark sitting in a
booth towards the back as she entered, but she walked to the
counter to order a coffee and observe. Far from being crowded,
there were enough patrons to feel at ease and she watched long
enough to make sure there were no interactions between them and
Mark. He was alone.