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The inner-city suburb of Darlinghurst contained some less-than-salubrious streets where numerous bedsits and boarding houses existed in old converted homes. The dark of night and dim street-lighting hid their daytime grime and general state of disrepair.
Definitely not an area in which to linger long, and as far removed from Lara’s former apartment as chalk from cheese.
Lara’s relief was palpable as she entered the house via the front entrance, and she extracted the requisite coins from her purse to feed the pay-phone.
Seconds later the phone rang out, and she redialled, hoping, praying, for an answer. But there was none, and a second later a male figure appeared out of nowhere, a hard hand angled beneath her jaw, and she was lifted off her feet, then slammed against the wall.
Fear, stark and terrifying, almost made her pass out as the man’s face came within inches of her own.
‘Pay up by midnight tomorrow. Or else.’ His grip tightened. ‘Blink if you’ve got the message.’
Lara instantly obeyed, almost choking beneath his relentless grip, then he released her and disappeared out the front entrance as she subsided to the floor in a state of shock.
‘Hey. You OK?’
She looked up in dazed terror, recognized a male tenant, and tried to speak…except no sound came out.
‘You need help?’
Like you wouldn’t believe!
‘Want me to call someone?’
There was only one person who could handle this mess, and Lara reached into her purse, withdrew Wolfe’s card and indicated the mobile-phone number written on the back.
She was dimly aware of a brief one-sided conversation, then the tenant led her into her room, sat her down and applied a dampened towel to her throat.
Lara had little recollection of how long it took Wolfe to appear…only that suddenly he was there, looming large in the small room, his features grim as he took in her pale features, the darkness apparent in her eyes.
He didn’t say a word as he took the few steps necessary to reach her, and her gaze never left his as he hunkered down in front of her.
With care he removed the damp towel, and a muscle bunched in one cheek as he saw the reddened marks apparent, noted the pain it caused her to swallow, and trailed gentle fingers along the underside of her jaw. He was close, too close, she registered…and she hated that he appeared to swamp her.
She was aware of him thanking her rescuer, then closing and locking the door as the tenant left, and she watched as he returned to her side.
‘Give me the contact number.’
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand, and she retrieved a card from her pocket and gave it to him, watching as he made the call on his phone.
There were terse, hard words as Wolfe made arrangements to pay her debt in full at a mutually agreed time and place.
He slid the phone into his jacket pocket, and retrieved his wallet. ‘What do you owe on this place?’
The rent was paid in advance and up to date. It had to be, or personal belongings were held for a week, then both tenant and belongings were out on the street.
She attempted to speak, heard the croaking sound, and resorted to hand signals, watching as he anchored a large bill beneath her room-key on the scarred dresser.
The room was spartan, comprising a single bed, a dresser and chair, and a tiny wardrobe. There were shared bathrooms, a shared kitchen at the end of the hallway and a communal lounge. A laundry was situated in a separate building out back of the house.
‘You have a bag?’
Lara spared him a startled look.
‘For your belongings,’ Wolfe elaborated. ‘You’re not staying here.’
She was tired, jumpy with nerves, and she shook her head in a defenceless gesture. Where could she go at this time of night?
‘My hotel,’ he informed her as if she’d spoken, and her eyes blazed as she opened her mouth, then closed it again, aware that anything she said would emerge as an indistinguishable refusal.
He opened the small free-standing wardrobe, removed a capacious sports bag and placed it on the single bed.
Lara rose to her feet as he began opening drawers, refusing to have him go through her things.
Not that it had the slightest effect, as she battled with him in transferring contents from the wardrobe and dresser-drawers.
It didn’t take long, and when they were done he took hold of the bag, indicated the door, and followed her out to the Lexus.
Any words seemed superfluous, and they rode the arterial route into the inner city in silence, reaching the Darling Harbour hotel, where the concierge organized valet-parking while Wolfe collected her bag.
Lara accompanied him as he bypassed Reception and headed towards a bank of lifts, and when the doors of one slid open he indicated she precede him, then he hit the button for a high floor.
She prayed that he didn’t intend her to share his suite. Or, if he did, she hoped it contained two beds, or at least a sofa.
‘Relax.’ His voice held a drawling quality minutes later as he swiped a keycard into the slot.
Sure, and she could do that?
‘I’d prefer a room of my own.’ The words were hopelessly husky, even to her own ears.
‘Accept it’s not going to happen. Your security is paramount until the loan shark is paid off.’
‘But—’
‘It isn’t subject to negotiation,’ Wolfe said hardly.
‘I don’t want to share with you,’ she attempted to convey.
His gaze lanced her own, his eyes darkly obdurate. ‘Deal with it, Lara. At the moment seduction isn’t on the agenda.’
That was supposed to be reassurance?
It was a large suite, Lara registered as he flicked on the lights, with two queen-size beds…a minor concession in the scheme of things.
A fleeting glance revealed there were two comfortable chairs positioned close to a wall of glass, shaded by floor-to-ceiling drapes. A small table and two serviceable dining chairs, a desk containing a fax machine, internet connection, the requisite television console, mini-bar.
Wolfe deposited her bag, then he crossed to the bedside phone, dialled Reception and requested medical assistance.
Lara shook her head and croaked a definitive, ‘No,’ only to be subjected to a raking appraisal.
‘A doctor on call, or the accident-and-emergency ward of a private hospital. Choose.’
The thought of attending the latter—the form-filling, the inevitable questions—held little appeal, and she shrugged, too wound up to argue with him.
‘Sit down.’
She watched as he removed his jacket, collected a hand towel, extracted ice from the mini-fridge, assembled a cold-pack and placed it along her jaw line.
‘Keep it there.’
Wolfe crossed to the buffet and set the electric kettle to heat.
She was briefly aware of his impressive breadth of shoulder, the economical ease of movement as he completed the task.
A few minutes later he handed her a cup and saucer, then he took a nearby chair and regarded her steadily.
She sipped and cautiously swallowed the hot, sweet tea, and waited several seconds before repeating the action.
‘Is there anything else you haven’t told me?’ Wolfe queried silkily.
‘No.’ Lara closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again, all too aware how foolish she’d been in not calling the loan shark before leaving the restaurant.
‘It wouldn’t have made any difference. You were out of time, and loan sharks are notorious for their hardline tactics.’
Her eyes widened as they met his.
He read minds?
Or was hers transparent?
‘Drink your tea. A doctor should be here soon.’
‘Soon’seemed an age, although it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before an imperious knock on the door heralded the doctor’s arrival.
Credentials were offered, introductions completed. The answering of a few pertinent questions and an examination resulted in the assurance her larynx wasn’t damaged, the bruising would duly emerge and subside, and her voice should return to normal by morning.
He handed over a sample pack of painkillers and a sedative, accepted his fee and left.
Lara unpacked a few essentials and headed into the en suite. A shower helped ease some of the tension, and she enjoyed the luxury of a seemingly endless supply of hot water…so different from the boarding house, where an inadequate hot-water system meant lukewarm ablutions.
Dry, she pulled on a large cotton tee-shirt, added briefs, caught her hair together in a single plait, completed her nightly routine, then emerged to find Wolfe waiting for her, pills and a glass of water in hand.
‘Take these, then go to bed. You’re beat.’
Oh great. As if she needed to be reminded of her mirrored image, the dark, dilated eyes in a waxen, pale face.
Without a word she took the pills and swallowed each one cautiously with water, then she slid beneath the covers on the bed closest to the external glass-wall.
‘Thanks.’ A huskily voiced word meant to encompass much.
Wolfe inclined his head as he switched off the lights with the exception of a lamp on the desk, then he opened his laptop and soon became engrossed with data on-screen.
Lara closed her eyes and willed the medication to take effect as she relived walking into the house, making the phone call in the hallway…her assailant appearing out of nowhere and the resultant fracas.
It was all too easy to feel a hand gripping the top of her throat, the resultant pain and pressure as he lifted and slammed her hard against the wall…and the fear.
A shiver shook her slim frame, and she unconsciously curled her body into a protective ball.
She was here with Wolfe, and safe.
But for how long?
Soon she’d become his wife, and face another hurdle…that of sharing his life without allowing herself the benefit of emotional attachment.
Difficult, when she had vivid recall of the frankly sensual touch of his mouth on her own, and the electrifying passion he’d effortlessly aroused. It had blown her away, and had become an unconscious benchmark which sadly no other man had matched.
So where did that leave her?
It suddenly became too difficult to think, and her breathing slowed as she was claimed by sedative-induced sleep… unaware of the man who worked a little longer, showered, then slid in between the covers of the other bed.
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