Rebecca
She was taken again by how handsome he was—square jaw, blue eyes, dark hair, and tanned skin. It was his good looks that made people underestimate how cruel he could be. His smile drew people in, his anger pushed them away. She hadn’t realised for at least six months what his true character was.
The first time he hit her, she’d thought she would die. She’d ended up in the hospital that night, vowing never to see him again. But he’d convinced her he was sorry, it wouldn’t happen again, and for some reason she’d given him another chance. That was a moment she’d regretted ever since.
“Jake, what are you doing here?”
Her mind spun; she hadn’t expected him so soon. Usually he liked to toy with her for a while before he pounced.
“I wanted to see what you left me for.” He scanned the room with a snarl. “You didn’t trade up, baby. This place is a hovel. I could give you so much more.”
She swallowed—she had to keep him calm, keep the situation from escalating so that she could think, give herself a chance to escape.
“It’s not so bad,” she offered nervously. “It’s right across from the beach.”
He shook his head. “Come on, Becca, you can do better than that.”
She pushed a smile onto her face. “I wanted to start over, Jake. Is there something wrong with that?”
With smooth steps he glided around the end of the bench until he was only centimetres away from her, his eyes fixed on hers. “Why did you need to start again, Becca? Was it perhaps because you betrayed me, your boyfriend, who you supposedly loved? Betrayed me to the coppers, of all things. And now…” he laughed, “You’ve become one yourself. I’d say that’s the ultimate betrayal. Wouldn’t you?”
Her hands flitted across the drawers in front of her, searching out the handle for the drawer that held the sharp knives.
Jake reached for her hands, pulled them away from the drawer and squeezed them. “Come on, sit. Let’s catch up.”
He led her to the living room and sat on the couch, patting the space beside him. Rebecca lowered herself slowly, keeping as far from him as she could. He pulled her closer with a quick tug.
“Now, now, don’t be shy. Come on, we have a lot of things to discuss. Like, for example, how on earth you became a copper.” He shook his head with a laugh. “It’s amazing isn’t it, life’s twists and turns.”
His tone was light, but his eyes were hard and dark.
She inhaled a slow breath. “I always wanted to join the police force. I guess when you and I broke up, I decided to look into it a little more.”
“Don’t you mean, they let you join because you ratted me out?” He squeezed her knee, making her jump as pain shot through her leg.
“No, that wasn’t it at all. They understood the situation, but I had to prove myself like any new recruit. If anything, it was harder for me; they didn’t trust me because of you.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re referring to. I’m an upstanding businessman in Sydney—I think we’ve proven that enough times for you to finally understand it.”
“Scaring off witnesses isn’t proving anything,” she retorted.
He grabbed her by the hair and swore, forcing her head back. Stars popped across her vision as she yelped.
“Don’t be like that. I don’t want to have to hurt you again. You always make me hurt you, get me so angry…I only came here for a little chat, and you’re doing it again—pushing me. I hate how you do that.”
Rebecca let fly with an elbow, connecting with his rib cage. He released his grasp on her hair long enough for her to duck away, out of reach.
Jake screamed in anger, his eyes flashing. “Now you’ve done it. It’s all your fault, remember that, Becca.”
“No, Jake—everything you do is on you. Your choice. Not mine.”
She was caught between Jake and the sliding doors that led out to the second story balcony. With a quick glance at the glass doors, she decided to try for the unit door instead—the last thing she needed was for Jake to push her off the balcony.
“Come on Becca,” he laughed. “You’ve got nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide.”
She shrugged. “I guess you’re gonna have to come and get me then.”
His eyes narrowed, and his smile faded as he lunged for her. The first punch took him by surprise. She hit him with an uppercut beneath the chin, snapping his head back. He grunted and staggered backwards. Rebecca shook her hand as pain surged through her knuckles—it hurt a lot more without the gloves.
Jake charged her with a roar, and she fended him off with a kick to the gut followed by a punch to the nose. Blood spurted and he fell back onto the couch with a cry.
“Well now, someone’s learned some new skills,” he hissed as he pulled a handgun from the back of his pants. “But it’s not going to help you this time, Becca.”
She backed up to the wall, hands raised, tripped over a magazine rack, and then scrambled towards the kitchen. She hid behind the bench as a single shot rang out, leaving a welt in the refrigerator door. She ducked low, tugging her purse from the bench by one strap, then searched quickly for her phone.
Her gun was locked up safe and sound at the office, but she didn’t need it. She could stay out of sight, keep Jake on the defensive. If only she could get to the door and out of the unit without being shot. She crept around the end of the bench.
In the purse, her phone rang. The sound was loud in the still, silent unit and she wondered where Jake had disappeared. She pulled it free and noticed the name of the caller as the phone fell silent. Franklin.
She peeked out from behind the bench. No sign of Jake.
She shoved the phone into her pocket, and reached for her spare set of handcuffs, which she snapped onto her belt. She was taking him in whether he liked it or not and this time he would pay for his crimes—there’d be no weaselling out of it.
Her heart thundered against her ribcage as sweat beaded and dripped down the sides of her face. Her breath came in short, quiet bursts as she crept around the bench. She couldn’t sit still and wait for him to find her; he had the advantage. She eyed the unit door. It was shut, locked. She had to get to it somehow without being shot, unlock it, open it, and leave. The chances of her surviving seemed slim. She turned her attention back to finding Jake.
As she rounded the bench, he lurched out of his hiding spot in her direction, gun aimed at her head. With a roundhouse kick, she knocked it from his grasp even as a shot rang out, echoing through the small space. The gun skittered across the tiles and bumped into the far wall.
Jake’s eyes widened. She didn’t wait for his smart response, instead she leapt into her boxer’s stance, and hit him once, twice. The third punch sent him sprawling onto his rear end. He jumped up and ran at her, tackling her and landing on top of her, knocking the breath from her lungs as he screamed in rage.
She winced but didn’t let the winding halt her assault—instead, she continued her barrage, hitting him even while they lay on the ground. It was no use, though, he was too heavy. She couldn’t make any leeway. His hand reached towards the gun where it lay, his eyes gleaming at the sight of it. She raised her legs beneath her, pressed her feet to his torso and pushed with all her might, sending him sailing across the room.
He crashed into the back of the couch, groaned, and crawled back onto his feet.
“You’re gonna pay for this,” he snarled.
She was breathing hard now, the breath back in her lungs, adrenaline coursing through her veins. “Am I, Jake?”
Her taunting was more than he could bear. He ran at her and she caught him in a headlock, forced him onto the ground and snapped the handcuffs around his wrists.
“You’re under arrest,” she whispered against his ear.
There was a bang on the door, then another, followed by the door flying open. Franklin fell through the opening, landing on the floor with a shout.
Rebecca stood, still puffing, and studied him with her hands on her hips. “You all right, boss?”
His gaze travelled from her face, to the man kneeling by her feet, and back again. He stood, brushed his hands against his pants, his brow furrowing. “Uh…yeah, I’m fine. What’s going on in here, Mair? I tried to call you, wanted to check on you, then when you didn’t answer I headed over here and I heard gunshots…who’s this?”
He strode towards them, nudged Jake with one foot.
“This is Jake, my ex-boyfriend. He came all the way from Sydney to see me,” said Rebecca with a smirk. “Jake, this is my boss, Franklin.”
Jake sneered but didn’t say a word.
Franklin’s eyes widened. “Jake, eh? Wow, great to meet you. I’m glad to see Rebecca’s shown you some of her boxing skills, got a bit of a shiner there, mate. She’s gotten pretty good at it, eh?”
Rebecca grinned. “Might want to call in the night crew to pick him up, boss.”
Franklin nodded, patted her arm with a smile. “Good work, Proby. Good work.”