The afternoon sun is blissfully warm on her skin as her arms float weightlessly in the cool water lapping at her sides. The inflatable air mattress moulds perfectly to the shape of her body and, despite having outgrown the pool toy long ago, it seems of little consequence. At this moment, nothing matters besides being right here, in her pool, in the back yard of her home, where she grew up.
A million childhood memories tangle together as she absorbs her surroundings. She pictures herself playing in the sandpit, jumping on the trampoline, soaring high on the swing set, shooting hoops through the basketball ring.
Everything is still the same, and yet it isn’t.
The palm trees lining the pool fence sway gently in the breeze.
A choir of cicadas begins a deafening chorus as butterflies surf invisible air currents above her head. The scent of lavender, mingled with the unmistakable aroma of sausages cooking on a barbecue, make her mouth water.
At the back of the yard, beneath the shade of the orange tree, sits her beloved dog Bitsy. A moment of sadness encroaches on her contented mood. Her mother told her Bitsy had died. How can she be here now? She blinks a few times to clear her vision. The dog is still there, Bitsy’s deep brown eyes staring straight back at her.
Hearing a noise, she turns. Josh is walking towards her. His face breaks into a broad smile. Those killer dimples are on full display as his eyes focus tenderly on hers. He beckons for her to come out of the pool and she is torn between wanting to go to him and wanting to stay in this blissful state.
Here, floating in her little pool of tranquillity, she feels safe and secure; nothing, and no one, can hurt her.
Out of the corner of her eye she sees a man crouched beside Bitsy. For a moment she is confused. Then he turns and she recognises him at once. Eyes just like her own stare back at her. They crinkle at the sides as his face ignites into a bright smile. She glances between her brother and Josh and feels a fissure of devotion ripping down the middle of her body. How can she choose?
But the decision is not hers to make. Lincoln stands, but does not move closer. He winks at her. The way he always winked at her. Like they had a special secret no one else shared. Like they knew what the other one was thinking without saying a word.
She moves to follow him but he shakes his head. Her eyes cloud over, understanding what is happening. Looking away, she brushes the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. When she looks back, Lincoln is gone. And so is her beloved Bitsy.
But Josh is still here. He reaches down and she takes his hand, feeling a sense of calm that has eluded her for years. It is time to get out of the pool and join the land of the living.
From somewhere a long way away she hears a voice cry, ‘She’s back.’
And a remote part of her consciousness vaguely wonders where she’s been.
—
Three days later
Lexie opened her eyes slowly. Slats of sunlight filtering in through the blinds hurt her eyes. She squinted against the glare. A strange sound, unlike her own voice, escaped her dry lips as her eyes slowly focused on the woman standing at the base of her bed.
‘Lexie, you’re awake.’
‘Mum.’ Lexie managed a dry croak.
Lyn Taylor was by her side in a second, smoothing her hair, kissing her forehead, thanking God and anybody else she could think of that her little girl was all right.
Lexie glanced around the stark hospital room and this time didn’t have to be reminded how she’d got here. She’d been shot. Still frames, like a slide show, flicked through her mind in quick succession. Burgh dead on the floor; Sue pointing the gun at her; glass shattering; Rex standing over her; lots of blood; lots of noise, excruciating pain . . . then nothing.
‘Oh, Lexie. Thank goodness you’re awake. You’ve been in an induced coma for three days,’ her mother said, her eyes spilling over with relief. ‘You scared the life out of us. Your father’s here, he just ducked out to get me a coffee.’
Her mother was rambling.
Lexie’s eyes were heavy; her lids felt like lead and she could feel the drugs dragging her back under. She couldn’t resist the pull. Resting her eyes and taking her mother’s hand, she drifted back into oblivion.
—
The next time Lexie opened her eyes, Josh was beside her.
‘Finally, sleeping beauty awakes,’ he smiled. ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, perching on the side of the bed and tenderly smoothing her hair back from her face.
Surprisingly, she didn’t feel . . . too bad. Lexie opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She licked dry lips and tried again.
‘I need a drink,’ she croaked.
Josh laughed. ‘They don’t advise it while you’re on a drip.’
‘Oh, no worries, I’ll just get it.’ He moved to her bedside table and filled a glass.
Lexie watched his athletic body, taking in the tight jeans that moulded perfectly to his hard thighs, the white T-shirt emphasising his broad shoulders and flat stomach. He helped raise her head and brought the glass to her lips. She took a small sip, enjoying the feel of the cool liquid sliding down her throat.
‘This was not how I was intending to meet your parents again,’ Josh told her. I met them for the first time at your brother’s funeral . . . and now for the second time at hospital. This is not a good start.’
Lexie’s eyes automatically searched the room. ‘Where are they?’
‘They went home to get some rest. They’re exhausted. They’ve been here constantly; made me promise I wouldn’t leave until one of them came back.’
Josh gave her a sad smile.
‘You’re very lucky, Lexie. Your parents are great people. You scared them like crazy.’
He sighed heavily.
‘You scared us all. I never want to feel that type of dread and fear again,’ he told her sincerely. ‘It was like I had an empty hole in my chest . . .’
His voice trailed off for a moment, overcome with emotion.
Lexie smiled and squeezed his hand. Whatever magic they were feeding her in that drip was definitely making her feel no pain. Or perhaps it was Josh’s words that held the key to her euphoria. Or the fact she knew instinctively she’d been a stone’s throw away from death, yet it held no fear.
‘What happened? Tell me what you know?’ Lexie asked.
‘I’m not sure what you remember . . .’ Josh looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Are you sure you want to talk about this right now?’
Lexie nodded firmly, glancing sideways at all the monitors and tubes she was attached to.
‘The crime scene officers determined that Sue Field shot Harry Burgh dead.’
This much Lexie knew. She could still see his body hitting the floor. She pushed the image away.
‘Sue shot you with Burgh’s gun, but someone shot her through the glass balcony doors.’
Josh gave her a long look. ‘Do you remember anyone else being there?’
Lexie thought for a moment then shook her head. She didn’t want to lie to Josh but . . . she couldn’t help it if she couldn’t remember.
He continued. ‘The bullet that killed Sue Field was a .40 calibre. It came from another Glock pistol; not yours.’
Josh seemed to wait for her to say something; when she didn’t he continued.
‘Jeff Sleeman squealed like a pig when confronted by internal affairs. He was involved in some of Burgh’s rackets but only on the periphery. He had guilty knowledge but wasn’t directly involved.’ His tone was sardonic. ‘That’s his story, anyway.’
‘Sleeman admitted Burgh had been extorting money from the Devil’s Guardians. He only ever dealt with Donaldson or King – Bluey – and when Donaldson put a stop to the payments, refusing to comply with Burgh’s demands, the bad blood started. Then there was some incident where Donaldson supposedly assaulted Burgh and it got worse still. Burgh planted the drugs at their clubhouse, and then tried to make an example out of Donaldson. He was trying to show that to defy him would mean death; hence the attempt on Rex’s life. However, Bluey was shot instead. The footprint found at the crime scene of Bluey’s murder belonged to Sue Field. Burgh may have been the shooter but Sue was there as his wing-man, or should I say, woman.’
His words held no surprise for Lexie. She realised they had been in it together from the start.
Josh took a sip of water from Lexie’s plastic cup.
‘Sue Field was recruited by Burgh about six months ago. She was an easy target; lacking in confidence and self-esteem. It seems her overly done-up exterior was just a mask for a very insecure, unstable woman. Burgh pulled the strings and she craved the power she thought he represented. It made her feel important, invincible – until she got too greedy. And apparently obsessed with Max Croft.
‘I spoke to Croft, who told me Sue was infatuated with him; had put it on him, made the moves a few times.’ He shook his head. ‘Croft wasn’t interested. He used Burgh as an excuse. She’d been introduced to Croft as Burgh’s woman and it went against bikie protocol to steal another man’s property.’
‘Even though he stole Rex Donaldson’s woman and daughter all those years ago?’
Josh rolled his eyes. ‘It may be Sue got it into her head that with Burgh out of the way, she and Croft would be free to be together.’ He raised his eyebrows and added, ‘How romantic.’
Lexie agreed. ‘You’re right. She told me as much. It was clear her intent was to be with Max Croft. She didn’t believe me when I told her he had cancer and didn’t have that long to live.’
As she reached for a piece of ice to suck on, a thought struck her. ‘So Max Croft admitted to an association with Burgh?’
Josh pulled a face. ‘The last thing Croft wants is to be spending whatever time he has left behind bars. So he’s not going to admit to anything. All he divulged was that Burgh approached him, proposed an arrangement; an exchange of cash for information and protection. Of course he never took Burgh up on his offer.’ Josh’s voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘His main concern was exonerating the Assassins of any culpability regarding Bluey’s murder.
‘A search warrant of Burgh’s house discovered photos of Rowdy and Sandy Croft. It appears Burgh was blackmailing her for information. Maybe that’s how he lured her to the park. We’re not sure but we think he may have made an opportunistic decision to load her up with the murder weapon in the hope it would provide a resolution for the case.’
‘Sue was there at Centennial Park as well,’ Lexie told him. ‘When I was in Dani’s unit they had an argument about why Sue hadn’t finished her off.’
For the first time, she thought of Dani. ‘Is Dani okay? Did her mother . . .?’
Josh shook his head vehemently. ‘No, her mother is still alive and Dani is fine, although she is staying with some doctor friend. Doesn’t want to stay in her apartment; can’t blame her for that. She’s been in to see you a couple of times.’
Thank God she was okay. Lexie let out a deep breath.
‘The phone that sent you the text messages was found with Sue’s belongings. It was a throwaway phone used to make the tip-off the night of the shooting and to call Maggot and tell him the Devil’s Guardians were behind the death of his girlfriend. It was also used to send you the text messages.’
‘How did you know about the text messages?’ Lexie asked, surprised.
‘I saw them on your phone pretty much at the same time I started putting it all together. Two other police-issued Glocks were found at Burgh’s house. They were all firearms stolen from officers attached to Balmain police station two and a half years ago.’
‘You were right about that,’ Lexie said, thinking back to Josh’s theory.
She didn’t want to think about the rest of his theory; she couldn’t think about what Burgh had done to Lincoln right now.
Josh went on to explain that a full internal affairs investigation was in progress into the corrupt activities of Harry Burgh.
‘So far, they haven’t even scraped the surface, but after examining his bank accounts and interviewing some “associates”, it’s obvious the man’s been involved in organised crime up to his eyeballs. We know he was involved in extortion and tow-truck rackets, promoting business for certain funeral parlours for a cut, receiving and supplying stolen property on the firearms black market, amongst other things.’
Lexie shook her head trying to take it all in. Her eyes were getting heavy again. She felt too tired to speak. Was it information overload? Or was it the drugs pumping through her body, pulling her under? She let her eyelids fall, wanting to surrender. Yet she was torn, wanting to stay with Josh.
Josh must have noticed her struggle. From a distance she heard him say, ‘Lexie, I think you need to rest . . .’
—
Lexie was drifting in and out of consciousness when she sensed someone standing at the end of her bed. Opening her eyes, she saw the blurry outline of a very large man. Slowly, as her vision focused, she saw he was wearing an AC/DC T-shirt, denim jeans and sneakers. One of his tattooed arms was in a cast secured in a sling. It was then Lexie remembered his accident. She also realised that, for the first time, she felt no fear in the presence of Rex Donaldson.
Glancing around the room, she saw they were alone. Before Rex could speak, Lexie asked, ‘How’s Sandy?’
His hard face lit up. ‘She’s got a long way to go but she’s doing better. The test came back positive. I’m a suitable donor. I’ll be able to give her one of my kidneys; even though they’ve copped a bit of abuse over the years, it’s better than not having one at all.’
Lexie felt genuinely pleased for him, and Sandy, even Rowdy. ‘That’s great.’
‘I was just visiting her, actually. I discharged myself from hospital a bit early and didn’t realise you guys were looking for me, so I handed myself in at the station. That’s how I heard about what happened. Anyway, I thought since I was here I’d see how you were doing.’
Who was he kidding? Lexie knew exactly why he was here. He wanted to know how much she remembered.
‘You knew you were under police guard,’ Lexie stated with a sly smile.
Rex shrugged his huge shoulders. ‘What can I say? I wasn’t in custody and I hate hospitals.’
His face was serious, unsure. He stared directly into her eyes and asked, ‘Do you remember what happened to you?’
Lexie held his gaze. ‘Not all of it.’
She sensed he got her silent message. Their secret would remain just that.
There was a terrific irony at play here, she thought. Only months ago, Lexie had escaped the clutches of a violent bikie who had tried to kill her, only to be almost murdered by one of her own, and then to be saved by yet another bikie. If that’s what he was? Who are you, Rex Donaldson?
Rex nodded and for a moment there was an awkward silence where no one spoke. Lexie broke the silence.
‘Just between you and me, how did you know where I was?’
‘I’m psychic,’ he joked, seemingly unsurprised by the question. ‘How do you think I’ve avoided getting knocked off so many times?’
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. ‘I’m serious. How did you know where I was? Were you following me?’
Sighing loudly, Rex dropped the façade. ‘I was following Burgh.’
Lexie had no doubt Rex had intended to kill Burgh before Burgh could kill him. Or someone else he loved. However, Sue Field had beaten him to it.
‘The doctor told me the bullet only missed my spleen by centimetres. If you hadn’t been there she would have finished me off. You saved my life, Rex.’
He said nothing in response; merely grunted.
Lexie hesitated, then, watching him intently she asked the question that had been haunting her.
‘What did you mean by your cover being blown?’
Rex pulled a baffled face. ‘I think the nurses have given you too many drugs. You’re completely out of it.’
Lexie smiled, feeling unexpectedly emotional. ‘I’m glad you were on my side this time, Rex.’
Rex’s weathered face looked for a split second as though he was about to say something nice, then his jaw hardened and the tough guy was back.
‘I’d better get going.’ He turned to leave and then doubled back. ‘It’s pretty bad when you can’t even trust your own, isn’t it?’
Lexie agreed. ‘Lucky I had you to protect me.’ Unable to help herself, she teased, ‘If you ever get sick of being a bikie, maybe you could come and work with us. You’d make a great undercover cop, Rex. No one would ever pick you.’
Even with the multitude of drugs flowing through her system Lexie didn’t miss the ripple of uncertainty that washed across his uneven features, as for a split second his cool veneer slipped. He recovered swiftly, professionally even; his expression was back firmly under control and giving nothing away. Though, when he saw the spark of mischief twinkling in her eyes, his face visibly relaxed.
Rex laughed a little too loudly. ‘Well, you never know what might happen down the track.’ He gave her a wicked smile. ‘I have been told I’m a very good actor. But I think the job description sounds a little too dangerous. I like to lead a quiet life . . . you know?’
They were both laughing when Josh walked in carrying a bag of food. Spotting Rex, he was immediately on guard and came to stand protectively beside the bed next to her.
Lexie suppressed a giggle.
‘Well, that’s my cue to hit the frog and toad,’ Donaldson said, tipping his head at Josh. Then, looking Lexie in the eyes, added, ‘Take care, Detective. I’m glad you’re on the mend.’ He winked. ‘I’ll be seeing you around.’ And with that he was gone.
As Lexie’s eyes grew heavy, her gaze drifted to the window. She stared out through the translucent glass at a bright blue sky, at what promised to be yet another perfect summer’s day, and marvelled at the unpredictability of life. She wondered, were things ever really as they seemed?
Would this journey ever cease to surprise her? She hoped not. The process of living could be so turbulent: like the ocean, treacherous and unsafe, unpredictable, ever-changing. It was sometimes exhilarating, at times devastating; a roller coaster full of highs and lows, peaks and troughs. Though wasn’t that what made the ride so interesting, so exciting, and totally worth relishing?
Seeing the confusion and concern reflected in Josh’s eyes, Lexie reached up and touched his cheek. He brought his head down and brushed his lips against hers.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked, giving her such a tender look it was almost a caress. Her heart melted.
She nodded and smiled, bringing his lips back down to meet hers. And as they kissed, Lexie felt the last layers of fear peel away, float off and dissipate into the air. For too long, panic and anxiety had been her constant companions. Now she must learn to live without them.