Oddly, time seemed to slow down when Jet was thrown from the car.
Trapped in the vehicle with those men, it was as if everything had been happening in bright, vivid motion, like technicolour. Every breath she’d taken had felt life-giving. Every word she’d spoken, defining.
But then the engine roared to life and she’d been cruelly shoved from the moving vehicle, which was when the world seemed to slow to a snail’s pace with a sickening thud. At first there had been only pain. Her tailored jacket hadn’t been enough to protect her from the fall and she was left with painful gashes on her elbows, and up and down her arms. The same for her knees and legs. Fortunately, her face escaped the worst of the damage. She had a small gash on her cheek that didn’t require stitches, although there was colourful bruising coming up under her left eye.
It was all a horrible reminder of what the men said they would do to her if she implicated Alex Benedetti.
‘There,’ the twenty-something female paramedic called Daisy said. ‘You’ll just want to apply light pressure like that for a while longer.’
Jet nodded once and took the cold pack the paramedic gave her. She rested the left side of her face onto it and the stinging cold felt good against her throbbing cheek.
Daisy stood and continued to survey Jet. ‘You were lucky.’
Funny. Jet knew what Daisy was getting at, but she couldn’t bring herself to agree. Although Jet wouldn’t have any lasting injuries from the evening’s events, she didn’t feel as grateful as she should.
She noticed Daisy take a furtive glance at Jet’s luxurious apartment when she bent over to collect her equipment.
Maybe Jet was being ungrateful. When the police officers had surrounded her on the street only moments after being thrown from the car, it hadn’t taken them long to spring into action. Once they established Jet didn’t need immediate medical care, they’d bundled her into the police car and driven straight to her apartment. Jet had no doubt it was Commissioner Roberts orders. The less public spectacle for a high-profile witness like Jet, the better.
On arrival at her apartment the police officers had settled Jet into her favourite armchair with sympathy, but it hadn’t taken them long to start asking her questions. Within ten minutes, the paramedics arrived and Jet noticed there had been no siren to highlight their arrival.
An hour later all she wanted was for everyone to leave her in peace so she could curl up in bed and forget tonight had ever happened. With all the changes she’d been making to her business these past couple of weeks, she’d almost believed Jet Appleton could be a reality. Now it felt like she was destined to endure the shadow of Juliet Temple for the rest of her life, no matter what she did.
With a genuine smile at Daisy, Jet thanked her and said goodnight. Then she slowly made her way into the kitchen to refill her glass of water, her cuts and grazes stinging with every step she took. As she closed the fridge, she paused at the sound of unfamiliar male voices.
It took her three long seconds until she recognised who the male voices belonged to. Time sped up again and a wave of dizziness hit her. Jet reached out for the bench to steady herself.
The entire journey along the freeway Dan wondered what the hell he was doing. He had absolutely no business getting in the car and driving to Sydney like some dickhead knight in shining armour. Except for the quiet presence of his father sitting in the passenger seat he may have turned the car around at least five times. But Dan had made such a scene about wanting to see Jet was safe with his own eyes, he couldn’t exactly change his mind now.
Once they exited the freeway at Sydney’s leafy northern suburbs, Dan drove purposefully through the traffic. The bright lights streaming past all looked the same. Even approaching the harbour, the glittering lights of the city at night and the iconic Harbour Bridge barely registered. All he could think about was Jet.
When the GPS directed them to drive along one of the eastern suburb’s most expensive streets, Dan was only vaguely aware he’d entered a part of Sydney the city’s most elite were lucky to inhabit. The only thing that he noticed when he entered the opulent foyer of Jet’s apartment complex was that the old stairs creaked in places as he took them two at a time.
Marty kept pace with his son, arriving on the third level just moments behind him.
‘Gordon,’ Marty said.
For the first time since they’d left the Hunter Valley, Dan hesitated.
The Police Commissioner stood at the entrance to Jet’s apartment talking quietly to another police officer. Despite wearing civilian clothing, he somehow commanded respect. Dan wasn’t sure if it was his impressive height or simply the way the man held himself with an air of calm. Like his father, Commissioner Roberts’ trim physique suggested he was fit for his age, and his cool grey eyes looked like they never missed a thing.
The Commissioner’s grim expression relaxed when he saw the two of them.
‘Marty.’
Gordon and Marty shook hands. Then, to Dan’s complete surprise, they closed the space between them and gave each other a firm hug, patting each other on the back like mates did.
‘You shouldn’t have come,’ Gordon said when they separated.
Marty nodded at Dan standing behind him. ‘I know. Try telling that to Dan, though. Juliet became part of the family while she was with us.’
Dan stiffened at the use of Jet’s old name, but he caught himself and gave the Commissioner a respectful nod. ‘I hope it’s not out of line, but I wanted to see if she was alright.’
Gordon nodded and stepped closer, including Dan in the circle. ‘She’s doing fine, considering. Juliet is a tough woman, but truth be told, it will be good for her to see a familiar face right now. She doesn’t have any family here.’
Things Dan knew all too well. ‘Is she inside?’
Gordon stepped aside. ‘The paramedics have just finished with her.’
At the mention of paramedics, Dan didn’t hesitate and strode inside. He found himself in a foyer area and became momentarily disorientated. What sort of apartment had a foyer?
Beyond that he could see a large, tastefully decorated living room with French doors opening onto a balcony. Even with the two paramedics standing in the middle of the room, the breathtaking view of the city was hard to miss, but he didn’t care about that. Where was Jet?
He heard a noise beyond the living room and walked inside. Seeing an archway to the right of the living room he headed towards the sound.
‘Jet.’ All the breath left him and by the time he arrived in front of her he felt light-headed.
He took a brief second to survey her—the bandage on her forehead, the nasty bluish-purple bruising on her face and the cold pack sitting on the bench—then he did what he’d desperately wanted to do for the past three hours.
He stepped forward, pulled her gently into his arms and engulfed her in an embrace.