Chapter 5

HAVING seen Lara to the guest suite Patrick had designated—there were four of them in the huge homestead which had been built to house the Maguire family and provide hospitality to any visitors—Ric left her to settle in and refresh herself before dinner.

Patrick had told her she was welcome to borrow any clothes from his daughters' rooms, if she found herself short of anything. They wouldn't mind. All three of them were pursuing careers elsewhere but they came home from time to time to check on Dad. Their mother had died from cancer a few years ago.

This information had been affably offered as they drove up from the airstrip, along with a quick, potted history of Gundamurra. Its obvious purpose had been to allay any fears Lara had about accepting a virtual stranger's hospitality. But there were other fears to be dealt with and Ric drove straight to the point when he joined Patrick in the sitting room.

'You were testing her.'

It was a flat statement, not open to question, and Ric searched the old man's eyes for the reasons why he had revealed what he had at the airstrip instead of waiting for a private man-to-man talk.

'It's been eighteen years. A youthful fixation might have impaired your judgment. I wanted to know if she was worth what bringing her here will cost you.'

'It's not a matter of price to me.'

'I know that, Ric. But you're not the only one involved in this now and I had to feel right about it.'

'Do you?'

'Yes. There was a chance she was just using you for her own ends. I remember your letters were never answered.'

'She never got them. Her parents…' He waved a dismissal of that issue.

It was far in the past. It was the present and future that concerned him. 'Give me the details of what Mitch told you.'

'Apparently Gary Chappel stormed into your office during the lunch hour, demanding to know where you were. No one could tell him. He waited for Kathryn to return from her meeting. She told him you had a lunch date with an old friend and didn't know when or if you'd return to the office. He said your car was in the basement parking area. She said you had probably walked to the restaurant. He insisted on being given the name of the restaurant and she saw no harm in telling him. It got rid of him so she could contact Mitch for instructions.'

Ric nodded. 'That was my advice to her if Gary Chappel came to the office.'

'Mitch got the message during a court recess. He called her, got a rundown on what had happened, and immediately sent two of his people to escort Kathryn to the courtroom where he was arguing a case. When I last called, he was in his chambers and Kathryn was still with him.'

'Best I talk to him now then.' Patrick nodded. 'Use my office.'

It worried Ric that Mitch had decided on protective measures for Kathryn. To his mind, the better course was for her to be innocently going about her work, as though nothing untoward had happened. Ric was not based in Sydney. He came. He went. He spent most of his time in London. To take Kathryn out of the office actually pinpointed her as knowing more than she had admitted. It put her under a constant threat which was not what Ric had intended.

The moment he heard Mitch's voice on the other end of the line, he spilled out his concern. 'Mitch, have you still got Kathryn with you?'

'Yes. She's right here.'

'Why? I thought I'd left her covered. Won't this excessive caution make her a target?'

A pause.

Ric's nerves screwed up to piano-wire tightness.

'My gut feeling is that Gary Chappel will make her one,' came the measured reply. 'We're not dealing with a reasonable guy, Ric. I've seen the photograph. You did right to take Lara out. I'm behind this action one hundred percent.'

'I'm glad you agree. But Kathryn shouldn't be in danger. This isn't her fight.'

'Any way you look at it she's a link to you.'

His stomach churned. 'Can you keep her safe?'

'That's what I'm doing. But I need your cooperation, Ric. And Lara's.

Especially Lara's. I take it she wants a divorce.' 'Yes.'

'I need to speak to her. Get the legal paperwork going as fast as possible. But first, it's best you get out of the area, Ric.'

'Patrick has already passed on that advice.'

'Good! Fly to Brisbane or Cairns tomorrow. Don't come back to Sydney.'

He'd have to arrange for Johnny's plane to be flown back to Bankstown Airport since he couldn't do it himself. Shouldn't be a problem.

'Catch the first available flight out,' Mitch went on. 'At the last minute, notify your office where you're going so it can be passed on to anyone who asks. It will distract attention from Kathryn who'll be taking a sick day tomorrow.'

'But when it's discovered I travelled alone…'

'It gives me time to put wheels in motion, Ric. Trust me. I'll handle this end of it.'

Ric took a deep breath to ease the tightness in his chest. 'I doubt legal paperwork will stop him, Mitch.'

'It stops an accusation of abduction. He can't get the law onside with him.'

'But it doesn't remove the threat he poses.'

'As soon as I've spoken to Lara, I intend to courier a copy of the photograph to Gary Chappel's father with a message to contact me.'

The tactic momentarily blew Ric's mind. 'Blackmail?'

'A manoeuvre,' Mitch corrected him. 'He'll come with his lawyer.

We'll talk. Victor Chappel holds the reins of power in that family. If anyone can restrain his son, he's the man.'

'Counterthreats.' It might restore some balance to the situation, Ric thought hopefully.

'My reading is Victor Chappel will want to put a lid on this.' 'Will it work?'

'To a degree. My guess is it will move Gary into a covert operation. He'll be furious and his kind don't give up, Ric. You're going to have to watch your back. You took his wife from him.'

Ric frowned. Surely there would be an end to it one day. How long did fury last? He accepted having to go into exile, away from Lara, accepted he might be in danger for a while and he'd take steps to safeguard against it, but a lifelong vendetta? Only time would tell, he thought grimly.

Meanwhile…

'What about Kathryn?'

'I think she'll be safe. I'll state the case very strongly to Victor Chappel that any further harassment of your office staff will have very public consequences.'

Ric breathed a huge sigh of relief.

'By this time tomorrow I should have things settled down at this end,' Mitch assured him.

'Thank you. I appreciate your help…more than I can say.'

Another pause. Mitch cleared his throat but his voice was uncharacteristically gruff when he spoke again. 'Patrick said…this is your Lara…from the old days.'

Ric closed his eyes, remembering how he'd talked about her in the bunkhouse at night. A boy's idyllic fantasy. Until the hard reality of getting no reply to his letters had straightened him up and forced him to face the truth that he could never be acceptable to her as he was.

Was he acceptable to her now? As more than just a white knight who had come to her rescue?

He shook his head. This wasn't the time to think about that. 'Yes. But that was a long time ago, Mitch,' he answered.

A heavy sigh. 'I would have told you about Gary Chappel if I'd known about her marrying him.'

'Told me what?'

'A guy like that doesn't change his attitude to women. It's not generally known but he has a history of abuse.'

Covered up, no doubt.

Ric felt his jaw clench. The power of wealth could hide a multitude of sins. But no power on earth was going to put Lara back in Gary Chappel's clutches. Over my dead body, Ric thought with a ferocity that tightened every muscle in his body to battle readiness.

'I'll do everything I can to contain him through legal means,' Mitch went on. 'You can count on that. I'm only sorry your Lara's caught in the middle of it.'