Chapter 25.1

Past tense!

So what was Haynes doing here?

As the taxi accelerated, Mitch turned to watch Kathryn's ex-fiancé, tension ripping through him as Haynes headed straight for the block of apartments where she lived. Had he been sitting in his car, waiting, watching for her to come home? For what purpose?

It spelled trouble to Mitch.

It might be over for Kathryn but clearly it wasn't over for the guy she'd rejected. And Mitch didn't want what he'd established with Kathryn being messed around.

'Stop!' he hurled at the driver, aggression pumping through him at the thought of Kathryn being stalked. Of course Haynes wouldn't want to let her go. What man would?

'Forgotten something?' the driver quizzed, bringing the taxi to a halt. Haynes was entering the building, moving fast. 'I've got to go back,'

Mitch muttered, his sense of urgency screaming for action. He whipped out his wallet. 'What's the fare?'

'Want me to wait?' 'No.'

'Fare's just on fifteen dollars.'

Mitch handed him a twenty and bolted out of the cab, racing back down the street, determined on running whatever interference was necessary to keep Kathryn on track with him and out of Haynes's clutches.

All his senses were on red alert as he strode into the foyer of the apartment block. He heard nothing coming from the first floor. No altercation. Nothing. The silence alarmed him even further. He raced up the stairs. Jeremy Haynes was not outside Kathryn's door.

Mitch paused at the top of the staircase, churning over what this had to mean.

She had let him into her apartment.

But why would she if she no longer wanted him in her life?

Harriet wouldn't have got past his door if she hadn't kept his key, letting herself in. There'd be no reason for Kathryn to give Haynes a key. She had to have let him in.

He forced his mind to sift through this highly disturbing situation.

Haynes couldn't have been bothering Kathryn on any consistent basis. She had too much sense to invite trouble with him. This had to be a surprise visit, taking her off guard.

So why had he come now…after three months?

Time to let her stew over regrets, change her mind about sharing a future with him? Life in a penthouse apartment might be more attractive now that she'd had a lengthy taste of a less wealthy lifestyle.

Mitch dismissed that argument. Money wouldn't sway her.

So what argument could Haynes use to win her consideration? And why choose tonight of all nights to try for a reconciliation? Sheer coincidence?

No!

The realisation burst upon Mitch that the same news he had used to get to Kathryn could also be used by Haynes. Gary Chappel's death. Which had undoubtedly been reported on both radio and television by now.

Lara Chappel's safety was no longer an issue.

Haynes could argue there was no conflict of interests any more. He could apologise, say he'd been wrong, express intense regret at having sided with Chappel's pursuit of his wife, explain he'd been anxious about his career, wanting the best possible future for both of them.

Could he sell that argument to Kathryn? Would she accept it?

Would she want to accept it?

Mitch wanted to believe she'd reject it, yet the long investment of emotional involvement with Haynes, to the point of a commitment to marry…impossible to be certain which way she'd jump.

It sickened him to think she was listening to the self-serving bastard, letting herself be persuaded, maybe even rushing back into his embrace as she had the last time Mitch had seen them together.

His hands clenched. He had to fight this. He couldn't bear to lose his chance with Kathryn now. She'd given him positive encouragement. He was not about to give Jeremy Haynes any free ground with her.

He moved determinedly to her door and pressed the buzzer button beside it.

No response.

He jammed the button in with his thumb, frustration mounting, anger stirring. He knew she hadn't gone out again. What excuse could she have not to answer?

Again there was no response.

But he could hear movement inside the apartment. A thump. Then Kathryn's voice raised in panic. 'Stop! I don't want this. Let me up. Let me up.'

A muffled curse from Haynes. Kathryn shrieking, 'No…! No!'

Mitch beat on the door with his fist, yelling, 'Open up! Open up or I'll call the police!'

More cursing. The door was wrenched open, Haynes glaring at Mitch, breathing whisky fumes as he jeered, 'It's just a domestic, for God's sake! Butt out!'

'No…it's not!' Kathryn cried from somewhere out of sight. She was gasping for breath, frightened, desperate.

Mitch put his shoulder to the closing door and barged in.

Knocked aside, Haynes grabbed at him in belligerent defence. 'Who the hell do you think you are!'

The words floated past the drumming in Mitch's ears. Kathryn was struggling to raise herself from the floor between a sofa and a coffee table that had been knocked over on its side. Her skirt was hitched up, her blouse askew, buttons ripped open.

'Mitch…' She lifted a pleading hand to him, her eyes huge with shock and fear.

'Get out!' Haynes shouted, trying to shove him.

The memory of Jenny's rape seized Mitch's mind. His sister…now another woman he cared deeply about being assaulted. Fury boiled up in him. Reaction came so fast he was barely conscious of violence erupting, his hand pushing Haynes to arm's length, his fist slamming into the lying face of the man who'd abused Kathryn's trust, Kathryn's body.

He felt the crunch of his knuckles hitting bone and it felt good. It felt right. Blood spurted from the slime's nose as he went down. Mitch grabbed him up by the collar and dragged him out of the apartment, down the stairs.

'Stop! Help! For God's sake!' the guy was whimpering.

'Shut up and thank your lucky stars I don't beat you to a pulp,' Mitch growled, barely repressing the urge to hurl him down the stairs, throw him into the street, rub his bloodied nose into the gutter so he'd remember the smell of filth, which was what he was.

Only the memory of months with Patrick Maguire stopped him. The old man's advice rolled through the red haze in his mind…control… discipline…put your energy into making the justice system work. All Mitch had achieved since he'd left Gundamurra would be wiped out if he was charged with another assault and convicted.

Yet the law wouldn't have saved Kathryn tonight. The law wouldn't have got the chance because Haynes was stronger than she was. The law didn't rescue. It worked backwards, after a crime was committed. And then there were victims like Jenny, always carrying the memory.

Mitch grimly set Haynes on his feet in the foyer, then forcibly marched him out across the street to his big money car—the kind of big money that made some men think they could get away with anything. The guy was stumbling, moaning. Mitch didn't give a damn about his pain. The physical pain of a broken nose didn't last as long as emotional trauma, and God only knew what Kathryn was feeling.

They reached the driver's door of the BMW Roadster. 'Get out your keys and go,' Mitch commanded. 'If you ever think of bothering Kathryn again, remember me, and don't doubt for one second that I'll come after you and exact retribution. Understand?'

'Yes…yes…' Haynes sobbed, frantic to get away, the stuffing completely knocked out of him.

Mitch waited until he'd taken off, watching the car move out of sight as he headed back across the street. His body was a mass of jumping nerve- ends, his mind powering in all directions. He tried to calm himself down as he re-entered the building. He had to focus on Kathryn now, move carefully with her.

She hadn't even closed the door to her apartment. A bad sign. He walked in and found her huddled in a corner of the sofa, hugging her arms, looking shell-shocked. Her lovely green eyes were huge. No doubt his violence had added to her distress, but she had pleaded for his help, though not anticipating the form it had taken. He hadn't anticipated it, either. That punch had exploded from him.

'I packed him into his car and saw him off,' he stated, letting her know that any further threat from her ex-fiancé had been removed.

She shuddered.

Mitch spotted her suit-jacket and handbag lying on the armchair closest to the kitchenette, obviously dropped there before Haynes had arrived. Why had she let him in? Not the time for questions now.

He set the coffee table back on its legs, picked up the jacket and laid it on the table within easy reach if she wanted it for warmth. In her current fragile state, she might shrink from any physical contact from him, especially after seeing what he was capable of when stirred into action.

She didn't move.

'I…I thought it was you…at the door. That you'd forgotten…to tell me something,' she said shakily. 'He was in…before I could say no. Then… then…'

'It's all right, Kathryn,' he softly assured her. 'I'm here now. You're safe.'

She shuddered again. The chill of shock. Or fear. Maybe fear of him, too? But he couldn't just walk out and leave her like this. Yet how was he to give comfort without touching?

The jacket was probably inadequate for making her feel secure, protected. A blanket would be better.

It was a small, very basic apartment, the layout quickly scouted—one bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchenette. He bundled a quilt off her bed and carried it out to the living room. Not daring to risk tucking it around her, he laid it across her lap so she could pick it up and snuggle under it.

'How…how did you know, Mitch?' Even her voice was trembling. 'I was leaving in the taxi when I saw him in the street, heading this way,' he answered matter-of-factly, exerting every bit of control he could muster to resist the rampant urge to grab her up and wrap her in his arms.

'And you…came back?' She finally lifted her gaze to his, her eyes still huge, intensely vulnerable, needing to understand, struggling to find her way out of the wilderness of what had happened.

Before he was aware of it, his hand was out, tenderly stroking her cheek, wanting to impart comfort and reassurance. 'You said it was over, Kathryn. I was worried Haynes might make a nuisance of himself.'

She dragged in a deep breath. 'Thank you. Thank you for coming back, Mitch.'

Relief…gratitude…nothing too negative there.

'I'll get you a hot drink,' he said, forcing himself away from her before he did something stupid.

He wanted her so badly—wanted to crush her to him, warm her body with his, kiss any memory of Haynes right out of her mind—but now was certainly not the time to make his desire for her known. Trust was the big issue here and now, and fraying any measure of trust would be a terribly wrong move. What he wanted might be very unwelcome.

It had to wait.