Chapter 18
Heath slept late the next morning. Even with his suspension, he would have to keep training, but as the mission had taken longer than expected, he had a day in lieu.
When he finally got up, he made a coffee and then went to visit his mother.
It was a Saturday, so she wouldn’t be working, and he wanted to tell her about the witch.
She deserved some closure.
When he pulled up, she was in the front garden weeding. She straightened and smiled, stripping off her gardening gloves as he got out of the car.
“Heath, this is a lovely surprise.”
“Hey, Mum.” He pulled her into a hug, her small frame nestling into his. He tried to visit her a couple of times a month, but it wasn’t always possible.
She patted his back and pulled away. “Is everything OK?”
“Let’s go inside.” He hadn’t quite figured out how to broach the subject. They hadn’t spoken about the witch in years. Perhaps his mother had dealt with the trauma, and bringing it up again would cause her further anguish.
“Is Leila OK?” she asked, worry on her face.
“As far as I know.” He squeezed her hand as they walked inside. “I wanted to talk to you about something that happened on my latest mission.”
She frowned at him as she went into the kitchen and pulled a jug of water out of the fridge. “Are you allowed to tell me?”
He nodded. “It relates to the night we left Iran.”
His mother stilled, her gaze flashing to his, a hint of anguish on her face.
“I ran into the man who stopped us.”
The blood drained from her face, and she rushed to him, rubbing his arms, checking for injuries. “He didn’t hurt you?”
“No, Mum.” He stilled her hands and said, “I hurt him.”
Satisfaction filled her face. “Did you kill him?”
Heath shook his head. “But he’s in gaol and will die for his actions.”
She gasped. “The Dubai airport. You were there?”
He was impressed she’d made the connection. “I can’t tell you that,” he said. “But you don’t have to worry about him hurting anyone else, ever again.”
She squeezed him tightly, clinging for a moment longer than necessary.
“Thank you.” She stepped back, kissed his cheek, and poured their drinks.
“It was the one thing I worried about over the years, even though I’ve dealt with what he did to us.
I hated the thought of him out there, hurting others the same way he hurt our family. ”
She spoke so matter of fact about it.
“I never told you how much I admired your strength,” Heath said.
She gave him a small smile. “We never spoke about it. You and your sister were so young. I tried to shield you from as much as I could.”
“But I know what you went through, Mum. I can’t comprehend how difficult it must have been for you to have gone through what you did, losing dad, being assaulted, and having two children to look after.”
She nodded. “You always were my protector. I worried about you, still worry when you go on a mission, but I understand why you do what you do.” She smiled. “How was it for you to see the man again?”
He sipped the water she handed him. “I froze,” he admitted.
“It was unexpected, and I flashed back to that night, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.
If it wasn’t for Zoe…” He broke off, not sure he should have mentioned her name.
He cleared his throat. “She knew about him, and distracted me, managed to get my attention back.”
“Someone you work with?” his mother asked.
He shook his head. “Someone who shouldn’t have been there, but who had tried to protect some children.”
His mother smiled. “Is she someone I might meet one day?”
He grinned at her prying. “I hope so.” He finished his drink and placed the glass on the table. “I thought I might put her in touch with Aggie. She wants to help people.”
“Of course. I’ll send you her number.”
It was one thing he loved about his mother. She knew he couldn’t talk about his work, and she respected that, content with what he could tell her.
“You should tell Leila about the man,” his mother said.
He nodded. “I’ll video call her later.” They had spoken about that night once before, just before she’d flown to the United Kingdom. While she’d never seen the man—he’d sheltered her from that—she had seen their father get shot and knew something awful had happened to their mother.
Leila had told him she hoped all the men had got what they deserved, but she would do her best to stop others like them.
“Now,” his mother said, getting some biscuits out of the cupboard. “Why don’t you tell me more about this Zoe who has put a gleam in your eye?”
He smiled and sat at the kitchen table as she placed the food on the table. “She’s pretty incredible.”
***
Zoe wasn’t sure how early she could call Dobby for Heath’s number. Would it seem too eager if she called before nine?
Would he even be available? They might still be debriefing, or back in training, or doing who knew what kind of special forces stuff.
So instead of calling, she spent the morning researching job opportunities, keeping the search broad to see what options she had available to her.
She also looked into one-bedroom apartments available in the area. Prices were astronomical, but she had some savings, and if she could find a job, she should be able to afford something near her parents.
Without her phone she couldn’t call Nisha as she no longer had her phone number, but perhaps Heath could help her track it down.
The house phone rang and she glanced over to the landline that sat on the counter.
Her parents still had one, despite almost always using their mobiles.
Her mother dashed in to answer it, smiling at Zoe.
“Hello?” She glanced at Zoe and grinned.
“Heath, it’s so lovely for you to call and check on her. ”
Zoe’s heart jumped and she got to her feet.
“Of course. She’s right here. She’s spent all morning looking for work. You know they fired her because she wanted to rescue those poor children.”
Zoe bit down on her impatience as Heath responded to her mother.
“Yes, it’s ridiculous, but she’s planning to stay in Perth, which we’re so pleased about. We missed her.”
She clenched her teeth together and resisted the urge to hold out her hand for the phone. Her mother loved a good chat.
“All right. You must come over for dinner soon,” her mother said. “I’ll get Zoe for you.” Her mother handed over the phone with a cheeky glint in her eye.
She’d known exactly what she was doing.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Zoe. How are you feeling today?”
She turned her back on her mother and closed her eyes as Heath’s warm voice washed over her. Her chest ached. He was the only one who really understood what she’d been through. “Not bad. Still getting my head around everything.”
“Yeah, it’ll take some time. I’ve got the number of a good therapist and also Mum’s friend, Aggie, for you.”
“Thanks.” What she really wanted was to see him again, to hold his hand or hug him.
“You free this afternoon?” Heath asked. “I thought maybe we could have that date we talked about.”
Her heart leapt. “Sounds great.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour.” He hung up before she could ask him where they were going.
Zoe hung up and turned to find her mother grinning at her. “He’s a nice man.”
Zoe flushed. “Yes, he is. He’s picking me up in an hour.”
“Have fun, dear.”
An hour later, Heath pulled into the driveway driving a white ute. “Bye, Mum.” Zoe rushed out to meet him, not wanting her parents to detain them.
Heath raised his eyebrows as she slid into the passenger seat. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She let out a breath and smiled at him. “If you came in, it would be another hour before we left,” she explained. “Mum and Dad want to hear your side of the story because they know I didn’t tell them everything.”
He nodded. “You have to fill me in on what they know.” He backed out of the driveway. “You look good.”
She’d found a summer dress one of her sisters had left at their parents’ place and borrowed it. “Thanks. So do you.”
He wore a navy blue T-shirt that hugged his muscles and a pair of shorts. Very casual.
“Where are we going?”
“Your choice,” he said. “I packed a picnic, so we could head to the beach, or a park, or anywhere you like.”
He remembered what she’d said about crowds.
It was Saturday and the weather was beautiful. The beaches and parks would be full of people enjoying the last glorious days of warmth before winter.
“Could we go to your place?” she asked. “Assuming you don’t have any roommates who might be annoyed.”
“No roommates,” Heath said as he turned left onto the main road. “How are you really holding up?” He glanced at her with an expression full of concern.
She thought about it. “I’m OK, but it feels surreal to be looking for work and an apartment a day after fleeing country after country, not knowing when we’d truly be safe.”
He handed her a piece of paper. “The numbers I told you about. Aggie is the woman at the refugee centre who helped us when we arrived in Australia.”
Zoe stared at the numbers and then tucked them into her bag. “Thank you.”
“The therapist has security clearance so you can tell them everything you need to,” Heath continued.
“Anything I shouldn’t mention?”
Heath shook his head as he turned down a street not far from her parents’ house. “You tell them everything you need to, Zoe. I want you to heal from this, and keeping things inside won’t help.”
“I don’t want you to get into trouble,” she said.
He shrugged. “I’m suspended pending further investigation,” he said. “The army doesn’t like it when a soldier goes rogue, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Those kids needed to be saved.”
“Have you heard anything more from Rambo?” Zoe asked.