33. Jamison
It had been a long arse day.
Productive but long.
All day all I wanted to do was get back to Gisele, curl up on her sofa with her enjoy holding her in my arms.
Thankfully tonight there was no family dinner planned. I’d heard from Gisele that she decided to wait for me at her mum and dad’s place with her sisters. All I had to do was drive by and toot and she would come right out, saving me from a night from Georgina and her daughters back and forth banter. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it but after the last few days I needed some alone time with my gorgeous woman.
My naked woman.
Jock left earlier in the afternoon once the CSU arrived, his anger towards his son-in-law getting to him the more he found out about his illegal activities I made him leave to go home to his family.
I think it made him ashamed more of himself than Jake. That he never saw what was going on under his own nose, and more upsetting what his daughter had put up with from her husband. Admittedly Elle had hidden more than she should have, but still Jock was a proud man, and saw himself as the protector of the women in his family. To him, Elle having such an unhappy marriage and a husband hooked on drugs was a reflection that he had failed at his job as Elle’s dad.
I immediately called bullshit on that, but Jock needed to process first before accepting Jake’s actions and decisions had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the fact Jake is an arsehole looser.
It was later than I expected to be heading back, but I wanted to make sure every piece of evidence was collected and catalogued properly and by the book. I wanted no surprises when the prosecutor took over the evidence. All the I’s were dotted, and T’s crossed, I expected nothing but a guilty verdict and the book thrown at Jake Cunningham so Elle could sleep peacefully knowing Jake was paying for his sins against her.
Driving down away from the campgrounds I headed down the gravel road that lead to the main street of Blessings. The sun had already set, and darkness was falling fast. Turning onto the asphalt I drove slowly past the pub, my habit of looking for any signs of trouble ingrained in me wherever I went. Blessings might be a small tight knit community, but we’d already learned the hard way trouble could still happen even in a small town. I was about to pick up my phone to ring Gisele when I caught sight of a red Monaro parked right out front of the pub.
“You have to fucking kidding me,” I growled making a quick U-turn back past the pub to make sure I was correct in what I was seeing.
“You son of a bitch.” Making a left hand turn I sped down the short road then made another left passing houses lit up and kids playing in the front yards. Passing the firehouse, I saw what I thought was a small animal, slowing my car I wound down my window and that’s when I cursed bloody murder.
“Fucking stupid deadbeat cunt of a father,” I growled angrier than I had been for a long time. Slamming on the breaks, I stopped right there in the middle of the street across from, the fire house and park. I knew I was seeing what was in front of me, but not enough wishing in the world was going to change the scene in front of me.
Eight o’clock at night, without any adult with her was Miracle and Optimus walking alone on the footpath in the direction of the school.
Jumping out of the car, I ran over to Miracle who had seen me stop and was waving madly at me. My dog barking excitedly at seeing me.
“Miracle, sweetheart what are you doing out here at night by yourself?” I asked in a rush, getting down on my knees and bringing her into a tight embrace. She held me back with one hand the other one with holding her iPad and Optimus’s leash.
Stupidly forgetting she needed her hands to answer me, I quickly took the leash and device off her.
Her little hands flew in a flurry of motion, but she was going too quick for my limited ability in understanding what she was signing. Gisele had started giving me lessons here and there when we had time, Jock too was helping me mainly with bad words but slowly I was learning.
“Sorry little lamb I’m not quite that good yet,” I apologised but she just rolled her eyes at me, and grabbed back her device, opening it to the notes app and typed out what she said then held it out to me to read.
What I read made me furious. Utterly mind-bending furious.
“He left you alone over three hours ago?” I asked for confirmation.
She signed simply yes, one sign I did understand.
“That son of a —” I pulled myself from cursing in from of Miracle … just as she shook at finger at me, her head shaking at me.
“Oh, don’t give me that, little lamb. You swear more than anyone.” I joked with her, getting back a huge cheeky, proud smile. Internally I was not calm, not by a long shot. When I first saw Liam’s car at the pub, I theorised the prick had taken her back to her mum’s. I knew already from Gisele that Liam rarely took Miracle for the whole weekend, coming up with some reason he had to cut short his visitation. But I’d been in contact Gisele throughout the day, and she never mentioned that Miracle was back with her. The last text from her saying that she would come out when I tooted not we.
Liam was already hanging by a thread with me, but this stunt was truly the last straw. Leaving a child of eight who was unable to speak all alone at night so he could go drinking boggled my mind. No matter that Blessings was a small town. No matter that close proximity from Liam’s to Gisele’s home. None of that mattered because accidents happened, especially with kids and animals. What if Miracle had fallen and bumped her head? What if she tried to cook something and God forbid started a fire? What if by some remote chance Optimus bit her?
Liam lived down a short gravel road, his house the only one. The closet neighbours were a minimum of four hundred metres away. Too far for anyone to hear any commotion and Miracle had no ability to cry for help. The more my mind imagined theories the more I was losing control internally. Lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t notice that Miracle was busy typing on her device under she suddenly patted me on the arm, shoving her device back in my face.
Mum’s going to be pissed, isn’t she?
Grumpy’s not going to get arrested again is he JJ?
I stared hard at the last question Miracle typed, not the question per say but the two initials at the end.
“JJ?” I questioned in a choked voice.
Miracle took the device back and a few seconds later held it to me.
Is it okay I call you JJ cos you call me lamb so I can call you a nickname too?
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I could only nod at her request.
Jesus the sweetness of this little girl was going to turn me into a bawling baby.
“Whatever you want little lamb, I would love it if you called me JJ.”
Optimus chose that moment to start barking madly, pulling on his leash so hard he almost upended me from my squatting position.
“Clam down you ugly mutt,” I grumbled getting to my feet, but still the dog kept barking and growling. My senses started tingling, a feeling I knew all too well. Turning around I saw three men walking about a hundred metres away from us. From this distance I couldn’t identify faces, but I did see that they were all staggering from too much alcohol. And just like that I knew who one of the three was.
Pulling out my phone I found the contact number I wanted and pressed the call button.
“Jock, I need you and Josh to meet me in front of the firehouse now.” Ending the call, I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“Miracle, I want you and Optimus to go jump in my car and lock the doors, okay little lamb.” Bending down I looked the little girl who just rocked my world and gave her my best ‘dad’ look. “Serious voice here lamb. Lock the doors and wait for me, or grumpy got it?”
Miraculously she didn’t give me an eye roll or any of her usual sass, she just gave me a thumbs up and pulled a barking Optimus to my car that was sitting in the middle of the road but at least I had the sense to switch off the ignition before I jumped out otherwise Miracle might think it a good idea to drive herself home.
The three figures got closer and the closer they got I could see that all three were extremely inebriated. The fucking dickhead was making Gisele’s wish to get full custody of Miracle too easy. There was no way a judge would allow a man to have custody of his kid after hearing about this.
Standing under the light directly in front of the firehouse I knew I was visible to the oncoming trio; in the distance I could hear Jock’s custom hotted up motor. Patting the back of my belt, I felt for the cuffs that were still in place. I locked my gun in the lock box in the back of my car when I signed off on the last of the paperwork before leaving the bush. Not that I would need my gun, shooting Miracle’s sperm donor in front her didn’t seem like a great beginning to being a father figure to her. I had many other ways in my arsenal to bring down a drunken lout that didn’t require a weapon.
Just my fists.
Headlights lit up the street from behind me, illuminating not only me but the idiots stumbling in my direction. The second the lights hit them I recognised the douchebag was one of them. Their loutish behaviour and filthy language continued as Jock pulled up next to my car. Watching him from the corner of my eye, I saw the big man get out of his vehicle, Josh climbing out too.
Three on three. Fair fight.
Jock looked at me then at the three arseholes then back at me.
“In my car.” Was all I said, lifting my chin at my car. Jock peeked in the window and let out a long stream of curses. Gisele was not going to be happy if Miracle repeated those ones.
“You have to be shitting me?” he asked without having to ask why his granddaughter was sitting in my car with my dog.
“Nope,” I answered angerly.
“Fucking dumb as a box of rocks.”
“Yep.”
Josh had his phone out and I knew he was calling his wife to fill her in and to come get Miracle. I had no doubts whatsoever that she will not be coming alone. The Blessing women had a knack for doing whatever they want and not following instructions. So, if Josh was telling her to keep it from Gisele, he was wasting his time.
Walking up to stand beside me, tucking his phone back into his pocket, Jock on my other side.
“They’re all on the way,” he said dryly and not in the least annoyed or surprised.
“Gathered that,” I nodded accepting the inevitable.
“You gonna arrest him, shoot him or knock the crap out of him?” Jock asked me, his eyes on the men who were now walking at a slower pace, a little less animated.
Fucking pussy’s
“Haven’t decided yet. All three have their own pleasurable outcome.” I replied half serious. As a lawman I couldn’t exactly justify shooting a man for leaving his child unattended without any adult supervision. As the boyfriend of the child’s mother, I might get away with justifiable homicide.
The Blessing women decided now was a good time to arrive. I didn’t have to turn around to know all of them had come. The back and forth bickering and the insults only they could come up with alluded to that.
“Shit on toast,” Josh grumbled, “I told them to stay put.”
My huff and Jock’s outright belly laugh was the only answered needed.
One door slammed, then another and a few seconds later two more.
Yep, all of them.
“Honey.”
“Jami”
“Detective hottie.”
“Jamison Jury.”
Four woman, Gisele, Elle, Claudia and of course the matriarch and the blame for her daughters insolence called out each in demanding tones. Gisele’s softer and laced with trepidation.
Worried things were about to escalate quick, I looked over my shoulder to see my woman standing behind me looking at me before noticing the men who were now close enough to hear me.
“Gorgeous now is not the time. Now I need you to go sit in my car with Miracle while I tend to man business.” It was the wrong thing to say, I knew it the second I heard her gasp then rush to my car to see her daughter and my dog sitting happily in the front seat looking out the now rolled down window.
Shit.
Realising I must have left the ignition on accessories, allowing Miracle to hit the button and put the window done so she could watch the show.
“Miracle! What on earth?” Gisele shouted but not in anger but complete confusion. Obviously, Claudia had not had enough time to explain Josh’s call, or she wasn’t given the chance to speak. I was going with the latter.
Of course, Elle being the helpful sister clued Gisele in. Loudly.
“Your dipshit sperm donor left Miracle and Optimus alone while he went and got pissed with tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dee,” Elle explained making me, Jock and Josh chuckle. God damn these women had a vocabulary all of their own.
“He what!” Gisele screeched, making sure that the whole bloody town heard her.
Small stomps came from behind me, and I readied myself for a fight. With Gisele not Liam.
First it was Gisele yelling at Liam from behind me, next thing her sexy petite frame came barrelling between me and Josh, screaming and shouting obscenities at the drunken loser. Thinking quick I hooked an arm her waist before she managed to fly past me, her arms flailing out in front of her, fists clenched.
“Hold it there slugger,” I laughed, pulling her body back to my front, my arm holding her firmly. Having her this close to the douche bag was more than I could handle, I’d never felt so much loathing for a person in my life. Dealing with despicable people in my job day after day, I still put Liam on the top of my list, followed very closely by Jake Cunningham. Both men were pathetic vile human beings.
“Don’t you dare try and stop me Jamison Jury,” Gisele growled at me, still struggling against me. Leaning down so my mouth brushed against her hair near her ear, I discreetly flicked my tongue over her lobe, “Gorgeous you keep squirming that sexy body of yours against my jeans, the whole town of Blessings is gonna see just how much I love you,” I whispered wickedly, knowing that only she could hear me. The trouble Liam caused would never drive me away from her and Miracle. Gisele knew that but being a woman and a Blessing woman at that, she needed a reminder every once in a while, she wasn’t alone anymore.
“I got your back baby; you and Miracle never have to worry any longer. I ain’t going anywhere Gisele.” Desperate to see her beautiful face and her pretty eyes, I spun her around quickly, hiding the evidence of seeing Gisele all worked up and spitting fire.
Facing each other, the one and only streetlight illuminating her beauty in the darkness.
“Fuck me you are beautiful baby,” I breathed forgetting we had an audience. Gisele gasped in embarrassment, but her smile was brilliant and full of cheeky mirth.
“Promise me you won’t kill him and get yourself thrown into the big house,” Gisele demanded, fisting my shirt pulling on me like she had the strength to stop me.
Little did she know just how powerful she was when it came to me. She had me by the short and curly’s. If she asked me to peel my own skin off and feed it to the fish, I fucking would.
Giving her a smirk, I pressed my lips to hers instead of agreeing. The big house as she put it wasn’t going to happen, killing Liam wasn’t going to happen but I had every intention of getting rid of Liam, the legal way.
Ending our kiss before it got out of hand in front of her father, I lifted Gisele up, turning around so Liam was no longer in her eye line.
“Keys are in the ignition.” I told her firmly, ending anymore arguments.
Narrowing her eyes at me, Gisele did a good job of looking annoyed at me, even pointed her finger at my chest, digging it into my skin making me laugh.
“You have a half hour then I’m going to come looking for you, got it HC?”
“Damn I love you woman,” I said instead of agreeing to her terms, something she noticed but let me get away with.
“I love you too honey, now go do what you need to, I’ll be home waiting for you.” With that, Gisele walked off to my car, got in and pulled away down the street.
“You’re good for her,” Jock said, breaking the silence as I watched my future drive back to her house to wait for me.
Nodding my head, I looked at the man who would one day be my father-in-law and shook my head.
“It’s all her Jock. It’s Gisele who is good for me.”
Not waiting for a rebuttal because let’s face it I wasn’t going to get one, I returned my attention to the stupid idiot who was now swaying in front of me, a look of complete shock at what he heard Gisele say to me.
“Right,” I said loudly, ready to get back to business.
Facing the shithead, I took two steps and got right up in his personal space, smiling smugly when I saw sweat forming on the pricks forehead.
“Care to explain to me why you left your daughter alone at night, wanna explain now or after I kick the shit out of you?” I asked before slamming my fist into his face.
After it was.