Ocean Kills (Ocean Breeze) (33 page)

“You were found yesterday in hotel suite 4817, thanks to guests who heard a scuffle. You were on death's door due to a severe lack of blood. Three men were seen fleeing the scene.”

Wait! The twins. “The men, were they carrying two blonde girls?”

The man nodded. “Yes. An Arab man was seen driving away with two children.”

I wanted to scream. Again! I'd failed those twins again.

I wasn't fit to live. Why didn't I just run and teleport them to safety? Why was I so obsessed with killing Bazeer? I left those girls to suffer so I could satiate my blood-lust. I needed that kill. Craved it. I was selfish—insane—to think I could have that and Callan, too. There was no future. No hope. Because I wasn't prepared to give up my vigilante ways. Not for him. Not for Maurice. Not for anyone. And I wasn’t prepared to let Callan find out what a horrid person I was turning into.

A single tear escaped my burning eyes. I sniffed. My relationship with Callan ended before it even began.

Inspector Raine shifted. “There, there. You're safe, girl. But I do need to ask you some questions.”

I couldn't speak. I stared at the white sheet covering me.

The inspector asked, “How did you end up in that hotel? Was the machete yours? Did you know the man you killed?” His eyes fell to his notes. “A man named Atsu Bazeer?”

Think, Ocean. Think of a story. But nothing too elaborate.
Lies were hard to keep track of.

“I was there because—” Cogs moved slowly in my brain, complete sludge.

The door sailed open and another man entered. This one moved with sharp steps, his black suit crisp against Asian skin. “You don’t have jurisdiction over this woman.” Stern black eyes fell on Inspector Raine. “Out. Now. This is no longer in control of the Durham police.”

Inspector Raine’s mouth went slack; he stood. “Excuse me. I don't see any credentials. Who are you?”

“Danny!” the Asian man yelled.

Instantly, the door reopened and another man appeared. This one was blond, greying at the temples. “Yes, sir.”

“Debrief the inspector here. I need to speak with this woman.” He looked at me. My stomach shriveled. “Alone.”

Crap.

Inspector Raine took his time leaving, but eventually I was left with the man in the black suit. I sucked in a breath. “What do you want?”

“Your name is Ocean Breeze. Correct?” His voice was clipped, no nonsense.

Tensing, I nodded. “Yes.”

He quirked his eyebrow. “Are you sure that's your real name? Don't lie to me.”

I wanted to throw a switchblade at him. Every single freakin' time. “I'm not lying. Who are you?”

“That is none of your concern. We were tasked to arrest and shut down the operation of Atsu Bazeer. We had a team standing by, only to have our attempt at arrest thwarted by a whippet of a woman who killed him.”

My eyes narrowed. “I won't speak until my lawyer is present.” I hoped Maurice had a good lawyer I could borrow.

The man waved his hand. “You're not in trouble. I've arranged the paperwork so you killed in self-defense.” He cocked his head. “That's correct, is it not?”

What was going on here? He was letting me go? They caught me red handed.
Brain, catch up.
“Yes. Entirely.”

“Just as I thought. Well, you're free to go.” He stormed to the exit.

“Wait! You said you were tasked to shut the sex operation down.” The man stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Did you? Did you stop it?”

A slight smile. “Yes. We rescued a multitude of girls and arrested a number of men who were currently on the premises.”

My heart jerked. The twins. Were they safe? I opened my mouth to ask. I had to know if it was over, if the entire thing was dismantled and the men who bought women would be found and caught, but the man slipped through the door and was gone.

The nurse bustled back in with a tray full of food. My stomach growled. Saliva pooled in my mouth. “Well, they were a bunch of fun weren't they?” She fluffed my pillow after placing the tray on my lap.
Food, oh, how I love you.

My hands fumbled with the plastic lid and my face fell. A bland sandwich, an apple, and a muesli bar stared up at me. Ugh. Would it be enough to fuel my power to leave?

The nurse prattled on. “Don't worry, sugar. Your husband called. He's arranged transport for you, so you can return home to your loved ones.”

My skin pricked, and I froze. My mouth hung open, full of stale sandwich. Husband?

The nurse frowned at my expression. “You don't have amnesia do you?” Her dry hand pressed against my forehead, worry etching her face. “I'll go get the doctor.”

I grabbed her hand, swallowing my bite in a rush. “Husband? Who claims to be my husband?”

She swallowed, shoulders hunched. “Ah, that's right. I wasn't supposed to tell you.” She dropped her eyes. “He said to call him Callan. I'm sorry if I was wrong.”

Callan? Calling himself my
husband
? This confusing mess had his signature all over it. Why tell people I was his? Why link his name as my next of kin? A fuzz of happiness settled over me at the thought that he had such strong feelings for me, but then understanding dawned. He did it just to keep tabs on me! Crap, that made me mad. I was
not
his property! Hot temper oozed in my veins. If he was here right now, I’d give him an earful.

That sneaky conniving bastard.

Chapter Thirty-three: Callan

I
kept myself busy. I couldn't think about Ocean in a hospital. Guilt and anger pounced on me every time. It was my fault she was hurt.

Banishing her from my thoughts, I threw myself into work—drowning myself in searching for the two men Maurice emailed me.

The likenesses were drawn by a sketch profiler in 1996. How Maurice got hold of them, and not the police, heaven only knew. But he also knew one of their names. Adrian Mathieu. Innocent name for a not-so-innocent man. A man who killed and raped.

My mobile rang three hours after I spoke to the hospital.

“Callan speaking.”

“I thought you want to know. KCIA agent called. Your lady friend left hospital. She safe now.”

“Tell me how you tracked her, Kim. Tell me this instant.” My body tensed, furious.

“We have means. I show you soon. I also think you want to know how raid went on Atsu Bazeer, yes?”

I did the right thing informing the KCIA of Bazeer and his sex trafficking. The moment I emailed Kim with my findings, it was a tsunami of motion. Things were organized in a flash. Arrests organized. Raids confirmed. Precision clockwork. An operation that should've taken months to pull together, took the KCIA hours. I wanted to be part of the raid, but the flight times would’ve meant I was too late. Even though I held a serious grudge against Kim at the moment for spying on me, I loved how streamline the agency was.

“Tell me. Did it go to plan?”

“Attack on buildings a success. Sixty-five girls collected. Some drugged, some badly beaten. Most of them used, broken. One warehouse was active whore-house. Girls given cubicle, shot full of some chemical and left to serve many men. Thanks to you, it shut down, Callan. You did good job.”

My stomach was a shriveled mess, but I was happy it was over. I was ready to let bygones be bygones with the whole spying on me with heat sensing technology thing. I couldn’t stay mad at Kim when he cared as much as I did. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“It not over totally. We have many spread-sheets with numbers and customers for men who bought women from Bazeer. Ongoing mission to search and free remaining girls. You help, yes?”

My forehead furrowed. “Of course I'll help. Actually, perhaps you can help me?”

Kim laughed. “Yes. Yes. I help. What?”

“Adrian Mathieu and an unknown accomplice. Help me find them.”

“The men who killed your girlfriend’s family?”

What the hell? I might have huge respect for this little Korean man who taught me, but he needed to start being less secretive. I growled, “Kim. I swear to God. How do you know that and why didn't you share it with me? How long have you known?”

He chuckled. “Keep pants on. We only know for few hours. We find hard to track Ocean Breeze. You found special one, Callan. Perhaps you introduce us, yes?”

Animalistic protectiveness made me snap. “No. Flat out, no! You don't go near her you understand.”
Alright, a tad over the top there, Callan.
But I couldn’t stop the need to keep her a secret. She was mine. Holy crap, I’d lost it.

Another irritating laugh. “I no idea you feel so strong. Okay. We keep distance. For now. I call when I find men. No worry, Callan. We keep her safe, too.” He hung up.

“Ugh.” I ran a hand over my face. I had no right to get so defensive. But Christ, he was annoying. I didn't remember him being so frustrating in Bali. Then again, he always did push my buttons—mainly to get a rise out of me to make me work harder. I needed to calm down. 

Since I now knew the search for Ocean's rapists was under way, I finished booking plane tickets. One from England for her. One from Sydney for me. Leaving in—I checked the time—four hours.

It gave me time to push my bed to the side, access my secret compartment under my floorboards, and remove just under ten thousand Aussie dollars’ equivalent in South African rand. Keeping it hidden, I headed to the local bank.

A few strange looks and a bit of paperwork later, I deposited the cash into an account in Ocean’s name. I couldn’t do the entire balance as anything over ten thousand was flagged by the federal police. I’d have to trickle the total over time. I’d give the access card to Ocean in Bali.

Back at home, time ticked slower as I itched to leave. In a few short hours, I’d be with Ocean, and she’d be forced to have a serious discussion with me. I needed to know exactly where we stood. No more games. No more spontaneous attacking me with sex. She and I would finally talk. 

My laptop pinged with a new email.

From:
[email protected]

Date:
20 July 2012

Subject:
Reference OB145DUR

At 1100 hours, I followed orders to arrange free passage for Ms. Ocean Breeze recuperating in Life St Mary's hospital.

She is well enough and coherent. Although suffering from a stab wound to the shoulder.

Upon reading her medical file, I can inform you she has received multiple stitches to her left shoulder. The operation was successful and she will maintain complete use of her joint. She also received a blood transfusion type A+ and was cleared to eat shortly after I left. The paperwork on Ms. Breeze has since gone missing from Life St Mary's
hospital as per your request.

After my visit with Ms. Breeze, I investigated the morgue to understand the nature of Atsu Bazeer's death. He died of a punctured heart.

If you need more information please quote the reference number when you respond.

There was no sign-off or name. Whoever Mr. Kim sent to ensure Ocean didn't get caught by the local police was a mystery. I’d never be able to thank him. Guess it worked better that way. Complete anonymity. Safer too, in this line of work.

My stomach unknotted itself a little. Ocean was safe. Undoubtedly, she’d be with Maurice right now, and on a plane soon enough.

She needed to rest, recoup. And so did I. She’d be by my side for six days. Six heavenly days where we could finally get to know each other, and see if there was more to us than explosive sex and arguing.

Another email pinged. Maurice and the hotel vouchers—I approved of his choice. A romantic hotel in the quiet area of Tanjung Benoa.

I was swept away by images of lolling by a turquoise ocean, ice cold beer in one hand, and a half-naked Ocean beside me.

My shark bite twinged. I changed the bandage not so long ago, pleased with the state of healing. Guess we could share our injuries when we saw each other. She had an excuse—being brave enough to hunt men who hurt her. Me? I had no excuse. I went surfing in the dead of night, knowing it was dangerous, and got bitten by a baby shark. I rolled my eyes at myself. I really was an idiot.

My phone rang again. Shit, I was a popular today.

“Callan. It Mr. Kim.”

Hope overrode my irrational territorial behavior about Ocean. “Hey, Kim. Look I’m sorry about before. I’ll wind my neck in.”

Kim chuckled. “No worry. I know how men get about women. Any man look at my wife. I arrest them.”

I laughed, remembering Kim’s delicate wife with greying black hair, who couldn’t cook to save her life.

Kim dropped his voice, seriousness filling his tone. “I call because we found one man. Adrian Mathieu.”

Chapter Thirty-four: Ocean