And she had a plan.
Step one: grab a room at the pub.Dump her gear.Pay Mickey his beer—if you could buy beer this early in the morning.
Step two: grab coffee and carbs from the food van by the train station.A decaf for herself, and a double shot for Finn, because he liked to drink mud.And enough sausage rolls, savoury pastries and sprinkle-topped cakes to feed a hungry police station.
Step three: say hello to Cecil the water buffalo on her way to waltzing into the police station with a smile, some sugar, and a stack of files.And the cutest stash of cat toys she’d ever laid eyes on.Feathers, glitter, tiny plush cactuses that squeaked when you poked them, all for Tanisha’s felines.
Honestly, Taryn should have known she was pregnant the second she started going fullAunt of the Yearover cat accessories.She’d practically cooed at a damn feather on a stick.
Hormones.
Yes, the struggle was real.
And so too was walking into the Batcave like it was any other day.
Because the one thing no one expected this morning was her.
What she didn’t expect?
Was how fast that plan was about to fall apart.
Thirty-three
Maps, files, scribbled notes, including a satellite photo of the quarry, were spread across Brodie’s hospital tray like a lost section of a war room.Finn crouched over them, eyes flicking from his phone screen to the mess of maps in front of him, then back to his phone’s screen:
Taryn Hayes
Her name stared back at him, his finger hovering over the dial button.
He wanted to call her.Hell, heneededto.Not just for her report.She was the only one who could read his notes and make him see what he’d missed.He had the ground tools, and had laid the foundation, while Taryn had the knack of filling in the gaps and giving it a polish for the bigger picture.It was like he’d start the sentence, and she’d finish it as they both worked to finish the same job.
But he didn’t hit that call button.
Instead, he ran his hand through his hair and let the biro clatter to the floor.
He scooped it up, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth at the memory of Taryn casually mentioning that her childhood babysitters had taught her how to take down a teddy bear with a ballpoint pen.
A pen.
Of course she’d weaponise her office supplies.
Damn, he missed her.
He sniffed to get back to work in the hospital room that smelled of antiseptic.His blood encrusted shirt only added to the aroma.But he didn’t want to leave, so he wore his police vest to disguise it.
The radio chatter had silenced now, only highlighting Brodie’s shallow breathing.
Then it came…
A deep, echoing roar, that was low and fast.
Finn stiffened.
Jet.
It wasn’t a sound you often heard in Elsie Creek—not unless someone important was landing.He crossed to the window, parting the vertical blinds with two fingers.
The sky was salmon-pink with the kind of outback dawn that made you feel like the world held its breath between heat and dark.And there, in the distance, a sleek shape tore across the horizon heading north in the wakening blue.
