Free Half Moon Bay by Helene Young

personal cost might be.
    And Ellie Wilding? Every time he saw her he wanted to reach out and touch her, reassure her it would be okay. Behind that steely defiance he saw an echo of the profound grief etched into her soul. Two years hadn’t dimmed that compulsion to comfort her, nor had it changed his opinion of her courage and her strength.
    He’d need to come up with a plan, and soon, to deal with her. Could he risk losing her? Just the thought made his stomach turn, but he knew the operation was bigger than an individual. Too much riding on this operation, too much at stake, too many other lives at risk for him to compromise it for one woman . . . But if it came to the crunch? Could he really leave her caught in the crossfire?

10
    The phone rang as Alex was getting ready to leave his townhouse. He glanced at it. Blocked number. Probably Teisha ringing from Sammie’s place. He shoved the tail of his polo shirt into his jeans. This he didn’t need right now.
    ‘Hiya.’ The phone was tucked under his chin as he fumbled with his leather belt.
    ‘Alexander Creighton?’ There was a delay on the line. An international call centre selling some crap he didn’t need? He took the stairs two at a time.
    ‘Who’s this?’
    ‘You don’t know me yet, Mr Creighton, or may I call you Alex, but I’d like to meet with you. I have some information. A story you may be interested in.’
    ‘Really?’ Leads came from the strangest sources and while Alex was sceptical he knew better than to dismiss a phone call as a crank before he had more details. ‘Such as?’
    ‘I’d need to see you in person to discuss that.’
    ‘I’ll be back in Sydney in a week. I assume you are in Sydney.’ Alex strode through into the living room looking for his loafers. He dropped onto the navy couch and shoved his feet into the shoes as the man chuckled.
    ‘No, but I will be for our discussion.’
    ‘Okay, so who are you again, and how did you get this number?’ It was privately listed, unlike his mobile.
    ‘Your pretty girlfriend was very helpful.’
    Alex sat bolt upright and ran his hand over his head. ‘That right?’ Alarm bells were deafening him. ‘Who would that be?’
    ‘Teisha.’ The tension in Alex’s neck formed a knot.
    ‘Thought you said you weren’t in Sydney.’
    ‘I’m not, but my staff are. One of them met her last night. She thought you’d be interested.’
    ‘I see. And your name again?’
    ‘Lachlan will do for now. We’ll be in touch when you return.’ The phone line went dead.
    What was that about? He tapped the phone on his chin, feeling the pit of his stomach roll over. Teisha . As he waited for the call to connect he headed into his compact kitchen and leant on the marble bench.
    The phone diverted through to her message bank. His reflection in the window as he waited for the message to finish wasn’t reassuring. Double frown lines dipped between flinty grey eyes. He looked as worried as he felt, his hair messed up from his hands and his mouth set in a straight line. ‘Hi, babe, it’s me, just rang to check in. I’m heading off. Must have had a wild night with Sammie. Take care. Bye.’
    It sounded lame even to his ears, but he couldn’t quite summon ‘I love you’. Not when he was about to drive up to see the only woman he’d ever really loved. He logged onto his bank account and checked the balance. Nothing unusual, no unexplained deposits. Good. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He shut the laptop down and packed it away, still sifting through the ramifications from the phone call. Time to get going or he’d be late.
    He tossed his leather duffel bag over his shoulder and jiggled the car keys, scanning over his stuff strewn around the room. Apart from his work, which he meticulously stored in his study, possessions meant very little to him, except maybe his Porsche. The townhouse was just somewhere to crash. It was secure, functional and furnished by a previous girlfriend with a shopping