Finding Thyme Read online

  Contrary to previous belief, unpacking my boxes was exactly what I needed to do to get my head straight. Having my own things around the place makes me feel more at ease with my surroundings.

  I lean against the cold glass of my bedroom window and take in my new surrounds for the first time in almost two weeks of being here. This place is definitely more modern than my old 1870s Paddington apartment, but my furniture still ties in perfectly with the space. Plus, being seventy-two floors above the rest of the city does have its advantages.

  When there aren’t any other buildings this high, it’s completely acceptable to press my naked butt against the window. No one can see me now, and if they can, good luck to them! The sudden shock of cold against my warm skin sends a shiver across my body and my nipples sting as they react to my drop in temperature.

  A quick sip of the hot coffee brings welcomed warmth back through my veins. I’m finally comfortable inside my own skin once again as I wander around nude, loving every moment. Despite not knowing there were cameras in here before, the whole apartment suddenly feels free. Or maybe it was Nick’s visit. He seems to have that effect on me, whether I like it or not. The song finishes and another one starts.

  The opening riff hits my ears with a stabbing pulse. The sound of Bob Marley singing “Is This Love” instantly propels me into the memory of making pizza with Tench—back when things were simple. Before Sally was murdered and before I witnessed Tench murder Michael Stephenson.

  I quickly remind myself that nothing would have ever been simple with Joe Tench. It was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. I have to keep my emotions in check, when it comes to Tench. I can’t allow myself to fall for him, like I almost did before. I was naïve, though. I shake my head in frustration and head back out to the lounge room to change the song. Nothing is going to bring me out of my good mood this morning.

  The song changes to “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke. Possibly the most infectious song I know. I dance naked around the lounge room, just like Emily Ratajkowski in the film clip, and my good mood is restored. Once the song has finished, and I am finally out of my dancing mood, I decide to put some clothes on. Black skinny jeans and a grey vintage Mickey Mouse t-shirt see me ready for my meeting at the agency HQ.

  I make a coffee for both Nick and myself and sit at the bench in the kitchen, waiting anxiously. I look at my watch—three minutes to six. I sigh and stretch my neck side to side as the anticipation builds up. Finally there is the expected knock at the front door and I leap off the stool and bound towards the sound. I unbolt the chain and fling the door open. The stark blue eyes in front of me don’t belong to Nick Davis.

  The towering woman is familiar. I have seen her with Nick before … when he was Tom Smythe.

  “Liz?” I half state but half question at the same time.

  Of course! I should have known she was involved in all of this! It makes total sense now. How many more people are involved that I know? Is her name even Liz? Why is she here instead of Nick?

  She smiles a friendly and warm smile. “Yes, my name is Liz. Eliza Donohue,” she replies, reading between my single worded questions. “Nick is still stuck out in the field this morning. He’s hoping to get out of location soon and he’ll meet us at the agency.”

  I’d be lying to myself if I wasn’t disappointed.

  “I like your hair, Mia. Did you do that last night?” Liz questions as she looks at my blonde crop.

  Grinning back at her, I realise that I must have found all of the cameras if she didn’t know I cut my hair last night.

  “Yeah. Needed a change. Did you want to come in?” I step to the side to let her in.

  “Okay. Just quickly though. We need to get to the agency in half an hour.” Liz strolls through and looks around the apartment as she makes her way to the kitchen.

  She too knows the layout of my apartment way too well for my liking. When Liz sees the two cups of coffee sitting on the bench she looks back at me with a sympathetic smile.

  “You know Nick was disappointed he couldn’t be here this morning,” Liz assures me.

  I grab both cups and pour the contents down the sink, annoyed at my eagerness to please Nick. I don’t bother asking Liz for a coffee. I don’t care, nor do I care to have one myself.

  “He really likes you, Mia. To the point that our commander wanted someone else to train you because he thinks Nick is too involved. But Nick wouldn’t have it. He insisted on being your mentor. He even threatened to leave the agency if the boss didn’t listen to him.” Liz laughs as she says the last part.

  The image of Nick demanding things because of me makes me smile. It feels nice to know my feelings for Nick are reciprocated.

  “How far is Headquarters from here?” I ask.

  “Only a ten minute walk down Pitt Street,” Liz casually replies.

  Pitt Street? The agency Headquarters is in the middle of the city centre? I don’t know why this surprises me, really. I don’t know where else the agency office would be.

  “I’ll put some shoes on and then I’m ready.” I start to make my way out of the kitchen.

  Looking at my jeans and t-shirt, Liz smiles. “Um, Mia, we wear corporate attire when we’re in the agency.”

  I look at Liz’s tailored blue and white striped shirt tucked into her well-fitted black trousers. I frown and immediately think back to the constant disapproval of my outfits from my old madam, Miss Stephanie. Not this again, I think as I slink back to my bedroom closet, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

  “Okay. I’m ready,” I call out and head towards the front door.

  Liz shakes her head and smiles. I grab my gold-rimmed aviators and brown bag from the hall table, and smile back at her as I adjust my tuxedo jacket. The addition of a jacket and some heels are as close to corporate attire as they’ll see from me today. The only corporate clothes I have are my whore clothes. I don’t feel like wearing them when I’m sitting some stupid test.

  My vintage t-shirt and skinny jeans are comfortable and help subside my feelings of nervousness. I stand in the foyer next to Liz while we wait for the elevator, intuitively glancing towards the apartment door opposite to mine every few seconds.

  I can’t help but anticipate someone like Jane coming out and stopping me like they have for the best part of a week. When the elevator arrives and we both step in, I hold my breath and hope that I make it out to finally breathe fresh air again.

  The air is filled with the sound of horns from impatient taxi drivers and the smell of Peking Duck. I love this part of town. The outskirts of Chinatown are perfect for my penchant towards Yum Cha. I inhale again and finally feel free. But the feeling of freedom also brings with it a feeling of exposure. I scan up and down the street and look at Liz, who is watching me.

  “You have nothing to worry about, Mia. You’re safe. We know where he is at all times.” There’s no need for Liz to even mention Tench’s name but I know that’s exactly who she’s talking about.

  I smile at her and we walk towards agency HQ. I still can’t help but want to look around as we walk up Pitt Street, even though the streets are practically deserted right now. The wind whistles between the soaring row of buildings, and the air is predictably fresh at this time of the morning.

  We get to the southern end of Pitt Street Mall and Liz points to the luxurious building on the opposite side of the street.

  “We’re going shopping?” I ask, slightly puzzled.

  Liz laughs and shakes her head. I frown and look back towards the barricaded surround that’s closed at this time of the morning. The building is known as the fashion capital of the city, being home to the likes of Gucci, Chanel and Versace.

  We walk to an unassuming grey door on the side of the building. Liz swipes her wrist past the normal looking door handle and the heavy door clicks open. I follow her to a foyer where two desks sit opposite each other just inside the doorway, both cluttered with flat-screen monitors. Behind the monitors sit two men in dark suits. Both
men are equally unnerving. They look straight at us in silence, and neither move from their seats.

  The fluorescent white light overhead makes the grey walls of the small area seem stark and sterile. My heart quickens at the thought of being faced with having to speak to people again, let alone the fact that I am about to sit a test and be scrutinised.

  “Morning, Donohue. And you must be Mia Thyme,” the more handsome of the two men says as he eyes me up and down.

  All I can seem to conjure up at this moment is a nervous smile and a nod. I should be used to this feeling of being constantly watched, but even when I am aware of it happening, it still doesn’t get any easier. The elevator doors in front of us spring open and Nick’s tall frame strolls out. His smiling face is welcoming, and as usual, I instantly feel less nervous just at the sight of him. He raises his brow and smiles in amusement as he stares at the new hairstyle I’m now sporting.

  As he approaches us I just want to wrap myself around him. I want him to wrap himself around me. I want to feel secure in his arms. My wandering eyes notice that he is wearing jeans too, and he has paired his jeans with a nice tailored jacket just like I have.

  He looks as breathtakingly handsome as he did the first night I met him. My lips tighten in annoyance at Liz for trying to tell me what to wear when Nick obviously pays little heed to this corporate wear policy.

  “So are you ready, Mia?” Nick stops my mood from descending further.

  I find it almost impossible to look him in the eye in front of anyone. I feel them all staring at me. Watching me. I shrug my shoulders and inhale deep as I flex out my fingers.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  I plead for my confidence to return and can feel the dampness of sweat beginning to gather under my arms. Nick presses the elevator button and the doors instantly spring open. He holds his arm across the sensors and motions for me and Liz to step inside. I walk in and wait at the rear of the elevator and Nick steps in next to me. He leans against the back railing. I can just see him from the corner of my eye and can feel his piercing blue eyes burning through me.

  The elevator begins its ascent once all three of us are inside. Nick leans towards me slightly. “Thank you for making me a coffee this morning, and despite what Liz says, I wasn’t going to leave the agency because of you, Mia. The boss and I don’t see eye to eye at the best of times,” he says with a sarcastic smirk.

  I flash a look at him. Liz continues to stare blankly at the steel elevator doors, her back to us. How does he know? I thought I found all of the cameras? I run over any possible places in the kitchen that I may have overlooked—nothing comes to mind.

  “So is that what I am?” I question.

  “You are what?” Nick looks puzzled.

  “The best of times?” I casually reply and smile.

  He laughs and shakes his head. As the elevator continues its long journey up, I grin as I remind myself that if Nick did see everything this morning then he would’ve seen the nude dancing and all. I wonder what he makes of it—what he makes of me?

  Ever so slightly the elevator slows until it’s at a complete standstill for a brief moment. Before its doors spring open a bright red laser quickly scans over us. I wonder why it scans us at the top and not when we first stepped in on the ground level.

  The agency reception looks like any other corporate entrance. Beautiful cherry coloured wooden cladding frames a petite young girl sitting at a long reception desk. Her headset and beaming smile make this level seem as normal as any other office foyer in the building. The flowers on the reception counter are bursting like a spent firework with beautifully coloured blooms exploding from the vase.

  “Good morning, Ms Thyme. Mr Hewitt is expecting you,” she announces as we walk past the reception desk. Her over-friendly smile follows me, as do her eyes. As if this Mr Hewitt wouldn’t be expecting us. Everyone in this building seems to be expecting us!

  Another heavy wooden door to the left clicks open and continues to automatically open in front of us. We walk through a glassed corridor before we get to two large wooden doors at the end. Liz stops ahead of us and turns to Nick with a smile.

  “Thanks for this morning, Liz,” he says.

  “You owe me again, Davis. Good luck, Mia.” She waves as she leaves along another glass corridor to the side.

  Nick’s pale blue eyes focus on me, causing me to smile involuntarily at him. “Mia, there are just a few rules you need to know before you meet the boss.”

  “Great … and you just decide to tell me now?” I can’t help but get angry at the fact that I’ve been left on my own for so long when I could’ve been learning all of these rules in that time.

  “You can only address the boss as sir,” Nick says with a stern look.

  I laugh and screw my face up at these “rules”. What a load of shit!

  “Seriously, Mia. The boss holds the highest rank in this whole agency so he deserves the respect. You work for us now, so please behave. We have rules that you need to adhere to. Some are to teach you discipline and other rules are for your own safety. Abide by all of them, okay?” Nick grabs my hand and gives it a slight squeeze. “I never want to lose you because of your stubbornness. Please promise me that you’ll listen and pay attention and follow all of my directions. What we do is extremely dangerous. Don’t ever underestimate that.” He gives me a subtle smile and I nod in response to his request.

  The enormity of what I have become involved in seems too much. Can I really do this? Then I begin to comprehend what Nick just said about losing me. Did he just say that he never wants to lose me? What does that mean? Whatever it means, it makes me feel completely safe. No one can ever hurt me if I have someone like Nick Davis by my side.

  “Ready?” Nick reaches for the handle and holds the door open for me. He gives me a wink as I pass, which in turn sends a shot of heat across my cheeks.

  I take in a deep breath and hold it as I step through the doorway and into my new boss’s office.

  THREE

  The office has a beautiful view that spans the lushness of green Hyde Park, beyond the dramatic skyline of St Mary’s Cathedral and across eastern Sydney. I can almost see my old suburb if I look hard enough. The thought makes me long to be at my home and back to normal. I wonder if I’ll always have this feeling whenever I walk into this office and see that view? My eyes are quickly drawn to the man sitting in the brown leather high-backed chair at the desk.

  His sharp nose and dull grey eyes are reminiscent of Miss Stephanie and his piercing glare doesn’t give even the slightest glimpse into his thoughts. His thinning mousy brown hair and creased forehead are the only signs that he is an aging man.

  “Mia Thyme. In the flesh,” the commander says with the slightest of smiles.

  Great! He’s another person who has been watching me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised really. He is the boss, after all. My mind wanders for a moment as I imagine the entire OCT-U agency gathered around the monitors, popcorn in hand as they watch and assess me acting like a total weirdo in the new apartment.

  “Take a seat. I trust you have settled into your new place well?” the commander says, interrupting the scenario playing out in my mind.

  I notice him glance towards Nick who nods in return. I’m not sure if he’s acknowledging that I have unpacked my apartment finally or if it’s a welcome nod to the boss—somehow I don’t think it’s the latter.

  “My name is Greg Hewitt. Commander of OCT-U.”

  He doesn’t get up from his seat to greet me with a handshake like a normal person would during an introduction. I don’t know whether this is because he’s a high-ranking agent and no longer has to, or whether he just doesn’t. Either way, I can’t help but think he’s really strange. I don’t feel any better about being here right now, but I play along all the same.

  “Pleased to meet you, sir,” I reply as casually as possible. Meanwhile, my heart is fluttering like a hummingbird in my chest.

  “Welcome to OCT-U.
You’re probably wondering what we do and who we are?” The boss leans onto his elbows and locks his fingers into one another, his unflinching stare cutting into my very being.

  I nod and glance towards Nick. Why couldn’t he have told me all of this? I almost want to roll my eyes in annoyance, but know better than to defy Nick’s earlier request about taking it all seriously.

  “We are part of the government’s homeland security,” the commander says. “We are not the police force and we are not border security. We are not part of the Australian Security and Intelligence Office either. We are our own entity. We have our own legislation and sanctions that govern what we can and cannot do. But there’s not much we can’t do.”

  “So you’re spies?” I feel stupid as soon as the words leave my mouth. Of course they are!

  “Something like that,” the boss replies. “I’m sure you’ll work out what you are eventually.”

  Is that a loaded statement? As if I’ll ever know what I am. After being a prostitute for the best part of my working life, I don’t think I’ll ever see myself as anything else. Men paid for my body! I’ve crossed a line that is incomprehensible to most women, or men, for that matter. I wonder, for the hundredth time, what Nick must think of me. How could someone like him want to have anything to do with someone like me? Especially when he met me because he booked me as a whore … when he was Tom Smythe.

  I try and remind myself that Nick was only doing his job, so he should understand this strange situation better than most. It still doesn’t take away from the whole “I was a whore” situation going on in my head right now.

  “As you know, we have been watching Joe Tench, or the Principal, as he is called here within the agency. We know what he’s capable of, Miss Thyme. We’re sorry that we weren’t able to stop you from being involved the way that you were, but we were left with little choice. It had to happen.”