“If Matt was in Tess’s position, would you let him go alone?”
She stiffened. “That’s not fair.”
He kissed her forehead. “No, it’s not. We’ll work out a plan. I can hide in the dunes as backup. You know I never miss.”
“That’s when you were shooting beer bottles. Could you really shoot a person?”
If the person was threatening Tess, he could. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He nudged her away from the gun safe and opened it, checking the rifle to make sure the chamber was empty, and then slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed a box of bullets. “Come on, Dot will have a plan by now.”
He stalked over to the house. Something was wrong, out of place. He frowned, and then it clicked. “Where’s my car?” Fear spiked, and he raced inside. “Where’s Tess?”
Amy turned to him. “She went to find you.”
“The car’s gone.” He ran into his bedroom, but neither she nor the keys were there. Damn it. He dialled her phone, but it went straight to voice mail. She was already out of range. Why had she gone without him? He’d promised to help her.
He shoved his phone in his pocket and stormed back to the kitchen. “I need a car.”
“Wait a second, Ed,” Georgie said. “Let’s call Dot back. And if you’re going, wear something more protective.”
He glanced down. He still wore the shorts he’d slept in and was barefoot. Damn it. “Call her.” He lay the rifle on the table and headed to his room.
A minute later, he was back in the kitchen and putting on his boots. Dot was on speaker. “I’ve arranged a plane to fly over the area to track Tan,” she said. “My team is getting into position now.”
Ed shook his head. “They’ll hear you a mile away—literally. You can’t sneak up.”
“We’ve got time.”
“Tess has already left,” Ed said. “If Tan’s in position early…”
Dot swore. “I told her to wait.”
“Brandon’s on his way,” Amy said. “He turned around as soon as I called. He might get there in time.”
“I’m going to arrest the idiot,” Dot growled.
But they were unarmed. “I’m going after her.” He picked up the rifle, daring Georgie to say something. She closed her eyes and then nodded.
“Ed, don’t you dare,” ordered Dot. “I don’t need multiple civilians to deal with.”
“You’ll have to take a bike.” Amy grabbed a backpack, and threw water and a radio in it before thrusting it at him.
Shit. Nausea welled up as he added the box of bullets to the backpack. “Fine.” He strode to the shed to one of the motorbikes. Every inch of him resisted closing the distance, but he did it. This was for Tess. He’d be in complete control. He swallowed past the fear. With the rifle secure against his back, he rode out of the shed as Darcy sped back towards the house in the ute. The urge to stop and wait for the ute was strong, but his brother would only try to stop him.
He twisted the throttle and accelerated, flying along the flat ground. His hands gripped the handle bars as he sped across the bitumen road to the track to the beach. Tess had left the gate open, and he roared through. Maybe he’d catch her before she reached the beach. He wished he hadn’t taught her how to use the four-wheel drive.
Ed increased his speed, remembering his father’s instructions—relax, be loose, let the bike wriggle over the bumps. He’d always felt out of control riding a motorbike, and his crash with Charlie hadn’t helped matters.
Dust floated in the air before him, but he couldn’t see the car. Tess couldn’t be too far in front now.
The gulf was just up ahead. If he raced over the hill into sight, anyone watching would know he was there.
Ed slowed and pulled off the track, riding across to a clump of shrubs. Hopefully it was far enough off the main track so no one would spot it. He broke a few branches off to cover the white mudguards, and then grabbed some bullets from the backpack and shoved them in his pocket, leaving the backpack with the bike. He crept closer to the beach, sticking to the bushes. Charlie had never been patient enough for tracking and hunting, but Ed had tagged along when Matt had tried to teach him, and Ed had loved the stealth of it.
He reached the hill and crouched low, scanning the area. Tess was parked next to the hitching post and trough about twenty metres away. She sat in the car, waiting, the black Akubra on her head like she was some kind of bad ass. Should he tell her he was there? Maybe, but first he had to work out whether anyone else was around.
Aside from the road he’d taken, there was another track coming from the west, which ended on the far side of the beach, past the mangroves. Dot would use it. But if Tan was staying in or near town, he might come from that direction as well.
Ed hadn’t been further east in a long time, but there wasn’t a track. Their neighbours used the road on Ridge land if they wanted to go to the beach.
