Declan opened his mouth in protest.
“I’ve got to go.” She ran out of the fire station. She still wore her fire suit and it was a little bulky to get into her car, but she managed it. With everyone at training today, there’d be cars at the office.
She sped over to the building as her phone rang. Nhiari. Shit. She couldn’t ignore Matt’s sister. She’d be frantic too.
“I’m going alone.”
“You can’t,” Nhiari said. “He wants the both of you so he can kill you. The only reason he didn’t kill Matt immediately was to lure you there.” She sounded so calm. How could she be so calm?
“I can’t let him die. He said he’ll kill Matt if he sees anyone else.”
“He’s going to the base of the ranges, isn’t he?”
How did she… Penelope must have told her. “Yeah.”
“OK. There’s a track across the top, somewhere we can watch from above.”
“He’ll spot you. He must have people in town watching me. He knew I was at the fire station.” She braked hard in front of the PAWS building. “Matt said Stonefish had set up a diversion for the police.”
“Yeah, Colin’s staying behind to deal with it.”
Georgie dashed inside, stripping off her fire-proof jacket as she did so. The receptionist looked up, eyes wide.
“Georgie, what are you doing here?”
“I need the four-wheel drive keys.” She strode past her to the room out the back which had the gun safe. Quickly she unlocked it and drew out the rifle, taking the box of bullets with her.
Karen gaped at Georgie. “What are you doing?”
“I’m helping the police.” She hadn’t done the required training to be allowed access to the gun, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going in unarmed.
Nhiari shouted something that was probably denial as Georgie grabbed the keys from the hook and raced outside again.
If the gunman shot Matt, all bets were off.
On the phone in the background were urgent shouts. “Shit,” Nhiari said. “I’ve got to go. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Georgie hung up. That suited her. If the police were busy, she could deal with the gunman on her own.
Was Matt even still alive? There was no phone reception out there, so no way she could call and check before she arrived.
Her chest tightened and her fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard they hurt. She wouldn’t consider any option except Matt being alive.
Her phone rang as she hit the town limits. Darcy. He deserved to know what was happening. “The gunman has Matt,” Georgie said.
Darcy swore. “Where?
“I can’t tell you. He wants me to meet him.”
“Don’t be stupid, Georgie. He’ll kill you both.”
“He’ll kill Matt if I don’t.”
“Then we’ll back you up.”
She shook her head. “I can’t risk it. If he sees anyone else, he’ll shoot Matt.”
“You’re not going alone. We need to call the police.”
