What? Was Matt not supposed to warn Georgie?
Both Georgie and Ed had sworn they didn’t think Lee would hurt them, but Lee could have been lulling them, trying to get them to trust him.
Lee disappeared into the bush and indecision plagued Matt.
The gunman had spoken about Lee needing to prove his loyalty, so perhaps Stonefish had had doubts.
Maybe Georgie and Ed were right.
But if he chose wrong, Georgie would be dead.
Chapter 21
Georgie stopped the car just before the end of the track. No need to make it easy for the gunman to shoot her between the eyes. She grabbed the rifle from the seat, loaded it, and slipped out of the car, not shutting the door behind her. Her heart pounded as she stepped into the bush. The only sound she heard was the ticking of the engine.
Was Matt already dead?
She crept closer to the clearing but scanned the ranges to see if she could spot anyone up there.
“Georgie! Lee’s out there.” Relief hit Georgie at Matt’s voice, but then his words sunk in. She spun to check her surroundings only for the rifle to be snatched from her hands before she even registered Lee was there. She fell to the ground and scrambled back as he pointed the rifle at her.
“Lee, please don’t.” Her voice hitched as terror filled her. His shirt and jeans were clean, though still wrinkled, and he no longer looked as if he’d been living rough.
“Get to your feet,” he said, his stare hard.
Shit. Nhiari was right. She shouldn’t have brought the gun.
“Please don’t kill us, Lee,” she scrambled to her feet. “I didn’t report you.” Surely he owed her for that. Her whole body prickled with sweat as she waited for his reaction.
“I told you to stay out of this, Georgie.” He gestured for her to walk towards the clearing.
Anger filled her. “I tried,” she retorted. “It’s not my fault Stonefish is so damned incompetent.” She strode into the clearing. “I mean they left cairns pointing right to their location.”
“What?” the gunman shouted, fury on his face.
She barely registered him. Matt stood there, alive, uninjured, his hands cuffed together. Relief made her dizzy as she ran to him and hugged him. “You’re alive.”
“You shouldn’t have come.” Matt yanked his hands down, breaking the ties, then spun her around, pushing her behind him and backed them both away from Lee and the gunman.
Damn him trying to protect her. “I wasn’t leaving you to be killed alone.”
A sound which might have been a strangled laugh came from Matt. “I’d rather be killed alone if it meant you lived.”
“Shut up, both of you,” the gunman yelled. “And stop moving.”
Georgie grabbed Matt’s hand and stepped next to him. “We face them together,” she murmured.
“Georgie.” His frustration was clear.
Lee stood on one side of the clearing holding the rifle, and the gunman was on the opposite side with his handgun. She and Matt made up the third point of the triangle.
“What’s this about cairns?” the gunman demanded.
“They were to show the men to the rendezvous point,” Lee said. “The Stokes shouldn’t have noticed them.”
Well that made sense, though Lara would be disappointed they didn’t point to treasure.
“You should be more careful,” the gunman said to Lee. “You’ve made too many mistakes. Now’s the time to prove yourself. Kill them both.”
