“No more than an hour.” Was Jordan with Gretchen, or had they taken him as collateral?
“Let’s get to work,” Brandon said.
Matt was on his phone. “Georgie, where are you?” Relief swept across his face. “Keep an eye out for a black four-wheel drive, or a car where it’s not supposed to be. Jordan and Cody have been kidnapped. We think Gretchen is on her way here now, but we don’t know if the boys are with her.”
Sam brushed by Arthur. “Stonefish took Lara as leverage to get what they wanted. They might do the same with the boys.”
Which meant they could be anywhere with anyone. Steely determination filled him as his mind switched from civilian to soldier. Next to him, Sam and Brandon were taking stock of their resources.
“Amy, you and Tess take a radio and go to the windmill gate,” Brandon ordered. “Radio us as soon as they drive past.” Amy nodded and Brandon continued, “Ed, you take the beach track in case they come from that direction.”
Getting the civilians out of the way. Smart.
“If they’re after the treasure, they’ll come in here,” Arthur said. Nowhere to hide in the kitchen, but he could hide behind the laundry door. They’d want one person outside for cover and two inside for hand to hand. The wooden floorboards creaked in places, which wouldn’t help a stealthy approach. “We need to disable his vehicle.”
Brandon nodded. “Darce, you and Matt are outside with the rifle. If the vehicle is left unattended, you disable it.”
The men nodded, and Darcy and Matt headed towards the shed.
Brandon kissed Amy. “We’ll be careful.”
She clung to him for a second then gestured to Tess. “Let’s go.”
They all grabbed radios as they left the house, leaving Arthur with Brandon and Sam. Brandon opened a cupboard and passed out military grade ear coms.
Arthur placed one in his ear. “Where did you get these?”
Sam spoke. “We’ve stocked up.” He turned to Brandon. “Guns?”
“I’ll get them.”
Arthur analysed the room. They would come in via the kitchen door, as it was the only one always left unlocked. Kurt may have a weapon, but not necessarily. Gretchen would go with him because of the threat to Jordan. And that was part of the problem. Without knowing where Jordan was, it was difficult to plan. He prayed Jordan was with them.
No one was going to hurt his family. He would get them back alive.
Brandon returned with two hand guns and a knife.
Time to go to work.
***
The absence of the Ridge sign seemed foreboding as Kurt drove past. What if no one was here? Her grip on the hand rest made her fingers ache, and she relaxed her hold. They’d passed only a few cars on the way out to the Ridge, and now as they bumped over the gravel track to the farmhouse there was no one in sight. She scanned the campgrounds, the shearers’ quarters, and the shed, but aside from the pet sheep and the horses grazing in the yard, nothing moved. As they rounded the farmhouse, the yard was empty. No utes, not even Sam’s car, which should be there if they had picked up Ed.
She swallowed hard. So much for Lara contacting Darcy. Darcy was probably out on the Ridge working with Matt and Brandon, fixing more fences after the storm. It was possible Dot had contacted them with information which had caused them to move the treasure into town. She might be on her own.
“Where is everyone?” Kurt demanded as he pulled to a stop.
Gretchen swallowed and went for nonchalance, forcing herself to shrug. “The storm did a lot of damage. They’re probably out fixing it.”
“Everyone?”
“Lara is at school, and Georgie and Faith will be at work.”
“What about your cripple? He headed out of town with Sam.”
“They were coming here to help, so Brandon’s probably set them to work doing something. I haven’t heard from Arthur since he left this morning.”
Kurt grunted. “You fucked him yet?”
