She walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle, getting out a couple of mugs. “Do you want a drink?” She grabbed her phone from the counter and dashed out a text message.
Who was she contacting? “No. I want to talk to you.”
Her phone dinged, and she smiled.
“Who was that?”
Nhiari hesitated. “Dot.”
“You were checking I was telling the truth.”
She nodded.
He couldn’t blame her. “Will you talk to me now?”
In answer, she sat on the sofa, wincing a little as she did so, her hand going to her side. Where he’d shot her.
Horrified, he knelt in front of her and reached for her, but hesitated, not touching her. “May I?”
She lifted her top so he could see the slight graze to her skin and the dark bruise spreading from it. Lee brushed it lightly. He had caused this. He had hurt her. Remorse filled him. “I’m so sorry.”
She hissed and shifted away. “Why did you do it?”
“Because my mother was going to kill you,” he said. “She had a gun pointing at you and would have aimed for your head. I figured I could hit your vest and you would take cover. Sam dragged you away, and it surprised Mother enough that I could get the upper hand.” Briefly at least.
“Why didn’t you contact me when Rodney broke you out of gaol?”
“Because Lucas said he would kill any police officer he saw. I wasn’t risking your life. You’re too precious to me.”
She closed her eyes and leaned away from him.
How could he make her believe him? “I wasn’t double-crossing you. My goal was always to stop Lucas. I could do that without putting you in danger.” He frowned. “How did you find us?”
She looked at him. “I put a tracker on your phone.”
It was his turn to lean back. “When?”
“That message I sent you at the Ridge.”
Surprise filled him and then he smiled. “Payback. Nice work.” Then he frowned. “Were you already out there?”
She nodded. “Lucas spoke to my father the day before. He was pretending to be a tour operator. When I heard someone had been asking about the airstrip, I figured he might plan to use it. We were there just in case, but then I remembered the airstrip to the north, and we headed there.”
She was so smart. “Good work.”
“You’re not mad I tracked you?”
“It was sensible,” he said. “Though when you turned up, I was terrified for your life. I thought Lucas had killed you when I heard the gun shots.”
“Sherlock was faster.”
“Remind me to thank him.” Lee took her hand in his. “I’ve done a lot of bad things; I’ve killed, I’ve lied, and I’ve hurt you. But that’s all over now. My father’s killer is dead, Stonefish is being disbanded, and I’ve been given a second chance with parole.” He looked into her eyes. “And if you’ll give me a second chance, I won’t waste it. I’ll spend a lifetime making it up to you, proving that you are the most important person in the world to me.”
“What will you do now?”
He hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he should have. “I have my photography,” he said. “The coffee table book I told you about wasn’t a lie, though now Stonefish is finished, the publisher might pull the contract.” He’d call them tomorrow. “And I’m sure I’ll be able to get a job around here. I’ll do whatever it takes; stocking shelves, herding sheep, picking up litter.”
“Lindsay will give you a job if she has one,” Nhiari said with a smile.
