She gritted her teeth. The idea of Oliver in potential danger didn’t sit well with her. She’d liked him until he’d broken Dot’s heart. “So what do we do?”
He lay back down. “We go back to sleep. Lucas hasn’t called, so he doesn’t want my help.”
“But Andrew called you.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know Andrew has my number.” He patted the bed. “We need to get some rest, Nhi. The next couple of days are going to be hectic.”
She hesitated. They’d been here doing nothing but going over information for days now. She wanted to act, wanted to ignore what had happened between her and Lee.
But her steps brought her closer to the bed. This could all be over in a matter of days. She’d take what she could get with Lee. She kept her clothes on as she lay down next to him and he gathered her into his arms.
And this time she fell straight asleep.
When Lee woke it was bright outside. He’d overslept. Nhiari was snuggled into him and he took a second to appreciate the moment. Last night had been more than he’d dared hope for. No matter what happened from here, he’d had another night with her.
He shifted and she stirred but drifted back to sleep. She hadn’t been sleeping well, and he hated to see the shadows under her eyes darken.
Quietly he dressed and moved outside the tent to think through his plan of action. Andrew hadn’t heard where the treasure was being kept, which was a worry. Oliver might not know, which meant he would be useless to Lucas. Oliver would be as good as dead if Lucas was there.
He glanced at Nhiari. She didn’t need to know that little piece of information. He didn’t want her anywhere near Lucas. But leaving her behind would be a betrayal he wouldn’t come back from.
He grabbed the satellite phone and climbed through the tunnel to the lookout at the top of the range. Clear skies and no wind yet, but that wouldn’t last long. He set up the telescope and peered out at the gulf, picking up the tour boat anchored near Retribution Island. From here he saw people moving about, but not any details of who they were.
As he watched, three people climbed into the tender and were taken a short distance away from the main boat, where two divers entered the water. A little further away, a silver dinghy was set up for fishing.
That had to be Kristy.
The other divers jumped into the water and he turned his attention to the dinghy. It took about ten minutes before there was movement. Three people emerged from the water and eventually climbed onto the boat.
“There you are.”
He turned to find Nhiari behind him, holding two mugs of coffee. She handed him one.
His heart warmed. “I didn’t want to wake you.” He sipped the coffee and gestured to the telescope. “It looks as if they’ve just picked up Oliver.”
Nhiari adjusted the telescope as the dinghy sped across the water towards the southern boat ramp. “Will Andrew call?”
“I don’t know. He won’t have a phone on him, but Kristy might.”
“So we just wait?”
“Nothing else we can do.” Actually, there was something. “When was the last time you checked your phone?”
She frowned, thinking about it. “Yesterday morning, I think. The battery’s at about twenty percent.”
“Might be worth switching it on, and the police radio.” He wanted to know what was going on.
“I’ll fetch them.” She left her mug on a rock and went back to camp.
His stomach clenched. He’d been a fool. He could see that now as clear as day. When his father had died he’d been so overcome with grief and the need for revenge he hadn’t thought about what he would do after Lucas was in gaol. Had he known he was going to meet Nhiari, he would have done things differently.
But it was too late now.
He’d made his bed and it would be empty and cold.
He scanned the rest of the area. A couple of cars drove out of Retribution Bay towing caravans, but it was otherwise quiet.
Too quiet.
