Her muscles tightened. But was he alone?
Lee clenched the handlebars of the motorbike as he bumped over the uneven ground towards the cave where he’d kidnapped Nhiari. Who would be there when he arrived?
Joseph he could easily get rid of, but Lucas would be more of a challenge. And Lucas would be furious that Andrew had been caught.
He pulled up, not bothering to cover the bike in case he needed a quick escape. He unclipped the strap over his gun, checked again it was loaded, then he slipped through the back of the cave and used touch along the rock wall to navigate to the area where he’d kept the boys. As the tunnel lightened, he gave himself enough time for his eyes to adjust as he slipped the gun into his hand. Pressing against the wall, he peered into the cave, his muscles tense.
Joseph prowled the length of the cave, muttering under his breath. Medium height, short brown hair, wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a cartoon character on the front. Everything about the man screamed average. Lee gave himself a second for the tension to release and to check Joseph had no discernible weapons before he tucked his gun back into its holster and stepped out. “Didn’t I tell you to leave town?”
Joseph spun, eyes wide, and crouched to a fighter’s stance, bracing himself for an attack.
Lee didn’t move. He stood, arms crossed, and put all of his disdain into his glare.
Joseph straightened, but didn’t relax. “Lee. The cops were after me. I saw the flashing lights behind me.”
“So you decided the best idea would be to lead them straight to me?” Lee’s voice was ice cold.
The man flinched, glancing behind as if expecting the police to burst into the cave behind him. “I knew you could hide me.”
Joseph was a simpleton.
“The police aren’t after you,” Lee told him. “There was an incident at the boat ramp. They stopped there.”
Joseph exhaled.
It was tempting to tie him up and leave him until everything was resolved, but Lee would have to make sure he was fed and it was too much of a hassle. With brains like his, he wouldn’t be hard to find.
Lee stalked forward. “Leave.” He kept the smile to himself as Joseph hurried back, keeping his eyes on Lee. “Do what I told you and disappear. You’ve got a couple of hours’ grace before the police will even remember you exist. Use it wisely.”
Lee had backed him outside the cave now and the dark car was parked haphazardly in the bush. No way was he helping get it out if Joseph got himself bogged.
“Thanks, Lee.” His hand fumbled on the handle, but he jerked the door open and leapt inside. In a roar of the engine and a cloud of dust, Joseph disappeared from view.
Lee stepped back to avoid the dust and made note of the licence plate number. He could only be thankful that Clark had hired stupid people looking for a quick buck rather than doing his research and finding people who would do a good job.
His satellite phone rang, and he unclipped it from his belt. “Yes.”
“Have you got eyes on what’s happening at the boat ramp?” Lucas asked.
Shit. “Not at this second.” He strode back into the cave and down the tunnel which led to his motorbike.
“Why not?”
“Because Joseph paid me a visit. He panicked and thought the police were after him.”
“They are.”
“Yes, but not at this moment. He was driving out of town when the police were heading for the boat ramp. He thought they were after him, so he decided his best course of action was to lead them to me.” Lee let his displeasure through.
“I never should have involved Clark,” Lucas said.
Lee raised his eyebrows. It was the closest he’d ever heard Lucas come to admitting he’d made a mistake. “The last I heard was Dot calling for backup and Martin and Rodney were on their way.”
“You heard that?” Lucas sounded surprise.
“Police radio,” Lee answered, not wanting to remind Lucas that Nhiari was with him. He slid through the narrow section of the tunnel and then continued. “Can we trust Andrew to keep his mouth shut?”
“How do you know Andrew is there?”
