Or pretending to be.
The reminder gave him pause and tempered his protective instincts. They couldn’t go back without risking being caught by the others. He nodded and kept the emotion out of his tone. “That’s the way out. It widens on the other side.”
She stared at him, ignoring the glare from the light. “No.”
He raised the gun. “Do it, Nhiari. We don’t have all day.”
The whites of her eyes showed as her eyes widened, but he couldn’t let it get to him. Couldn’t show his weakness for her.
She just stood there.
He huffed out a breath. “Close your eyes and imagine you’re in a large room. Feel your way through.” He couldn’t shoot her, couldn’t end this beautiful woman’s life, but he hoped she didn’t realise that. He pointed the gun at her head. “If you don’t go through, you’re no use to me.” His voice was void of emotion and he kept his gaze steady and uncaring.
She swallowed hard and turned. Her fingers shook as she placed her hands on the rock and closed her eyes. Slowly she slid through the gap. As soon as she was trapped between the two rocks, he moved closer. The tunnel widened on the other side, and she might run, whether or not she had lighting. He couldn’t let her get too far ahead of him. She could get lost in here, and if she did, she would likely die.
His gut clenched.
By the time she exited the tight gap, he was halfway through. He pointed the gun at her, but she didn’t notice, bent double, panting.
Perhaps he’d found her kryptonite.
He kept his distance as he entered the larger space and gave her a minute to get her breath back before saying, “We have to keep moving. There’s another couple of hundred metres of caves before we get out in the open.”
She glanced at him. “We’re getting out of the cave?”
He nodded.
She straightened. “Which way?”
He gestured and she moved quickly, striding along the hard, sandy floor towards the exit. Lee softly exhaled. After they left this cave system, they would be fine. It exited on the western side of the ranges and those searching for the boys were on the eastern side. They wouldn’t be spotted.
The walls of the cave lightened and Nhiari increased her stride, trotting towards the glow. Lee kept pace, always out of her reach in case she went for him, but it was unwarranted. Her focus was on the exit.
The bright sunlight hurt his eyes, and he kept in the cave’s shadow as Nhiari burst out into the sunlight.
She inhaled deeply, turning in a circle to take in the new location, even while recovering from her panic attack.
Impressive.
They’d come out at the base of the ranges and there was sparse vegetation around; a few bushes, a couple of trees, but mostly grasses.
Lee waited until her breathing returned to normal and she started studying the surroundings more closely, before he took her arm. “This way.”
It was a short walk to where he’d left his off-road motorcycle. They’d both fit on it, but Nhiari wasn’t a willing passenger. He didn’t know what she would try.
A frisson of excitement shot through him and he tamped it down. At any other time he’d revel in the challenge, the idea she could give as good as she got, but right now he needed simple and easy. Lucas was getting desperate. He would make a mistake and Lee would be there to trap him in it.
Then Lucas would pay for what he’d done.
Lee smiled and directed Nhiari through some bushes and the few hundred metres to where he’d left the bike. He’d been careful to use a different path each time he came this way so as not to leave an obvious trail that someone could stumble on. He was certain Georgie was trying to keep tabs on where he was and she’d found him once already.
Nhiari eyed the dirt bike. “Want me to drive?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do you know how?”
She laughed, the sound a little sarcastic and disbelieving. “I’ve been riding motorbikes since I was a child.”
Good to know. He’d keep the key in his pocket so she didn’t steal it when he wasn’t looking. “You can drive.” That way he could keep hold of the gun and hopefully she wouldn’t do something stupid.
