Nhiari glanced down the corridor, but the others were still in the kitchen. “He kidnapped me and we came to a truce, but he’s telling Lucas he’s seducing me for information and telling me he cares for me and wants to stop Lucas.”
“So you don’t know which one to believe.”
“No, and trust me, I know how stupid that makes me. Stonefish has a long history of manipulating people.”
Dot squeezed her hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I wasn’t sure whether Oliver was a plant either, but I still fell back in love with him.”
Nhiari smiled. “I’m glad, but you two had a history together. Lee admitted he only asked me out to get information.”
“Your instincts have always been good, Nhi. What are they telling you now?”
“That he’s thoroughly seduced me through his words and I care for him. I want to trust him, but I’m not thinking rationally right now.”
“I would say the fact you understand you might be played means you are thinking rationally,” Dot countered. “But we’ll still be careful and leave some of Doug’s details out.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you with Rodney and Oliver.”
“If you had been, I would have left you to deal with Oliver and wouldn’t be back together with him.” Dot hugged Nhiari. “But I’m glad you’re back now.”
So was she. They returned to the kitchen.
Lee sat at the end of the table and all the men were watching him, but Georgie and Tess had moved to sit next to him and chat. Both owed their lives to him so it was easy to understand why they were more forgiving.
Lee looked up. “What did he say?”
“Organised Crime are building their case. Doug’s going to contact Amani about Andrew’s laptop information.”
“So this might soon be over?” Darcy asked, looking hopeful.
“Yeah.” She smiled at him.
“Lucas will go to ground if there’s any hint they’re on to him,” Lee said.
“So we need to get to him before he hears.” Nhiari turned to Dot. “He wants the treasure. He’s obsessed by it.”
“We can use that to our advantage. There are a few things you don’t know.” She grinned. “Let me fill you in.”
Chapter Fourteen
Leerelaxedalittleafter Nhiari and Dot returned to the kitchen. He didn’t know what to make of Nhiari contacting her friend without telling him, but he could hardly complain. He was asking her to trust him with little evidence to go on.
Dot studied him. He waited, saying nothing, but hoped Nhiari had put in a good word for him.
“The treasure is going to be moved to Perth on Saturday,” Dot said. “Maybe we can set a trap.”
“No,” Brandon said. “We can’t lose it.”
“Technically it’s not yours to lose,” Oliver told him. “But I agree. Its historical value is too high to be used as bait.”
“Not to mention the monetary value,” Georgie said.
“You have the advantage that Lucas doesn’t know exactly where the treasure is,” Lee said before they lost track of the point. “Neither do I.”
Amy raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
He nodded, pleased she was speaking with him. “I know you have it. I saw you dig it up. I don’t know what you did with it.”
“How do you know we didn’t take it straight to the authorities?” Ed asked.
