Next to Girard, Donall moved slightly, as if he was going to follow them. Hallie put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to stay where he was, trying to make it more of a suggestion than a command. Donall frowned, not liking the idea, but then glanced over his shoulder to where Sylvie, Nixie and the others were tucked into the shadows of the building and nodded, face set in determination. Willing to stay to protect his people. Hallie wanted to tell him that she thought he was going the right thing, but settled for a brief tilt of her head.
With Donall staying in place, Hallie turned her attention to the front of the building and eased forward, Girard with her. Her ears had told her that Nicholas and the other man had been alone, but she could have been wrong and the last thing she wanted was to run into a pack of gunners. The courtyard was empty, which was a relief. Nicholas and the stranger must have gone into the main building, through one of the large wooden doors. She and Girard would never be able to sneak in there. But there were those open-fronted workspaces to either side, which extended back along the sides of the barn. She and Girard could get in there and stay hidden while they tried to listen in to whatever was happening inside.
No sooner had she realised that, than she was moving, heading around the end wall and into the nearest workspace, careful to stay in the shadows as much as possible as she made her way to the far end of the building and the shelter of the barn.
As she reached her destination, Girard right behind her, a light came on inside the barn. She froze, heart thumping, wondering if she’d been seen or if Nicholas had somehow sensed her presence. After a moment, when there was no cry of outrage, she crept forward and saw that there was a narrow horizontalgap between the wooden slats that made up the barn wall. It seemed to be deliberate, as she could see more running along the wall, highlighted by the light coming from inside. Some kind of basic ventilation, she guessed. Careful to keep herself in shadow, Hallie took a look through the gap.
The inside of the barn had been formed to hold livestock, with open-fronted wooden stalls around the outside and an open space in the middle. It didn’t look, or smell, as if any creatures had ever been housed here, which matched Donall’s information. The floor was bare earth with no trace of straw or hoof impressions. Instead, a few three-legged stools were set in the middle of the barn around a small, low table. There was an oil lamp on the table, along with a bottle and several glasses that looked dusty from lack of use. Not the first time this space had been used for a secret meeting, Hallie guessed. Although the oil lamp was turned down low, it provided more than enough light for Hallie to see the two men settled at the table. They were facing each other so that Hallie and Girard could see their side profiles.
Nicholas looked much as he had done earlier in the day, although his eye and nose were swollen and there were bruises on the cheek Hallie could see. She wanted to congratulate Girard on the damage he’d managed to inflict.
The other man drew her attention, and then held it. He had light brown hair with blond streaks that shone gold in the lamplight, and an unlined face of flawless pale skin. He could be anywhere between thirty and fifty, though Hallie guessed he might be at the higher end of that range. From the side profile it was hard to tell, but she thought he had light-coloured eyes, startling in their brightness. Human, like Nicholas, but that was all they seemed to have in common.
“Enough pleasantries,” Nicholas said, snarling. “You wanted the meet. So, talk.”
“Every time we meet I am always so impressed by your charm,” the other man said in a silky smooth voice that made the hair on Hallie’s neck stand up.
Nicholas was dangerous. He’d been controlling New Hope and its people for a long time now. Despite his threats against her and Girard, and as unpleasant as he was, Nicholas didn’t seem to have a habit of killing people, or causing actual physical harm. He seemed to prefer bullying and intimidation. It had only taken those few words spoken for Hallie to realise that the other man was lethal. There was an undercurrent to his voice as he spoke to Nicholas that suggested the stranger would like nothing better than to hurt Nicholas. Badly. He would probably laugh while doing so.
And yet, Hallie found the stranger compelling. So much so that she’d shifted her weight forward onto her toes to get a closer look before she realised what she was doing. She went motionless, hoping she hadn’t made a noise. When the two men kept glaring at each other she eased her weight back a fraction. She could still see and hear them. And she needed to make sure that they could neither see nor hear her and Girard.
“What do you want, Jonah?” Nicholas asked. He was short-tempered, probably sore from the various bruises Girard had managed to leave on him. He seemed unaware of any particular danger from the other man. Not a stupid man, in Hallie’s assessment, but perhaps too focused on his own interests and too confident that he was safe here, in his territory.
Hallie’s attention snapped back to the other man. Jonah. The governor that she’d heard about. Here, in New Hope. The impression she’d formed from what Rhodda, Donall and the others had said - and not said - was that Jonah left New Hope and Nicholas alone. And yet, he was here, meeting with Nicholas.
“You’ve had visitors to the town,” Jonah said easily, as if he hadn’t noticed Nicholas’ temper. But of course he had. Hallie could see the watchful glint in his pale eyes, fixed on Nicholas. Perhaps wondering how he was going to kill the self-styled principal of New Hope. “A man and a woman. I want them.”
“You what? You’ve come asking for a favour? After your thugs attacked my people?” Nicholas’ anger was real, unrestrained. “You cost me one of my gunners,” he added, his voice tinted with more irritation than rage. Hallie remembered the burned corpse on the forest road. Whoever the dead man had been, he’d deserved better than being an afterthought in Nicholas Rigg’s mind.
“A misunderstanding,” Jonah said smoothly, apparently untroubled not only by Nicholas’ anger but also the death of one of the gunners. “Your people shot first, after all.”
“When your thugs tried to block the road,” Nicholas snapped back. Hallie’s brows lifted. That didn’t quite match Rhodda’s description of what had happened. But then, there had been a lot of people on ATVs and it was easy to imagine that, in the midst of a lot of confusion and guns firing, the finer details of what had happened would get lost. Not to mention, it was entirely possible that both Jonah and Nicholas’ men were lying to their respective bosses about the events. If Hallie had to live on the island and work for either man, she wouldn’t want to annoy them, either.
“I’ve just had some Lucien Island rum delivered. I can have a case left for you at the usual spot.”
Hallie blinked, sure she must have misheard. But, no, Jonah was proposing to settle the matter of a dead man by providing Nicholas with a case of rum. And from the expression on Nicholas’ face, it was a trade he was happy to make. His eyes gleamed.
“Fine,” Nicholas said, trying to sound reluctant. Hallie wasn’t fooled and she doubted that Jonah was, either. “So that dealswith the unprovoked attack. But as for the man and woman, no. I’ve got plans for them,” Nicholas said, blunt and rude. “Is that all?”
“The woman somehow killed one of my men, and between them they stole an ATV. It’s parked outside your gates.” In sharp contrast to Nicholas, Jonah sounded calm. Only on the surface, though. Hallie thought that underneath that cool exterior was hot fury.
“Well, then, take the ATV back,” Nicholas said, temper back in his voice.
“I don’t need you for that,” Jonah said, leaning forward a little. Despite the distance between them, and the fact that Jonah and Nicholas did not know she was there, Hallie felt ice creep over her entire body at the menace that Jonah was projecting. Hallie’s first rule with bullies - no matter how powerful or dangerous they were - was not to give in to them. Even so, her mouth was dry as she waited for whatever Jonah would say next. “You agreed not to interfere in my business. This is my business. I’ll take them with me.”
“And you said you wouldn’t do anything to interfere with the running of the island,” Nicholas replied, lifting his chin slightly.
Oh, interesting,Hallie thought. So Rhodda and Donall had been quite right - Nicholas and Jonah avoided crossing each other’s paths as much as possible. But it hadn’t just happened that way. No, the arrangement had been carefully worked out between the two men, and from the way they’d spoken to each other, there was a history of what Hallie was sure Jonah or Nicholas would calltradesback and forth. What she thought of as bribes. It fit perfectly with what she’d seen of Nicholas Rigg so far, that he would live in comfort, with luxuries delivered by Jonah from time to time, while the rest of the people in New Hope struggled.
Nicholas hadn’t finished talking, though. “The man is a Conclave Investigator. Did you know that? So the Conclave are likely to come looking for him at some point. Do you really want me to send them your way?”
“An investigator? My men mentioned something to that effect. Doesn’t change what the woman did. And I have connections you don’t,” Jonah said, flicking his hand as if brushing away an annoying insect.
Nicholas made a low sound, evidently not believing Jonah had the power to deal with the Conclave. Then his eyes narrowed and his head tilted. Another chill crept over Hallie’s skin. She didn’t trust that expression.
“I also have the woman, Rhodda, in custody,” Nicholas said slowly. “I believe you’ve been looking for her?”
Jonah made another flicking motion with his hand, but Hallie saw a small tightening of his jaw. A point to Nicholas, she thought, and wondered just what had happened on the forest road before the shooting had started leaving one man dead and Rhodda injured and huddled in the undergrowth for several days. It seemed more likely that Jonah’s men hadn’t just stumbled across the gunners. More likely that they’d been out there for a purpose. Looking for Rhodda? Hallie frowned, wishing she could pause the conversation so she could puzzle it all through. But of course neither Nicholas or Jonah would indulge her.
