“We’re going to need to send her another message. Get her back in line,” Jonah said. He had his hands on his hips, eyes travelling up and down the young man. “I’m not sure a few bruises are going to do it this time.”
Hallie’s brows lifted, and lifted further when the young man just shrugged and nodded. So he’d been beaten before now, in order to keep his motherin line. And had been a willing participant. And now Jonah wanted to go further. And even if Rhodda’s son seemed to have no objection, Hallie felt sick at the thought of what Jonah might want to do next. She’d seen gang members in low city with missing fingers or broken bones as punishment from their bosses.
Before Jonah had made a decision about what to do, the back door of the house opened. Another man walked out of the house and Hallie forgot all about Jonah, and Rhodda’s son, and the prisoners, mouth opening in shock as she recognised the newcomer. Perhaps the last person she would have expected to see on Paradise, let alone here. Aveondken, on a human-only island.
Findo Trask sent a frowning glance at Jonah. “Is your business concluded?” he asked, an irritated edge to his tone.
“Not quite,” Jonah said. He cast a frowning look around the group. “Double the patrols. Everyone stay on alert until thathochlenis found.”
The group of men dispersed at once and in silence, and Hallie’s stomach sank as she saw that Knot and No-knot had been joined by another pair of men as they continued their round of the house and outbuildings. When Jonah said to double the patrol, it seemed he was taken literally.
She should move, she told herself. The longer she stayed here, close to the house, the more she risked discovery. And yet she found she couldn’t leave. Not quite yet. Not when Findo Trask had so shockingly and abruptly appeared.
“You have some promising young men working for you,” Findo said, a silky edge to his tone that Hallie didn’t trust for one moment. He was also lying. Hallie could taste the deception,even if she didn’t know what Findo’s motives were or what he hoped to gain.
“There’s at least one wanting off the island, so you’ll have your fresh meat for the ring,” Jonah told him.
They were talking in lowered voices, so that the humans probably couldn’t hear, but Hallie’s sharp hearing picked up the words and she shivered. That explained Findo’s interest in Jonah’s men. It seemed that Findo Trask was up to his old tricks, running an illegal fighting ring. She wondered which city he’d set up in this time, as surely he would not be foolish enough to go back to Daydawn.
“I could take thehochlenoff your hands, too,” Findo added, a small, cruel smile pulling his mouth.
“Only after I find out what he knows and who he’s told. He’s here with some woman,” Jonah said, heading towards the house, clearly intending to take the discussion indoors. He stopped when he realised Findo hadn’t moved and glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Did you happen to get a name?” Findo asked. He’d stopped smiling and even at the distance, Hallie felt her skin crawl. That quiet tone held a promise of violence and she knew how cruel Findo could be.
“Not for the woman, no. Why?”
“For the investigator, then?” Findo asked, impatience in his voice.
“Special Investigator Abbott,” Jonah answered readily, brows lifting as Findo made a low, snarling sound. “You know him?”
“If Abbott is here then the woman might be Talbot. Hallie Talbot.” Findo’s teeth bared and even from her hiding spot, Hallie could see the deep red pinpricks in his eyes glowing in the floodlights. “She’s caused me a great deal of trouble.”
“Is that so,” Jonah said. He was standing facing Findo now with a thoughtful expression, weight on his heels. Wonderingwhat angle to play, Hallie thought. She wasn’t sure what the relationship was between the two men, but she couldn’t imagine it was full of trust and goodwill. The barely concealed contempt Jonah had felt for Nicholas seemed to be absent, though. Which suggested that Jonah had an idea of just how dangerous Findo was.
“You’d do well not to underestimate her,” Findo said, a snap of anger in his voice.
“If she’s here with him, it’s just the two of them. What could they possibly do to me?” Jonah asked, half-laughing. The humour didn’t ring true to Hallie, and the false smile faded to a watchful expression. Trying to prise more information out of Findo, Hallie realised.
“Hallie Talbot was the best skip tracer in Daydawn. She had a one hundred per cent success rate,” Findo Trask said, voice flat and hard. “Don’t underestimate her.”
“That is impressive,” Jonah agreed. He was sincere. Hallie could tell that, even from the distance. But he also didn’t fully believe Findo’s warning. He was still more bothered by Girard’s presence than her own. Which made sense, as Girard was the one with Conclave authority. All the same, he seemed more irritated than worried. Which also made sense - as Jonah had said, it was just the two of them. What could they possibly do?
A small smile started then spread across Hallie’s face, hidden by the jacket collar. What could she and Girard possibly do? Well, Jonah and Findo were about to find out.
Chapter twenty-one
Takingcarenottomake noise, or move too quickly, Hallie slid back from her watching position until she was out of sight of the house. She found the shelter of another tree and slowly got to her feet, wincing as various muscles protested. The beam of the floodlights didn’t reach this far into the forest, and her dark clothing blended with the shadows under the trees. Standing up had made her light-headed. She was running on too little sleep and too little food. Her hand went to the pocket which held one last protein bar. She hesitated and then drew it out. If she could get into Jonah’s base, she was sure she’d find more food there. The men he had working for him had to eat.
Only when she was satisfied that she wasn’t going to fall over her own feet did she move, slowly and carefully. She didn’t want to go all the way down the hill, not yet anyway, but she did want to go far enough down that she would be out of sight and earshot of any of the patrols while she decided what to do next. With her body heavy and sore and tired, she wasn’t going to make itanywhere fast or far under her own power. She needed to find a less dangerous spot to pause and work out if there was anything else she could do here, or if she should move farther away from the house and armed men to wait for Girard.
The protein bar helped clear her head, enough for her to realise that trying to get onto the space around the house and buildings was foolish, even to get more information. She had quite a lot to tell Girard when she next saw him. Jonah had access to a boat somewhere and at least twenty armed men, as well as apparently having Findo Trask as a house guest.
Lined up in her mind it didn’t feel like enough. She hadn’t got close enough to tell anything about the types of weapons the men carried, or what might be stored in the garage along with the ATVs. Perhaps she could try heading to the outbuildings to have another look at the motion sensors and see if there was a way around them. She might be able to evade the sensors if she moved slowly enough, or stayed close to the ground.
Briefly she found herself wishing for a few of the warrimel to appear. A crowd of them running across the open space around the buildings would keep Jonah’s men occupied and distracted long enough for her to steal an ATV and make a getaway - out of reach of Jonah and Findo. Thinking about distractions, she considered the building where the ATVs were housed. She thought she’d seen the men come out of there and go back into the house. There might be something in there she could set fire to. That would also keep the thugs occupied while she looked around, got herself some food and an ATV and a better idea about what Jonah was up to. A small, dark smile lifted her mouth. She would never have even considered destroying property in low city, or at either New Hope or Reunion. But she’d formed a very strong dislike of Jonah and his band of thugs. Causing trouble for them would not trouble her.
With her head full of plans and schemes, Hallie managed to ignore the heaviness and stiffness in her body until she was behind the outbuildings. Crouched in the thick of one of the evergreen shrubs, the prickles on its leaves scraping her skin, she assessed the route up the remainder of the hill. She was going to run out of cover long before she was in the shadow of the outbuildings. And as soon as she left the trees and shrubs, the motion sensors would catch her. She didn’t know enough about electronics to have any idea how to disable the devices. But she might be able to break them. If she could find something to throw. The ground underfoot was mostly open soil, but there were a few stones here and there.
