Hector and Rhys both rolled their eyes in unison, leaving Euan to take over the explanation.
“We haven’t come to take you in, Trent,” Euan said, with what was clearly as much patience as he could muster – which wasn’t a lot. “We’ve come tohelpyou.”
Swallowing, Trent looked from Euan, to Rhys, to Hector, not sure whether or not to believe his ears. “Youwhat?”
“Help you, idiot,” Rhys helpfully clarified. “You know – that thing friends do for each other? If theyletthem? Instead of running off into the middle of nowhere like a dingbat and leave everyone guessing as to what exactly’s going on?”
Trent blinked again. He knew his mouth was hanging open and that if he didn’t shut it soon he was going to end up swallowing a fly, but right now, he was finding it a little bit difficult to regain control over literallyanyof his faculties.
“Does… does Robb know you’re here?” he finally managed to get out, his whirring mind unable to come up with anything else to say.
“Idiot.” Hector shook his head. “Who do you think gave us leave to come out here andfindyour dumb arse?”
“Then… he knows?” Trent asked, finally managing to shut his mouth and keep it shut.
“Obviously, he knows,” Rhys said, sliding into the chair opposite Trent. “He said he knew something was up with you from the moment you saw Zina Alden’s photo and saw her burn notice. Just how stupid d’you think he is, anyway? You know what his job title is, right? You know how he getspaidto notice stuff, right?”
“All right, all right,” Trent said quietly. He looked down at his hands. He realized that he was – not without good reason – starting to feel exactly like the dumbarse Hector had accused him of being. “I just thought…”
“Yeah, that’s your problem. Youdon’tthink,” Euan said, shaking his head as he too sat down at the table. “You just run off without evencheckingif maybe your mates might want to help you out of a tricky situation. We have to come toyou.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Trent said hotly. Though even as he said it, he knew he wasn’t completely sure that it was. “Aside from anything else, Iknewthe risk I was taking, and I was willing to do it. Was I supposed to assume you guys were all willing to take on that risk too? It’s not a fucking joke.”
“Oh please, give us a bit of credit,” Rhys said. “Maybe you could have at least tried. And anyway – what’s so complicated? Tahnee said –”
Trent shook his head, cutting him off. He’d been so flabbergasted by first their appearance and then their telling him off for not dragging them into his mess that he hadn’t thought throughhowthey’d found him yet – but of course, that must have been it.
Tahnee told me to come out here – and then they show up. She set this whole thing up.
“Whatexactly did Tahnee say?”
“She said you were supposed to come up to the sanctuary, and that it sounded important,” Rhys said. “But then the next thing she knew, you’d said you couldn’t come – she assumed it had to be because you were in some kind of trouble, since you weren’t specific, but she said that you made it sound like there was something happening that waspreventingyou from coming, not that you suddenly didn’t want to or didn’t need to anymore.”
A crooked smile curved over Trent’s lips. Tahnee was a sharp one – he’d give her that.
“She was right,” he said, finally conceding. “I’ve got some nasties on my tail, and I couldn’t risk leading them right to her. That sanctuary is supposed to be a haven, after all.”
“And I know she appreciated that,” Hector said. “Which is why she was so concerned. And that was why she called us. She knew – unlike some people – that we could be trusted to do the right thing by you and come see what was happening.”
“All right, all right, I’m sorry,” Trent said. “I’m the world’s biggest dumbarse and also a bad friend. Happy now?”
“Not really,” Rhys said, but his tone was fairly peaceable. “I’d probably cheer up a bit if you told us the full story of what was going on, though.”
“Easier said than done,” Trent said, grimacing. And besides which, he knew he ought to get back to Zina, waiting for him at the hotel. She’d probably be worrying about him. “Perhaps it’d be better if I justshowedyou instead.”
Chapter 14
Zina looked up at the sound of the key in the hotel room door. She tensed, preparing herself to run or fight if she had to – but she couldn’t sense any danger from the other side of the door.
Her antelope senses had been flickering slowly back to life over the past hour or so – she felt flashes of its heightened instincts, and felt it within her, stretching its legs and preparing to emerge from wherever it had lain dormant inside her. Itwantedto come out, and Zina knew it was only a matter of half an hour or so before it came roaring back to full life.
So it’s just as well Trent’s back now, before I – and he – become trackable again…
Sheknewit was Trent even before he’d fully opened the door, a flash of instinct and the wordsmy mate!racing through her before she’d even had the chance to think. Hopefully he was here with Tahnee’s contact, and they’d take Dusty and Goldie, still sleeping peacefully on the floor, and the last remaining egg away to safety right away.
“Zina? It’s just me,” Trent said, as he stuck his head around the door. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah,” Zina said, standing up. “No sign of anything – it’s been all quiet.”
