She lifted her head when he entered and flashed a grin.
Mine,he thought with satisfaction.
He browsed the items, pretending to shop while listening to the tourists discussing their trip and gossiping with each other.When Nyree remained busy with a line of visitors waiting to purchase items, he drifted outside and toward the cemetery.He paused with another group of tourists to watch a group of king penguins as they decided if they’d jump into the water.The birds bunched together on a rock, packing tightly until the ones at the front of the group fell into the sea.
Tawera laughed with the others until he felt the weight of a stare.Moving carefully, he repositioned himself so he could scan faces.He froze as he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
Rawiri.
What?How?
Tawera’s stomach bucked, and emotions bombarded him as he gaped at the man.Shock.Fear.Anger.Confusion.Tawera continued to stare.Rawiri gave a polite nod and moved onward.
Not Rawiri, he realized, but someone who resembled his half-brother so closely they had to be related.This man moved differently and didn’t bear the same strutting confidence as his brother.Not the samemana.His clothes were modern, and when Tawera scrutinized him more closely, he recognized subtle differences in features and physique.
Who was he?
Tawera followed at a distance, his instincts twitching the longer he observed the man.He wasn’t behaving like the other tourists.He didn’t chat with the passengers, nor did he take photos with a camera or a phone.Instead, he scanned faces as if he were searching for someone.Tawera trailed and spotted how the man tensed as he grew close enough to study the shop’s interior.
Tawera drew nearer and walked right past the stranger.He took the two steps leading into the store at a jog, and still, the man didn’t look his way or tear his attention from whatever he found so interesting.
Tawera entered and pretended to browse the postcards.They sat in a rack and put him at the right angle to watch the man.
Nyree finished serving her customer and glanced in Tawera’s direction with a smile.Tawera shook his head and hoped she understood not to treat him as someone familiar.
“How much does it cost to post a letter to Aotearoa?”he asked.
She gawked at him for an instant before answering his question.Tawera pointed to the rack of postcards so the man watching Nyree would assume he was a tourist asking questions.
“Nyree,” Tawera spoke in an undertone.“Can you describe Ari for me?
Nyree stilled, her face paling.“What?”
A customer approached the counter and placed two T-shirts, a polo shirt, and a notebook down before pulling out their wallet.“You finish with the gentleman,” the woman said.
“It’s all right,” Tawera said.“I need to write my postcard first.You go ahead.”He backed up, taking a postcard with him, and angled his body to a position where he could watch the stranger.
He had vanished.
Instead of relief, tension rose in Tawera.He didn’t have a good feeling about this.It was something in the way the man had searched.His target might be another customer, but Tawera didn’t think so.He waited until there was a break in the customers before he approached Nyree.
“You think Ari is here?”Nyree’s face remained devoid of color, and her gaze kept darting over Tawera’s shoulder to study the passersby.
“I thought it was my brother,” Tawera said.“That’s what drew my attention.”
Nyree forced a smile for a customer.She rang up the sale and accepted the correct cash in UK pounds before the customer left.
Three more chatting customers lined up for Nyree, and Tawera drifted away to watch for the stranger.He couldn’t see him, but his warrior senses pinged with awareness.The man was out there and watching, lurking in the shadows.
Tawera shifted closer and waited to gain Nyree’s attention.He signaled he was leaving.She’d remain safe while she was working.The ships usually stayed for around four to five hours before they left again.They’d wait until the ship left, and Nyree would be safe.
Ari was here?
Nyree’s pulse raced, and her hands trembled as she gathered the two T-shirts and the notepad her current customer had placed on the counter.She offered a strained smile to the redhead who had a pert nose and a citrus scent wafting from her person.Nyree served her customer, but her mind was elsewhere.
No, it couldn’t be Ari.How would he know where she’d gone?
The answer presented itself almost immediately.
