‘I was surprised to see you still in town, though.’
‘I don’t know why. There’s a fair proportion of other kids you went through school with who never left town.’
‘Yeah, but they’re mostly guys who stayed on the family property, or a few girls who married local blokes, like Emma. I guess I figured there was something about you even backthen.’ He hesitated before hurriedly continuing, ‘You always had this faraway look in your eyes, like you could see some kind of big future. Or maybe,’ he continued with a hint of a smile, ‘it was because you’d get all high and mighty and stare down your nose at me when you got angry. I remember you telling me that I should try reading a book so I’d know there was more to the world than stupid sheep and tractors.’
Bel felt a twinge of shame. She did recall saying something like that to him, which was rather condescending of her, even if he probablyhaddeserved it at the time.
‘I always thought you’d head off into the big city and do something exciting with your life.’
Bel stared at him, irritated afresh. ‘As opposed to staying here and doing absolutely nothing with my life?’
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ he started.
‘Just because I chose to stay and take care of my gran instead of going away to university or ag college or whatever doesn’t mean I’ve wasted my life.’
‘No, of course—’
‘You’ve barely been back five minutes and you think you have the right to look down your nose at me? You don’t know anything about me.’
‘I didn’t mean to—’
‘What? Tell me how pathetic my life is?’
‘That’s not what I—’
Bel shut the dishwasher door and dried her hands on a tea towel, which she then tossed onto the now clean bench. ‘Ireally don’t care. Goodnight,’ she snapped, walking down the hall. She waved at Emma as she passed the doorway of the bedroom where her friend was in the process of detangling herself from a sleeping child. It was perfectly timed, because she knew Emma would have tried to talk her out of leaving. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ she whispered from the door.
The moon hung low, casting a silvery glow upon the choppy waters as Jax and Angelica, their faces etched with determination, sped across the darkened expanse of water in a sleek speedboat. Behind them, the menacing silhouette of the drug cartel’s vessel loomed, its engines roaring as they gave chase through the labyrinthine waterways.
With every pulse of the engine, the tension in the air mounted. Adrenaline coursed through Jax’s veins as he pushed the speedboat to its limits. The wind whipped through their hair, their eyes fixed on the distant horizon, their every sense on high alert for signs of danger.
As they raced along the narrow channels and hidden inlets, the cartel’s pursuit grew ever more relentless, coming closer with each passing moment. But Jax was undeterred, his steely gaze locked on the path ahead as he navigated the treacherous waters with unwavering skill.
The cartel’s vessel drew near, its searchlights piercing the darkness as they closed in. Jax, using every ounce of strength and cunning he possessed, pushed the speedboat to the brink.
As they raced into the open sea, the cartel’s vessel fell behind, its engines no match for the speed of Jax’s boat. With a surge oftriumph, they disappeared into the darkness, their mission far from over, but their spirits unbroken.
As she read, Bel ignored her phone ringing. She wasn’t in the mood to talk. All she wanted was to stay curled up and lost in this alternate universe where she could be swept up in romance and a little bit of danger, all the while knowing that she’d be fine by the end of the book and get her happily-ever-after. Why couldn’t real life be like that?
