by Annie Seaton
Stuff the police operation.
Cabal would know where they’d taken her, and he didn’t care what he had to do to get the information. He didn’t have to follow police protocol anymore—he was a civilian now.
A narrow path led from the beach to the house at the end of the point. The sun was dropping low in the sky and a cool wind had sprung up by the time he reached the end of the path. He stood in the shadow of the hoop pines, slapping at the mosquitoes landing on his bare arms while he watched the house. A large crack sounded to his left and he swiveled around pulling the knife from his shorts.
A small kangaroo hopped away and he let his breath out. As he turned back to the house, Cabal and Regan came out on to the veranda and Cabal lifted his arm and pointed into the rainforest to the north. Regan ran down the stairs and Cabal hurried after her, grabbing her arm as he caught her. Their voices drifted across to Jake but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. As he watched, Cabal’s arms circled Regan, and he held her tightly.
Jake couldn’t wait any longer. He stepped out of the bush and walked quickly to the edge of the property. The small gate leading into the garden creaked as he opened it and he stood at the end of the path. He gripped the knife tucked into the back of his shorts as Cabal looked over at him, a quizzical expression on his face. He let go of Regan and turned his attention to Jake.
“What do you want?”
“I’m sure you know. No need to play dumb.” Jake stepped forward and fury filled his chest as he looked into the face of Gracie’s sister, so different from her. He reached out and grabbed Regan by the shoulders. “You bitch. Do you know what you’ve done?”
Regan looked up at him, her eyes wide with fright as Cabal stepped in and pulled Jake away.
“Leave her alone. This has nothing to do with her.”
“Ah, so you know what I’m talking about then.” Jake turned to Cabal and pulled his arm away from his grasp. “Nothing to do with her? If it wasn’t for her and her fascination with you, her sister wouldn’t be in trouble.”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Gracie?” She grabbed Cabal’s hands. “Rod, where is she? You said she was in the cabin…and safe?”
Jake turned and pushed his face close to Cabal’s, clenching his fists and holding back the urge to pull the knife from his shorts. “What cabin? Where is she?”
“That’s enough, Alexander.” Jake turned at the sharp voice and reached for his knife.
Jake’s former boss strode through the open gate, flanked by three other officers that Jake recognized, all in plainclothes. Ben walked behind them looking uncomfortable.
“Alexander.” The commander nodded at him. “You shouldn’t be here, but we’ll discuss that later.”
He turned to Cabal and held out his hand. “Well done, Rod. A successful operation.”
Jake looked from one to the other. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Before anyone could answer him, Regan interrupted, her voice breaking. “What’s happened? Where’s Gracie? Why are you looking for her?”
Cabal reached over and took her into his arms. “I told you, she’s in the cabin. I had to put her off the boat with Mick and Paulie. They were getting suspicious when I insisted we bring her out here, so I told them to take her to the cabin on the other side of the island on the way to the pickup.”
The commander cleared his throat. “There’s a slight problem.”
Jake swiveled around and stared at the commander, not liking the tone of his voice. He was still reeling from the shock of hearing that Cabal was part of the investigation. Cabal was obviously the insider Ben had told him about. But it still didn’t explain Regan’s involvement.
“What sort of problem?”
“She’s disappeared. We don’t know if they dropped her on the island…or just pushed her overboard.”
Regan gave a sharp cry of distress and buried her face against Cabal’s shoulder. Jake’s stomach clenched and he turned away.
“A police helicopter landed on the beach a short while ago. They’re looking for her now,” the commander said. “And the customs launch is searching the waters around the island. They weren’t far out from the island when the border-patrol helicopter crew noticed she was gone.”
Cabal held Regan close to him while the commander continued.
“Look, they’ve already picked up Mick and Paulie. They overturned the boat trying to get away from the police chopper and they’re under guard in Cannonvale Hospital. They’re about to interview them and they’ll radio the boat.” He inclined his head to Cabal. “Rod? A word in private please.”
Jake turned to Ben and glared at him. “If you’d been truthful with me all along and told me what was going on, Gracie would never have been on the boat in the first place.” He walked across to the railing and stared across at the water. “Now I feel as fucking responsible as you lot.”
“Alexander, the operation was too risky to involve a civilian.” The commander interjected as he and Cabal walked up the stairs. “You know how it works.”
“That’s right.” Jake vented his anger and frustration. “I’m not a cop any more but I was good enough to use to take photos beneath the sham of an insurance operation. Yeah, I know how it works.” Cabal and the commander were followed into the house by Ben and the other policemen and Jake threw them a disgusted glance before walking to the gate. “Christ, what a stuff-up. I can’t stand to be around you. I’m going to look for her.”
A muffled sob stopped him in his tracks and he turned and looked at Regan and she looked back at him steadily as she raised a shaking hand to her cheeks. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Who are you to my sister? She’s never mentioned you.” Her voice was strong but Jake could hear the emotion she was holding back.
“I love her,” he replied. “And I’m going to find her.”
She held out her hand and he hugged her as she sobbed into his chest, both of them ignoring the heavy rain that had begun to fall.
Chapter Twenty-three
Hampered by the rough track and her wet shoes, it took Gracie an hour to walk back down to the shoreline. She’d been climbing up and down small inclines since she’d left the cabin, trying to get back to the beach before darkness fell. Intending to follow the track around the island, she’d had to turn back and retrace her steps when she’d come to a dead end that dropped in a sheer cliff to the water below. A couple of times, helicopters had flown over low and she had hidden in the deep bush, not sure who it was. She was sure a helicopter had landed on the beach behind her and she hadn’t heard it leave again, so she moved in the opposite direction as quickly as she could, despite her gashed leg.
Once she got to the beach, she paced fifty steps back into the rainforest. She laughed bitterly to herself. Her recent kindergarten lesson on crocodiles had come in handy. “Stay fifty meters away from the water, and you’d be safe,” she’d told the small, wide-eyed children.
I wonder if crocodiles can smell blood?
Gracie stopped and pulled off her singlet top and mopped at the blood trickling down the outside of her leg. Once it was clear, she squeezed the shirt, put it back on, and stepped out toward the east. Intermittent rain showers kept her cool and she pushed doggedly ahead, determined to get around to the other side of the island before dark. After another half hour of walking, the sky closed in and it became too dark to stay in the trees. Reluctantly, she stepped closer to the shore where not only was she out in the open, but vulnerable to crocodiles.
The clouds blew in and a light drizzle began to fall as she walked through the mangrove swamps. Even though her canvas shoes were damp and rubbing on her feet, they protected her feet from the oyster shells and stubby mangrove roots. Her mind was going in circles and she tried to concentrate on finding a way to get back to the mainland. As far as she knew there were no launches out to Crocodile Island—there was no resort and no tourist accommodation on this island.
Only private launches and charters w
ould travel out here. If the vacation homes were empty, she was stranded and would have no way of contacting anyone. Panic built in her chest as she imagined being stranded here for days before she could catch the attention of a passing boat. If only it was as simple as finding someone and asking for help. That was her only chance of getting a message to Jake; if she could find the houses on the island…and if someone was there.
Worry tugged at her mind. She admitted to herself that she’d been wrong and she would apologize to Jake. She should have listened to him. Maybe he would come out on his old boat and pick her up if she could contact him.
And then she had to decide what came after that.
The throb of a large diesel motor drifted up from the water before she reached the next bay. Gracie drew in a sharp breath, and her heart skittered. She stepped back into the bush and climbed slowly until the rainforest thinned and a small bay appeared at the bottom of the cliff. A shaky sigh of relief escaped her lips. Three fishing boats were anchored at a long and narrow rocky point and the throb of the motor was coming from a large cruiser about to moor at the wharf. Her relief was short lived. The Midas was moored at the wharf in front of the other boat.
To come full circle and end up where the Midas was moored.
She couldn’t believe her bad luck. Leaning against the rough bark of a hoop pine, she raised shaking hands and covered her face, flinching as her bruised cheek throbbed under her fingers.
What the hell am I going to do now?
Going back the way she came was not an option. It was a certainty they would come back and look for her. But going forward was going to put her back with the Midas, and Clive and Cabal. All she could hope for was to find another house on the island, with normal people in it who had nothing to do with criminals or drug dealers.
The light was fading quickly and the late-afternoon rain contributed to the darkness. Low clouds settled around the top of the mountain and fingers of mist drifted down the cliff. It would be madness to spend the night out in this weather; even though it was warm, she was soaked through from the rain. Her cheek was throbbing and blood was still seeping from the wound on her ankle.
Gracie straightened her shoulders and stepped back down to the beach. A small wooden, hinged gate marked the end of the rainforest and a large sign stood beside the gate. A small laugh escaped her as she read the crocodile warning.
She’d been lucky. She hadn’t come across one of the huge creatures, nor had she seen any tracks on the sand. At least something had gone her way.
Gracie pushed the gate open and followed a narrow path through the bush toward a row of lights shining softly on the wharf. The rain was getting heavier, and she reached up and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. The sun had set as she’d come down the hill and darkness had settled in. There was no twilight in the tropics. Darkness fell instantly after sunset. Frogs croaked in the rain and as she walked through the bush, small creatures rustled in the long grass around her bare legs. Blocking the thought of snakes and crocodiles from her mind, she walked determinedly toward the lights.
After a couple of hundred yards, the wild bush gave way to a manicured lawn dotted with native she-oaks. Dense bougainvillea bushes provided a barrier to the drop to the beach and a wooden stairway led down to the sand. The cleared area overlooked the bay and Gracie had a good view of the wharf, which was lit up with a spotlight shining from one of the boats. The Midas was in shadow and it was impossible to see who was on board.
Voices drifted across to her and she searched the beach below for any sign of the rubber dinghy but it was clear. Light shone from a large white house ahead of her, and hope filled her.
There was a house and there was somebody home.
Her shoes were damp but made no sound on the grassy path. The house sat at the end of the path, light shining along a balcony, which wrapped around the front and the side closest to the beach. A group of men walked along the verandah and she put her hand over her eyes to block the bright light shining from the porch.
She stumbled and bit back a whimper. Falling to her knees, she crawled into the shrubs edging the path and sat in the wet dirt, not caring about the cold seeping through her shorts or the thorns scratching her skin. She put her hands over her face and dropped her head. Waves of nausea rolled over her and stars pricked at her vision as the blood drained from her head.
It was Cabal, and he was with other men she didn’t recognize…and Jake. Jake was standing at the bottom of the steps—and Regan was in his arms.
Jake was in with them. She had trusted too easily and her innocence had let her be sucked right in.
The bastard…and she’d slept with him.
Disbelief warred with her distress as she watched them embrace. Gracie fought back the urge to throw up and forced herself to watch.
Maybe she’d just been wishing for Jake. Maybe it was just someone who looked like him. Maybe she’d been mistaken. But over the past few days, she’d lain beside him and she knew every muscle and angle of his body.
As he led Regan out of the heavy rain into the light at the bottom of the steps, her worst fear was confirmed.
It was Jake. He had been in it all the time. No wonder he had tried to keep her off the boat. Panic filled her throat. She had nothing left. No chance of rescue and no future with Jake or the man she’d thought he’d been. Regan might be happy to play on the fringes of the law, but Gracie would have no part of it. At least that explained where the fancy house and cars had come from. She’d been played for a fool, and he’d lied to her about everything.
Gracie turned away as her stomach heaved, and she vomited into the grass beside her.
…
Jake strode down the steps. He’d taken Regan in out of the rain, but if he didn’t get away from them, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. The desire to do something, to look for Gracie, was eating away at him and his stomach churned with despair. He stood and stared into the dark as frustration overwhelmed him. It was too dark to get Ben’s boat to join in the search.
Stuff them, he’d take the police cruiser…or he’d get someone on the Midas to take him around to the other side. A small part of him appreciated the slickness of the operation. It would have taken a lot of intelligence and months of planning to infiltrate the operation at that level but there was no fucking way he was going to sit around here and wait while they debriefed on the drug bust and bloody congratulated themselves on their success. He wanted to see this cabin for himself.
Limping back down the path toward the jetty, he stopped and peered into the darkness as the leaves rustled. The heavy rain shower had stopped as soon as it had started and he waited, listening for the sound.
That was all he needed. Bloody crocodiles.
He closed his eyes as grief surged through him. Gracie had been so determined to do the right thing, no matter what the danger was, and now she was out there somewhere—either floating in the currents of the ocean and lost to him forever, or she was imprisoned somewhere on this crocodile-infested island.
He was going to find her if it took all night.
The bush rustled again and he opened his eyes. For a moment, he thought his mind was playing tricks and had conjured up the figure slowly walking toward him out of the darkness of the garden.
“Gracie?” His voice broke, and he turned to her in disbelief as relief surged through him.
But she limped across the lawn and walked straight past him. Jake reached out to touch her—to make sure he hadn’t gone fucking crazy from grief.
“Gracie.” Her arms were cold and she tried to pull away from him.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Oh, God, Gracie. You’re alive.”
“Get Regan.” She was rigid in his grasp and her voice was quiet, but full of determination.
He dropped his arms and followed her as she limped toward the stairs. As she stepped beneath the light, his blood ran cold. A vivid bruise ran from her cheek to her forehead and dried blood was enc
rusted around her hairline. Her singlet was stained with blood.
Ignoring her protests, he bent and lifted her and carried her up the stairs, almost unaware of the pain in his knee. Her head lolled against his chest as she stopped resisting him and for a moment, he thought she’d passed out. Glancing down, his gaze locked with hers and encountered a look of pure hatred. In shock he paused on the top step.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I trusted you and you lied to me.” Her voice was cold. “Tell me the real reason you left the police force? You got a better offer?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
She pointed to the house and spat the word at him. “Cabal.”
…
Jake held her tightly to him as he stepped onto the veranda of the house. Gracie pushed at him and slid down the front of his body as his arms loosened. She closed her eyes and let the heat of his body warm her, remembering briefly, the feel of his body on hers, before the knowledge of him being a criminal destroyed her. His body heat warmed her skin but inside there was nothing. A dreadful coldness had settled within her when she’d seen the two people she loved with Cabal.
Yes, loved.
No more. They could do whatever they wanted with her now and she wouldn’t care.
Pushing past him, she walked into a large room. The look on the faces of the people who turned to her would have been comical if it wasn’t such a god-awful situation. Regan screamed and ran across the room, enfolding her in trembling arms. Gracie didn’t fight the tears and she leaned into her sister’s warm embrace as Regan held her.