‘I’ve dealt with children who’ve been easier to treat than you,’ he grumbled.
‘I’m sorry. I just want to find out what’s going on around here.’
‘I know. So let me do my job. The sooner I can give you the okay, the sooner you can leave.’
‘Fine.’
She hissed through her teeth as the paramedic used a fresh swab to clean a cut above her eyebrow.
‘Hold on. Nearly done,’ he said. ‘You’re lucky. None of these are going to need stitches.’
‘Great.’
Nina couldn’t share his enthusiasm. She waited until he reached across the ambulance for more antiseptic lotion and peered over his shoulder.
Larry was talking to the senior police officer, and they both looked up at the sound of another helicopter approaching.
Nina’s heart lurched as the aircraft gently dropped out of the sky and landed behind the ruins of the farm property, then relaxed once the doors opened and six dark-clothed men moved swiftly from the helicopter towards the police.
Federal agents.
The paramedic looked over his shoulder. ‘Ah. Looks like the cavalry are here,’ he said before he turned his attention back to her. ‘Okay, last one.’
‘Have you heard anything about Kyle Roberts or Tim Flanagan? Has anyone seen them?’
‘I’m sorry – I don’t know. My orders are to get you cleaned up before the FBI talk to you.’
Nina moved her gaze to the left of the landing area and noticed more red and blue flashing lights.
She frowned. ‘Are there more emergency vehicles here?’
‘Yeah. The road was blocked round to this side, so they’re assisting on the other side of the property. Going to be a long day, I reckon.’
Nina turned her focus back to the paramedic as he finally lowered his hands and smiled at her.
‘Right, Miss O’Brien, we’re all done here. Just make sure you see a doctor and get some antibiotics to make sure those cuts don’t get infected, and you should be fine,’ he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
‘Thanks.’
Movement to her right caught her attention, and her mouth dropped open.
‘Kyle!’
Nina brushed away the hand of the paramedic, slid from the floor of the ambulance, and rushed to greet the special agent.
He pulled her into a hug, and relief surged through her body.
She couldn’t speak for a moment and clung to him, afraid he’d disappear if she let go.
He smoothed her hair, waiting until she was ready to speak.
‘I thought you’d been killed,’ she whispered.
He chuckled, the sound resonating through his chest against her cheek. ‘Not quite.’
‘How did you escape?’
‘I found a back door,’ he grinned.
‘Tim?’
‘He’s fine – he’s over on the other side of the wreckage. There’s a police officer taking his statement.’
He pulled away, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he ran a critical eye down her body. ‘Are you okay?’
She nodded. ‘A few cuts and bruises, but I’m fine – really,’ she added when he began to fuss. ‘What happens now? Where’s the truck?’
‘Turns out Larry found out Hudson had intercepted our radio message. He managed to get a call through to his own people in time – the truck was apprehended on the outskirts of the city,’ explained Kyle, relief in his eyes. He jerked his head towards the sleek black helicopter. ‘I need to go. I have to be back at the office when they debrief the driver and his accomplices.’ He managed a smile. ‘I think I’m in for a long day.’
Nina rubbed a hand up her arm, trying to ease the goose bumps that speckled her skin, and then lowered her voice.
‘How close was it?’
‘He almost made it,’ Kyle murmured. ‘If Larry hadn’t made that call to his team, we’d have had no hope.’
‘Good God.’
‘No such thing.’ His mouth curved. ‘Ah, before I forget. I need something back from you.’
‘From me?’
Nina frowned as he leaned forward, wrapped his fingers around her arm, and turned her so she was facing away from him.
She gasped as his fingers moved from her arm to the back pocket of her jeans and reached inside.
She spun round, confused. ‘What are you doing?’
His mouth quirked, and he held up a memory card. ‘I need to take this with me.’
Nina stared at him, confused, before she realised what he had done. ‘Wait a minute – while we were on the motorbike?’
He grinned and remained silent.
‘You – you planted that on me?’
‘It’s safe, isn’t it?’
Nina realised her mouth was hanging open and clamped her lips together, fury rising through her veins as she imagined what Hudson would have done to her if he’d found the card on her. ‘You bastard.’ She shook her head and changed the subject. ‘What’s on it?’
Kyle stopped laughing and held up the memory card between his fingers. ‘It’s a copy of the records Hudson kept for his business. His unofficial business, not the farm. Seems his paranoia extended to the people he was dealing with, so he kept records in case he was ever caught.’ He lowered the card and frowned. ‘John hid it in the door panel of the pick-up truck for safe-keeping when we escaped.’
Nina reached out and touched his arm. ‘It’s his legacy, Kyle. Make sure you take care of it now.’
He nodded, tucking the card into the pocket of his jeans before his gaze found hers, a twinkle in his eyes.
Nina pulled at her sleeves and glanced down at her muddy clothes, then noticed he was trying not to laugh. ‘I look a state, don’t I?’
A smile began to twitch at his mouth. ‘I didn’t say a word.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But I don’t think that look is going to take off in fashionable circles this year.’
She aimed a playful punch at his arm, before stopping, her fist in mid-air, when she saw him flinch.
‘Sorry – I forgot. You seem to cope with being hurt so easily.’
Sadness flickered across his eyes.
‘Only the physical stuff,’ he said. ‘I heal fast in that department.’
Nina bit her lip, wondering what, or who, had hurt Kyle so much in his past. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the helicopter.
They both turned to see the pilot waving from his window, urging his passenger to hurry.
‘Looks like I’m wanted,’ said Kyle.
‘Will I see you again?’
He smiled down at her. ‘Maybe.’ He held his hand up to the pilot at another shout from the aircraft. ‘I meant to say,’ he said, ‘Ross has been transferred to Sacramento hospital. They’re going to operate on his leg straight away, but they reckon he’s going to be all right.’
Nina wiped her eyes before taking a deep breath. ‘What’s the story with you two? Are you going to tell me?’
He sighed and pointed over to the helicopter. ‘Walk over with me. I’ll tell you what I can.’
Nina fell into step with him, her heart hammering.
As they walked towards the helicopter, her boots sank into the waterlogged earth. She pulled the dark-blue FBI jacket around her shoulders, hugging it closer to her body, the fleece lining helping to alleviate the cool breeze that whipped across the empty paddock.
A mist had begun to rise, giving the landscape a grey, washed-out pallor. Dark silhouettes moved along the tree line between the aircraft and the smouldering ruins of the ranch.
Nina stumbled, fatigue slowly taking over her body, the adrenalin of the past few hours subsiding, and Kyle reached out to steady her and then began to explain.
‘After my field office got a call from Ross twelve months ago he started sending them regular updates about Hudson’s activities while a plan to expose him was developed,’ he said. ‘I started building my cover story six months ago.’ He chuckled. ‘I could never have known at the time it’d le
ad to something like this.’ He gestured to the ruined buildings.
‘I–I never knew,’ said Nina. ‘He never said anything to me. Not once over the past three days.’
Kyle shrugged. ‘I don’t think he wanted to scare you. He probably thought if he helped you patch up the truck stop and get it ready for sale that you’d be out of here before anything bad happened.’ He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘He cares a lot about his family – and friends.’
Nina bit her lip, unable to speak as tears welled in her eyes.
The Federal agent leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, his days-old stubble scratching her skin, before he turned and jogged to the helicopter and climbed into the cockpit next to the pilot.
He grinned at her and shouted over the noise of the engine.
‘Be good, Nina O’Brien. I’ll be seeing you.’
40
Nina flicked the page of the paperback novel she’d been trying to concentrate on, gave up, and flung it onto the low table next to the hard plastic chair.
Before leaving Hudson’s property, Kyle had pulled some strings and arranged for her and Ross’s brother to fly to Sacramento with two other agents in a second helicopter so they could be at the hospital when Ross awoke from the anaesthetic.
Friends of Ross’s from Mistake Creek had stayed at the farm, organising the hired help to provide food and hot drinks for the emergency services and Federal agents who were tearing apart what was left of their neighbour’s property.
Ross’s surgeon had appeared an hour ago, told her the operation to repair Ross’s leg had gone well, and that he would make a full recovery over time with plenty of physiotherapy.
Nina had slumped exhaustedly into the chair to wait for Tim to return from the room next door where he’d commandeered a spare desk phone to contact all Ross’s friends to assure them he was going to be okay.
When he did, he dropped into the chair next to Nina’s and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees.
‘How are they getting on?’
‘They’re fine. I think they’re glad to be busy – keeps their minds off what could have happened,’ he said. He rubbed his neck and then leaned back in his chair. ‘Any news?’
‘Not yet.’
The teenager reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Hang in there, okay?’
She nodded, hearing his voice break, and squeezed back. ‘I will. You too.’
He let go, shuffled in his seat, and seemed to consider his words before speaking.
‘You can tell me this is none of my business, but why did you leave, all those years ago?’
Nina began to chew a nail and then lowered her hand. ‘Tim, trust me – in hindsight I knew I shouldn’t have done.’
‘Did Ross hurt you?’
‘No!’ She was shocked. ‘No, Ross would never hurt me.’ She looked down at her hands. ‘I just misinterpreted what our friendship was. It was my fault.’
‘Oh.’
He fell silent, waiting for her to continue, but she was saved by the appearance of a doctor, who shook hands with them both.
‘He’s heavily medicated,’ he explained, ‘but you can go in and see him now.’
Nina followed Tim along the corridor, then through a door to a private room, the city lights blinking through the window in the night sky.
‘Hey.’ Ross’s face broke into a sleepy smile when he saw them. ‘I wondered where you were.’
Nina couldn’t contain the sob that burst from her lips. She ran to the bed, crouched down, and wrapped her hands around his.
‘I thought I’d lost you forever,’ she whispered when she could speak. ‘I was so scared.’
When she drew back, Ross wiped his eyes.
‘I didn’t know what to do when I saw you and Kyle on the back of that motorbike,’ he said. ‘Then, when Sean appeared with my rifle, I thought he was going to kill me.’
He explained about faking his gut shot wound, then the couple’s decision to leave him.
‘Good job the gas was pumped from the tanks, too,’ he said, telling Nina about their attempts to destroy the truck stop.
‘What happened?’
‘I was terrified,’ said Ross. ‘I knew he’d come back to kill me. I heard the car door slam and then remembered the nail gun next to the toolbox by the counter.’
He fell silent, and Nina held his hand, guessing what had happened next.
‘What did the police say?’
His lips pursed. ‘They were going to arrest me.’ He shook his head to silence her. ‘I killed a man, Nina. They were doing their job.’ He shuffled, easing himself up to a sitting position. ‘It turns out Kyle spoke to them, though, and explained the situation. I’m not being charged – they’ve agreed it was self-defence.’
‘So you phoned the police after you’d killed Sean?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I’d already managed to get as far as the phone.’ His eyes met hers. ‘I think I may have been a bit hysterical by the time I got through to a dispatcher who listened to me, and then Sean turned up. They heard everything.’
Nina sniffled at the thought of Ross having to drag himself through the building while in so much pain.
‘You saved our lives,’ she said, clutching his hand, tracing her fingers over his.
He squeezed her hand in reply.
When he didn’t speak, Nina glanced up to see him watching her intently. She bit her lip.
‘Ross? I have to ask – are you with the FBI as well?’
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth before he spoke.
‘I’d love to sound really tough and say yes,’ he said. ‘But no, I’m not.’
‘Then why did you get involved?’
He shrugged. ‘It was the right thing to do,’ he explained. ‘Hudson always kept to himself, never socialised or anything, so when Tim and I saw vehicles coming and going, and different people milling around the place, we decided to keep an eye on the place. When we found out about the drugs, we reported it.’ He sighed. ‘I never imagined it’d come to this – or that it wasn’t even about the drugs.’
‘Do you want to go and work for the FBI?’
He snorted and then fell silent, and his face clouded over. He gripped her fingers between his.
‘No, I don’t,’ he said quietly. ‘All I ever wanted was for everything to be back how it used to be around here.’ He rubbed at his eyes. ‘No chance of that now, with Dad gone.’
‘Ross, I’m so sorry.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘I think, in his heart, he believed he was somehow doing the right thing to keep a home for you two. I don’t think he knew about all of Hudson’s plans until it was too late.’
Nina turned to see Tim watching them, saying nothing.
‘How badly damaged is the truck stop?’ she asked. ‘Did they tell you? Do I want to know?’
Tim rubbed his hand over his chin. ‘They say there’s a fair bit of damage,’ he said. ‘Mostly from the wind – you know about the front window, but some of the roofing on the accommodation block is loose.’
Nina stood and walked over to the window, peering down at the cars moving like toys on the intersection below.
‘I’ll have to move back here and oversee the repairs,’ she said. ‘And that could take me weeks.’
‘Well,’ said Tim, ‘you might want to reconsider that.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Nina, frowning when she saw the teenager smile.
‘I took the liberty of asking the police to check your father’s insurance papers,’ he explained. ‘You’re covered for all the damage, which should give you a head start. And we’re getting a lot of enquiries from the media about accommodation in the area while they cover the story.’ He shrugged. ‘Apart from that, there’s nothing that can’t be sorted out with a few hands on deck and a couple of days’ hard work,’ he said. ‘I’m more than happy to help you, if you’d like me to.’
Nina’s heart began to pound as the realisation of what he was sugge
sting hit her, and she moved back to where Ross lay. She’d be able to get the truck stop up and running again. Bring her father back from the city, home to Mistake Creek.
‘What do you think, Nina?’ asked Ross, reaching out and squeezing her hand. ‘Do you want to come home for a while? It would be good to spend some time with you and catch up.’
‘You promise you won’t make me listen to country and western music while I’m there?’
He laughed. ‘I promise.’
Nina wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. ‘Then, yes. Yes, I do.’
41
Six weeks later
Nina shielded her eyes and peered at the horizon.
Beyond the trees that surrounded the back of the property, the main highway ran in a straight line for another half mile or so before it curved to the left and out of sight. Small clouds of dust curled in the breeze, while a black crow picked at the carcass of a small mammal to the side of the scarred asphalt. She squinted in the fading light, the sun now a thin golden line at the horizon while the sky above flared orange and purple against the vista of fresh crops and scrubby trees.
The valley had blossomed since the drought-breaking storm drenched the community, and farmers who had once contemplated moving away from the land were now re-establishing themselves – and attracting investment from outside the agriculture sector.
The news coverage of hers and Ross’s involvement in preventing a major terrorism attack hadn’t hurt either, with a number of journalists and television crews visiting the area to interview them during the weeks since. Although the incursion into their lives had been brief, it had put Mistake Creek back on the map.
The truck stop had entered a new phase too. The sudden influx of tourists to the area, travelling through the valley after hearing the story, and later in order to reach the blossoming national parks at either end of the valley, were taking full advantage of the easy access to fuel and overnight accommodation.
Nina crossed the forecourt, carrying a pack of soft drinks to restock one of the refrigerators next to the front counter. The income from the truck stop was now more than enough to fund her father’s decision to retire to a small house in Mistake Creek and leave the running of the business to her while she organised a sale. Dealing with the contractors she’d engaged to renovate the truck stop and accommodation block at least gave her a focus. Despite abandoning her search for a city job without a backward glance, Nina was at a loss what to do next with her life.
Two FBI thrillers: Before Nightfall and Mistake Creek Page 41