Lies That Bind

by Shirley Wine

  Heart in her mouth, Brooke followed.

  Rose’s bed was also empty.

  Brooke held her fist against her lips, desperate this time to hold back the scream threatening to escape.

  Luke stood motionless, his white-knuckled fists at his side. ‘Don’t touch anything.’

  She raised fear-filled eyes and watched him.

  He stood there mentally cataloguing every detail, his expression enough to send goosebumps cascading down her spine. This was a side of Luke that Brooke had never seen. Gone was the gentle uncle, the considerate friend and the passionate lover. Here was six foot of primitive, lethal menace. He stepped forward, leaned over and picked up a wadded piece of white fabric and held it to his nose.

  ‘Chloroform.’ He dropped the wad. ‘If that bastard hurts so much as one hair on my kids’ heads I’ll kill him, with my bare hands.’

  The chilling threat drove a shaft of real fear into Brooke’s heart. Luke meant every word.

  ‘McLellan?’ She managed to get the whisper past parched lips.

  ‘For sure, or his lackeys.’

  ‘Why didn’t we hear anything? How could this happen?’

  ‘In this storm?’ He gave her a disbelieving look. ‘And if the kids were knocked out while they were sleeping, they wouldn’t be able to cry for help.’

  ‘Of course.’ Until Luke mentioned it, Brooke had barely registered the steady beat of rain on the roof, the sound drowned out by the frantic pulse making the blood roar in her ears.

  ‘What can we do?’

  Brooke had never felt more like wringing her hands. Horror and helplessness held her in thrall. This was every parent’s worst nightmare.

  Luke spun on his heel, strode down the hall and picked up the phone, immediately slamming it back on its cradle … and Brooke knew the phone was dead.

  Why now?

  Luke pushed past her, strode into his office and picked up the internal telephone that connected him to the Whitby Downs Homestead.

  Dad!

  Brooke went hot and then icy cold all over. Was he okay? Breathing hard, her heart hammering against her ribs, Brooke raced down the corridor to her dad’s room and flung open the door.

  He was sitting up in bed.

  Relief made her knees go weak and she clung to the doorframe in need of its support.

  ‘What the devil’s going on, Buttercup?’

  It was a measure of his concern that he reverted to the use of her childhood nickname, something he seldom used now.

  ‘Rose and Otto have been taken,’ she stuttered, running to the bedside and taking his gnarled hands in hers. She needed the reassurance of her dad’s touch just as much as he needed hers.

  ‘Kidnapped? When? How?’

  ‘Sometime in the night. Luke thinks they were knocked out with chloroform.’ Her voice wobbled on the words. ‘I need to get back to Luke. Will you be okay?’

  He nodded and released her hands. Brooke headed to the door.

  ‘Buttercup?’ She paused, looking back over her shoulder. ‘You take care, you hear me.’

  She ran back to the bedside and gave her father a swift hug. ‘I will, Dad. I love you.’

  ‘And I love you.’ Frank leaned against her a moment before he straightened up. ‘You go help Luke find those young ones. That grandfather of theirs is a real piece of work.’

  Like Brooke, her father seemed to hold little doubt that Duncan McLellan was behind the children’s disappearance.

  The kitchen was full of men, all of them showing signs of having dressed in haste. The whole crew of the station must be here. A man stood by the table issuing orders in a low, commanding voice.

  Rio?

  Brooke blinked and looked again. It was Rio issuing orders and Luke who stood to one side.

  What was going on here? Hearing Rio map out the search grid while the other men listened intently, she was once more re-evaluating their housekeeper. Who was this man?

  ‘Remember, guys, keep your walkie-talkies on at all times, check every corner of every outbuilding, make sure you work in pairs and don’t step into any water. It’s a mean night out there and the water is still rising.’

  As if reinforcing Rio’s message, rain rattled against the window panes in a heavy burst. The men turned and trooped out through the mudroom. She heard Matt Daintry talking to them and the rustle of rain slickers and gumboots being pulled on.

  Brooke shivered.

  Where were Rose and Otto? Were they safe and dry? They must be terrified. Rose had been sniffling earlier as if she was starting a cold. She did not need to be out anywhere in this weather.

  ‘Brooke?’

  Rio’s command focused her attention.

  ‘You stay here and man the radio in Luke’s office.’

  ‘Have you used a two-way radio before?’ Luke asked without preamble.

  She shook her head.

  ‘Come with me and I’ll show you.’

  ‘What about you and Luke?’ She looked from one grim face to the other.

  ‘We’re heading out towards Sweetwater,’ Rio said in a voice as sharp as honed steel, ‘to meet up with the police contingent on its way here.’

  ‘You called for help?’

  ‘Matt called it in from the homestead,’ Luke said, his voice as grim as she’d ever heard it.

  ‘Their phone is working?’

  ‘Ours has most probably been disabled so we couldn’t raise the alarm.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘The police have put out an APB and have patrols manning road blocks on every road that leads away from here. Thanks to Rio, we may be able to overtake McLellan or his goons before then.’

  The words filled Brooke with dread—if he hurts those kids I’ll kill him.

  It was no idle threat.

  She could only pray that Luke didn’t meet up with Duncan McLellan before the police did. He did not need McLellan’s death on his conscience.

  Luke led the way into his office. He pulled out the chair in front of a small table in the corner of the room. The radio transmitter was already crackling with static and through the speakers, she heard Matt issuing instructions to his men.

  ‘Any calls will go to the homestead. Charlotte is monitoring the radio up there,’ Luke said tersely. ‘You only need to monitor the calls. If they want you, our call sign is Headquarters Two. To answer, flip this switch up and you’re on air. Speak into this microphone and when you’re finished flip the switch back. They will answer. If you want to contact the homestead, flick the switch and say Headquarters One, then flick the switch back, wait for them to come in, then answer as before. Can you remember this?’

  ‘Sure. It seems simple enough. You go, I’ll manage.’ She tried to smile, a poor effort she knew.

  She jumped up and hugged him. Luke’s arms came around her in a bone-crushing hug; his heart thudded crazily under her cheek for a brief moment before he set her free.

  ‘Find our kids, Luke,’ she whispered.

  He gripped her shoulder hard. ‘We’ll find them.’

  She covered his hand with hers. ‘You take care.’

  Frank shuffled into the room. ‘You go find those kids, Luke. I’m here and I’ll help my girl.’

  ‘Bless you.’ With a sketchy wave Luke was gone.

  Brooke bit down on her trembling lower lip as the men’s voices grew fainter.

  ‘You okay?’ Her dad shuffled closer.

  ‘Not really.’ She tucked her arms tightly around her midriff, a move that did nothing to ease the churning anxiety.

  ‘Take a few slow, deep breaths, girl, and calm down. You can’t help any if you’re out of control.’

  ‘I know, Dad, I know.’ She blew out a breath that lifted her bangs. ‘I just feel so sick inside.’

  ‘It’s shock, Buttercup.’

  ‘I guess.’ She turned and put her arms around his frail shoulders, hugging him close. ‘I’m so scared Dad, so bloody scared. Why would their grandfather do this?’

  ‘Who knows?’ Frank pull
ed free of her hold, shuffled over to one of the big leather armchairs and plonked down as if his legs would no longer hold him upright.

  Brooke perched on the arm of the chair beside him. Their need to be close was tinged with desperation. The transmitter crackled away in the corner. Every so often she could hear the disembodied voices of men communicating with each other.

  ‘Do you think they’re still on the station?’

  ‘No, but Rio’s right to have the buildings checked.’

  A heavy gust of wind whistled around the eaves, flinging rain against the windows, the eerie sound escalating her anxiety.

  Brooke’s entire body felt like lead, weighted and heavy. Frenzied thoughts flitted through her distraught mind. How could this happen? How could she sleep in Luke’s arms blissfully ignorant that intruders were in the house and stealing their children?

  What had alerted Rio when his quarters were the furthest away from where the family slept? The questions circled through her mind in a continuous loop.

  Guilt sent blood pounding through her temples.

  A frenzied bout of lovemaking had left both her and Luke exhausted. Was this the reason why they’d heard nothing, too tired to look out for the children entrusted to their care? Brooke’s hands curled into fists, and she welcomed the bite of fingernails digging into her palms.

  ‘What will this do to them?’ she asked in a despairing whisper. ‘Especially now. Rose is just learning to smile again. How could we not know?’

  ‘Easy, Brooke, you need to stay strong.’ Her dad gripped her thigh with his good, strong hand. ‘Luke will find those kids. And those guys somehow managed to get past Rio too. Don’t forget.’

  This comment diverted her attention. ‘Rio? What is his role in all of this?’

  ‘Besides being a great cook and housekeeper, you mean.’ Frank gave her one of his endearing lopsided smiles.

  ‘He’s far more than that Dad. He was the guy in control here earlier.’

  ‘Well he is a highly trained search and rescue co-ordinator and a top notch security guy.’

  Brooke stared at her dad. ‘And you know this how?’

  ‘Rio and me, we’ve spent a fair bit of time having a good old yarn or two while you’ve been busy with the young’uns.’

  ‘Does Luke know this?’ she asked, nearly certain that he would be more than a little ticked. In his shoes she would certainly be furious.

  ‘He does now.’ Her dad refused to meet her eyes. ‘But he’ll be kicking himself that he didn’t take up Rio’s suggestion of beefing up security around here.’

  ‘Luke was sure that McLellan was too shrewd to do anything illegal; besides, we’re a long way off the beaten track.’

  ‘Not far enough it seems.’ Frank sighed, the heavy sound doing little to lighten the tension. ‘I think McLellan’s cage has been severely rattled. He’s obviously not thinking straight if he’s prepared to take such a risk.’

  ‘You don’t think he means to harm Otto and Rose?’ Fear the likes of which she’d never known spiked through her.

  What was it that Otto confided in Rio … I’m scared me and Rose will end up dead like Mum and Dad.

  Her dad’s gnarled hand sought hers, holding on tightly. ‘I don’t know, but any man prepared to steal kids from their warm beds in the dead of night is surely capable of anything.’

  Had Duncan McLellan killed his own son and his daughter-in-law? Before tonight, Brooke had given the man the benefit of the doubt. Now, if he was behind tonight’s events, she—and everyone else—would be forced to re-evaluate his character.

  ‘What do you think McLellan is so desperate to hide?’

  Her dad turned and looked directly into her eyes, and what she saw there was not reassuring.

  ‘I don’t know, any more than you do,’ he said, his expression grim, ‘but I can sure smell the stench of something really bad.’

  Brooke shivered.

  Hearing her dad put her own nebulous thoughts into words chilled her to the bone. Her dad was as easy-going as he was pragmatic. She’d never once heard him say anything like this.

  The radio crackling into life broke the tense silence.

  ‘Homestead Two, come in Homestead Two.’

  Brooke, heart in throat, leaped off the arm of her father’s chair and fumbled with the radio controls.

  Please let them be safe … please let them be safe …

  ‘Homestead Two, over.’

  ‘Rose and Otto have been found, safe and well, over.’

  Charlotte’s words were the sweetest Brooke had ever heard. Tears blurred her vision but she somehow remembered Luke’s instructions so she was able to respond. ‘Thank God. Where? How? Over.’

  ‘The police stopped a car with Rose and Otto in it near Tuakau,’ Charlotte said and even through the tinny radio waves Brooke heard the echo of relief in her voice. ‘Luke will fill you in with the details when they return. I need to call the men in. Over and out.’

  Brooke stared blankly at the now silent radio and slowly replaced the microphone on its hook. She turned to find her dad looking over her shoulder. ‘They’re safe.’

  Frank gripped her arm. ‘I heard.’

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Time slowed to a crawl. Yet again Brooke glanced at the big clock on the kitchen wall as the hours stretched interminably. What was taking them so long to return? She paced out to the verandah and peered through the curtain of rain to see if she could make out any lights that would signal a returning vehicle.

  Nothing.

  She paced inside and picked up the phone.

  It was dead.

  ‘Brooke, settle down,’ Frank said testily as she walked to the verandah door once more. ‘You’re giving me a headache and you’re about to wear a track in that floor.’

  She turned away from the French doors and perched on the edge of a chair. ‘What can be holding them up?’

  ‘Could be a hundred and one things. Most probably the children need to be medically checked over.’

  This brought her to her feet. ‘You think they could be hurt?’

  All sorts of horrifying thoughts careened through her mind at breakneck speed, each one more scary than the preceding one.

  ‘I don’t know any more than you do,’ he said with unnerving candour. ‘Didn’t Luke mention something about Rose and Otto being knocked out with chloroform? If this was the case, it stands to reason that the police would insist on them being checked over by a doctor.’

  Chastened, Brooke sank into the chair opposite her dad. ‘I never considered that.’

  ‘If you stopped fretting like a fly stuck on tar paper and gave it a little thought, maybe you would.’

  ‘I hate waiting, and this awful sensation of being in limbo.’

  ‘Then find something to do.’ Frank chuckled. ‘Go and bake a cake like your mother always did when she was upset or stressed.’

  Memories tumbled one over the other in a colourful kaleidoscope. ‘I’d forgotten about that. She used to stand me on a chair so I could help her make cakes and biscuits.’

  ‘Maybe if you slowed down some, you’d remember more of the really good memories instead of constantly dwelling on the bad ones.’

  Now she knew they were no longer talking about her mother and baking. Her dad leaned forward in his chair and looked her straight in the eye.

  ‘Thornton was a user and a loser,’ he said quietly. ‘Luke is a good guy and with him, I’ve seen my girl return.’

  She stared at him, her jaw loose with shock. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You said earlier that Rose was learning to laugh again.’ He gripped her knee with his good hand, looking deep into her eyes with unnerving intensity. ‘She’s not the only one, Brooke. These past weeks out here at Whitby, I’ve watched you finally dare to take a step out of the shadows and walk back into the sunlight.’

  Brooke swallowed hard, unable to come up with any answer. It was so unlike her dad to wax poetical or get sentimental. And truth be told
she did feel different out here on Whitby Downs with Luke and the children.

  A frisson of sensation stirred her blood.

  Of course that could well be because she was enjoying regular sex with Luke. Too much information, Brooke; Dad does not need to know this!

  The pressure of her dad’s hand on her knee tightened. ‘Please, don’t sabotage it,’ he said, watching her closely. ‘Don’t push Luke away like you’ve pushed away everyone else in the past few years, me included.’

  Do I push people away?

  Looking at her dad, she knew the answer. Guilt made tears sting the back of her eyes. She slipped from the chair and knelt on the floor beside him. ‘I’ve pushed you away?’

  ‘You have.’ He nodded, covering her hands with his sound one.

  ‘I didn’t mean to do that to you.’

  ‘I know that, but ever since that debacle with Thornton I’ve watched you steadily withdraw from people, and from life.’

  Her instinctive protest died as Brooke vainly sought words to refute his shrewd observation. But the truth of it was staring her in the eye.

  ‘You’re a good daughter, Brooke. None better—’ the hand covering hers trembled, ‘—but you’ve allowed one rotten apple to sour and blight your life. Life is meant to be lived; it is not merely a series of days to exist through. That man has robbed you of so much because you’ve allowed it to happen. It needs to stop. Now.’

  A sound in the doorway caught her attention.

  Luke stood there. He carried Otto in one arm, the boy slumped against his shoulder sound asleep, and he held Rose’s hand in a tight grip as she walked at his side. Both children were in their PJs and wrapped in rugs.

  Brooke scrambled to her feet.

  Rose broke away from Luke and ran to Brooke, the rug pooling on the floor as she buried her face against Brooke’s breast and clung to her. Brooke smoothed a gentle hand over the girl’s hair.

  ‘I was so scared.’ Rose’s whisper was muffled.

  ‘So were we, sweetie.’ Brooke’s eyes filled with tears and the lump that formed in her throat made her voice shaky. ‘But it’s okay, we have you and Otto home now, and we’ll make sure you stay safe.’

  Home?

  One simple word, but the seismic shift in her thoughts left Brooke stunned. When and how had this happened? There was no way she could deny that Luke and these two orphaned kids had burrowed so deep into her heart that she couldn’t begin to imagine life without them. These three had become her home.