Burnt (26 page)

Her wrists were still throbbing and she hugged them tightly against her chest, the pain bothering her once more now they'd stopped walking.

‘Here let me take a look.'

Wordlessly, she allowed him to examine the raw flesh where the ropes had rubbed her skin. The abrasions stung, and she struggled to keep from wincing as he withdrew a medical kit from the pack and began dressing them.

When he'd finished, she finally got a chance to look at his leg. Miraculously, he'd only caught a splattering of small fragments in the back of his thigh. ‘Do you want me to try to remove the shrapnel?'

‘No. Just leave it. The wound was irrigated pretty well crossing the creek; that's all it needs for now. Just wrap a loose field dressing around it.'

She located the dressing in his medical kit and quickly wrapped his thigh as best she could in their cramped conditions.

‘There's some dried fruit and muesli bars in there if you're hungry,' he said, nodding down at the pack beside her. ‘I'm going to take a look around. You stay here.'

‘Seb!' she called out urgently as he began to move away.

Sticking his head back into the small, dry cave he'd made for her, he looked at her expectantly.

‘Take your jacket back,' she said, reaching for the zipper to remove the garment. ‘It's raining.'

He shook his head and backed away from the tent. ‘I'm already soaked. I'll be okay. You keep it on and stay warm. I'll be back as soon as I can. And Bec,' he said, his expression turning serious, ‘don't leave that tent – for anything.'

She blinked.
For anything?
What was that supposed to mean? The thought unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

For a few nerve-wracking minutes after Seb left, she jumped at every splat of rain on the nearby rocks and every rumble of thunder, but after a while her stomach began to out-rumble the thunder and she realised she was starving. A quick search through the pack revealed a tempting supply of muesli bars, as promised, as well as a chocolate bar; once she found it, she had no intention of returning it to the bottom of the pack. Her mouth watered in anticipation of the sweet taste and, as she unwrapped it quickly, she silently promised Seb that she'd buy him a whole shopping bag full of chocolate to replace it once they were home.

The utter bliss of warm chocolate melting in her mouth as she sat inside her tiny shelter listening to the rain almost erased the terror she'd gone through over the last thirty or so hours. Almost, but not quite. Flashes of her abduction raced through her mind as time ticked on and the only sounds she heard were the steady fall of rain and her own breathing.

Where was Seb? What was he doing out there?

Unfortunately, she already knew the answer. He was out there watching and waiting.

He knew Charles was out there, coming for them.

Seb stayed huddled between two smooth rocks just above the shelter he'd erected for Bec. After scouting around and backtracking to take up a position where he could keep watch, he'd waited, hunched against the rain and the cold. The rain didn't bother him; even sitting here in wet clothes wasn't too much of a problem. He'd gone thorough much worse. It was the temptation he was finding more than a little distracting: a few miserable metres away from his position was a woman with only a zipper between that damn purple lacy bra and his – sadly disciplined – libido.

Lifting the small set of binoculars to his eyes once more, he dragged his thoughts away from Bec and her cleavage and forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. The rain had eased to an annoying drizzle, heavy enough to be a pain in the arse, but light enough to still see clearly. He'd played down the noises he'd heard earlier for Rebecca's sake – there was no reason she should be unduly alarmed – but in his gut, he knew the guy was out there waiting. Maybe he'd made the wrong decision stopping here, but with Bec's safety to worry about, he had little choice in the matter. Normally he'd have preferred to simply outrun the danger, but instead he decided to make a stand. At least this way he could keep the upper hand, taking away the stalker's advantage of surprise.

From the corner of his eye, he saw something move and zoomed the binoculars in on the shadowy bushland beyond. Patiently he watched for a sign that he hadn't been imagining things and was rewarded when the dark form of a man crept closer.

Silently, Seb circled around behind him. The guy obviously had some tracking experience. Seb hadn't been expecting someone to follow them or he would have made damn sure he'd covered their tracks better. He was more than a little pissed off by the guy's nerve. He'd underestimated the threat Green posed and, as a result, he'd put Rebecca's life in danger.

Rebecca huddled within the folds of Seb's jacket and turned her face into the material, breathing in his lingering scent. The citrus aroma filled her senses and enveloped her like a warm hug.

With her hunger now satisfied, and feeling toasty warm in the silver emergency blanket, she could allow herself to relax a little. It would help if Seb were in here with her – too much time alone was not good for fighting off the aftershock of her recent abduction and near-death experience – but she was thankful, for the moment, to be safe and dry.

A rumble sounded overhead, and she buried deeper into the blanket. The crack and blinding flash of lightning stole her breath. The following boom of thunder completed a terrifying display of Mother Nature at her scariest. Thunderstorms didn't usually worry her, in fact she'd always loved watching them – from safe inside four sturdy walls and a roof. Out here, to all intents and purposes exposed to the elements, it was a totally different experience, and not one she would be in any hurry to repeat.

Then, over the storm, she heard a sound that chilled her more than the thunder outside could ever do: the eerie reverberation of a gunshot through the gully.

With fingers numb and cold, she held the edge of the blanket tightly. Each fat drop of rain plopping on the rocks around her made her heart leap into her throat. The grotesque shapes created by the wildly swaying branches made her skin crawl. If only she knew where Seb was and who had fired the shot. What if he'd been hit and Charles was now out there looking for her?

With fear spurring her into action, she opened the backpack, the task made next to impossible by her shaking hands. While she'd been inspecting the contents earlier, she'd noticed a knife tucked away in its sheath in the bottom of the pack. Cautiously, she slid the blade from the leather case and held it in both hands.

The sound of feet pounding on the ground outside, drawing closer, made her scramble from the blanket into a low crouch, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the front of the shelter – waiting. Seb weaved his way back to the camp, careful to stay to the shadows. There was no mistaking Green's intention – he was out to kill him. The thought of what he'd do to Bec if he got the chance was enough to decide what Seb's next move was going to be. He was going to get Bec the hell out of here – now.

He slid down the craggy rocks, barely stopping to test his footing on the slippery surface, and ran for the shelter. As he threw open the flimsy flap, Seb froze, staring at the sinister blade of his hunting knife centimetres from his face.

Lifting his startled eyes to meet Bec's, he released an unsteady breath and slowly reached out to lower her hand, holding the handle with a white-knuckled grip.

‘It's okay, Bec. It's just me.'

Seeing her about to fall to pieces, Seb released her, taking the knife and grabbing the pack from the ground. He gave her the order to move. He didn't have time to apologise or settle her already frazzled nerves. The lead he had on Green wasn't far enough to give him the luxury of taking her in his arms and reassuring her they would be okay. Truth was, he wasn't entirely sure they would be.

Keeping Rebecca in front of him, he pointed her in the right direction and kept a vigilant eye behind them. The biggest disadvantage of the weather was that every flash of lightning would show their tracks. On the other hand, the noise of the rain would help hide their retreat, saving precious time.

‘We have to move fast; I need to get you someplace safe,' Seb told her as they crashed through the bush.

‘Where is he?'

‘I managed to lose him for now, but he won't have to be a skilled bushman to find our tracks. There should be a service road not far from here that'll take us straight through to the back of Dad's place.'

They moved at a reasonable pace, but the rain began to fall harder, hindering their progress. Rebecca stumbled a few times, tripping over roots and rocks hidden under the foliage, and Seb supported her arm at the elbow, keeping her upright as best he could. Branches whipped across his face and shoulders as they pushed on but he ignored their sting. As soon as he got Bec to safety, he could deal with Green.

Where the hell was the bloody track? His irritation grew more volatile by the minute. The guy hunting them was armed with a rifle, and all Seb had was his knife. Not great odds, especially when the threat of something happening to Bec outweighed the self-preservation instincts he'd been trained to use to stay alive in battle.

The thick bushland finally gave way to a steep rise and, with a small sigh of relief, Seb pushed Bec up the incline and out onto a gravelled track. Debris from the storm was scattered liberally along the surface and the pot holes had already filled with water. But progress was easier up here, and he picked up the pace, breaking into a slow jog, practically dragging Bec along with him.

Rebecca grabbed at her side, the stabbing pain of a stitch almost doubling her over. The strange zing that flew by her ear didn't register as anything but an angry mosquito buzzing too close until Seb tackled her to the ground and yelled at her to keep down. Then it dawned on her that she'd been shot at. Adrenaline kicked in, hot and fast. Crawling along on her stomach, she wriggled her way to the shadows on the side of the road, aware of Seb's body covering her.

‘We have to make a run for the other side of the road. There's a gate just ahead. I'm going to distract him long enough for you to climb over and run. Okay?'

She managed a jerky nod and sucked in a deep breath to calm her erratic pulse.

‘Go!'

There was no time to panic – Rebecca was up, feet pounding the sloppy gravel faster than she'd ever imaged herself running. Beside her, Seb suddenly stumbled, launching them both forwards into a ditch on the other side of the road. She heard him growl a ragged expletive, his breathing harsh near her ear as they lay motionless. Wiggling from under him, she saw the slow trickle of blood from a hole in his shoulder.

‘You're hit,' she gasped, instinctively reaching for his arm to take a closer look.

‘No time. There's the gate. Get going. Just run dead ahead and you'll come out in the bottom paddock, then follow the tree line and creek all the way back to the house.'

‘I can't leave you here alone,' Rebecca said, disbelief colouring her voice.

‘Don't argue, Bec – I've gotta get back into the bush, I'm a sitting duck out here. Move it. Go and make sure Dad's okay.'

He didn't give her any further chance to protest, rolling to his side and onto his feet, one hand slapped across his wound as he ran back across the road in a weaving fashion.

Realising she was now alone in the ditch, she had a choice: stay there and risk Charles coming over to finish her off or run like hell over the fence and hopefully to safety. There was nothing more she could do for Seb – he'd already vanished back into the scrub. He was right; his dad could be injured and in need of medical help. Images of what Charles could have done with Seb's father were flooding her mind at an alarming rate, making her feet pump like pistons, propelling her over the rusty fence.

She lost count of how many times she slipped and fell on the wet grass; her hands stung and her legs burned with the exertion. Too scared to look over her shoulder in case she saw Charles following her, she kept her eyes on the tree line as Seb had instructed. Getting there seemed to take forever; in the dark, landmarks were hard to judge. Thankfully, the massive willow and pine trees stood out as silent markers that not even the rain falling in heavy sheets could obliterate.

Falling once again, she dropped her head wearily as the rain streamed down her face, mixing with tears of frustration and despair. Sobs raked her body as she half lay, half sat in the mud and grass and cried. The urge to just stay here overwhelmed her. She was exhausted, pushed beyond her limits. Every muscle and joint in her body ached.

But a little voice told her that if she didn't get up, then they were all dead. She couldn't let Seb die, and there was no way Charles Green was going to take her away from her babies. Tipping her head back, she gave a cry of anguish that was swiftly taken by the wind. She pulled herself to her knees, reaching out to lean against a nearby tree and support her tired body as she got her bearings.

One foot in front of the other. One step closer than the last. Don't look at how far you have left to go, just think about taking the next step.

Eventually, as she staggered along the worn cow track parallel to the creek, she saw the house.

Rebecca made her way cautiously up the front steps, fearing what she might discover inside. She thought her heart would surely jump clear out of her chest if it continued to pound this hard for much longer.

It was so quiet. A frown crossed her anxious face. Where were the dogs?

There were no lights on and she hoped that maybe Charles had been lying about coming here. She prayed fervently she'd find Angus Taylor tucked up in his bed, safe and sound.

As she moved through the kitchen soundlessly, she heard a small groan and paused, trying to get a bearing on the sound.