Crash and Burn (8 page)

Minutes ticked by and Beth tapped her fingers on the armrest beside her. Sighing, she gingerly touched the window. It was still warm, but bearable.

“Should we check the ground temperature? The window isn’t too hot now. Surely the ground would cool down faster than the car?” Beth asked.

“I’d like to wait a little while longer. The tires may still be soft from the heat and I don’t want to risk a blowout. Don’t worry. It won’t be much longer. I promise,” Daniel answered as he flashed her a reassuring grin.

There it was again, that killer smile. Beth smiled shyly back. Feeling her cheeks start to burn, she turned her head and stared out her window again. At least this attraction thing was distracting her from being completely terrified by the situation. That had to be a plus, didn’t it? Beth knew she should control her lascivious thoughts, but she couldn’t help herself, and she was so grateful he was around. She’d be dead now if not for him. Perhaps that was what she was feeling—gratitude. Maybe she was reading too much into this, but then she remembered the burning tingles when she touched his face earlier. And that session with the towel…
Hoo wee, talk about intense heat!
No, this certainly wasn’t just gratitude, but she couldn’t think about it now. After this was over, she probably wouldn’t see him ever again.
Get over it, Beth.

Beth sighed inwardly and straightened her shoulders. A brilliant flash of light suddenly lit up the sky and a crash of thunder sounded a few seconds later.

A few tentative drops of water fell on the glass before the downpour started. Beth and Daniel smiled at each other.

“Your prayers were answered. Somebody up there likes you, Daniel.”

Daniel grinned back at her and winked. “I knew that being an altar boy would come in handy one day. With this rain, we can get moving sooner than we thought. Let’s get out of the car and check the damage before we go.”

Daniel and Beth both opened their doors and climbed out of the Rover. The ground felt warm through their shoes and the steadily increasing rain on the ash was making it very slippery. Beth raised her head toward the sky. She closed her eyes as the rain trickled down her face. She knew the water must have left dirty trails through the smoke dust on her cheeks, but she didn’t care. It felt too good.

Daniel inspected the engine and refilled the radiator with water. The tires’ pressure had dropped but there was still air in them. Enough to drive on if he used the foot pump he had used on the mattresses, Daniel assured her. Beth took a few tentative steps across the ground in front of them, picking up still warm stray branches from their path to clear the way for the vehicle.

Half an hour later, the car started on the third try. Beth breathed a sigh of relief. The rock they had sheltered behind must have been more protective than she’d thought it would be. She’d really thought the car would be history, but luck had been on their side once more. Daniel released the brake, and they were finally on their way.

The thunder and lightning had now abated, but the rain still fell in a steady downpour. The track was developing rivers of its own as Daniel carefully maneuvered the four-wheel drive over the fire-ravaged terrain. Steam rose from the blackened earth as the cooling rain blanketed the ground. The air was clearer now, the smoke slowly dissipating.

* * * *

The journey out of the park was slow and tortured. They were delayed from leaving by local police who questioned their reasons for being in the park. They weren’t exactly suspects, but the authorities thought that the fire had been deliberately lit. It took all of Daniel’s diplomatic skills and patience to convince the authorities that they were simply a couple who’d been camping and found themselves trapped in a bush fire. Which, in essence, was the truth.

“You handled that well,” remarked Beth as they finally found their way to the highway. “I was worried they were going to accuse us of starting the fire.”

“I was telling them the truth. We were camping. They didn’t need to know why we were there. I usually find if you stick close to the truth, people tend to believe you.”

“Do you think it was coincidence that the fire was deliberately lit?” Beth asked.

“It’s hard to say. Unfortunately a lot of fires are started on purpose, so there’s no reason to think it was anything to do with us. No one knew we were there. Even my boss has no idea where we are. No, I think it’s most likely a coincidence,” said Daniel. “Right now we have more important things to worry about, like finding somewhere safe to crash while I do some investigating.”

“We definitely need to clean up, that’s for sure, and I’m just a little bit hungry, too.”

Daniel grinned at Beth’s attempt to lighten the mood. She managed a slight smile as she gazed back at him.

“Where are we going this time?”

“Canberra. I have a friend who’s out of town for a few months and he lets me use his house sometimes. We should be safe enough for tonight, although tomorrow we may need to move again. And we need to get rid of this car. Someone seems to be good at almost finding us, so I don’t want to take any chances.”

* * * *

It was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky, shining directly through the windshield, creating a half-light that made visibility difficult. The outer northern suburbs of Canberra were now visible in the distance as they drove smoothly along the Federal Highway. The pit stop they’d made an hour before at the roadhouse in the small township of Wingello had drawn a few curious gazes. It was then Beth had realized they hadn’t washed the soot off their faces. After a quick trip to the bathroom for both of them, Daniel had replenished the air in the tires and petrol in the tank, taking the opportunity to clean the windshield and rear window. Thankfully the car was now running more efficiently, not attracting the attention it had when they’d been hobbling along with half-flat tires, even if the paint was peeling away in places. The greasy hot chips and icy cold colas Beth had bought while Daniel was seeing to the car tasted like manna from heaven. But that meal had been a few hours ago and now Beth’s stomach rumbled. One thing she could always count on was her stomach. Beth could never be without food for long, even when she was upset. In fact, the more upset she was, the more food she seemed to need. And she needed to eat now. Her stomach started to protest—loudly.

“What was that?”

Oh my God! Did my stomach really make that sound?

“What was what?” Beth countered sheepishly, trying to sound innocent.

Daniel laughed. “I could have sworn I heard a stomach growl.” Shaking his head, he turned back toward Beth. “Never mind, we’ll be there soon enough. The house is usually stocked with plenty of food.”

A short time later they approached the sign for Belconnen and Daniel turned off the highway. They’d driven past Canberra University and turned into a side street next to Lake Ginninderra reserve when Daniel slowed the car down and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Beth whispered.

“I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling about this. Jake’s house is around the corner and there’s a dark blue van parked across the road. I think I’ll just cruise past and check it out before we stop.”

Daniel leaned over and picked up a couple of baseball caps from the back seat. “Here, put this on,” he said as he handed one to Beth and placed the other on his head. Beth rolled her hair into a bun and covered it with the hat. Daniel nodded his approval before he started driving slowly down the street.

“Don’t look at the van.”

“I’m not entirely without brains, you know.”

“Sorry.” Daniel’s face was drawn and he stared straight ahead, but Beth could see him glancing surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye at the van as they approached. “I was just making sure. We don’t want to make them suspicious.”

As the car passed the van, Beth let out a breath and whispered softly to Daniel, “What do you think? Are they waiting for us?”

“I’m not sure, but we’ll know in a minute.” Daniel shifted the car up a gear and planted his foot on the accelerator pedal. The tires shrieked as they took off at high speed down the road. The blue van suddenly came to life and charged after them.

“I think we have our answer,” said Daniel. “They’re definitely following us.”

“Why’d you do that?” Beth shouted. “You said you didn’t want to make them suspicious, then you virtually beg them to come and get us.”

“I wasn’t sure. I didn’t recognize the driver, but I had to find out if they were after us.” Daniel swore as he swerved to avoid a car coming out of a side street. “Shit! Can we talk about this later? I’m kind of busy right now!”

Chapter Five

Beth clung to her seat as best she could while the car sped precariously through the residential streets of Belconnen. Daniel’s face was a mask of sheer concentration as he expertly maneuvered the vehicle away from their pursuers.

“How far away are they now?” asked Daniel.

“About fifty meters, I guess,” said Beth, turning around to check through the back window. “We seem to have gained a lead on them.”

“Good. There’s a shopping center up ahead. We should be able to lose them there if we’re lucky.”

“I’d better cross all my fingers and toes then.”

Daniel smiled wryly. “At least you still have your sense of humor.”

“I wasn’t joking. We need all the luck we can get.”

The shopping center came into view. Daniel entered the car park and slowed down. Dozens of shoppers were driving slowly around the lanes searching for a parking spot.

Everywhere it seemed elderly couples and mothers with children in strollers were negotiating the lanes, making their way to the mall entrance. The blue van followed them into the car park, hovering slowly and checking each lane for signs of their retreat. Daniel saw it creeping up slowly toward them so he waited until another car moved in behind him, then shot out toward the car park exit.

The blue van sped up, but got stuck behind a stream of cars, effectively preventing it from following. The driver blasted the horn, but all that achieved was some rude gestures and shouting from the other drivers.
Too easy.

Thank God.
Beth started to breathe normally again, which was a bit of an effort since she’d been holding her breath for so long. “Where to now?” she asked.

“If we hurry, we can replace the car before the car dealers close then we’ll find a place to stay.”

“O-kay…so you have an unlimited supply of cash in that duffel bag in the back then?”

“Actually, I do,” said Daniel.

Beth turned to him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, and he chuckled. “Well, almost. I do have enough to get us set up with a different car and to get by for a few days.”

An hour later they were driving off from a used car dealer in a rather nondescript white sedan. Daniel even haggled over the price, much to Beth’s surprise.

Hoping she could stave off the inevitable growls of hunger, Beth turned to Daniel. “So where’s that meal you promised me?”

“Stomach growling again?”

Beth poked her tongue at him. “Enough of the teasing already.”

“Thai food okay?” he said as he pulled into the driveway of a five-star hotel.

“I love Thai food, but what are we doing here? Isn’t this a little public?”

“Not now,” he hushed as the hotel doorman opened the car door for her to get out. “I’ll explain later.”

Daniel checked them into a suite as Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, a couple from Sydney. Beth felt a flush of heat all over her body at the thought of sharing with him, silently hoping that this ‘suite’ had more than one room. She’d tried to deny the attraction she felt for him, but geez it was going to be difficult being this close to him.

Stop worrying about it, Beth. Focus on the problem, not the man.
Yeah, right!

She needed to get out of this mess. She didn’t need a fling with someone she may never see again. Definitely not her style at all. She watched him from behind as he charmed the hotel receptionist while leaning forward on the counter, showing a very sexy rear end. She groaned inwardly.
Oh God
. Focusing on her problems clearly wasn’t working.
When this is over, I definitely need to get out more.

* * * *

As the bellboy opened the room and placed their bags on the stand, Daniel sighed. He was tired from being on the run and he couldn’t think straight. Add to that the attraction he felt for Beth and he was worried. Worried that he’d never figure out who was following them. Worried that something bad would happen at the Conference unless he found the leak in the department. Worried that Beth was still in danger. And scared stiff that he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her.

Without even trying, Beth managed to awaken feelings he had no right to be having. He couldn’t afford to have them. This time he wasn’t going to get emotionally involved. Emotions got in the way of clear thinking and emotions could get people killed. He couldn’t let that happen to anyone again, especially not to Beth. He had to get the job done and fast, and move on.

At least it was a two-room suite. That should give him the space he needed to get some work done. His eyes skimmed the sitting room in front of him. It contained a desk, a three-seater couch, coffee table, a door to the bathroom and a door leading to the bedroom. Next to the desk was a phone plug for Internet connection. He’d take the couch. It was large and at least appeared comfortable.

“I’ll take the couch,” said Beth, interrupting Daniel’s train of thought. “You must be tired from doing all the driving.”

“No need. You take the bedroom,” Daniel answered. “I insist. I need to do some research on the Net anyway. I can sleep anywhere, and right now, that couch is a pretty damn good option.”

“Ah no, you’re not sleeping yet. You promised me Thai food and I’m not letting you sleep until you deliver.”

“I haven’t for—”

A loud knock curtailed Daniel’s reply. He moved over and checked through the peephole before he asked who was there.