Chapter 3
By the time he was nearing his uncle’s house, Nate was struggling to stay awake. Adrenaline had kept him awake for the first couple of hours, but even though he was still just as worried, the adrenaline had faded. He’d been driving all night.
Lily had no such problems. She slept on the back seat, curled up on her rug, her ball between her paws.
Nate wished he could be so carefree.
He pulled up in front of the house, the light of the rising sun shining in his eyes, making it hard to see. A dog barked frantically, waking Lily. She put her front paws up on the window, and barked back, her puppy bark squeaky.
Nate stared up at the house, willing his brother to appear at the front door.
But nothing stirred.
The police had called him an hour into his journey and said the house was empty. That yes, they’d found shotgun shells on the porch, but no other signs of violence. That they were on the lookout for his brother, and would let him know if they found anything.
It wasn’t enough.
Nate couldn’t help imagining his brother dead in an alley somewhere. It was what had spurred him to keep driving faster.
He’d called his brother’s phone several times throughout the night, but it went straight to message bank. Either it was dead flat, or out of range.
Nate climbed out of the car, leaving Lily staring at him out the window. He headed up the stairs and nervously pushed open the door.
The house was silent and empty.
He stared around him, not even sure what he was looking for. He’d come all this way because he couldn’t sit at home and wait. But was being here any better?
On the front porch were two spent shotgun shells. Nate stared around, wondering what his brother had been shooting at. Something outside, not on the porch.
He headed back down the front stairs and walked through the yard. A darker patch on the gravel caught his eyes, and he bent to examine it.
Blood.
So Brad hadn’t just shot at something, he’d hit something.
Question was, what?
Nate stood up abruptly. He wasn’t an investigator, but he felt the need to keep a record of this. He grabbed his camera out of the car and snapped some pictures. Of the blood stains on the gravel and the shotgun shells on the porch.
Inside, on the coffee table, he found Brad’s mobile phone. Not flat, but definitely out of range.
Nate stared at it, the feeling that something was wrong intensifying.
His brother must have been in a rush to leave his phone behind.
Who had he been shooting at, and why?
Nate shook his head. It made no sense at all.
Lily’s frantic barking from outside broke through his stupor. He snapped a picture of the phone, picked it up, then headed back outside.
Lily’s puppy barks were echoed by a louder bark. The same one he’d heard earlier. Nate headed around the side of the house to see what it was.
The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. This was the strangest situation he’d ever been in, and he’d been in some weird ones. Luna was chained up at the side of the house, barking frantically at the bushland nearby.
The absolutely frantic nature of her barking didn’t abate any of Nate’s apprehension.
Maybe he should call the police out again. Make them check what the dogs were barking at. But Nate couldn’t wait. The police had been no help whatsoever last night. He suspected that he’d already found more than they had. They hadn’t mentioned seeing the blood anyway.
Nate suspected they might have taken it a little more seriously if they’d seen it. But of course, it had been dark when they were out here. Spatters of blood weren’t so easy to see in the dark.
He edged towards the bush, and at that moment, happened to glance down at the ground.
Another dark patch.
Nate’s heart skipped a beat.
He’d been half hoping to find Brad hiding in the bush, but now he began to suspect that it was whatever his brother had been shooting at.
If he’d wounded it, and it had taken shelter in the bush…
Nate had no idea what he’d be facing up to. His best guess was a wild dog, but even that didn’t feel right. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t going to be friendly.
Brad wouldn’t have shot at it if it were.
He took a step back. Time to retreat and fetch the police. This was over his head.
“You shot me!”
A woman’s accusing voice startled Nate so much, he almost dropped his camera.
She strode out of the bush, her silver hair flowing like silk. Sure enough, she had a wound on her upper arm. More than one.
Nate winced. One anxiety eased.
It was a woman. Apparently unarmed and not dangerous.
But another one took its place. What had gotten into Brad? Had his brother shot at an unarmed woman in the darkness?
His brother was going to be in serious trouble.
Now Nate was glad he hadn’t called the police before he'd seen her. Maybe he could smooth this over a little.
He held up his hands. “That wasn’t me,” he said quickly. “But I can get you help. Where are you from? What’s your name?”
She looked at him, her lips pursed, then folded her arms. “I saw you shoot at me. Where’s the girl?”
Something about the situation didn’t feel right.
Nate hadn’t ever met anyone who’d been shot, but if he’d thought about it, this isn’t the way he’d expect them to react.
She wasn’t scared. She didn’t even seem particularly hurt. She was angry.
Well, that did have a ring of truth about it.
Nate hesitated. This was a messy situation. “I think that might have been my twin brother. I’m sure he didn’t mean to. I need to find him, and find out what’s wrong. Do you know where he is?”
“How would I know where he is? He didn’t exactly stop to tell me where he was going after he shot me. I’m looking for him too.”
Nate stared at her. It just didn’t make any sense. Why would Brad shoot at this woman? “Look, why don’t you tell me what happened?”
She moved to fold her arms, gave a wince of pain and stopped. Instead, she just glared at him. “Are you trying to say this was my fault?”
Nate winced. There was no easy way out of this. Especially not without knowing what happened. He needed to find Brad and hear his side of the story. He held out his hands placatingly. “Look, I’m sure there must have been some sort of mistake.”
He couldn’t think what, but there had to have been.
“I can drive you to the hospital if you need to get someone to look at that.”
She glanced at the wound on her arm, and shrugged. “It’ll heal.” Then suddenly her eyes narrowed, and she stared at him. Then she shook her head, muttering under her breath.
Nate began to wonder if she was all there. There was something decidedly strange about this encounter.
Then it hit him.
The police had been here. Or they’d said they had anyway. They’d checked out the house and said Brad was nowhere to be found. And since he wasn’t, Nate saw no reason to doubt their claims.
So if this woman was in trouble, why hadn’t she approached them and asked them for help?
A chill ran up Nate’s spine.
It was possible that she’d run away and hid and only just come back. But why come back at all? Surely there were other houses around where she could go for help.
Was she a wanted criminal? That was the only other explanation he could think of.
It might be best if he got out of here.
He began to back away slowly. “Well, look, if there’s nothing I can do to help, I’ll head off.”
More words bubbled up in his mind, but he snapped his mouth shut before he could start rambling about his brother, his puppy, or anything else that came to mind.
When dealing with a maniac, better to say as little as possible. Don’t engage, and get out of there.
Nate glanced back, trying to judge the distance to his car.
For every step backwards he took, she took one forwards. Nate’s heart raced. This wasn’t working.
“Where are you going?” she asked flatly. “You’re not going to rush off and leave me here after your brother shot me, are you?”
“I can’t do anything to help,” Nate said firmly. “I have no medical knowledge at all. I can call an ambulance for you though.” He hoped his voice wasn’t shaking.
Why?
He gave himself a shake. The woman might be mad, signs certainly seemed to point to that, but she wasn’t that big, and she didn’t seem to have a weapon of any sort. She didn't seem to be a threat.
And yet, Brad had shot her. There must be more to it than he was seeing.
But what?
“There is something you can do to help.” She stepped forwards, closing the distance between them faster than Nate could have expected, and grabbed him by the arm.
Her fingers were strong and tight.
Nate was pretty sure he could have pulled away, but he was too surprised to even try.
Her face was inches from his, and her eyes glowed silver in the early morning light. “Unless you’re as cold and unfeeling as your brother?”
Nate bristled at her words. They certainly didn’t describe Brad at all. “Hey, that’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“He shot me,” she reminded him.
Nate could hardly argue with that.
“What can I do to help?” he asked, more to buy time while he figured out how to get away than because he wanted to help her. “I can call someone if you like? My mobile doesn’t have reception, but there’s a phone in the house that still works.”
She looked interested for a minute, then she shook her head. Her eyes locked onto his, cold and calculating, sending a shiver up his spine.
“You’re going to help me find your brother.”
Even though finding his brother was exactly what he wanted, her words still raised goosebumps on Nate’s skin.
They weren’t what he would have expected from someone who’d been shot.
What did she want his brother for? The only thing he could think of was revenge, and he certainly wasn’t going to help with that. No matter what had happened here, he was sure his brother had a reasonable explanation.
“Look, I don’t know what your goal is, but I’m not helping you find my brother,” Nate said firmly. “I’m going to find him.”
He shook his arm, trying to pull it out of her grasp.
Her fingers tightened. She moved her face closer to his, and suddenly her eyes whirled. The pupils narrowed into slits, and for a second, Nate felt as though she were staring into his soul.
His heart hammered in his chest.
Who was she?
What was she?
“I have no interest in your brother,” she said, her voice cold and calculating. “It’s the girl I want. If you help me find her, I’ll let him live.”
For some reason, despite all evidence to the contrary, Nate felt no disbelief at her being able to carry out her threats. Something was going on here. Something far bigger than anything he’d ever seen before.
And for some reason, instead of making him freak out and want to run, her closeness was heating his blood.
What the hell?
She knew it. A smile twisted her lips, and she leaned in and kissed him.
Nate knew he should shove her away. Knew he should take advantage of the fact that her fingers had released their death grip and were stroking his arm instead, and run for his car.
But he didn’t want to.
Her lips tasted of salt and spice and adventure.
And Nate never said no to an adventure.