I glanced down at the valley, then up at the road, and decided to go up rather than down simply because it involved less distance and far fewer fences to climb over.
I walked across to my handbag. A quick look inside revealed both wallet and phone. But then, it would hardly make sense for them to take either of them—stranding me in the middle of nowhere with no way to communicate and no cash or cards to grab a taxi wasn’t going to get them the notebook any quicker.
I turned on my stolen phone and discovered that it was nearly four in the afternoon. I’d been in the hands of the sindicati for more than five hours, even if I couldn’t remember more than half an hour of it. I scrolled through the contacts list, looking for the number I was supposed to ring once I’d found the notebook, and discovered it under the name of Mr. Dark and Dangerous. Someone in the sindicati had a warped sense of humor.
The next thing I did was take a couple of photos of the tire tracks. Who knew? Jackson’s secret source might be able to uncover what type of four-wheel drive used these type of tires. How that would help us find the vehicle, I had no idea. With the way our luck was running, it’d turn out to be a tire used by most of the major four-wheel drives found here in Australia.
That was presuming, of course, Jackson got out of this alive and in one piece. God, I hoped he was okay.
Hoped the sindicati weren’t dining on him as they had on me.
I squished down the worry and contacted Rory.
“Thank god you’re okay,” he said without preamble. “I heard over the radio that there’d been a major crash on the freeway involving a red truck and a van, and I was worried it was you and Jackson.”
I hesitated, knowing he’d be madder than hell given my promise to keep safe, then quickly updated him on all that had happened.
“Damn it, Em!” he exploded. “They could have killed you!”
“Not until they get what they want,” I said. “Trouble is, I have no idea where that notebook is, and though there was a copy on my laptop, it also went missing.”
“Well, no, it didn’t. I have it.”
I blinked. “You what?”
“The damn battery on mine died, so I borrowed yours. It’s sitting in my locker at work as we speak.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead wearily. Even if I couldn’t find the notebook, I still had a chance of saving Jackson.
“Em, you okay?”
“Yeah. Listen, can you meet me at home? Before I can do anything, I need to recharge. It’s just become too damn dangerous to run around as I am.”
“Can do, but if you’re intending to confront the sindicati, you are not doing it alone.”
“Rory—”
“No,” he cut in. “Not this time. I don’t trust vampires at the best of times, let alone ones as steeped in crime as this lot. They won’t see or hear me, Em, but I will be there, just in case.”
I opened my mouth to protest, then closed it again. He was right. It was infinitely better to be safe than sorry.
“Okay. I’ll meet you at home.” I hesitated, then added, “Oh, and don’t bring the laptop. It’s safer where it is for the moment.”
“No problem. See you soon.”
I hung up, then slowly made my way up the hill. The clean air and exercise didn’t make the hobnailed folk any happier, but it wasn’t like I had much choice.
The road at the top was little more than a thin strip of gravel, and I hesitated, undecided whether to go left or right. Neither direction appeared particularly promising, given there was little more than trees and scrub to be seen either way. I tossed a mental coin, then headed right—at least it was downhill. Hopefully, it would lead somewhere. Even some sort of street sign would be handy right now; then I could call a cab.
After what seemed like ages, an odd sound began to cut across all the birdsong. I frowned and stopped. After a moment, I realized it was a car coming up the hill toward me.
Relief filled me, but it was quickly followed by wariness. This road didn’t look particularly well used, so what were the odds of someone coming along at the precise moment that I needed them?
None. Not the way my luck had been running of late.
It couldn’t hurt to be cautious. Even if it turned out to be a coincidence, as Rory had already noted, it was far better to be safe than sorry. I headed off the road, pushed my way through several feet of thick scrub, and sheltered behind the trunk of a big old ghost gum.
A dark blue car soon came into view. The windows were heavily tinted, so I couldn’t see who was inside, but it slowed as it neared my tree. I resisted the urge to step closer to the trunk, knowing any sort of movement just might capture their attention.
If, of course, they were actually looking for me and not just slowing down for the corner.
The car crawled past, then stopped.
My breath caught somewhere in my throat. Damn it. What else could go wrong today? Wasn’t being rammed into a tree and becoming an unwilling guest of the sindicati enough?
Apparently not.
Because the door opened and a man climbed out. It wasn’t a stranger and it wasn’t a vampire.
It was Sam.
CHAPTER 12
Silently cursing my luck, I stepped out from behind the tree and said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Rescuing your stupid ass, obviously.” His voice was clipped, frosty. “Why else would I be out here in the middle of goddamn nowhere?”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “And just how do you know I need rescuing?”
He snorted, his gaze sweeping me. Though his expression remained hostile, there was the tiniest spark of relief in his eyes when his gaze met mine again. “Anyone with half a brain can see that you need help, even if you’re too stubborn to admit it.”
“And why might that be? Care to take a fucking guess?”
He raised an imperious eyebrow. “Because you didn’t step away from the investigation when you were told to?”
My fists clenched and, for the first time in hours I was glad I didn’t have much in the way of flames. It would have been entirely too tempting to burn his arrogant ass to hell and back.
“And maybe, just maybe, it was the drugs you gave me that all but handed me over to the sindicati.”
He stiffened abruptly. “When did you land in the sindicati’s hands?”
“Like you didn’t know.” Sarcasm rode my voice. “Isn’t that why you’re out here, to gloat and say I told you so?”
“No. I’m out here because the tail we’d placed on you reported the incident with the van, and we’ve been searching for you ever since.”
“And you just happened to be assigned to the very area I was dumped.” I snorted. “That suggests either dumb luck or connection to me, Sam.”
“If,” he said, voice low and barely controlled, “you’re suggesting I’m connected to the sindicati, you would be well advised to take it back.”
The darkness and fury in him was so fierce, the blood drained from my face and I couldn’t help retreating a step. “So it was dumb luck?”
He hesitated, then shrugged. “It was just an odd hunch.”
An odd hunch. Very convenient. And yet I did believe his statement that he wasn’t involved with the sindicati. Had it been Luke saying those words, it would have been another matter.
I frowned, wondering why Luke had even entered my thoughts, then said, “And why would you and PIT even bother looking for me, given I’m nothing but a nuisance getting in the way of your investigation?”