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She nodded.

Graysen’s fingers flew over the keys as he texted the photo that Ellie had sent. ‘Okay, all done. How about a cuppa? You look awful.’

‘Thanks, darling. I feel awful.’

‘A cuppa coming up.’

Before the jug had boiled Sandra’s phone rang. There was no caller ID number and she frowned.

She picked it up as Graysen picked up the jug and poured the hot water over her teabag.

‘Hello?’

‘Sandra. I want you to listen very, very carefully. It’s Greg. Is Graysen there with you?’

Sandra swallowed. ‘He is, why?’

‘I got the text and I’m running the photo. I’ve already got two hits under two different names, but you don’t need to worry about that. Can you please put your phone on speaker so Graysen can hear?’

‘Just a minute.’ Sandra’s fingers were shaking so much, she missed the speaker icon the first time she stabbed at it. ‘Okay, it’s on.’

‘Listen to me. Your new phone has a bug on it. Not a physical one, but it’s tagged so that all of your calls and texts are being listened to. I’d say yours is too, Graysen, and Jenny and Clive’s. I’ve found them, and IDed them and I’ve put an electronic marker on the phone that’s tracing yours. That means that they are listening to this conversation too. And by the look of things, they’re almost to your address already. Hello, Zed and Miska, I hope you rot in hell. Graysen, I want you guys to leave your phones behind and get the hell out of your apartment. Now. Go somewhere where’s there’s a landline and call Connor and he’ll patch me through. I’ve called the Feds and the local police, and they’re on their way. Now get the hell out of there, and walk, don’t take your car. It’s probably tagged too.’

Sandra put her hand over her mouth as shock and fear hit her stomach and her bladder. ‘I have to go to the loo.’

‘No, we don’t have time.’

‘I have to. I’ll run.’

Graysen’s hand did the frustrated hair thing, but she ran to the bathroom. As she went to flush the toilet, there was a knock at the apartment door, and she froze.

Graysen’s voice outside the door was low. ‘Come on Sandra, we’ll go over the balcony. They’re at the door already.’

Her hands were shaking, her lips felt frozen and her legs didn’t want to work. All she could think of was, is this what Peter felt like when he knew he was going to die?

‘Come on, sweetheart. You can do it.’ The balcony was off the main bedroom and about two metres off ground level.

Graysen opened the door and stopped dead. Sandra looked past him. A tall woman with a white blonde crewcut was sitting on the balcony on one of the chairs. For a moment, relief flooded through Sandra, and then she backed away as Miska’s voice came from this unfamiliar face.

‘Sweet, sexy Graysen, why don’t you go and let Zed in, and I’ll talk to your lovely Sandra. How sweet is it that you’ve found each other? Is she a good fuck?’

Sandra ran into the bedroom as Graysen tried to engage Miska. ‘You might as well leave now. The police are on the way.’

‘We have three minutes,’ Miska said in a cold voice, ‘and we don’t leave unfinished business. After we deal with you two, we’ll go and visit the lovely Ellie and then deal with Connor and Greggie boy. They’ve impressed us. They’re very clever.’

When Sandra heard the bitch say she was going to Ellie, she stood straight and walked into her wardrobe. Reaching into the high Italian leather boots that had sat there unworn for the past five years, she retrieved what she was looking for.

Someone was still pounding on the front door, and Miska was talking to Graysen as if they were at a friendly social function. Sandra did what she had to, and then walked back to the balcony door.

‘Ah, here she is.’ Miska lifted the handgun that was sitting in her lap.

Graysen’s back was to Sandra as she lifted the pistol from behind her back and fired directly into Miska’s face. The boom deafened her, so she wasn’t sure if the pounding on the door had stopped, or if she simply couldn’t hear it. She walked over and stood looking down at the sightless eyes. ‘No one threatens the ones I love,’ she said.

Graysen turned and gently took the gun from Sandra as the sound of sirens reverberated through the air.

Epilogue

Two years later-Darwin