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“Should we let the lodge know?” Mack asked.
“Not yet,” Bindi decided. They needed to make damn sure that Madonna had been abducted before they raised the alarm. She urged Sahara into a trot, a frisson of panic running down her spine. They needed to find those horses. Mack kept Picasso trotting by her side, but neither of them said anything. She tried to keep her eyes on the road in front, and away from Mack’s long fingers resting lightly on the reins just above Picasso’s neck. He had an easy, laid-back riding style and the horses all responded well to him. Their knees touched now and then, as their horses came together and she had to remind herself to concentrate on the tracks in front, just in case the thief strayed from the path, and not on how tingles of awareness shot up her thigh every time they came in contact. Occasionally, he’d glance at her and grimace, then look away, as if he had something to say, but wasn’t sure of himself.
Finally, he spoke. “There’s something you should know.”
Uh-oh. She didn’t need any more drama right now. What else could possibly go wrong? She clenched her teeth and stared at him from beneath the brim of her hat. “What?” she ground out.
“I had a call two days ago…” He hesitated, as if not sure how to say whatever he needed to say. “From Clarissa.”
“Oh.” Her mouth made an O of surprise. That was unexpected. She slowed Sahara to a walk so she could concentrate fully on what he was saying.
“She practically admitted that she was behind the crash on our way home from the rodeo.”
“Wow! So, what did you say? Have you told Nash?” This was good, wasn’t it? The breakthrough they needed to finally get all the answers. It meant that Mack could stop looking over his shoulder.
He waved her questions away. “Yes, I’ve talked to Dean and Steve. Dean and I had a meeting with Nash yesterday. But that’s not what I’m trying to tell you.”
He’d had a meeting with Nash already? Without her? That realization stung. Perhaps he was trying to shelter her from the unpleasantness. It was Mack that Clarissa wanted to hurt, not her, after all. And God only knew how busy they’d been. But stupidly, she felt left out. It’d would’ve been nice to have been told what was going on. But then another idea snuck into her head. Was it because he’d been avoiding her? Because she’d rejected him? Was he punishing her?
Perhaps her thoughts showed through in the squint of her eyes, because he hurriedly added, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now, but I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily, and…” He waved a hand, as if trying to snatch the right words out of the air. “Anyway, I’m sorry, but I’m telling you now.”
“Right,” she answered tightly. “So?”
“So, she threatened me. Told me to stop the investigation, or else. But I told Dean and Nash that was the last thing I wanted. So the investigation is still going ahead.”
This Clarissa sounded like a real bitch. Who did she think she was, some sort of Mafia Queen? But there wasn’t a whole lot she could do from all the way over in Texas.
“Good. This woman deserves to go down,” she said. “I’m glad you’re standing up to her. But that doesn’t stop the fact that we still have two horses to find.” She was getting tired of this conversation. Mack could fill her in on the rest of the details later. She clucked at Sahara to get her moving up again, but Mack called out to her.
“Wait, Bindi. The reason I’m telling you all this now is that I’m not the only one Clarissa has in her sights.”
Bindi reined Sahara to a halt, a sudden sliver of fear worming down her spine.
“Clarissa was trying to blackmail me, and she used you as the bait. She’s threatened to hurt you, as well.”
“And you didn’t think to warn me before now?” she asked coldly.
“It was Nash and Steve’s decision,” he said plaintively. “I thought we should, but they decided that with so much going on for the wedding, there was no way anyone would get close to either of us in the next few days. Nash hoped he’d have an answer from his colleagues in the US by that stage.” He held up his hands in supplication. “I’m sorry Bindi.”
It suddenly dawned on Bindi, the whole reason Mack had brought this up now. “Do you think this horse thief has something to do with Clarissa?”
“I really don’t know.” He shrugged. “This could be random. A coincidence, because as you say, Madonna and her filly are worth a lot of money. But I needed you to know, just in case. We have to go in with our eyes open.”
“Fine. You’ve made me aware of the danger, now let’s get going.” She kicked Sahara up into a fast trot. This was great. Just perfect. Not only did they have to worry that the horses had been stolen. But now there might also be an ulterior motive behind it all. Which seemed a little ridiculous to Bindi. This was surely an elaborate plan, if it was meant to trap Mack. And her.
There was no mistaking the three sets of tracks now, and they continued to lead them straight toward the mine. Almost as if the horse thief were holding up a sign, telling them exactly where he was headed.
After a while, Mack asked, “Why take them to the mine site?”
Bindi had a few theories, but the one that made the most sense was probably the best one. “I’m guessing they may have a truck parked somewhere up there. It’s a well-known tourist destination, and the road runs right up to it. All they’d need to do is load Madonna and Melody onto the truck and they could disappear down one of the many roads leading out of here, never to be seen again.”
“Makes sense,” Mack grunted. “But if it’s a tourist site, won’t there be other people around? Surely they wouldn’t do it where there might be witnesses?”
Bindi shook her head. “The rangers closed the site a few days ago over the Christmas period, for scheduled maintenance. It’s the low season, and they don’t get many tourists at this time of the year, especially not when the rains start. Even Stormcloud isn’t allowed to take our guests out there at the moment.”
“Aha.” Mack twisted his mouth into a bow of concentration. Fascinated by the firm line of his lips, she had to force herself to look away. Why did he have to be so bloody gorgeous? “But how would whoever has the horses know that? Unless they’re a local. Or at the very least, they’ve been talking to a local.”
She hadn’t considered that aspect, but it was a reasonable assumption. If it were locals, it also explained how they knew about Madonna and her filly, and what they were worth, as well.
