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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SWEAT RAN FREELY down the side of Aaron’s face, trickled down his back and chest. Dust rose to mingle with the moisture, causing streaks of red on his skin. He grunted and rolled onto his other side, furiously working at the ropes around his wrists. They were getting looser. This guy was an amateur when it came to tying knots. And it was going to be his downfall. A few more minutes and Aaron would be free.
“You should’ve killed me, you fucker,” he swore at the sky. “Because I’m coming to get you.”
Aaron had no clear idea how much time had passed. The guy had hit him over the head after he tasered him—with Aaron’s own Taser, what’s more—and he’d been out of it for quite a while. At least an hour, if the alignment of the sun was anything to go by. The guy might not have realized it, but he’d done him one small favor—leaving him lying beside the caravan, at least he was shaded from the merciless sun. It was already hot enough; he was glad he wasn’t lying directly in the scorching rays.
His wrists burned where he was twisting and contorting them, working the ropes to get the knot loose enough. But it was a small price to pay.
Aaron wasn’t sure exactly what had transpired during the ambush. He’d already called himself all the names under the sun, and then some, at his own stupidity, at his lack of vigilance and the sluggish way he’d carried out protocol over the past few days. He’d been lulled into a false sense of security that they were safe out here. That, and the way Julie filled his mind, his every waking thought, took over his logical brain. If—no, when—he got Julie back safely, and this was all over, he was going to resign from Shield. No bodyguard doing their job properly would’ve let his client be abducted like this. At least, he hoped that was what’d happened. Since he’d recovered consciousness, he called out continuously to Julie, but the camp had remained stubbornly silent. Nothing and nobody moved. And if this stalker was the same one who’d taken the other women, then he had a pattern he liked to follow. He’d take his prey somewhere quiet and isolated, where he could carry out his sick little games.
Aaron sucked in a sudden breath as one of the knots gave way slightly and he was able to slip the loop of rope over his thumb.
He was free.
Whipping his hands around in front, he shook the ropes off his other wrist and quickly untied his feet. Then he was up and running. The stalker had taken Aaron’s sat phone, but he was hoping against hope that he hadn’t taken his cell phone, which was on the counter in the caravan. Everyone knew there was no reception out here. But Aaron knew better.
Racing into the caravan, he found his cell exactly where he’d left it, and he let out a gust of relieved air. Then he leaned down to check his go bag. He already knew his Taser and SIG Sauer would be missing. The bastard had also taken the small gun and the ankle holster while he’d been unconscious, which left Aaron with no weapon. But at this moment in time, he didn’t much care.
Sprinting to the mess tent, Aaron did a quick search, calling Julie’s name. Nobody answered. The table where he and Julie had dumped their UHF radios after they came back from the muster was empty, which meant the abductor had probably taken them as well.
Aaron stood in the middle of the camp, turning a three-sixty-degree circle. Where had the fucker taken her? It’d be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, which was exactly what the stalker must’ve been thinking; that he could hide out in the bush for days without being found. But Aaron had an ace up his sleeve, and he prayed with all his might that the little GPS tracker was still transmitting.
He turned to stare up at the hill with the repeater station on top. It was rocky and would be hard to get up there in a standard vehicle, even with a four-wheel-drive. But Aaron had a better idea. He ran to the horse yard, surprising the two resting horses when he vaulted over the railing.
“Come on Chester, I need your help,” Aaron said, grabbing a bridle and catching the sleepy chestnut. Aaron had him saddled in record time and the pair took off, straight through the camp, Aaron crouched low over the horse’s withers, urging him into a gallop. He’d lost his hat somewhere in the scuffle with the stalker, and the wind whipped through his short hair as he urged the horse to go as fast as he dared over the red dirt. They had to slow half-way up the hill when the ground became rocky and treacherous, but they still made the trip in a third of the time it’d taken him and Julie a few days ago. Chester was blowing hard and had raised a lather by the time Aaron pulled him to a halt beside the repeater tower.
Aaron jumped out of the saddle and held his phone in the air, as if it might come to life with just the strength of his will alone. The little bars that told him he had reception remained stubbornly blank.
“Come on, you piece of shit!” Aaron yelled at his phone. He walked toward the metal construction, trying to remember exactly where he’d found reception before. Julie had said there was only one particular spot where the reception was good. His phone suddenly pinged with an incoming message.
Eureka!
Aaron scrolled until he found the app he was looking for and opened it, praying silently. Please, please, please let it be working. The app took ages to open, but finally a map appeared with a little blinking blue dot.
“Oh, thank God,” Aaron said to Chester, who gave a quiet snort in reply.
Arron studied the map intently, trying to figure out where he was in relation to Julie. After a few moments, Aaron was pretty sure he found the stock camp because the billabong was marked as a blue expanse on the map. And Julie wasn’t too far away, as the crow flies, perhaps only a few kilometers. Aaron didn’t know what—if any—type of transport the stalker was using, but he was pretty sure the guy wouldn’t have just walked into camp. His finger traced the faint lines of the various roads in and out of the area. Some of them would be so little used that they might not even be on the map. But the main one into camp was definitely there. He traced its trajectory with his eyes and saw another road turn off it, heading in the same direction as the dot. So, it looked like it was possible to get to the spot on the map by vehicle, but it was a round-about route, as the road meandered around hills and watercourses. It could take him an hour or more to get there by car. Whereas, if he went straight across country, he’d be there in no time at all.
The dot remained immobile, which meant the stalker had stopped for some reason. But why? Did he have a camp or some kind of shelter? Was he merely lost, and had stopped to find his bearings? Or had he discovered the anklet and torn it off her? There was one other alternative, but it was too terrible to even consider.
That blue dot didn’t tell him whether she was still alive or not. But Aaron was a gambler, and he was going to gamble that she was still alive. He had no other option. Because if she were dead… He dared not let his mind go there. Squinting into the distance, he willed her to be okay with all of his heart. She was just over there, perhaps if he had the eyes of an eagle, he might even be able to see her. So close. Yet so far away.
He took a screenshot of the map and made a decision. Quickly, he dialed Jake’s number and waited impatiently for him to answer, then started talking before Jake had a chance to speak. Jake had access to the same app Aaron did, and he’d soon pinpointed her location, as well.
“I’m going after her,” Aaron said.
“Not a good idea on your own,” Jake said calmly. “Let me contact Steve on his satellite phone, he’ll have the guys back from the muster in less than an hour.”
“I’m not waiting,” Aaron replied impatiently. “But I do want you to call Steve, as well as Nash and anyone else who can help,” Aaron said tightly. “See if you can get that chopper back from Comalga Station to do a sweep of the area, as well.” It was a long shot. The chopper pilot who’d helped them with the muster for the first few days had left yesterday to fulfill another job over on an adjoining property. But the stations were so big out here, covering vast tracks of land, and the chopper could be anywhere. It might also depend on how much fuel the pilot had left after nearly a full day of mustering. If he was low, he’d have to refuel, which would add time and distance to a patrol of the area. Add to that it’d be dark in a few hours, and not too many pilots were stupid enough to fly in this country after dark, so they were probably stretching their luck.
“Will do,” Jake replied efficiently. “But how am I going to stay in touch with you?” he asked quietly.
“On a wing and a prayer,” Aaron replied and hung up.
He gathered Chester’s reins and swung up into the saddle. “Sorry about this, mate.” Aaron slapped the horse’s neck. “But I’m going to need all of that strong heart and fast legs of yours.” He dug his heels into Chester’s sides and the horse leaped down the slope, in the opposite direction to the stock camp. “Hold on, Julie, I’m coming,” he muttered under his breath.
Fifteen minutes later, Chester was blowing like a steam engine and his shoulders and whithers were lathered with foam. “You’re doing great,” Aaron encouraged the horse, but he knew he was asking a lot of his mount, they’d been riding at a punishing pace. But Chester was an Australian stock horse, with a heart as big as an elephant, and he’d probably keep going until he dropped.
