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“Serge agreed to take care of it.Cover any evidence of the death and then just disappear.It was almost too easy,” Pacca said in a whisper.
There was more, but Nico was only half listening as the old man went on to tell him that Serge had only one stipulation; he was not to report Alex missing, as this would alert the authorities.And Pacca held up his end of the bargain.If anyone asked, he’d just tell them that Alex had met a woman on the mainland and decided to go and live with her.Then his story changed to include the fact that father and son had become estranged.Alex hadn’t had many friends, and so no one really asked about him.But the catch was that for Pacca to be able to claim his inheritance, he had to report Alex missing and then have him declared dead.Which Serge had explicitly forbidden.So the house just stood there and went to rack and ruin.In a strange kind of way, Pacca said he was glad.He was loath to go near that house; it felt dirty and tainted, and Pacca knew he was better off without it.The money he’d gain from selling it would never make up for the death of his son.
Serge had actually imposed two stipulations; the second was that Pacca never breathe a word to anyone about what had happened that night.And up until right this very second, Pacca had kept his mouth shut about the death of his son.Meanwhile, the guilt had been eating him up inside.
The farmer had wanted to keep talking, telling Nico it was as if a huge weight that he’d been carrying around this whole time had been lifted from his shoulders.But Nico had the information he needed, and he was already heading for the door.Because now he knew where he needed to go.
Serge was in Alexander’s abandoned house.He was sure of it.
Everything Serge had done with the two girls all led back to this location, as if he’d been pointing a giant finger at the spot all along.And maybe he had.Now he could see clearly, Nico wondered why his father had been so transparent.Had he been baiting Nico?Taunting him because he’d been so close, yet so far?Perhaps this was what Serge wanted all along, for Nico to come to him.Well, he was going to get exactly what he wanted, because Nicowascoming for him.
“He had a family, this broken man.I never met them, but I always felt terribly sorry for them,” Pacca said as Nico reached for the front door.
Nico brushed aside the old man’s compassion.He had what he needed.He had the connection now.If Pacca had guessed that Nico was Serge’s son, he wasn’t going to confirm it.And he certainly wasn’t going to take his pity.
While Alex’s property was adjacent to Pacca’s, it was accessed from the main dirt road at the end of Cutter’s Road, where all the rest of the properties had driveways.Nico drove the cruiser along the back road to the turnoff, taking it slow, not wanting to alert Serge that he was coming.The midday sun beat down on the windshield and a paddock of almost ripe barley swayed in the slight breeze as he drove past, looking for all the world like he was just out cruising on the perfect summer’s day.But inside his head dark clouds circled, a voice clamoring for him to drive faster.To get there before it was too late.Saving Lacey was all that mattered.
He left the cruiser at the front gate, deciding to walk in, so he had time to get the lay of the land, as well as hopefully arrive unannounced.Because Serge would be waiting for him, of that he had no doubt.On the drive over, he’d conducted a quick internal debate about the pros and cons of calling Shadbolt to let him know what he’d found.Or calling in Linc or Gorman as backup.Both those ideas had been rapidly discarded.He was here now, and he wasn’t going to ask permission to go in and rescue Lacey.He also wasn’t waiting for backup to arrive.
The police had door knocked this whole area when Danika’s body had first been discovered, talking to neighboring property owners and other locals, asking if they’d seen or heard anything, but they’d turned up nothing.An empty house wouldn’t have raised any warnings, it would merely have been cursorily checked and then disregarded.Serge may have used Alex’s house as his staging center, but in his usual precise manner, made sure all traces of himself and his crimes were erased and left that same night.Possibly gone back to sleep in his other bolt-hole a few streets over from where he and Lacey were completely unaware of him or his crimes, as they also slept in their own beds.
The farm house came into view as he crested a low rise, and wanting not to announce his arrival, he stepped off into a dry paddock that may have once held a crop but had now been overtaken by weeds and small shrubs recolonizing the space.Slipping his service weapon out of his shoulder holster, he hunched over so he remained hidden behind the bushes and stalked forward, one foot at a time.
As he got slowly closer, the house—a cottage really—became more distinct, and he could see how run-down and unloved it was.Pacca had been right; it certainly looked like no one had been here since the terrible night of Alex’s death.Although if his hunch was correct, Serge had been here, he’d just hidden his presence well.The front door was hanging off one hinge, and some of the windows were cracked or broken.A heat haze shimmered off the bare dirt of the driveway, which was marked with two large gum trees on either side of the entrance to what once would’ve been the front yard.
As stealthily as he could, he snuck toward the building, all the while scanning the area for danger.A couple of small outbuildings peeked out from behind the main structure.One looked to have been a garage, its roof now collapsed inward, and the other some kind of large shed, also looking worse for wear.Serge could be anywhere in the vicinity.
At last, Nico made his way to the shelter of a stand of acacia shrubs running along the fence line of the front yard.He was panting now, the sweat running freely down his back as the hot sun beat down mercilessly out of a never-ending sky.His bullet wound was a throbbing knot of heat and pain, but he ignored it.Centering himself, he hunkered down in the shrubbery to catch his breath and scrutinize the homestead.He stared at the house, hoping for some sign to point him in the right direction.Suddenly, he caught a flash of movement at the side of one of the front windows.It was so quick he might’ve easily discarded it as nothing at all.But Nico knew better.Serge had slipped up and given away his position.He was hiding in the front room.Was Lacey in there with him?Or did he have her tied up and sequestered somewhere else?Maybe in one of the outbuildings.The other option—the one where Lacey was no longer alive—was too horrible to contemplate, and Nico put it out of his mind.
What was the best way to breach this place?Alone, and with no backup, he needed to be smart about this.Should he enter through the back door and try to take his father by surprise?Sneak through one of the broken windows and suss out the lay of the house first.Or just charge through the front door and hope like hell he didn’t get shot before he could take Serge down?
The decision was made for him, when the front door swung all the way open, its rusty hinges squeaking loudly, as if in invitation.He tensed and raised his weapon, waiting for an attack, waiting for Serge to come out guns blazing.
Instead, he heard the deep, clear tone of his father’s voice echo over the dusty yard.“Come in, Nicolas.We’ve been expecting you.”
So much for arriving unannounced.Serge had clearly been onto him from the moment he appeared on the property.He straightened and walked cautiously across the open yard, keeping his gun up and gaze trained on the open door.Nothing moved inside.
“Come in, come in,” Serge crooned.“I promise I won’t shoot you.”
Yeah, right.But what other choice did he have?Taking a deep breath, Nico stepped into the room, his eyes taking precious seconds to adjust to the dim interior.What he saw froze his blood.Lacey was tied at wrist and ankle, her mouth bound with tape.Serge stood above her, gun resting against her temple.
“Put the weapon down.”Serge tilted his chin in Nico’s direction, his gaze brooking no argument.
It was a no-brainer.He couldn’t take the risk that Serge would follow through and shoot Lacey in the head if he didn’t do as he was told.He slowly leant down and placed his gun on the floor, then stood, hands raised in surrender.
“Good boy,” his father murmured appreciatively, and Nico was nearly sick at the condescension in his tone.It was the same tone he’d used on him as a twelve-year-old boy.Almost as if Serge couldn’t see—or couldn’t accept—Nico was now a man.A man who was prepared to do anything to save his woman and his unborn child.“And your phone too.”
Nico gritted his teeth as he put his cell next to his gun on the floor.
“Well done,” Serge warbled as if to a well-trained dog.“Now, let’s take this outside, like the two civilized men that we are.”
Serge raised his gun to point it at Nico and indicated that he precede him out the door.Lacey’s gaze tracked them both as he led Serge out the door, her eyes wide with panic as she made grunting noises of objection.There was nothing he could do to help her at the moment, so he sent her a telepathic message, telling her to stay calm and he’d come and get her when this was over.Whateverthiswas.
When Nico was standing in the middle of the dusty yard, he turned to face his father.
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”he demanded, using his calm, authoritative voice that sounded nothing like a man who had a gun currently pointed at his chest.
“Yes,” Serge replied simply.Then, much to Nico’s surprise, he took a few steps backward, emptied all the ammunition out of his gun, and placed it all on the top step of the veranda.“You and I are going to fight to the death.”
