Nella pressed a palm to her forehead. ‘Of course he did. Ridiculous to assume I should know when the woman who abducted me and planned an elaborate life for me in the basement of her townhouse was out of jail. I really am such a spoiled brat, aren’t I, Greyson? For wanting something like that?’
‘Nel—’
‘Shut up. This isn’t about me.’ She drew a breath. ‘This is about Jett. What did you tell him?’
‘She got out on good behaviour two years ago.’
‘TWO ...’ She closed her eyes as the world staggered off its axis.
‘That’s why Tom wanted you back,’ Grey said.
‘I’ll kill Tom later. Focus on Jett. What happened after you told him Sally had been released?’
‘He said he needed to check something.’
‘Check what?’
‘I don’t know! When he hung up I had a firie yelling at me to turn around and Tom calling incessantly. I never ... I never called him back. I assumed he was ...’
‘Fine. We always assume Jett’s fine!’
Guilt slashed across Grey’s face – a wound she’d meant for herself.
‘Why do you think he wanted to know about Sally Sue?’ Berating Grey about keeping her in the dark wasn’t going to accomplish anything. That was what her father would have done. And if something had happened to Jett, they’d be wasting precious minutes arguing when they could have been looking for him.
Grey shook his head. ‘He was never completely convinced the La Marcas were involved in Clarkson’s death. I think he always thought it was more ... personal.’
‘Personal, how?’
‘Like it was ... I don’t know ... like it was about you.’
‘Me? Jett thought Clarkson’s death was aboutme?’
Not everything’s about you, Nella.But he’d thoughtthiswas?
Two years. Good behaviour.
It was about you.
Grey ran inside to get his maps of trails and lesser-known forest paths around Bindi Bindi Cove. She presumed he was going to be a few minutes, explaining to Max why he was leaving her at her most vulnerable to go on a search party with the person who had just ripped out her heart.
As soon as the cottage door slammed, she ran.
She cut through the karri forest on the edge of the property so he wouldn’t see her sprinting across the grounds to the garage. Hopefully Grey would spend too long looking for her around his cottage before he realised she’d left without him.
There was no way she was letting anyone else get hurt. No way she was going to explain to Max that she’d got Grey killed searching for Nella’s psycho stalker who had probably killed Clarkson and maybe, somehow, got to Jett. No way Nella was going to be that girl again.
The one who needed saving. Little Red Riding Hood skipping off into the woods, safe in the knowledge that she had a driver and a fixer who’d save her from whatever wolves she got herself caught up with.
As the garage door roared to life, she opened Find My iPhone. The app she hadn’t given a second thought to because some naïve part of her still hoped he’d change his mind.
She grabbed the spare keys off the hook next to the bathroom and Bessy’s lights blinked at her in trepidation. ‘Oh, shut up,’ she told the car. ‘I remember the basics.’ She tossed Clarkson’s iPad onto the passenger seat, mainly out of habit of taking it everywhere with her but also because it made her feel like Clarkson was still here.
She put her phone in the windscreen holder, her eyes on the little blue dot flashing near Bindi Bindi beach, and remembered to keep her foot on the clutch as she turned the key. Bessy roared to life and something inside Nella roared as well.
She was the huntsman now.
38
