There were fewer kangaroos on the road now, and aside from the glow from his phone and the headlights, there was no light and little sound. Tess didn’t speak, and Ed was too tired to make conversation. He’d got himself into this mess trying to do a good deed, but he couldn’t abandon Tess now. It was over an hour before Tess said, “You’ve got signal.”
They weren’t far from the roadhouse where he’d been planning to stop. “Call the police and put it on speaker.” He told her the number to call and when the person answered, he explained about Salvatore and leaving him stranded at the rest stop. There was a small chance they’d catch him there, but the car licence should give them an address at least. Maybe Ed should have left the man with a bottle of water as well.
“I’ll need your contact details,” the woman said.
“We’re about to go out of range again,” Ed said. If what Tess had said was true and the man who was after her had contacts in the police, he didn’t want to bring more trouble down on his family.
“Sir, it’s important.”
“I’ll call my cop friend when I get where I’m going,” he said.
“Signal’s cut out,” Tess said. “Do you think they’ll catch him?”
Ed shrugged. “Depends if anyone stops to pick him up.” Damn, he was tired. He wound down the window to let the cool air in.
“Who’s your friend?” She sounded worried.
“She’s in charge of the police station at Retribution Bay,” Ed said. “Brandon went to school with her.” Dot would know what to do. “You should get some rest. It’s another couple of hours before we’ll reach Newman and I’ll stop to get petrol there.” And coffee, lots of coffee.
“What about the kangaroos?”
He grimaced. “I’ll keep my eye out. Better you sleep now, because I’m going to need you to do some driving when it gets light. We’ve got another thousand kilometres to go.” He’d had about four hours sleep, which would keep him going for now.
“You must be tired.”
He forced a laugh. “I’m fine. I’ve spent more hours awake when I’ve done mammoth gaming sessions with my friends.” He really wished he hadn’t spent the night before his flight doing just that. “Trust me, Tess.”
She was quiet for a moment. “All right.”
Her quiet answer jolted him. There was honesty in it, and after all she had been through, it meant something. “Sleep well.”
He smiled and focused on the never-ending road ahead.
Chapter 6
The sun was rising as Ed approached the mining town of Tom Price. He’d stopped in Newman to fill up with petrol and get coffee before continuing. The police station wasn’t open, so he couldn’t risk stopping yet. If Salvatore had hitch-hiked north, he would get dropped at Newman, and Ed didn’t want to be there when he was. When Ed reached the turnoff which took him through Karijini National Park, he reduced the van’s speed. For all his assurance to Tess that everything would be fine, he was shattered and didn’t want an accident. But now he was off the main highway, his shoulders relaxed. Salvatore wouldn’t expect them to be heading to Retribution Bay because no one took this route if they wanted the shortest distance. Even if the man hired or stole a car, he’d drive north looking for them.
Ed yawned and followed the signs into town to find an open service station. Tess woke as he parked.
“Where are we?” She blinked sleepily, her hair on one side mussed. Cute.
“Tom Price. It’s the last town before Retribution Bay. If you want breakfast, it’s best to get it here.” His brothers would be awake by now. Perhaps he should warn them about what was going on. Might be good to get Dot’s number from them too. He filled the van and Tess got out to stretch. When he paid, the man at the register said, “Early start?”
Ed nodded. “Heading to Perth.” It wasn’t likely Salvatore would trace them here, but he wasn’t risking it. “Is there somewhere we can get breakfast?”
“Bakery should be open at the shopping centre.”
“Thanks.” He wandered back to the car, and they both got in. “You said you had your laptop, right?”
Tess nodded.
“You have any security tracking on it?” He drove into town.
“No.”
He pursed his lips. “Any chance the guy after you could have put software on it?”
She paused. “I brought it from home, and it’s password protected, but it’s usually in my bag. I guess he could have taken it while I was working.”
