WILL TIME WAIT: Boxed set of 3 bestselling 'ticking clock' thrillers (48 page)

“
I
guess this is
where we say goodbye,” Kerry said, hugging me on the pavement outside the
pub.  “Your friend is in danger.  Go help her.”  She gestured to
John.  “Come on.  Let’s go.”

“Any
chance of borrowing a car?” John asked.

Steve
shook his head and hurried to his car.  “Not a prayer.  I’ve seen how
you drive!”

“Use
one of mine,” I said.  “If they still work.”

“Thanks,”
John said.  “But I think I left your keys at Dylan’s house.”

I
looked at Dylan.  “We’ll have to drive back to your house to get
them.  If it’s safe.”

He
nodded, but didn’t look at me, he was staring at Steve.  “Drive behind me.
 Don’t go storming off to get Kate.  We need to think this through.”

Steve’s
nostrils flared as he inhaled. 

“I
mean it,” Dylan warned.

Steve
nodded, unlocked his car, sat behind the wheel and thumped it.

We
climbed into the cars and headed to Dylan’s house.  John rode with
Steve.  Kerry, clearly still angry at John, insisted on riding with me in
Dylan’s car, making it impossible to talk about the kiss.  It was only a
short drive to Dylan’s house, but it seemed as though an eternity would pass
before I could clear the air.  

Steve's
blinker flashed ahead of us and he turned onto Dylan's street.  Suddenly,
his brake lights lit up the tarmac. Dylan skidded to a halt.  Our bumper
stopped a hair away from the Golf’s rear. 

I
grabbed the dash to steady myself.  “Why did he stop?”

Dylan
pointed ahead.  “I’m glad he did.”

I
stared along the street.  “Holy crap.”

Parked
outside of Dylan’s house was a black Land Rover.  My whole body
stiffened.  “They’ve come back.”

Dylan’s
face tightened.  He shifted the car into reverse.  “They’re waiting
for us.”  

Kerry
leaned between our seats.  “Move it!  Let’s get out of here.”

Looking
abnormally pale, Dylan gripped my headrest, twisted in his seat and looked out
of the back window.  “Get out of the way,” he said, waving at Kerry to
move.  She dipped her head and he reversed around the corner with a screech.

Steve
followed us.  He did a quick U turn across both lanes, and sped off.

“Did
they see us?” I asked. 

“Let’s
hope not.”  Dylan spun the car around.  After changing gear, he took
a right and zoomed off, but Steve’s Golf was nowhere in sight.  “Where did
he go?”

I
glanced down side streets as we drove.  “I don’t know.”

 
Dylan passed his mobile to me.  “Phone him.”

I
located Steve’s number and hit the call button. 

“Where
are you?” Steve said on answering.

“On
Bridge street,” I replied.  “Where are you?” 

There
was a pause before he said, “Heading to your house.”

I
gasped.  “No!  That’s crazy!  These people have guns,
Steve!  If you go storming in, they’ll shoot you, and probably shoot
Kate.”

“Get
back here now!” Dylan yelled near my ear.  “They’ve got guys out hunting
for Jen, and they’ll probably have more guarding Kate.  It’s suicide.”

There
was a pause over the airwaves.  I heard John’s faint voice in the
background, something about Elliot, something about numbers...  I couldn’t
make it all out.  Steve began talking to him.  He must have lowered
the mobile because his voice reduced to a muffle.

“What
are they saying?” Kerry asked from the back seat.  “Where’s he taking
John?  We don’t have time to mess about.  We need to find Elliot.”

I
brought a finger up to my lips and glanced over my shoulder.  “Hush. 
I’m trying to listen.”

We
turned right at a set of traffic lights and Steve came back onto the
phone.  “Jenna?  Dylan?”

“Yeah. 
I’m still here.”

“Okay. 
You win.  John’s had an idea.  Let’s deal with both sets of creeps
together.”

“Deal
with them together?  How?” I asked, then lowered the mobile and put the
call on loud speaker.

“Yes. 
How?”  Dylan’s face clouded.  “Kate and Elliot will be in two
different places.  It’s two different gangs.”

My
mind doodled confused crosses and circles.  “Isn’t that just asking for
double the trouble?  Isn’t that just—” 

Before
I could say another word, Steve cut in.  “It’s not.”  His voice was
coldly adamant.  “John’s promised to help me.”

“We’re
stronger in numbers,” John shouted down the phone.  “We’ll deal with these
gangs one after another.”

“They
think John is Dylan, right?” Steve broke in.  “We might be able to use
that to our advantage to distract them.”

John
continued, “If you help us to get Elliot, I give you my word that I’ll help you
rescue Kate.”

“Huh!”
Dylan huffed under his breath.  “Help himself into your pants.” 

“Shut
up!” I hissed, giving Dylan the warning eye.  I glanced back at
Kerry.  She was fidgeting with her hair and staring worriedly out the side
window.  Phew, she must not have heard.

“So
what do you say?” John asked.  “Is it a deal?”

Would
he really do that?
I thought.  Put his life on the line for Kate?  Surely not.  He
must have been bluffing.  My stomach rolled with fear.  “These people
have guns.  Are you suggesting that we... charge them?”

“I
don’t have a plan,” Steve said.  “But I’ll come up with one.  Use
John to lure them away, to split the men up or... I haven’t figured it out yet,
but I will.”

“We
don’t need John’s help,” Dylan said, coldly.

I
touched Dylan’s arm, breaking through the emotional barrier between us. 
“What they’re suggesting makes sense.  Five people are stronger than two
or three.  You have to agree with that.  If John’s prepared to help
us, I think we should take him up on it.”  I was not totally convinced
that I believed John would help, but still, it was worth going along with the
idea.  “Or would you rather that Steve drove to my house now to confront
those men?”

Dylan
threw me a bitter smile.  His gaze was remote, didn’t connect with mine.

“Besides,
isn’t that what you were about to suggest when we were outside your house
earlier?” I asked, pleased with myself for remembering.  I dared to give
his thigh a quick squeeze.  At least he didn’t flinch at my touch. 
“You told me I didn’t have to choose between Kate and Elliot.  That means
you thought I could help both of them.”

Dylan
heaved a sigh.  “I didn’t word it exactly
that
way.”  His
voice was a sharpened sulk. 

“Then
what did you mean?”  I had read between the lines.  I had him
cornered by his own suggestion and he knew it.  “Do you normally go back
on your word?”

He
gave me a look from the corner of his eye.  Frost came off him in waves
enough to ice the invisible partition.  “No.  But a lot has happened
since then.”  He nudged my hand off his leg and shifted the car up a gear.

“We
knew they were taking a new hostage.  The problem hasn’t changed,” I
mumbled, “just the people dealing with it.”  Trying to blink back a tear,
I slid my gaze to the road ahead.  I wished Dylan could read the truth
within my thoughts.  “We’ll talk later.  In private.  This thing
that’s bugging you... well... you’ve got it wrong.  And actually, I’m
pretty pissed at you about it.”  Although Dylan’s attitude stunk, it showed
the strength of his feelings for me.

Steve
spoke again.  “Hello?  People?”

I
stared at the phone in my palm, almost breathless from stress.  With both
Kerry and Dylan so pissed at John, how could we work as a team?  My heart
ached for a truce.  “We’re listening, Steve.”

“What
do you say?  Look, there’s nothing more I want than to storm in and get
Kate back this very second, but I don’t want to mess it up.  We stand a
better chance of rescuing her as a team.  Neither of these gangs have
contacted us yet with demands, so that gives us some time to set something up
before dark.”

“What
do you have in mind, bro?” Dylan asked, surprising me.  Given his current
attitude, I expected him to say a flat-out no, knowing any agreement would
involve spending more time with John. 

“We
need to do this on our terms,” Steve explained.  “In our territory.” 

“Yes,”
I chimed in.  “A place that they don’t know.”

“Far
away from my neighbourhood,” Kerry said, poking her head between the front
seats. 

Dylan
tilted his head toward the phone in my hand.  “Where shall we meet you,
bro?”  His shift in attitude impressed me. 

Steve
paused before answering.  “I know the perfect place.  How do you all
feel about going ape?”

I
stood on one of
the tree platforms next to Dylan in his adventure park, feeling out of my depth
and nervous.

“Dylan? 
Come in, Dylan,” Steve called over the crackling park radio.  “How you
doing up there?”

Dylan
pressed a button to reply.  “Just about to set up the sound system.”

Dylan
had barely said two pleasant words to me since witnessing John and I locking
lips in the pub.  He brushed past me while continuing to chat to
Steve.  The bond between us had cracked wide open but, right now, we were
too busy to glue it back. 

I
massaged my eyes, but didn’t dare shut them.  Sleep would win and I’d drop
like a sand bag. 

“Coffee,”
Dylan said, fiddling with something behind me.  “That’s what you
need.  We’ll get a drink from the snack shed when we’re set up.”

“Or
Redbull.  I’d like to bathe in the stuff.” 

A
brief grin parted his lips.

After
adjusting my harness, which rubbed against my thighs, I peered through the
trees across to the car park.  From my vantage point, I had a fairly clear
view of the entrance to the adventure park.  Perfect spot for later
on.  My mobile sounded its whimsical beeps from my pocket.  All
fingers and uncoordinated thumbs, I pulled it out and saw I had a text message
from Kate...
from Kate?
  I shook my foggy head awake and opened the
message.  It read:

‘
jenna
where r u?  someone’s chasin me.  we need to meet.’

My
heart twinged.  “Oh, my God!  Look, Dylan, look.”  I whirled
around.  “I’ve got a text from Kate.”

His
eyebrows leapt up.  “What does it say?”

I
held the phone out so he could read it.

Dylan
glanced over my shoulder into the park. 

I
didn’t like his silence.  “What should we do?”

When
his gaze came back to me, his eyes had a shrewd glint.  “Nothing. 
Ignore it.  Let’s keep this between us.”

I
hadn’t misheard, so I must have misunderstood.  “What?  Why?”

“Because
if you breathe one word of this to Steve... I know exactly what he’ll do. 
He’ll shoot off to meet her.” 

Damn
right, and so would I.  “What?  What’s wrong with that?  She
needs our help.”  I leaned stiffly against the railing, wishing he’d let
me in on the secret.

He
shrugged.  “That’s probably why they sent it.”

I
tried to clear the lump of confusion that was forming in my throat. 
“They?  So what...?  I glanced at the text again.  “You don’t
think Kate typed this?”

“No. 
Not by choice.  It’s a trick to get us to give away your location.”

In
my exhaustion, I fought to keep my mind centred.  “How can you be
sure?  I mean, what she wrote sounds just like her.  And what if she
really is on the run, and needs our help?  I’d hate to think that we left
her stranded.”

“Look,
she was going to your house, right?”  He paused, giving me time to
nod.  “So we have to assume that they have her.”

“I
agree, but don’t you think she could have esc—“

He
tilted his head and shot my theory down with a single sharp look.  “You
and...
John
...“  He practically choked on his name.  “You
slipped the leash.  I doubt they’d risk that happening again, do you?”

I
glanced away.  His words started to penetrate, rubbing out my moment of
hope.  I realised that he was right, and I was just tired, which made me
wishful and naive. 
God, I really hope they haven’t hurt her.

“Besides,
the text is not a threat.  I don’t want Steve to get sidetracked over
something that’s likely just a trick.  I know Steve.  He’ll text a
place to meet Kate, walk into a trap and—“ he gulped, “—get himself killed in
the process.  We need more time to refine the plan, and need to wait until
it’s dark or they’ll spot us coming from a mile off.” 

I
was impressed.  In spite of no sleep, Dylan’s mind appeared razor-sharp.

“This
whole thing is pickling my brain.  I’m not sure whether we’re doing the
right thing or making everything worse.”  All I knew was, if we phoned the
police and the men who had Kate found out, they’d kill her.  I couldn’t
risk it being a bluff.  They’d already killed once.  I mulled Dylan’s
comments over, then gave a fractional nod of my head.  “Okay.  I
won’t mention it to Steve.  Should I reply?”

He
clasped my hand and the mobile in his.  “Absolutely not.  If they
know that the murder was recorded on your voicemail, then by using your phone
they will probably assume that you’ve listened to it.  They’d send more
people out to hunt you down, step the search up a gear.”

“I
hear you.”  I slipped the phone in my pocket.  No protest. 

“But
if they send anything threatening, I’ll be the first to tell Steve.  I
wouldn’t hold something like that back.”  He brushed past me and picked up
a megaphone.  “Right now, we need to concentrate on dealing with this
Machete character so that John will help us rescue Kate.  Besides, Steve
needs more time to work out a plan.  He’s totally sold on the idea of
using John to bait them... seeing as they think he’s me.”

“Okay. 
That makes sense.  But what if John changes his mind?” 

Dylan
began searching for something on the platform.  “He won’t.  Not when
his fingerprints are all over that bag of drugs.”

“So
what?  You’re gonna blackmail him into helping?”

“We’re
not beyond playing an ace card if we have to,” he said with a sneer.

I
crushed my lips together, suspecting that Dylan might take honeyed pleasure in
threatening to shop John to the cops for dealing drugs.  “Dylan. 
Please don’t let personal feelings get in the way.  There’s too much at
stake.”

“Give
me some credit, Jenna.  Have you ever doubted me before?”

“I
guess not.  Sorry.”

Now
that we were actually speaking, I decided this might be a good time to smash
through the frost barrier that had shot up between us since the incident in the
pub.  I did not want the awkwardness to stretch into the night, knowing
things would get heated later. 

Dylan
hooked two walkie-talkies and the megaphone onto his belt, and made his way to
the end of the platform.  “Hopefully, this switch will go smoothly. 
But we’re gonna rig this stuff up just in case.  If I’ve learned nothing
else this weekend, I’ve learned to expect the...”  He ran his accusatory
gaze up and down me.  “... unexpected.”

“Sure.”
 My heart gave a jolt as I realised what else he was referring to.  I
was about to pull him on that point, when Dylan spoke again.

“Okay,
Jenna,” he said, speaking as though he were just my friend and not my
insatiable lover he had been.  “I’m going over to the other side to tie
this megaphone up in those trees.”

I
approached him from behind.  “Well, before you go, I think we should have
a chat.  You know, clear a few things up.”

“Later,”
he said, relegating our relationship in one single word.  He faced
me.  “I don’t mean to sound rude, but I assume you do want to get Kate and
Elliot back tonight?”

“Of
course!”

“Good. 
Because I’m doing all I can to stop Steve shooting off to rescue Kate on his
own.  I don’t want him to get killed.  So I’m sorry, but everything
else will have to wait.  We need to get set before dark or we’ll lose our
opportunity, and then Kate’ll end up spending the night with those men.”

I
smiled to disguise my hurt, anger, and disappointment.  Perhaps I was
being selfish.  It took a second for me to respond.  “Sure.  I
hear you.  We have to focus on rescuing Kate.  We’ll talk
later.”   

Perhaps
Dylan could only deal with one issue at a time.  His head was obviously
elsewhere, but that was a good thing.  Rescuing Kate and Elliot had to
take precedence, after all, lives were at stake.

He
grabbed hold of a rope and backed up to the end of the platform.  “I want
you to speak into your walkie-talkie on channel three when I give you the
signal.  I’ll tape the spare one to the megaphone’s mouthpiece.  If
it works, we should hear your voice loud and clear around the park.”

“So
if they find out where the sound is coming from...”

He
nodded.  “We won’t be there.  Precisely.” 

I
touched his arm.  “Please be careful, you know, I don’t want you to fall
out of a tree or anything.”

“I
do this every day, Jenna.  Playing tree monkey is second nature to me and
Steve.”  He stepped off the platform and climbed down a rope to the
ground. 

Leaning
over the wooden rail, I watched him break into a spring and race across the
clearing until he disappeared into the trees.

“Oi!”
Someone shouted from below.

I
glanced around.  Through the trees in front, my platform offered a patchy
view of the fire which Steve had lit in the clearing.   The muddy,
leaf-strewn ground of the forest adventure park lay about four metres
below.  High enough to unnerve me, but low enough not to make my head
whirl.  At least my feet were still on something solid.

John
emerged from the thick of the trees, waving a rope.  “Grab this, Jenna.”

I
flicked my thumb up to signal okay, then climbed down the tree ladder. 
John passed me the end of a rope, which was looped to a high branch of a tree
near the fire.  I hauled it up to the platform. 

John
dashed back to the clearing, secured the bag which contained the drugs to the
end of the rope, and then shouted, ”Okay.  Raise it up.” 

I
leaned back and pulled. 

“Stop!”
John shouted a moment later.  “That should do it.”

I
tied the rope to the railings.  “All done.” 

“Pass
me your mobile, Jenna,” John said, emerging from the trees again.

I
looked down at him.  “Why?”

“Steve
said to hoist the goods up in the trees, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“You
sure?  I mean, shouldn’t we use a decoy phone or something?”

“I’m
sure.  It’ll be way out of their reach this way.  Pass it down.”

I
hesitated a moment. 
If I handed over the phone would Steve see the
text from Kate?
  “You’re doing it, or Steve?”

“I
am.  Come on.  We don’t have all day.”

“Okay
then.”  After handing him my phone, John placed it into an empty sand
bag.  I was about to start raising it up, when Dylan called for me over
the radio.  “Jenna?  You hear me?  Try it now.”

I
unhooked the radio from my belt, turned it to channel three and pressed the
talk button.  “I hear you, Dylan.”  I paused.  “Wow! 
That’s loud.”  My voice, accompanied by a high-pitched screech which made
me put a finger in one ear, projected through the woods from the
megaphone.  “Yep.  I’d say that works just fine.”

“Can
anyone tell where it’s coming from?”

“Not
really,” Kerry said through the radio.

“I
couldn’t pinpoint it exactly,” Steve responded. 

“I
can’t see you, Dylan.  Where are you now?” I asked, still tuned into the
megaphone.  It was weird hearing my own voice booming through the
woodland. 

“All
done.  I’m on my way back.  See you in five.”

“Okay.” 
I clipped the radio to my belt, grabbed the rope and began pulling.  The
murder phone – as we now called it – snug inside the beige sack, rose off the
ground easily, and I continued until it was suspended up high. 

“That’s
fine,” John called out.  Standing halfway between my platform and the
fire, he circled his hand in the air.  “Tie it off, Jen.”

“Where
are the fire extinguishers?  The hose?” Steve asked, his voice squawking
through the radio from God knew where.

“Platforms
three and...”  Dylan answered him while I gulped at what John had just
said.  J
en?
  I hoped Dylan didn’t hear him calling me by my
shorter pet name.  That would not help smooth the awkwardness.

While
I secured the end of the rope to the railing, a figure zoomed through the air
on my left.  Dylan was on his way back, swinging out of a tree on the end
of a rope, a massive grin splitting his handsome face.  It pleased me to
see him smile again, but I also wondered if something more than a desire to do
the trade in familiar surroundings had driven him and Steve to choose this
place. 

He
dropped to the ground and broke into a forward roll.  After disappearing
for a moment or two, he returned clutching an armload of rocks.  He placed
them into a sack.  He then picked up the ends of two ropes and threw them
up.  “Catch these.” 

I
caught the ropes, and then leaned over the railing, watching as he climbed the
tree ladder one-handed.  “Wow,” I said.  “Impressive.”

He
stepped onto the platform and dumped the sack of rocks in front of the central
tree trunk.  “Wait ‘til you see Steve in action.  He was born for this
stuff.”