Chapter 18 #2
“A misunderstanding,” Jonah said smoothly, apparently untroubled not only by Nicholas’ anger but also the death of one of the gunners. “Your people shot first, after all.”
“When your thugs tried to block the road,” Nicholas snapped back.
Hallie’s brows lifted. That didn’t quite match Rhodda’s description of what had happened.
But then, there had been a lot of people on ATVs and it was easy to imagine that, in the midst of a lot of confusion and guns firing, the finer details of what had happened would get lost. Not to mention, it was entirely possible that both Jonah and Nicholas’ men were lying to their respective bosses about the events.
If Hallie had to live on the island and work for either man, she wouldn’t want to annoy them, either.
“I’ve just had some Lucien Island rum delivered. I can have a case left for you at the usual spot.”
Hallie blinked, sure she must have misheard. But, no, Jonah was proposing to settle the matter of a dead man by providing Nicholas with a case of rum. And from the expression on Nicholas’ face, it was a trade he was happy to make. His eyes gleamed.
“Fine,” Nicholas said, trying to sound reluctant. Hallie wasn’t fooled and she doubted that Jonah was, either. “So that deals with the unprovoked attack. But as for the man and woman, no. I’ve got plans for them,” Nicholas said, blunt and rude. “Is that all?”
“The woman somehow killed one of my men, and between them they stole an ATV. It’s parked outside your gates.” In sharp contrast to Nicholas, Jonah sounded calm. Only on the surface, though. Hallie thought that underneath that cool exterior was hot fury.
“Well, then, take the ATV back,” Nicholas said, temper back in his voice.
“I don’t need you for that,” Jonah said, leaning forward a little.
Despite the distance between them, and the fact that Jonah and Nicholas did not know she was there, Hallie felt ice creep over her entire body at the menace that Jonah was projecting.
Hallie’s first rule with bullies - no matter how powerful or dangerous they were - was not to give in to them.
Even so, her mouth was dry as she waited for whatever Jonah would say next.
“You agreed not to interfere in my business. This is my business. I’ll take them with me. ”
“And you said you wouldn’t do anything to interfere with the running of the island,” Nicholas replied, lifting his chin slightly.
Oh, interesting, Hallie thought. So Rhodda and Donall had been quite right - Nicholas and Jonah avoided crossing each other’s paths as much as possible.
But it hadn’t just happened that way. No, the arrangement had been carefully worked out between the two men, and from the way they’d spoken to each other, there was a history of what Hallie was sure Jonah or Nicholas would call trades back and forth.
What she thought of as bribes. It fit perfectly with what she’d seen of Nicholas Rigg so far, that he would live in comfort, with luxuries delivered by Jonah from time to time, while the rest of the people in New Hope struggled.
Nicholas hadn’t finished talking, though. “The man is a Conclave Investigator. Did you know that? So the Conclave are likely to come looking for him at some point. Do you really want me to send them your way?”
“An investigator? My men mentioned something to that effect. Doesn’t change what the woman did. And I have connections you don’t,” Jonah said, flicking his hand as if brushing away an annoying insect.
Nicholas made a low sound, evidently not believing Jonah had the power to deal with the Conclave. Then his eyes narrowed and his head tilted. Another chill crept over Hallie’s skin. She didn’t trust that expression.
“I also have the woman, Rhodda, in custody,” Nicholas said slowly. “I believe you’ve been looking for her?”
Jonah made another flicking motion with his hand, but Hallie saw a small tightening of his jaw.
A point to Nicholas, she thought, and wondered just what had happened on the forest road before the shooting had started leaving one man dead and Rhodda injured and huddled in the undergrowth for several days.
It seemed more likely that Jonah’s men hadn’t just stumbled across the gunners.
More likely that they’d been out there for a purpose.
Looking for Rhodda? Hallie frowned, wishing she could pause the conversation so she could puzzle it all through.
But of course neither Nicholas or Jonah would indulge her.
“We can manage without her.” Jonah’s voice and manner were completely believable.
And yet, Hallie’s truth sense told her that he was lying.
He needed Rhodda for some reason. Hallie’s mind spun faster.
What had Donall said? Words to the effect that the radio had needed to go to Reunion because that was where Rhodda was and no one else could do that work.
Having seen what Rhodda’s father, Devin, was capable of, Hallie suspected that Rhodda herself was a formidable electrician and engineer.
On this island, with the limited resources available, she could understand why Jonah might need Rhodda’s expertise.
Nicholas gave a short bark of laughter, with no humour in it and then, without knowing it, confirmed Hallie’s guess. “Really? I might not know what goes on in your house, or your business, but there’s no one else with her qualifications on the island.”
“What do you propose?” Jonah asked, in the silky smooth voice that made Hallie want to back away, slowly, and not turn her back on him.
“Another trade, of sorts,” Nicholas said, a small smile on his mouth. He thought he’d won. “I have a little, ah, local trouble. Help me out with that, and I’ll hand over the woman and lend you Rhodda for a while.”
Jonah’s mouth curved up in a smile that sharpened Hallie’s urge to move away. “What kind of help do you need, Nicholas?”
“Nothing much,” Nicholas said, in a careless voice, looking at his fingernails. “I need someone taken out. The Reunion defectors are proving troublesome. But they’ll come to heel if their leader is gone.”
“The man, Donall, is it?” Jonah asked. The casual mention of the name told Hallie that the governor paid close attention to his neighbours, and she wondered if Nicholas had realised that. Or if he would care.
“That’s right.”
“Can’t deal with it yourself, eh?” Jonah asked, but not as if he was expecting an answer. His pale eyes were staring at Nicholas’ face.
Nicholas’ lips tightened, then he brought out a smile that looked forced. “We all have our strengths.”
Hallie felt sick. The two men were calmly discussing the murder of another human being as if it was a simple business transaction.
The two men who were posturing were each awful in their own way.
She didn’t know how Jonah might treat the people in his orbit, but she did know that Nicholas had kept the people of New Hope living in primitive conditions and then tried to starve the Reunion settlers he’d had dragged from their homes while they refused to work for him, separating them from their children.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d also kept those children cramped together in a cage.
An actual cage. Hot fury burned the disgust away.
The people on this island had come here to escape the high-handed arrogance and ill-treatment at the hands of the elite, only to find themselves bullied by their fellow humans.
She wanted to put both Nicholas and Jonah in the cage where she and Girard had found the children and leave them there.
But the two men weren’t done.
“And you will deal with the Conclave Investigator, I suppose, and in a way that won’t bring the full attention of the whole Conclave down on us?” Jonah asked.
“I have some ideas,” Nicholas said, the forced smile replaced with a more genuine one that promised unpleasant things.
Hallie was sure he did have ideas, and that none of them involved Girard surviving to tell the Conclave anything that he’d learned on the island.
She wanted to take Girard’s hand and hold it tight to reassure herself that he was alive and well and to silently promise she’d do what she could to make sure he stayed that way.
But Nicholas wasn’t done. He seemed to want to share some of his own cleverness.
“These storms we’ve been having are so dangerous. ”
“That is true,” Jonah said, apparently perfectly serious.
If they hadn’t been discussing Girard’s potential death, Hallie would have laughed.
She didn’t think that either Jonah or Nicholas had any idea of the capability of the Conclave Investigators’ forensic team.
A supposed accident caused by the storm wouldn’t hold up for long once Isoud Sabard and her people got involved.
And with the death of one of his team at stake, Peredur Roth would have every resource of his office brought to bear.
Once the falsehood of an accident had been stripped away, the whole island - including Jonah - would find themselves under the full weight of Conclave scrutiny.
That was no comfort at all, as Girard would be dead.
And most likely, so would she, if Jonah had his way.
Although she suspected that Jonah didn’t have anything as benign as an accident in mind for her death.
With morbid curiosity, she wondered how Jonah was intending to dispose of her, if she wasn’t going to be found next to Girard’s body?
It seemed that Nicholas’ mind had been travelling in the same direction as he frowned slightly at Jonah. “Can you guarantee that whatever you’re going to do with the woman, it won’t come back on us?”
Even as her stomach turned, Hallie realised that Nicholas thought he was in charge. At least in this little bit of the world. He thought he ruled the island, controlled what went on.
He was quite wrong. From the single conversation she’d observed, Hallie was quite certain that Jonah could destroy Nicholas Rigg and all his petty ambitions.
Jonah would most likely enjoy it. But for some reason, the governor was content to let the principal play in New Hope and exert his control.
Just as long as the two men kept their operations separate.
“Come, now, don’t be insulting,” Jonah said, the hint of smile lifting his mouth, his eyes seeming paler and colder than they had been.
“Very well,” Nicholas said. “Do we have a deal?”
“I believe we do. Where is the man you want dead?” Jonah asked.
“In the town hall. That’s-”
“I know where it is,” Jonah interrupted smoothly. “Are Rhodda and the woman there?”
“I’ll have them brought to you,” Nicholas said, lip curling. “Wait outside the gate just before dawn. They’ll be delivered there.”
“Very well,” Jonah said, echoing Nicholas’ earlier comment. He stood, casting a long, dark shadow that touched Hallie and Girard, silently watching. “Do not fail in this, Nicholas.” The words were spoken calmly, almost off-hand, but Hallie could feel the depth of the warning beneath them.
Once again, Nicholas seemed to fail to recognise the sheer weight of danger in front of him. “I could say the same for you.”
Apparently content with having the last word, Nicholas got to his feet and extinguished the oil lamp.
With no more words, the two men turned and left, the wooden door of the barn creaking open and closed, their footsteps fading away.
There was nothing in the weight of their footsteps, or the way they had moved, to suggest that they’d just been discussing the death and disposition of three people, and shuffling Rhodda between their territories like a game piece who would do what she was told.
A chill worked its way across Hallie’s skin and deeper into her core.
She had come across some truly unpleasant and ruthless people in the past, but there was something quite different, quite horrifying, about listening to how casually Nicholas and Jonah had spoken about their plans.
As if nothing could stand in their way or stop them.
A small, dark smile pulled Hallie’s mouth.
The two men hadn’t realised anyone was listening, and now that she had advance notice of their plans, she was determined to do everything she could to make sure not only that no one died, but that neither Jonah nor Nicholas had the chance to inflict their will on the people of the island in the future.
The rightness of that determination settled into her bones, chasing some of the chill away.
Now she just had to work out how to accomplish her goals.