Chapter 40
‘Keep your hands where I can see them.’
Sweat gripped her skin as her hands shook and stomach churned as the gun hovered in front of them. Brookes stiffened beside her. Harper considered her options, but the only thing she could do was exactly as David ordered.
‘You should have minded your own business.’
‘I had a job to do.’ Whatever happened, she was under no delusion that David was going to let them go. She knew too much. Now Brookes knew too, and that meant they both were a liability. She didn’t want to believe David was capable of murder, but she didn’t really know him all that well. She shouldn’t have come back here; she shouldn’t have put her family in danger.
Harper clicked a few buttons on her laptop. Everything was password protected and required her fingerprint. She’d gone to extra lengths to ensure her work was secure. But that didn’t mean someone couldn’t access it from the inside. ‘I can’t access the files here.’
‘Stop the bullshit.’
‘The internet isn’t working. I was at Brookes’ when I was doing my work. Everything is backed up to the cloud. I can’t do anything without an internet connection.’
‘You’re lying.’
She saw Brookes’ lips turn to a slight curve. He knew exactly what she was doing. If they could get out of here, and to Brookes’ property, they stood a chance of getting out of this alive. She’d actually been working at Mathers Vineyard but David didn’t have to know that detail.
‘Look.’ She flipped the laptop to show him there was no internet signal.
The silence that followed felt as it was going on forever before David spoke, ‘Get up slowly. Move towards the door. You,’ he touched the barrel of the gun to Brookes’ shoulder. ‘You can drive. Harper, you get in the back. He does anything stupid, and you get a bullet.’
‘I’ll kill you if you do anything to her.’
‘Empty threats. Move.’
She shut the laptop and stood up, each movement slow and calculated. She didn’t want to take her eyes off him. It was the only sense of control she could retain.
The house felt cold and threatening. She worried about Leo and hoped that he was okay. There was nothing she could do to help him right now but get out of there. She was just glad that Zoe had gone to see Georgia and was out of harm’s way, at least for now.
In the car,she sat in the backseat as instructed. The gun jabbed her side. Brookes sat in the driver’s seat and started the car. As they pulled out of the driveway, she realised David’s mistake. They had taken his car. Brookes’ car would remain, and if Zoe came home, she’d notice the car parked in the drive, but neither her nor Brookes or Leo anywhere. She’d walk the property and find Leo, then they could contact the authorities. Of course, she was dreaming. It was possible that her brother was already dead. The thought brought tears to her eyes. No, she couldn’t think that way. She had to stay positive; it was the only way to get through this.
Brookes’ hands gripped the steering wheel, his jaw rigid, teeth clenched. Her gaze stayed on him. The drive to his property felt like forever. She wanted to shift away from David, but each time she moved he pressed the gun harder against her thigh. Harper’s stomach turned as they slowed towards Brookes’ property.
A muffled bark echoed from the direction of the house.
Rover.
The gun against her leg moved towards her stomach.
‘Lock that dog up or I will shoot it.’
Brookes didn’t respond. She knew, though, that he would do exactly what David said. Rover may have been a dog, but he was family, and if this monster did something to him, Brookes wouldn’t forgive himself or her.
She considered opening the door and running, but where would she go? He had the upper hand with the gun. If he didn’t shoot her in the back, he would shoot Brookes.
He shifted the gun towards Brookes.
‘Open the door slowly. Get out and stand by the car. I will not hesitate to shoot him if you do anything hasty.’
Harper did what she was told.
‘Now it’s your turn,’ David said. ‘Leave one hand on the steering wheel. Open the door with your right, then slowly step out.’
Harper watched Brookes follow the same instructions. To do anything else was too dangerous.
Brookes considered his options,but each one ended up with someone being shot. He couldn’t take that sort of risk, and if David pulled the trigger on either of them right now, Harper would be hurt, or worse, dead. That wasn’t a risk he could take. The only option was to follow instructions until the right opportunity came.
Rover’s barks grew louder as they approached the house. If he sensed danger, there was a chance that he wouldn’t listen to instructions. He would go into protective mode and do whatever it took to help his master. Brookes couldn’t let that happen, not yet.
‘Let me go inside first. I’ll put him in another room,’ Brookes said through gritted teeth, then watched as David put the barrel of the gun to Harper’s head.
‘You know what will happen if you cross me.’
He nodded and went to open the front door.
‘It’s okay, boy,’ he said pushing the door open. He knelt and scratched Rover behind the ears as the dog growled. Grabbing him by the collar, he walked him into the bedroom. He was in full view of the front door and there was nothing that he could do that David wouldn’t see.
A few moments later, Rover was locked in the room. Only then did David shove Harper inside the house.
Here, Brookes should have had the upper hand, but right now, he had to bide his time. His only concern was Harper.
Harper switchedon the laptop once again. The connection was immediate. With David standing right behind her, there was no way that she could somehow alert the authorities. He would shoot her without a second thought, then do the same to Brookes. She had no choice but to give him what he wanted. Months of work to collect the evidence would be all for nothing. Guilty people getting away with crimes, while the innocent paid the price.
When she got through her security walls and landed on the files pertaining to the investigation, she immediately noticed the change in the air. David still had the upper hand with the gun, but now he seemed distracted focusing on the laptop screen in front of him rather than paying close attention to them.
Brookes’ gaze fell hard upon her. She looked back at him, and it was as if they shared a moment of mutual understanding. If they didn’t do something now, they might not get another chance.
Harper shifted in her seat, moving her hand as if to type, but instead she jumped up, shifting her body backwards and up, pushing David aside, then elbowing him in the chest. A bullet ricocheted off the wall. Her ears throbbed, the buzzing growing with each passing second. David was fast. He moved towards her, striking her in the face. She fell to the floor, hitting her head against the chair. Her vision blurred as she tried to gain her composure. The sound of furniture breaking, fighting, punches being thrown, Rover barking desperately from the closed bedroom. Her head hurt as it spun. She wanted to throw up, but then her eyes drooped, and she stopped fighting. A door opened and closed, more voices, unfamiliar. Then it was as if someone had turned out the lights.