Crash and Burn (7 page)

What now?

She tried once more, but still no luck.

Shit.

Once again she had to ask Daniel for help, and that grated. It was only a little thing, hardly worth worrying about really, she told herself. But it still grated.

She glanced back to where she’d left Daniel. He was watching her. Grinning.
Oh Hell.
He was enjoying this.

“Are you going to just stand there like a stuffed dummy, or are you going to help me?”

“Sorry, I know how you hate to accept help. I thought I’d wait until I was asked. Wouldn’t want to be accused of taking over and all.”

“Well…I’m asking.”

“Asking for what?”

“Oh, for crying out loud… Can you help me with this zipper…please?”

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Beth gave him her best withering glare. One that would’ve shrunk most men, but Daniel wasn’t most men. He laughed and strode over to her. With one quick flick of his wrist he had the tent open.

“Thanks.”

Daniel started to reply, but Beth didn’t give him a chance. She quickly threw herself inside the tent and shut the flap before he had a chance to open his mouth. She heard a chuckle as he walked away. She lay back onto the air mattress and relaxed. She glanced at the tent flap and laughed. At least he had a sense of humor.

She shouldn’t have been so uptight with him but she couldn’t help herself. There was a tension between them she couldn’t explain, but now wasn’t the time to explore it.

Despite the rough conditions, it didn’t take Beth long to fall asleep. She was exhausted, not just physically, but emotionally. Perhaps it was a combination of that plus the painkillers, but moments after she’d crept into her sleeping bag, she was asleep and dreaming once more.

A dark, shadowy figure was moving toward her. She was running, fearing for her life. The bush track became narrower, and she came to a dead end. She turned her head from side to side, her breathing labored. There was no escape.

She turned to the track to find the figure had now reached her. The man wore a mask and was holding a gun pointed directly at her. She gasped as he removed his mask and smiled malevolently at her. His face. As he started to talk, she realized there was something familiar about his face. “You won’t get away this time, Miss Hamilton!”

“You! What do you want from me?”

He ignored her question and cocked the trigger of his gun.

Beth screamed.

“No!”

Chapter Four

“Beth—wake up!”

“No! No—don’t shoot me!” she shouted as she continued her battle with an unseen opponent.

“Beth, it’s only a dream. It’s me, Daniel.”

“Daniel?” Beth stopped struggling and opened her eyes. Daniel gazed at her with concern.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Beth dragged herself up onto her elbows. It was still dark except for the light from Daniel’s flashlight. There was a pungent smell of burning wood in the air. “Is that smoke I’m smelling?”

“It’s a bush fire. Not too close at the moment, but the wind has picked up so that could change at any minute.”

“Shit, we’ve got to move again.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’ve packed most of the equipment already. If you’re up to packing your things, we should be ready to roll in about ten minutes.”

“Of course I’m up to it. I’ll see you in five.”

Exactly five minutes later, Beth had changed clothes, packed her knapsack and started dismantling the tent.

Daniel watched her from his position by the car. Grinning, he checked his watch and flashed a smile at Beth before walking back to her.

“I’ll do that. You go get in the car.”

She nodded then made her way to the Range Rover. Her leg was throbbing, but it was moving more freely now. With all the excitement of the last day, she’d had little time to think about it. She hadn’t used her walking stick since before dinner and it felt better to be moving unencumbered. She smiled to herself. At least something was working out.

Daniel packed the last of the gear and closed the tailgate. He threw a couple of blankets into the back seat and placed several water canteens on top of them. The smoke was getting thicker now and the acrid smell burned Beth’s nostrils. They needed to hurry. Daniel started up the four-wheel drive and drove down the track.

The black clouds of smoke grew thicker overhead as they drove, masking the dawn. The sky was dark, but not like anything Beth had ever seen before. The temperature was rising—she could feel the burning heat inside the car. The air seemed thick with texture and form. Frightened animals raced along the side of the track, fleeing the flames. The smell of burning eucalypts was almost overpowering. Beth covered her mouth and nose with her hands, but it had little effect. Her throat was closing up as the wheezing took over.

Daniel turned off the air conditioning and closed the air vents.

“Grab those towels from the back and soak them in water. We can wrap them around our faces. It should help with the smoke.”

Beth nodded. Talking was impossible as she coughed the irritating smoke from her throat. Daniel slowed the car down as she helped him to tie a damp towel around his nose and mouth.

A wall of red-hot flames and black smoke rose to the left as Beth peered out of the window. The wind had picked up and driven the fire toward them.

“Daniel!”

Daniel turned his head at her cry. The flames reached at least three stories high and were heading straight for them. His reaction was instantaneous.

“Bloody hell! We have to find some shelter quickly. Watch on the right for any large rocks or ravines we can shelter behind.”

Beth skimmed the landscape anxiously. It was difficult to see anything with the thick smoke masking the terrain. Suddenly, a large rock jutted out through the smoky haze.

“Over there…a large rock and it has some sort of a cave under it.”

Daniel didn’t waste any time, driving quickly over the rough ground and under the rocky outcrop. Beth silently thanked Daniel’s supervisors for the four-wheel drive vehicle.

The fire rushed forward with incredible speed. Beth held her breath as the stifling heat inside the car burned her nose and throat. Daniel reached into the back and grabbed the water bottles and blankets he’d thrown in before they’d left the campsite.

“Here…take these,” he said as he threw her one of each. “I’ll jump in the back. Lie down and cover yourself with the blanket. We should be safe if we stay down. Drink plenty of the water. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to get up.”

“How long do you think it’ll be?” Beth asked anxiously.

“Firestorms move through pretty quickly,” said Daniel as he gave her one of those heart-stopping smiles to reassure her. “It shouldn’t be long. We’ll be okay.”

The roar was deafening as the fire swept closer. It was like being in the center of an explosion. Beth dragged the blanket over herself as she lay across the front seats. Covering her ears to block out the noise, she thought about how her life was turning into one disaster after another. Beads of sweat dripped from her face onto the seat below her. The intensity of the heat was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as fearful as she’d expected. Sure, she was scared, but somehow Daniel’s cool confidence gave her strength. Thank God he was here with her.

Time seemed to stand still as the roar of the fire receded. Beth ran her tongue over her cracked lips. She coughed as the pungent smell of the flames gripped her throat. Taking a long drink from the water bottle, she listened for sounds of what might be happening outside. She checked her watch and realized it had been almost an hour since they’d left the campsite and at least half an hour since the firestorm had passed over. She moved the blanket away from her head and sat up.

The scene outside the car window resembled the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The previously lush greenery was blackened and small spires of smoke rose sporadically over the landscape. Tree trunks, which only moments before had held branches thick with foliage, were now stark columns. The air remained thick with smoke, but visibility was improving as the fire continued on its forward path and away from their position.

Beth touched the window tentatively to test the heat. She jerked her hand away as the glass burned. Turning around, she saw Daniel sit up and scan the area. She slid through the gap in the seats, sitting next to him in the back. His face was drawn tight and his eyes crinkled at the edges where he squinted. She had a sudden urge to touch him, soothe his worry lines and smooth his brow.

“Are you okay?” he asked huskily as she removed the wet cloth from around his neck and wiped his sweat-beaded forehead.

“I think so,” Beth answered, continuing to tentatively wipe the cool cloth over his heated face. “How long before we can get out of the car?”

He grabbed her wrist, stalling her progress and searing her skin. The heat in his eyes had nothing to do with the temperature outside and everything to do with their mutual need. Her breath hitched as she waited for his next move.

As he answered, his eyes never left hers and the tension inside the car cranked up several notches. “The ground will still be extremely hot for a while yet. I’ll check on it in another half an hour. I’m more worried about the equipment and the car. If any of that was damaged, we’ll be stuck here for some time.”

He took hold of the cloth as he released her hand. Beth gasped when he reciprocated, wiping the cloth over her cheeks and down to her neck. “Won’t the firefighters find us?” she asked.

Daniel shook his head while he continued to slide the cloth downward, reaching into the opening of her shirt before pulling his hand out and throwing the cloth onto the seat beside her.
Damn
. Maybe he was right to stop, but her body didn’t want him to.

“Beth…this is the center of a national park. The firefighters will be concentrating their efforts around the edge of the park, near the townships. I’m afraid they’ll probably just let this fire burn itself out.”

Beth turned her face away, her eyes watering and her heart turning somersaults. She forced a couple of slow breaths in and out. “So what’s next then?”

“Pray for rain?”
Bloody hell, what am I doing?
He’d nearly ripped her shirt off and tasted her there and then. And she might very well have let him. He shifted in place as his jeans tightened over his thickening groin.
Down boy—just a job, remember? No attachments, no problems, keep focused.

A muffled buzzing sound filled the car. Turning his head from side to side, Daniel tried to get a fix on where it was coming from.

“What’s that noise?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It sounds like it’s coming from the back of the car.”

The back of the car? It had to be the satellite phone. It must have survived the heat. This was good news.

Daniel reached over the back seat and found the source of the buzzing. He attached a small box, pressed the receive button and raised the phone to his ear. A harried voice started talking immediately, not waiting for Daniel to reply.

“Wyatt! Where in blazes have you been? I’ve been worried shitless. When you didn’t call at the arranged time, I decided I’d better call you.”

“Addison…we’re okay. Just a little delay, that’s all. Sorry I didn’t make the call on time.”

Beth tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth to speak. Daniel shrugged and put up his hand to stop her from talking. He didn’t know who he could trust at this stage and he felt it would be better to keep details to a minimum. There was a leak and he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Delay? Anything I should know about?”

“Everything’s under control for now. Have you learned anything on your end?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve swept my office and my home for bugs. Will’s done the same. So far nothing has shown up. Will is checking the security videos as we speak. I thought it best not to involve anyone else for the moment.”

Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with his free hand. He hesitated briefly before replying. “I agree. The fewer personnel involved the better. We have to find out who the leak is as soon as possible. Not only is the security of the Conference in jeopardy, but Beth Hamilton’s life is in danger as well.”

“Yours, too, Daniel. You have to be very careful. What’s your position at the moment? Do I need to send Will in to get you?”

Staring out of the window and over the burned landscape, Daniel took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “No, we’re fine for the moment. We’re moving to a new location. I’ll call you in a few hours.” Daniel cut the connection before his boss had a chance to reply. No explanations meant less chance of them being found again.

As soon as Daniel replaced the phone, Beth leaned forward slightly and touched Daniel’s hand. “Why didn’t you tell your boss what happened? Do you think he’s the leak?”

Daniel stared at the place where her skin touched his before turning away. “Of course not. My boss is the one person I do trust, but the only way I can see to keep us safe is to tell no one where we are—and that includes my boss. It’s the only way to plug up the leak.”

Beth picked up the wet cloth she’d used on Daniel’s face and folded it neatly before placing it back on the seat between them. “What about the Conference? If someone knows about us, then what about the security team? They need to know the arrangements have changed.”

“Yes, I thought of that.” He sighed as he blew out a breath. “We need to get out of here and find the leak before it’s too late.”

She stared at Daniel, her voice almost a whisper, “How long do we have?”

He straightened in his seat. “The Conference starts next Tuesday.”

“That’s only five days away,” she gasped, clenching her fists as they lay on her lap.

“That’s why we need to get out of here—the sooner the better.”

* * * *

Silence descended as they waited impatiently for their surroundings to cool down enough to move on. Daniel checked the electronic equipment and found it all to be in working order. The GPS had pinpointed their position and Daniel worked out a route to get them out of the park. All they waited on now was enough time for a drop in temperature in the petrol tank so the fuel would return to liquid, and the tires would be cool enough to take the weight of the vehicle.