Page 130 of The Black Trilogy

“But she was handcuffed.”

“Was being the operative word. She won’t still be handcuffed. Trust me,” Nick added, seeing the disbelieving look on Luke’s face.

“I’d better get going,” Dan said, fishing a set of car keys out of her pocket. “She left her coat in the car, and it’s chilly out. She won’t be happy if we keep her waiting for ages in the cold.”

“I’m coming with you,” Luke insisted.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nick said. “Besides, you should go in and see Tia.”

Luke hesitated. He’d desperately wanted to check on his sister, but that was before his girlfriend got abducted.

“I’m worried about Ash,” he mumbled.

Nick gave an exasperated sigh and relented. “Dan, take Nye with you and go on ahead. I’ll stop with Luke and Tia for a few minutes then follow.”

Dan looked as if she was about to protest, but Nick held up a hand.

“Look, he was living with her for two or three months. She’ll have got under his skin like she does with everyone else.”

He was right. Ash had wormed her way under Luke’s skin and into his heart.

Nick turned back to him. “But Luke, you will not get involved. Just see that Ash’s okay, and I’ll bring you back. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Luke understood he didn’t have much choice.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he hurried into the house and found Tia curled up on the couch in the den, arms wrapped around her knees. When she saw Luke, she leapt up and hugged him.

“I missed you,” she sniffed.

“I missed you too.”

“Ash told me you tried to deliver the ransom?”

“Yeah, I did, but it went a bit wrong.”

“You were so brave.”

He didn’t want to let on he’d been terrified the entire time. “I’d have done anything to get you back.”

Nick came into view, tapping his watch, and Luke steered Tia towards the door. “Let’s get you to bed. We can talk more in the morning.”

“Okay. I’m really tired, but I didn’t want to go to sleep until I saw you.”

The instant his sister was tucked under her duvet, Luke sprinted for Nick’s car. As they left the drive, a screen on the dashboard displayed several pulsating blobs. Nick pointed at a white blob a mile or two behind the others. “That’s us, and the other white dot is Dan.”

“Is the red one Ash?”

“Yeah.”

The red dot was ahead of Dan, moving steadily.

Their strange convoy continued for half an hour, first along the main roads then out into the countryside again. When the red blob suddenly stopped, Luke’s heart stuttered too. From the map, it looked as if the van had pulled up in an area of woodland.

“He’s planning to shoot her like he tried with me!” Panic rose in his chest, icy fingers clawing at his insides.

Nick glanced at his watch. “Ten twenty, and my pool time isn’t until eleven. I’ve lost this one unless a miracle happens.”

Luke stared at him. “You’re insane.”

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