Page 56 of Last Shot

‘What have you done to her?’ Grey bellowed at Max as the criminal hurled towards Nella, but he got there first, planting his body between the two women. Max slammed into him as Nella dropped to the ground.

‘Nel!Nel,where are you hurt?’ Grey tried to reach for Nella and hold Max back at the same time, but while he had run to put himself in front of Max, Jett had run straight to Nella and was now cradling her, his back in the way.

‘N–n–not me,’ Nella was stammering behind Jett’s shoulder. ‘Ar–Arnold.’

‘What?’ Grey snapped his gaze back to Max, who hadn’t moved. She was looking at him like he’d shot the sun down from the sky for a laugh. Guilt swarmed like a wasps’ nest inside him.

‘Arnold.’ Max pointed behind Grey, her eyes not meeting his.

Arnold Schwarzenegger lay on the ground by Nella’s knees, the same colour as the mud splattered across his matted fur. His eyes, normally sparkling with arrogance, were closed. Grey couldn’t see his chest rising.

‘What’s happened?’ Luca’s voice carried over the hill as he, Frankie and Tom descended on the morbid scene.

‘Fuck,’ Grey said. ‘Nel, just back away. Let’s, everyone, move away, slowly—’

‘NO!’ As Nella reached out for Arnold, Grey launched towards her but thankfully, Jett was thinking straight. He wrestled her back to the ground, away from the cat.

‘LET ME GO!’ Nella kicked out against Jett.

‘Nella.’ Grey tried to keep his voice level. ‘It might be a trap. It could be ... There could be another bomb.’ He had enough tact to leave out theinside Arnoldpart. ‘Everyone back to the house!’ he ordered.

No one moved.

‘Arnold!’ Frankie’s lip was trembling. Luca was white. Even Tom looked grim.

‘Let me look at him,’ Max said softly as Nella struggled against Jett, and Grey contemplated the logistics of dragging each of the Barbarani siblings back over the hill singlehandedly. ‘I know what to look for.’ Grey knew this part was for him. But something inside him thrashed against the thought of Max touching the cat. Which was ridiculous. He must just be tired from all the attempted murder.

‘Stay where you are,’ Grey conceded to everyone, ‘but let the record reflect my original advice was to leave immediately.’

Luca gave a frail salute. Frankie hiccupped through her sobs. Tom was the only one who had made any attempt to back away. Not exactly satisfied, Grey left Max to inspect Arnold while he scanned the karri trees, gun drawn.

‘It’s okay,’ Max’s voice was gentle. ‘There’s no bomb. He’s breathing.’

At her words, Jett released Nella, who flopped down in front of Arnold. ‘I can’t see!’ she sobbed. ‘I can’t see him breathing.’

‘Here,’ Jett said, placing Nella’s hand on Arnold’s chest, then his over hers. ‘Can you feel?’

With a whimper, Nella nodded, biting down on her lip. ‘There’s something wrong.’

‘Can you call Eliza?’ Luca said.

‘She’s in Vietnam,’ Jett said. Of course the bloody town vet and Nella’s best friend was AWOL when her presence would have been extremely useful. But she was there the time Grey had to strip naked to search for Vittoria’s lost bracelet in Tom’s hot spring, sitting on the rocks with Nella, and Grey could never prove to this day that she hadn’t taken a photo.

‘I know a vet,’ Frankie said. ‘He’s in my group.’

‘You mean yourgang?’ Tom asked sourly. ‘Aren’t they all in jail after the chicken farm incident?’

‘One’s at the bottom of the Indian Ocean,’ Luca offered. Although Grey had never met Forrest’s twin brother, Callum, he was glad it had been Forrest who was the sole survivor of the Valentine family boating disaster. If Ariana La Marca’s fiancé had died, Grey hated to think of all the potential reckless decisions he would have to stop Luca from making.

Frankie ignored her brother. ‘Quinton is—’

Everyone groaned, even Jett, who still hadn’t removed his hand from Nella’s.

‘Quinton?’ Luca said. ‘Isn’t he still marrying buffalo up north or something?’

‘Darting buffalo,’ Frankie corrected, her cheeks reddening. ‘To help them.’

‘Sure,’ Luca said, ‘because when is being shot with an arrowheadnothelping someone?’

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