The sky was shot through with deep reds and pinks near where the sun would appear soon, when the walkie bleeped again. There was long period of static before it cut off and we were left with only the riot of awakening birds.
A crease formed between Juliet’s brows as she looked at the device clipped to my coat pocket. ‘I hate technology.’
Stuck in an endless round of wondering whether someone would appear or not, I nodded. ‘I’m going to go check on the team.’
‘What?’ Juliet straightened out of the hunch she’d adopted to retain as much body heat as possible. ‘We need to stay here.’
‘We need to know what the team is trying to communicate. It might be important.’ I couldn’t stand here, doing nothing, for another second. ‘I’ll circle in from the back. I won’t get in the way if someone appears.’
Juliet bit her lip. ‘You’re wearing your vest?’
I patted my padded chest. ‘Of course.’
‘Find the first team member you can, then head straight back.’
I plunged into the undergrowth beside our car before she could think better of my plan. I’d examined the aerial map of this area so many times that I knew it like the back of my hand. A short walk would bring me to the road. I’d follow that around to the other side of the hill, where I’d find a member of the team and ask what was going on.
Despite the close-packed trees, the lightening sky made my way clear. I picked over fallen branches and skirted patches of nettles, careful not to make too much noise. The last thing I wanted to do was distract the team by blundering through the forest.
I broke from the tree cover earlier than expected, nervous adrenaline making me swift. Edging back from the road, I squinted at a car parked on the other side.
It was a black BMW. That made no sense. The gate onto the estate was further down the road. Dunlow had no reason to park here.
A chill that had nothing to do with the cool morning air crept across my skin. We’d told Dunlow to stay at the hotel this morning. Why would he disobey that direction, especially if he thought someone wished harm on his family?
Unless he didn’t think that. He’d seemed genuine when stringing together the bad luck his family had endured recently, but we had no idea how good an actor Dunlow was. What if he was here because he knew no one was going to hurt him, that no one would be lured out by our trap?
I needed to warn Juliet and the team there was someone potentially dangerous in the mix. Dunlow’s presence was negligent at the least, but more likely an indication of his guilt. He didn’t know we had an armed unit here. Perhaps he expected to find me and Juliet alone. Maybe he was hoping to get rid of us, since we were getting closer to the truth.
I hurried back the way I’d come. Juliet had to be warned of Dunlow’s presence first. The rest of the team had guns, whereas Juliet was unarmed and alone. She was wearing a vest, but Dunlow was too arrogant to be anything other than a perfect shot. If he’d come here to cause harm, he could easily take aim somewhere unprotected by bulletproof panels.
‘What are you doing here?’ Juliet’s voice pierced through the densely packed trees.
I stopped walking, straining to hear more. The wisest course of action was to stay hidden and assess the situation.
‘I’m sorry. You said not to come, but I had to know who it was.’
Holding onto the tree in front of me for balance, I leant to one side. The low light highlighted the auburn burnish of Leo’s hair.
‘I came with Dad,’ Leo rushed to fill Juliet’s disapproving silence. ‘He’s gone to look after the dogs. I said I needed to get something from the den.’
Juliet shook her head. ‘You’ve made a bad decision. Come on, get in the car. You’ll be safe in there.’
Leo’s head dipped as he walked over to her. He had no reason to lie about why his father was here, but I didn’t think Dunlow would feel any compunction about lying to his son if it saved his own skin. He wouldn’t consider himself a danger to Leo, only to us. I needed to talk to the team.
A crack of breaking wood lanced through the forest. I froze. Footsteps shuffled through fallen leaves to my left.
‘Is someone out there?’ Juliet called.
Keeping my feet planted in place, I leant to the other side. I could see nothing but thick trunks of trees.
Juliet assumed it was someone, but it could be something. I’d researched after she made another joke about horses in the New Forest. They did wander wild around here.
Juliet stood in front of Leo, scanning the trees. The young man peered over her shoulder. Their heads twitched in the same direction at another sharp snap.
Leo’s mouth fell open, while Juliet’s pressed into a thin line. It was impossible to tell if she was resigned or angry. My heart pounded wildly as I squinted into the trees, searching for the source of the noise.
‘It’s you,’ Juliet said.