Chapter 34
Lainie was slightly more to the north now than the west, which meant they were most likely still following the Calder Highway. Bane’s nausea was abating along with the daylight, so he knew they were catching up. It was only a matter of time. He wished Tim could have flown down, but that wouldn’t have helped. The bag he needed him to bring was not one they would let you take onto a plane. Besides, he’d told Tim to drive his car down to Nalong, not Melbourne, and if the sergeant really was taking Lainie home then that would be where he was needed most. Everything centred around Eden. It always had and it always would.
Noah’s phone had stayed stubbornly silent all afternoon, but now Bane thought he knew why. Who would have access to hack Facebook profiles of people in jail? And if Lainie had been the original target, how many people even knew she was back? They’d only been into town a couple of times. Only once in public … and the very next day, Sergeant Loxwood had called in to try to talk to her.
Bane’s hands trembled on the wheel as he tried to come to terms with his colossal failure. Why had he ever let Lainie out of his sight? He hadn’t trusted his own ability to keep her safe and now he had made things a whole lot worse. There was a very real possibility that she could be killed before he could even get to her, and he hadn’t even had an opportunity to beg her forgiveness for the last time yet. He was a fool to have thought they could have a future. She was far better off staying in Eden. Away from madmen with handguns and hunting rifles and duct tape. And away from madmen with knives.
Rain fell again as they neared Bendigo, the windscreen wipers thumping as they frantically tried to outpace it. So much driving. So pointless. Even Dallmin seemed to be heartily sick of being in the car. He had long since run out of buttons and flaps to fiddle with and now he was squinting at the bar code on the tissue box, trying to decipher it in the fading light.
The petrol gauge was dropping rapidly, but Bane didn’t dare stop. Lainie was pulling him toward the outskirts of town. He could feel her tugging at him like an addiction and he was helpless to resist. She was in so much danger that it took all his self-control just to concentrate on the road. Twenty-four hours since she had come under threat, and he had fought to remain calm the entire time. It felt like his bones were on fire, and he longed to reach her to put the flames out. How much longer could he stand it before he passed out from the strain? His body had gone well past its limits but the compulsion wouldn’t let it stop fighting. It was much worse than separation illness.
As he pulled into the car park of an old motel, he noticed a police car parked at the far end of the long double-storey brick building. Lainie was here. So close now. Bottom floor, third room from the right. The big question was whether Tess was here too and if so, how was he going to get them both away safely?