They’d travelled twenty minutes when Dan heard movement over his shoulder and Anna grabbed the back of his seat.
‘Dan? Pull over!’
He could guess what was going to happen next.
He gripped the wheel and swerved the car to the right of the road, braking swiftly and controlling the skid over the rugged terrain, the SUV slewing to an abrupt standstill.
Anna scrambled from the car, and before he could unclip his seatbelt, he heard the unmistakable sound of retching.
He switched off the headlights and gave her a few moments’ privacy before he grabbed one of the bottles of water he’d stashed in the middle console and stepped out into the night air.
A cool breeze tickled the back of his neck as his boots crunched over the small stones and gravel that peppered the roadside where Anna stood doubled over, her hands on her knees.
Dan crossed the space between them in three long paces and rested his hand on her back while she finished.
‘Here,’ he said when she was done. ‘Drink this. You know what to do. Small sips, that’s all.’
‘Thanks,’ she managed. She took the bottle of water from him and straightened before taking a mouthful, rinsing her mouth and spitting it out onto the dirt before taking a smaller sip. ‘Sorry.’
Dan shook his head, reached out, and grasped her shoulder. ‘Don’t apologise. I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.’
‘Me too.’ Anna took another sip and pushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes.
Dan squeezed her shoulder.
In the light from the moon, he could see how pale her face was, and he vowed to keep a close eye on her until she boarded her plane back to the United States, back to her father.
In the meantime, he’d do everything in his power to protect her.
‘Okay, listen,’ he said. ‘This is what’s going to happen. When we get back in the car, I’m driving straight to Laâyoune airport. There are flights out of the country every half hour. It doesn’t matter whether you fly to the Canary Islands, mainland Spain – wherever.’
Anna blinked, then ran her tongue over her lips. ‘What about you?’
‘I’ll be there with you, one hundred per cent of the way. Right until you land back in the US and your Dad is there to meet you.’
Her eyes fell. ‘Dan? I don’t have my passport. It was in my other bag.’
He shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter. Either your Dad or my lot will sort out a diplomatic passport. You’re going home.’
Anna managed a faint smile between the tears that rolled down her cheeks. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.
Dan held his hands up. ‘All part of the service, ma’am.’ He gestured to the half-empty water bottle. ‘Finish that. Slowly, mind.’
Anna uncapped the bottle and raised it to her lips.
Whilst she drank, Dan used the light from his mobile phone to inspect the car and ensure the hurried exit off the road hadn’t punctured the tyres.
Although all-wheel drive, the vehicle wasn’t designed to be driven over rough terrain; it was more a fashion statement.
Dan ran his hand over the hood as he returned to where Anna stood finishing the last of the water, and stopped dead.
Anna’s chin jerked up. ‘What?’
Dan’s eyes narrowed. ‘We’re going to have company,’ he said, and pointed.
In the distance, far back where the track leading to the mine development lay, a pair of headlights hastened towards the main road.
‘What on earth did you do?’ Dan murmured.
Anna sniffed and clutched the plastic bottle between her hands. ‘It started off as just another money laundering investigation,’ she said. ‘One of the mine’s suppliers didn’t get paid – the mine developer sent the money, all five point four million of it – but it never arrived in the supplier’s bank account.’
‘Do you know who took it?’
Anna nodded, and Dan exhaled, her gesture confirming the hunch he’d had about the attack on the mine camp.
‘Get in the car,’ he said. ‘Now.’
Anna did as she was told, hurrying to the vehicle and then scrambling into the passenger seat while Dan ripped open the driver’s door and launched himself behind the wheel.
The engine roared to life as soon as he twisted the key in the ignition.
He turned the headlights onto a low beam, enough to see the road by, and pressed the accelerator.
The SUV shot forwards, gravel and stones spitting out from under the tyres as he shifted gear and steered the vehicle onto the asphalt.
As soon as he felt the road surface under the wheels, he increased his speed.
‘Do you think it’s the people who killed Benji?’ said Anna, her right hand wrapped around the strap that hung above her door.
‘Maybe,’ said Dan. ‘Or it’s Galal and his army pal. Maybe they’ve found out I don’t work for the insurance company. Either way, I don’t think it’s a good idea to hang around and find out, do you?’
Anna remained silent, her eyes fixed on the road ahead as the desert passed by in a blur.
Dan’s eyes flickered to the rear view mirror. The other vehicle’s headlights were mere pinpricks in the distance, but it was maintaining its speed as it barrelled towards them as the driver tried to narrow the gap.
Anna twisted in her seat and peered out the back window.
‘They’re still a couple of miles away,’ she said. ‘What are we going to do?’
Dan steered the SUV through the wide curve in the road that bore them northwards, the conveyor belt still rumbling to their left as it worked through the night delivering ore to the port.
He flexed his fingers on the wheel. ‘In the foot well, under my seat. Lean down and run your fingers across the carpet until you find a cut.’
Anna grabbed her seatbelt and unclipped it before leaning over and reaching under Dan’s legs.
He checked his mirrors again.
The vehicle behind them had gained slightly, and he cursed the pathetic attempts of the SUV’s small engine to increase its speed.
Anna’s head knocked against his thigh.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Can’t find it.’
‘Further back,’ he said, and tried to ignore the blonde hair splashed across his leg. Instead, he kept his eyes on the road, hoping that one of the errant goats that populated the arid region didn’t suddenly decide to walk out in front of the vehicle.
‘Got it.’
‘Good,’ he said with relief. ‘Run your fingers under the cut. You’ll find a—’
‘Glock 19,’ said Anna, and straightened, a faint smile on her lips. ‘You came prepared, I see.’
‘You never know.’
‘I thought a Sig was your weapon of choice?’
‘I’d prefer not to have to worry about a weapon at all,’ said Dan, and then shrugged. ‘But, you know. Bad people.’
‘Where’s the Sig?’
‘I couldn’t cross the border with it,’ explained Dan. ‘David arranged for that to be in the car when I picked it up from the airport.’
‘How did he...?’
Dan shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I don’t ask.’
He swore under his breath. He hadn’t had a chance to check the weapon; he’d have to take his chances if it came to using it to make sure Anna got out of the country safely. He hoped to hell David had used a reputable contact to source the gun – there was no way of knowing until he fired it.
A faint click from the passenger seat caught his attention, and his eyes darted from the road to see what Anna was doing.
She’d begun to inspect the Glock, dropping the magazine out and pulling back the slide to check inside the open chamber. Once satisfied, she pushed the magazine back into place with the palm of her hand, and pulled back the slide to chamber the first round.
She noticed him watching and held out the weapon to him.
His mouth twitched. ‘Tell you what. Why don’t you hold onto that for now, and I’ll tell you if you need to use it?’
‘Okay.’ Anna peered over her shoulder. ‘They’re getting closer.’
‘I know.’
‘What do we do?’
‘Keep going. Get to the airport. I’m working on the assumption they won’t try anything in a crowded place.’
Anna bit her lip and shuffled in her seat to face him, balancing her hand on the dashboard as Dan steered around a large pothole in the asphalt.
‘In case I don’t get the chance to tell you later, thank you for coming to find me.’
‘Hey, it might not be that bad – it could just be one of the emergency vehicles trying to get back to the city as well.’
‘But you don’t believe that.’
Dan exhaled. There would be no convincing the woman sitting next to him, so he figured honesty was the best policy. ‘No. No, I don’t. I think whatever you uncovered at the mining project has some very powerful people very worried.’
‘Yeah. Me too.’
Dan rolled his shoulders, and then his heart lurched.
Up ahead, about a mile away, he could see the flashing blue and red lights of emergency vehicles.
The highway had straightened out as it drew closer to the city, and he noticed the tell-tale sign of brake lights flaring in the distance as a vehicle slowed ahead of them.
Dan slowed, his heartbeat racing as he checked the rear view mirror.
Their pursuer was still behind them, doggedly keeping pace.
A trickle of sweat began at his forehead, and his fingers gripped the steering wheel harder. ‘Looks like trouble.’
Anna frowned. ‘Road accident?’
‘No,’ said Dan, his jaw clenched. ‘Road block.’