Road to Redemption - Michelle Dalton Page 0,10

whispered.

Ben sighed as he rubbed his eyes with a large calloused thumb and index finger. “Hard to say. They’ve been here for around a week. Doubt that’d be enough time, but I’d not discount it.”

He turned his dark gaze on her. “And you. You’ve read their files …” He paused as though to think on his next words. “Do you suspect anyone?”

Mina’s insides flipped. Was Ray capable? And had Ben made the connection?

She shook her head. “No.” She’d contact Cape Prisons for more background on them all.

Ben didn’t reply, his eyebrow cocking.

Voices and footsteps drew their attention as Marnus, the local conservation trooper, and Sergeant Abbe Deloise stepped in to the warehouse.

“It’s obvious they used a skiff. The trawler probably sat anchored on the far end of the bay.” Abbe pointed to drag marks left in the soft white sand of the beach edging the abalone warehouses. “They must have come in on the tide.”

Mina swallowed hard. “Why now? We’ve been here for years—not a single issue.” Lifting her hand to her brow, she gazed out over the cerulean waters. It was a beautiful day. The ocean lay flat as a lake, the sun bright and bold. “We have state-of-the-art security.”

“Ja, they made quick work of that. I’ll have to speak to your security company, employees and inmates. Also, give me the numbers for the delivery companies that are made to the farm—it could be anyone. I’ll need everything you can give me on past inmates, especially those who were not able to complete the program,” Abbe requested as she turned around and walked toward the area which had sustained the most damage. All the troughs which had once held adult Abalone were gone leaving a gaping emptiness in the benches specialy built to hold them.

Mina followed Abbe, her hopes dashed and her mind reeling when she noticed a hooded expression flash across the sergeant’s face as she watched Ben Meintjies hand out orders at the far end of the building.

“He’s trustworthy,” Mina blurted. feeling suddenly defensive.

“Is he?” Abbe glanced at her. “Mina, at this stage, I’m not sure who is who anymore. With state officials dipping their hands into any pocket they want”—her glance bounced from Ben to Marnus and back to Mina—“and corruption using the old apartheid excuse, you need to be careful. Poaching on the west coast has increased in the last months. This new bunch have no regard for life and are connected to some powerful people.”

A shudder snaked its way down Mina’s spine. “I will, but I also vouch for all my people.”

Abbe simply shrugged and walked toward Ben.

Mina sighed deeply as she gripped her phone to call her security company. She scrolled through the numbers as she strolled back to the house. She wanted an explanation, and they’d have to come out and replace the keypad. Perhaps a call to Derek? His son-in-law was an Interpol agent who’d busted the child-trafficking ring down in Cape Town—perhaps he could help?

Next call was her insurance, and then …

“Mina?” A voice that hadn’t changed a bit over the years settled like a bonfire in her centre. He could still turn her insides to mush. Mina froze, looked up, and swallowed hard.

“Ray.” Her reply was a mere whisper as her gaze got caught in his astonished baby blues.

“Wh—how …?”

Gathering all her strength, Mina raised her trembling hand, glancing past him to make sure Ben and everyone else were nowhere near them. “Not now. No one can know.”

It was all she could muster.

“But—”

“Not now!” she hissed. “Get to the mess hall,” she ordered and took off like a bolt toward the house. Every nerve fibre, cell, and shard of what was once her heart dug into her shattered soul, electrifying her body. Her chest throbbed and her lungs froze as she hurried toward the safety of her home. She really had to learn to carry her asthma pump around with her.

4

Ray stood, his limbs frozen as she strode away, her back ramrod straight, fists clenched. She was shocked, but her eyes had told him she was not surprised.

His blood raced along the corridors of his body and his heart throbbed a painful staccato, begging for release from its cage.

She was as beautiful as she’d been on the day he’d broken her heart. The scent of China roses invaded his memories. His hands clenched open and shut and his gut churned with a need that threatened to override his will.

His Mina was as beautiful as ever. But the years sat