Page 25 of Quinn

“They must have been sourcing their drugs from a dealer within the village.”

“Arabella said they have followed the same pattern for as long as she can remember, and from what she’s overheard, I’m pretty sure they have been dealing with the same person or people in Hanuabada each time. She recognised a few things in the area too even though she said they camped somewhere a little different each time. Fuck knows why they moved the entire village, seems like a lot of fucking trouble for one week.”

Connor thought for a moment. “Did Arabella say how long they’d been near Hanuabada?”

“About two days before she escaped, so we have a few days before they move again if they keep to routine. We need to get over there and take care of them before they disappear back into the jungle.” I answered.

Connor sat forward, shaking his head. “No.”

I narrowed my eyes. “No, what?”

“We’re not going after them in Moresby.”

My temper exploded. “You have to be fucking kidding me! You’re just going to let them get away with what they’ve done, what they’ll continue doing? Well, fuck you, Connor. I’ll go after them on my own.” I started to push up from the chair.

“SIT. THE. FUCK. DOWN. LISTEN TO ME! I’m so sick of your temper and childish behaviour. You’re spoiled and as long as you get your own fucking way all is good. Well, news flash, you’re not going to always get what you want. One day, you’ll discover you’re not the only one in this world who fucking matters. One day you’ll put what you want first and someone innocent will pay for your fucking selfishness.”

All eyes were on me as I sat down.

“We’re not going after them in Moresby because we don’t have the protections that we have here. Flying into Jackson with thirty or so heavily armed men is gonna draw the attention of a lot of people—the wrong people.”

“We make them come to us here, but how?” Jake asked.

“Arabella is the wife of their chief. If my gut is right, he won’t let her go without one hell of a fight.” My brother fixed his eyes on me. “Go down to Moresby with Logan and Daly, play the tourist. Dive on the bottle dump. Take a day trip over to Local Island and snorkel on the reef. Have a beer at the yacht club. Drive up to Varirata Falls, visit Bomana War Cemetery, and the Pukpuk farm. Just make sure you’re fucking seen. They’ll be watching you, but don’t let them know you’re watching them.”

“I don’t understand.” Thank fuck I wasn’t the only one who was confused and Daly asked the question inside my head.

“You can absolutely bet they know it was Quinn who ‘saved’ Arabella. They’ll know about our plane BUT they won’t know exactly who we are or where we’re from. More than likely, they’ll believe Quinn is a wealthy businessman visiting from Australia. I’m going to send Olimar and Kent with you. They’ll leave the plane an hour after you and head to Hanuabada on the pretext of needing somewhere to crash after being caught dealing drugs in Bougainville. I’ll make sure they have some heroin on them They’ll be able to check out the village without raising any alarms and will meet you back at the aircraft three days later.”

Connor’s plan made sense and his clear thinking reinforced the fact he was meant to be in charge.

He pierced Logan and Daly with narrowed eyes. “Logan, Daly, watch his back. Don’t you dare take your fucking eyes off him for even a second. I don’t care if someone comes to you with half their head hanging off and begging for help, you don’t take your eyes off Quinn.”

“Got it.” Logan and Daly spoke in unison.

“When do we go?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning.” Again, he spoke to the pilots. “Get your flight plan filed this afternoon so you can get in the air first thing.”

“Can we delay a day? Arabella needs to go to the hospital for tests tomorrow afternoon and I’d like to take her.”

Connor shook his head. “No, we’ve already lost a couple, almost three days already. If we delay any longer, and they stick with their one week plan, we might lose them. It could take months, if not years, to find them again and that gives them time to catch us unaware. Jake will take her with Waigi and Mala.”

“It wasn’t what I wanted but like Connor, I didn’t want to blow our chance of getting the arseholes on our terms.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready to go when Logan advises me of time.”

“We need to discuss Arabella once this is dealt with, Quinn. You know what will have to happen if she insists on leaving. She knows about our business and she can’t be allowed to take that information to someone who wants us gone.”

I nodded, inwardly fuming. “So, you’re saying we’ve rescued her, and are doing all of this, just to fucking kill her? This is so fucked up, Connor. I know we can trust the woman.”

“How do you know that? You’ve known her for what…five fucking minutes?”

“Then why bother with the motherfuckers in Moresby?”

“It’s not for Arabella, it’s for the danger she poses. I feel sorry for what she’s been through but this family…this business, is my first priority. We have limited options, Quinn. We can send Arabella back, or we dispose of her ourselves. Either way, they would probably come after us, so the only way to keep our business safe from this threat is to destroy them. The only way to keep our family safe if Arabella decides she wants to be free, is to dispose of that threat as well.”

“You fucken sicken me. After all she’s been through you would treat her no better than one of our worst enemies.”