The Choice. Kerry Barnes

their terrified expressions told her they would be more of a hindrance than a help.

      Willie, with his crooked smile, held up his thumbs. ‘No fuckers ’ave been ’ere.’

      Lou laughed. ‘Well done, Sitting Bull.’

      As Zara entered the house, she paused and listened. Her nerves were on end. She just couldn’t help but feel freaked out. It was all well and good having Torvic and his evil family tied up and tortured for information, but it was another thing knowing he was out there somewhere with multifarious plans for her firm and Mike’s. The revenge on her would be horrific, and the others who were involved last night wouldn’t be able to sleep comfortably either – that was a given.

      Mike gripped her shoulders and whispered in her ear, ‘You’re safe with me. Go on, babe.’

      She continued on and into her father’s study where the monitor for the CCTV cameras sat on the desk.

      She quickly tapped the buttons to rewind the footage and watched to see if anyone had been on the property in the last twelve hours. All she could see were leaves floating in the air and the bows of the trees bending in the wind. No one, it seemed, had been near or by. She felt her tense shoulders relax. Glancing out of the window, she saw another car heading up the drive. Her eyes widened for a moment before she realized it was Mike’s brother Eric driving, and he had Lance with him. He was the man her father called ‘The Machine’, who she only recently discovered was called Lance Ryder and not Torvic. It took a while before her heart began to stop beating so fast. She left the monitor and went over to the bar. ‘Brandy anyone?’ she asked, as she turned to look at the five seated men.

      They all nodded. It was still early, yet, under the circumstances, no one objected, and they gratefully accepted the drink offered.

      The loud knock at the door had Mike on his feet. ‘I’ll let ’em in.’

      Eric’s appearance was in direct contrast to Lance’s. Much like Lou, he was clean-shaven and smartly dressed in a neatly pressed shirt and suit trousers. Lance, on the other hand, looked dishevelled, although his expression never gave anything away. He always wore a severe poker face. His long, thick, dark hair lay on his shoulders in messy waves, and his brooding eyes were almost unblinking.

      Once everyone was seated, Zara took her position behind her father’s desk. Neil and Shamus sat to her right, while Mike, Willie, and Lou sat to her left. Lance and Eric took seats across the desk.

      ‘So, tell us exactly what you found, Neil.’

      Her sudden change in tone brought everyone to focus on this slim, tall woman with the copper-coloured eyes. Her slender neck and tight jawline gave her an almost regal aspect.

      Lance was intrigued more by the intensity of her personality, which seemed to radiate charisma. It reminded him of one of his female commanding officers over in Afghanistan on his last tour of duty, years ago now. She was similarly built and a real firebrand when the mood took her – which was often.

      He hadn’t known Zara for very long. Yet last night, he’d watched her command her army with a cold, stern heart. He was dumbfounded by how the man they called the Governor – the head honcho behind the new drug Flakka – had been right under the noses of him and the special operations team.

      It was Zara who had managed to capture the monster. Her shrewdness and detailed planning would have put the Army to shame. Yet there was something more than that which had fascinated him. It was her ability to act so coolly and almost mind-read Torvic. How she’d sussed him out and then pieced everything together was sheer genius.

      ‘We got to the airfield and I said to Shamus that the back wall of the hangar looked ajar. So, as we drove nearer, we could see that it was actually wide open,’ said Neil.

      Zara nodded. ‘But the hostages had gone, so there was no sign that they’d been killed, was there?’

      Neil shook his head. ‘No. The chairs we had them tied to were where we left them, but the ropes had been cut and left on the floor. There was no blood or mess anywhere. They’d simply vanished.’

      Zara tilted her head to the side. ‘Was there a note left or anything or—?’

      Shamus interrupted. ‘No. Nothing. The place was as clean as a whistle. We had a good look around before calling you, but, honestly, it was as if the SAS had done a search and rescue.’

      Zara looked at Lance. ‘Any thoughts?’

      Lance glared around the room with his dark penetrating eyes. There was not a smidgen of niceness about him. She appreciated his composed demeanour and his straight-talking. Her father was right about him: his skills and strengths were to be respected. Ex-military, he was a lone wolf now, working for whoever paid the highest. Her father, of course, could afford the very best, and so, back then, Lance’s abilities had caught his attention.

      ‘I think we know who’s behind it. It’s this Barak Segal guy. That Torvic fella gave you his name under extreme duress, so we should turn our attentions to him.’

      Eric sat almost shoulder to shoulder with Lance; both were heavily built men. He cleared his throat to say something but immediately looked at his brother. He didn’t want to be shot down in flames for speaking out of turn, which was a habit he made all too often in Mike’s company. Yet, surprisingly, Mike nodded for Eric to talk.

      ‘Me, if I were Torvic, after last night, I’d be too shit-scared to try and take revenge. We all saw how terrified he was of his granddaughter getting hurt.’

      Zara shook her head. ‘No, Eric, he would do what I would and that’s to get Tiffany far away, out of reach, and then come for us. And he knows we have a substantial united strength. He will take us down one by one. Probably, he’ll start with our families, our closest loved ones, because he’ll want to see us in pain. He’ll want us to be begging for forgiveness, like he was.’

      As she looked around, she could see the fear in their eyes. All of the men in the room now, no matter how big, hard, and ruthless they were, still felt the ultimate fear deep inside for their kids or their women getting hurt.

      Willie was fidgeting and rubbing his hands down the front of his trousers.

      Mike rolled his eyes. ‘Mate, ya need to stop using cocaine. We have to keep our heads straight.’

      Willie looked up and raised his brow. ‘Don’t you worry about me. I’m clear-headed, coked-up or not!’

      Mike was taken aback; Willie never got shirty, not with him anyway.

      Zara sensed the tension and put up her hand.

      ‘Right, listen up. For now, we need to get the kids away, and when I say away, I mean out of the country.’ Her father always sent her away when things got too hot. ‘What about Poppy and Brooke, Lance?’

      He nodded. ‘Well, I think you’re right. Arty and Liam seem to have sparked up a friendship with my girls, so I’d feel better if they all stayed together.’

      With Ricky on his mind, Mike got up from his seat. ‘I’m gonna check that Staffie’s with Ricky. Lance, can you organize flights? Lou, you call the missus and arrange for your lot to go today.’

      Zara knew only too well that until their families were safe, the men wouldn’t be able to get down to serious business. She had to take control and make decisions but what could she really plan? It had taken the police force, the special operations team, and the toughest criminals to hunt the man down, and it was more by luck than good judgement that she’d managed to suss out who he was. He was, after all, right under her nose. Now he was missing, and she knew deep down that it would take more than their combined skills to find the fucker again. Also very worrying was who had been watching them. If it was Barak’s men, or even Barak himself, she would sacrifice her own life if it meant she could metaphorically get her hands on him and kill him.

      She stared off into the garden as the men made the requisite calls. Her mind was now on how she would hunt down Torvic.

      Once