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‘We did that for you, Lenny. And I would have helped you with that crocodile farm, too. But I know you’ll never do it.

’ He pulled his arm free and tied down the boxes in the van, then closed the back doors as if ending a chapter in his life.

‘It’s time I looked out for myself and got out of the Territory while I still can.

Especially with the Stock Squad sniffing around. ’

‘Mum said not to trust you.’ Lenora wagged her finger at him. ‘Mum said you were one of those snakes, all shiny on the outside but venomous underneath. And now you’re stealing my stock.’

‘No, hon. You stole this stock. I’m just the delivery driver, being told what to do by my boss.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘Take care of yourself, Lenny.’

‘Arsehole.’ She slapped him hard across his face.

‘Yeah, I guess I deserved that.’ But Griffin gave an evil laugh as he walked around the van, juggling the keys in his hands. ‘No need to lock up, there’s nothing left.’

???

Finn gave the nod.

And Amara raced forward, gun raised at Lenora, with Craig as her backup.

‘POLICE. HANDS UP.’

Griffin bolted for the driver’s door of the van, but Finn was already there.

Stone backed up Finn, who stood by the bonnet and kicked the driver’s door shut like it owed him money.

In the same breath, Finn’s large hand crashed down on the back of Griffin’s neck, driving him face-first into the van’s side panel. That was going to leave a dent. ‘Remember me, cowboy?’

‘Is this the part where we say you’re under arrest, Bossman?’ Stone smirked at Griffin as he removed the keys from the van’s ignition.

As Finn cuffed Griffin roughly, pushing him onto his knees, Stone called out, ‘Romy?’

She peered out from behind the protective barrier that Stone had made her hide behind and gave a meek wave. ‘I’m here.’

‘You can come in, now.’ Stone waved Romy in.

Which she did, keenly rushing inside. ‘You’ve got them?’

‘The prisoner is secure, sir.’ Amara walked around the van with Lenora in handcuffs, forcing her onto her knees beside Griffin.

‘Constable, radio for a prisoner transfer,’ ordered Finn.

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Stone?’ With her hands cuffed behind her back, Lenora wriggled around on her knees to face him. ‘The eggs and juveniles are in the van. They have to come out.’

Stone went to open the back, only thinking of saving those animals.

‘That’s evidence, Stone. You can’t touch that.’ Amara pushed him back.

‘But Lenora is right. They’ll die, Duchess, they need the airflow. The van is a tin can, and even in those containers—if that van’s not moving, they’ll start cooking from the inside out. Eggs first, with the hatchlings not far behind.’

‘Can somebody tape Stone while we get the prisoners secure?’ Finn dug into a pocket of his jeans and dragged out some plastic gloves. ‘But wear gloves, Stone. We’ll need to take fingerprints as part of the investigation.’

Craig dragged out his phone and began filming Stone. ‘Know what you’re doing there, Stone?’

‘I do. You can do this too, Craig. Romy can do the filming because we need to do this fast. We’ve got another van to catch, mate, with more stock on board.’

‘We also have the potential of finding out who this Stock Agent is,’ said Craig, passing his phone to Romy.

‘Do you know who the Stock Agent is?’ Finn asked Griffin.

‘I know nothing.’

‘As much as I hate to say it, Griffin’s right.’ The handcuffed Lenora scowled at her partner while kneeling on the concrete floor. ‘Only Bastion dealt with the Stock Agent.’

‘Stone, what’s your ETA to get in the air?’ Finn’s voice was low, but urgent.

‘Give me five, I’m doing this first.’ Stone carried a large crate over to the wide pond and lowered it onto the side with the sand. He opened the crate’s side panel, releasing a group of baby crocodiles, who rushed to hide under the water. ‘The poor things are stressed.’

‘Here’s the next one.’ Craig handed the crate to Stone, who gently let them go.

‘What about the eggs, Lenora?’ Disappointment didn’t quite explain what Stone felt for Lenora and her actions. Right now, the livestock was his priority.

‘They’ll be fine in those travel cases if they’ve got the airflow. If they don’t hatch.’

‘How close are they to hatching?’

‘A week. Less. You know as well as I do, we can never exactly tell when they’ll hatch. But you could. You’ve won the office pools, how many times?’ Lenora gave him a meek smile, as if trying to keep up a brave face in a terrible situation.

‘You know, I only got into this gig to take down the bad guys. But you… You’re not a bad person.’ Stone crouched down in front of Lenora, trying to think of something else to say, when it was truly sad to see her like this.

Finn’s large hand landed on Stone’s shoulder. ‘Get in that chopper you use like a car, Stone. Make sure Romy is taping, we can use it as evidence. Craig and I will follow as soon as we’ve secured these prisoners with the constable guarding them.’

Amara pulled out some cable ties. ‘Sir, I can secure them to the structural poles. And the prisoner transport is only fifteen minutes out.’

‘That’s quick.’ Stone’s worry about leaving a team member behind eased—if it was true. Not that he doubted Amara could handle herself, but it didn’t matter who it was, he just didn’t like the idea of his team being outnumbered.

‘Porter’s coming back from one of the communities and knows a shortcut.

’ Amara pulled Lenny to her feet and said, ‘Lenora Rowntree, you are under arrest under the Australian Federal Livestock Security and Biosecurity Act for your involvement in the theft and illegal trafficking of protected wildlife—specifically, the stolen cold stock from Saltscale Crocodile Farm. You do not have to say or do anything, but if you do it may be used as evidence against you. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? ’

Lenora barely nodded, before she scowled at Griffin, her voice full of venom and betrayal. ‘You’re such an arsehole. I hate you.’

‘Lenora made me do it. It was all her idea.’ Griffin pleaded with Stone, while Finn dragged the prisoner to another internal structural beam, further along. ‘Mate, I was just doing my job, trying to keep the love of my life happy. She manipulated me.’

‘Save the speech, Griffin, we all heard you double-crossing your girlfriend.’ Stone shook his head at Lenora. ‘You know, Malcolm’s going to have a heart attack when he hears this. And Celeste…’ He shook his head again. ‘Your poor mother.’

Lenora slumped down in defeat as Amara tied her to a pole, then cable tied her ankles together. ‘Poor Mum. She’s the one who has to live with Dad now.’