Page 49

‘STONE!’ Romy’s heart screeched to a screaming stop as a flush of ice water ran through her veins. She sprinted towards the bridge, panic rising in her chest, as she struggled to breathe. ‘Stone has jumped off a bridge! ’ she shouted into the handheld radio.

‘Say that again, Romy?’ It was Craig.

‘Bastion drove his van off the bridge, and Stone has dived in after him. Oh my God, there are crocodiles. Five. Six. Nine! ’ Desperate to get a grip of her drone’s controls hanging around her neck, she clutched the radio. ‘ Help. He needs help .’

‘Can you see Stone?’

Her drone hovered overhead waiting for its next command, as she leaned against the railing and peered at the muddy water. ‘No. Only Bastion, he’s swimming.’

Just then Stone broke through the water’s surface and grabbed the back of Bastion’s shirt. ‘You’ve got to swim this way, Bastion.’

‘No. I can’t.’

‘You will. We’ll be safer on this side. The sandbank is closer.’

Bastion struggled, then took a swipe at Stone.

But Stone punched back .

‘Keep them crocs, busy, Romy. ’ Stone pointed to the bask of crocodiles starting to slide across the muddy riverbanks towards the water.

‘Oh, no, no, no.’ For the first time in her life, she used her drone as a tool, not just for observing wildlife—but to scare it away.

With a flick of the sticks, her drone plummeted towards the earth. The intensity of the speed created a buzz that sounded like a swarm of locusts. It flew over the nose of one crocodile, barely missing the teeth of another, spinning and ducking, forcing the crocodiles to scurry in all directions.

She’d broken the rules of documentary making—and her own rules of filming. But Stone meant more to her. She’d do anything to keep him safe.

But would it be enough?

The bridge’s metal railing was hot to the touch as she peered over the edge with her heart in her throat to scout for any more crocodiles.

Instead, she found Stone and Bastion fighting in the water. Then Stone punched the techie twice in the face. The blood rushed out of Bastion’s nose, while his body went limp, allowing Stone to drag him up to the riverbank of mud and sand.

Romy continued her race across the bridge as the sounds of a police siren rang in the air, with a red plume of dust rising in the distance. But they were still too far away.

On the far side, Stone dumped Bastion face down on the muddy riverbank like a floundering fish. ‘Stay there.’ Stone heaved air as he bent over with hands on knees, soaked to the bone.

‘I can’t. I just can’t.’ Covered in mud, Bastion stumbled backwards to his feet, wiping the blood from his face.

‘You’ll be okay, mate.’

‘You don’t get it. He’ll kill me.’

‘Who will?’ Stone tried to grip Bastion’s arm, but he slipped away.

Bastion staggered like a drunk struggling to stand on his lanky legs, as he gasped for air.

The whites of his eyes displayed his wild fear, with his voice filled with panic.

‘The Stock Agent had Dane Carter killed, and I know he took out Renzo to keep him quiet, too. What’s to say he won’t do the same to me. ’

Stone grabbed Bastion by the front of his shirt and again dragged him out of the water. ‘Were you there when they stole those rodeo bulls?’

‘No. Dane told me he did that with the Stock Agent.’ Bastion shook his head, the terror making his eyes huge as his teeth chattered as if cold. ‘They just needed a veterinarian technician.’

‘For what?’

‘Sperm, eggs, DNA scrapings for cloning.’

‘What did they want with the crocodiles?’

‘They’re set to be smuggled out of the country.’ Bastion pointed to the van resting against the river’s sandbank. He wiped the sweat, water and tears from his reddened face. ‘I’m dead. Either way, you look at it, I’m dead.’

‘We’ll protect you. I’m sure Finn has connections. Come on.’ Stone helped Bastion higher up the slippery riverbank.

‘No. You don’t get it, Stone.’ Again, Bastion yanked his arm free. ‘It’s bigger than you can imagine. We’re all just pawns in this stock game, and they’ve been positioning their own players on the board.’

‘Who?’

‘Like me. They knew everything about me.’ Bastion pressed a hand to his chest, the anguish thick in his voice.

‘They approached me because they knew I had a student debt and was barely making ends meet. They approached Dane, too. Who knows how many others they’ve pulled into their operation?

And it all started with a tap on the shoulder in the pub. ’

Just like Finn tapped Stone’s shoulder in the pub to join the Stock Squad.

Bastion stepped backward towards the water’s edge.

‘Get back here.’

‘No. I deserve this—for what I did to those poor creatures I admired. I was training to be a vet who specialised in crocodile care, that’s how much I loved them, and I still let it happen.

I’m doing this my way!’ Bastion’s face twisted with torment, his shoes sinking into the soft riverbed as water lapped around his knees.

‘I deserve this.’ He took a step back and opened his arms wide.

In the blink of an eye, a massive crocodile exploded from the murky river, lunging at Bastion.

‘NO!’ Stone ran for the riverbank as Bastion’s horrific screams pierced the air.

Romy dropped everything. The shattering crunch of the shell from her drone’s controls was loud. It didn’t matter to her, she had to get involved.

She jumped over the side railing and sprinted down the muddy riverbank.

‘No. Don’t go.’ She gripped on to Stone’s hand. ‘You can’t save him. I don’t want you to go.’ Through her tears, she used all her strength to drag Stone back from trying to save Bastion.

She had to keep Stone safe, and away from that sickening bone-crunching sound as the large crocodile’s death roll churned the water white. ‘Don’t leave me, Stone. Please.’

‘It’s okay, Romy, I’m right here. I’m okay.’ He held her to his hammering chest, shielding her from the horror. ‘We’re okay.’

But then it got so much worse when the river soon became eerily silent and flowed the colour red…