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The sounds of a distant helicopter caught Renzo’s attention as he dragged Izzy to one side of the ATV’s back tray to sit her up. ‘What’s with the chopper?’

‘Don’t worry, it’s just a muster chopper. They fly around here all the time. With my last crew, we’d all chip in for the avgas so the muster chopper could do a beer run.’ Dane pushed open a sliding door to a large shed, exposing animal pens on the left. Tucked into the right corner stood a simple kitchen sink with a barbecue, a table, chairs, and camp beds. It was a rough set-up.

Renzo plugged a long cord into the ATV, running it from the shed. Nearby stood an extensive set of solar panels. It reminded her of the other Everlight properties, giving the impression of a solar farm in the making. But none of the others had ever progressed beyond bulldozing the land, using protestors from various environmental organisations as an excuse to extend delays—while Everlight made money by accruing interest daily on their federal grants and other schemes.

Renzo opened the large steel cabinet, exposing rows of large batteries, and flicked a switch, noting the time on his watch. ‘The ATVs will have the day to recharge.’ He closed the door and sauntered towards Izzy, trapped in the ATV’s rear tray. ‘Ready to sit in a sauna, Is-o-bel?’

‘I’d rather go home.’ With wrists and ankles bound, it made her sick that Renzo hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried her to the parked truck with an enormous cage on the back, where he flung her onto the straw-covered floor. The heavy metal door clanged shut, and he slid the bolt across, clicking a padlock in place, then made a big show of attaching the key to a lanyard, that he then hung around his neck like jewellery. ‘Comfy, Is-o-bel?’

She scowled at Renzo who seemed to feed off her fear. He seemed narcissistic enough to crave admiration, but psychopathic enough to exploit her fear, and he was enjoying this game way too much.

Dane poked a water bottle through the large metal grid of Izzy’s cage. ‘Here, you’ll need this.’

‘Thank you.’

Renzo leaned his shoulder against the cage, wearing a sly grin. ‘And this is the part where I tell you there’s no point in screaming, because there’s no one around. Tell her how close your neighbours are, Dane.’

‘The nearest homestead is about twenty clicks away.’

‘And they’ll have to kill me to get the key to your cage. I’ve always wanted a pet.’ He tugged hard on the side of her cage to demonstrate it was solid and smiled at her. It was pure evil. ‘Sit tight, my little pet. I’m going to take another shower to wash the dirt off. The stuff is like sandpaper.’ Renzo playfully shuddered as he tugged at his sweaty shirt. ‘How people live out here is beyond me.’ He scowled at Dane like he was a fly. ‘Why don’t you build yourself a house like normal people?’

‘Not my land anymore.’

‘Whatever. Just keep watch on the place while I’m gone. Because when I get back, Is-o-bel, we’ll have a nice long chat all about Everlight.’ The side door slammed shut.

The sound echoed inside her head, as if rattling the chains of true terror. Yet, to find any form of hope, she had to focus on something else.

She chose to focus on Craig and pray with everything she had that he was okay.

It then became clear just how big a fool she’d been. She’d put her job before the man she loved. And Craig had loved her so much he’d set her free, hoping she’d come back to him.

Only to have her return for all the wrong reasons.

Yet, when Bree had called her and told her how badly Craig had been injured, Izzy didn’t think of herself, she’d only thought of getting to Craig.

As harsh as it was, this was the lesson she needed to realise: love was way more important than a job. If she had to find an obsession—a lifetime hobby to focus on—it would be Craig. With him, she could build a future, a family, and share the life they both loved at Dustfire.

It’s a pity it took a madman with a gun to make her realise how lonely she’d been without Craig. She’d chosen not to feel, living under the control of her analytical brain, instead of finding that balance of emotion and peace, to live a life like she did with Craig. It’s the life Craig had always promised her, that was there waiting for her at Dustfire.

Silly girl.

She should have never taken that job in Sydney, even though Craig encouraged her to. But even then, she’d always made sure she paid the mortgage, because deep down she always wanted to go home to Craig. She no longer wanted to take on the world, she just wanted to see Craig, to sit beside him at Dustfire and share the spectacular view of the stars each and every night.

Would she ever get that chance again?

‘Sadistic prick he is.’ Dane mumbled to himself as he dragged over a small fan connected to a series of extension cords and aimed it at Izzy trapped in the large cage.

‘Thank you.’ The breeze made a difference. ‘I don’t suppose you could untie me?’

‘Tell you what, I’ll do your legs so you can sit better.’ Dane rattled around the small kitchenette and soon returned with a large kitchen knife.

It was enough to have her shimmying away from him, trapped like a rat in a cage.

‘Do you want to get untied or not?’

‘Yes, please.’ She hesitantly scooted closer, lifting her legs through the sizeable gaps in the mesh so he could cut the thick tape.

‘What about my hands? I can’t go anywhere, and my fingers are numb.’

‘Fine. Give ‘em over.’

She happily thrust her hands through the metal gaps.

Dane deftly cut the tape, wadding it up in a ball, and tossing it into the bin that stood near a tall metal trolley.

‘Thank you.’ She shook out her hands, clenching them into fists to get the blood circulating.

Having blocked out everything else around her—blinded and deafened by sheer panic—only now did she register the potent stench of animals, thick with methane, burning her eyes and making her stomach turn

‘Don’t mind the smell. You get used to it.’ On two sides of the shed, Dane opened the large doors, exposing nothing but open scrublands and two ATVs. ‘I’ll open the other side shortly when the sun’s shifted a bit off those solar panels. The breeze will clear the smell out quick enough.’ Dane dragged over a camping chair and plonked it near her cage. ‘So, you’re Cowboy Craig’s wife, huh?’

She shrugged.

‘How long have you two been married?’

‘Five years.’

‘You know he’s a dog. Can’t keep his pants on with them buckle bunnies.’

Forcing her focus on her hands, she played the grounding game—thumb to little finger, then thumb pressing to her fourth, middle, and index finger—over and over to keep herself calm.

‘We’ve been separated for a while.’ Three years too long. ‘Didn’t you sell this land to Everlight or something?’

‘I had to.’ Dane gave a meek shrug. ‘I got conned.’

‘They do that.’

‘Do they?’ Dane arched an eyebrow at her, surprised.

‘Everlight’s taken advantage of lots of farmers to buy their land.’ Maybe the conversation would keep her from hyperventilating again. ‘How did Everlight get to you?’ Because Renzo and Dane didn’t act like friends.

Just then, a bull let out a deep, throaty bellow that echoed through the shed. It was a commanding sound that vibrated off the metal walls.

Izzy sat taller, twisting around to see behind her. ‘No way.’ She’d seen enough photos these past few days to recognise it was Wraith’s Wrath, Ginny’s missing bull.

But seeing him in the flesh, those photos did not do him justice.

The Brahman bull was an awe-inspiring sight, a towering mass of muscle and raw power. His cream-coloured coat glistened with health, almost pearl-like under a sunbeam streaming inside the shed to highlight his powerful frame. The prominent hump over his shoulders, distinctive to his breed, rose like a boulder atop his broad neck, with dark eyes assessing his surroundings. He shifted within the pen, showing off his strong polished horns that curved upward like the blades of a warrior. This bull was no ordinary livestock. Even to her untrained eye, she could tell this was a prime rodeo bull.

Wraith’s snort and snuffling bellow was soon met with a rumble of low moos from the two cows penned across from him. The two heifers were also stunning beasts. Their coats looked just as sleek, as if smooth to the touch, their well-muscled bodies were perfectly proportioned, their ears flicking attentively at the slightest sound, and their large, soft eyes seemed calm. They were so graceful and gorgeous, Izzy would have happily adopted them for Dustfire just to watch them graze all day through the windows—if she weren’t locked up like an animal herself.

In the background, a group of six young calves, just a fraction of the size, gave a chorus of high-pitched bleats, filling the air. The poor babies were a bundle of nervous energy, with their pale coats flecked with patches of grey and their small horn buds just beginning to protrude. Wary and skittish, their large doe-like eyes darted around the shed, their ears flicking back and forth to take in every sound.

How could she save them all, while trapped, with no hope of escape.

‘Settle down, you lot. I’ll feed you shortly,’ hollered Dane, heading outside the shed. He soon returned with a square hay bale in a wheelbarrow, tossing biscuits of hay into their separate pens and checked their water.

Brushing dust and dirt from her trousers, Izzy hunched over in the cage to study the shed’s layout. Along one side, between the kitchenette and the truck, stood a few odd-looking gas bottles with unusual lids and gauges. What made them even more peculiar was the fine frost coating their surfaces, giving the metal a cold, misty glow. How was that even possible?

As a series of pedestal fans spun in their rotations, a fine wisp of fog drifted off the lids of the heavy-duty canisters like a thin, icy breath. Whatever was inside those canisters was kept freezing cold.

Nearby stood a metal trolley on roller wheels, like something from a hospital. It seemed odd to have something like that in this shed. But it contained labelled vials and swabs—like a DNA sampling kit she’d seen at police stations.

Discarded gloves and used syringes, lay scattered around the bin, near a portable generator. Along with a notepad flapping with the breeze showing some scribbled notes.

After her conversations with Craig, and her past research, her brain clicked into place and she soon realised what the organised, yet discarded operation was… It was for genetic collection.

Again, she craned her neck at the poor animals where Dane was feeding them. ‘Are they okay?’

‘They’re fine. Gotta hand it to Ginny, she treats her stock like kings. They’re used to being pampered.’ Dane readjusted some more pedestal fans, facing the animals, then left the wheelbarrow to one side, scooped up his tin mug and sat back on his comfy camping chair near Izzy’s cage. ‘That’ll keep ‘em quiet for a bit.’

‘You stole Wraith?’

‘How do you even know who Wraith is?’

‘It was Wraith who put Craig in the hospital.’ She may have had horrible thoughts of putting down that beast when she’d first heard what it had done to Craig, but now she felt sorry for all of them.

‘I heard Craig’s injury was bad.’

‘You weren’t at the rodeo?’

‘Haven’t been to one for a long time.’

Izzy sipped on her water, trying to understand the situation, while trying not to obsess over her kidnapping. Keeping a conversation going would help to answer the questions she had as well as prevent her panicking—if she kept her focus. ‘What I don’t get is if you’ve sold your place to Everlight, why are you still living here, keeping that livestock?’

‘I need the money.’

‘Excuse me? You’ve just sold your property.’

‘Once I paid my debts off, I had little left over.’

‘You sold your property too cheap. Not that it’s your fault, because Everlight is notorious for doing that with lots of other landowners.’

‘Yeah, I know I got conned. But I was desperate.’

‘Why?’

He shrugged.

‘Who am I going to tell? And I doubt Renzo will let me see the stars again.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Because I saw Renzo kill my assistant. And Meghan was harmless. All she did was carry my folders to my car and Renzo…’ She shuddered, wiping away the sweat from her brow, feeling the grit of the outback’s dust against her skin. Do not panic. Stay calm.

‘Yeah, I’ll admit I don’t like the fella much. But that’s business. When you fall in with the wrong people, getting out isn’t always easy—sometimes, you just end up digging yourself in deeper.’

‘What are you going to do with the cattle? It’s obvious you did something to them.’ She pointed to the metal trolley of horrors.

‘They weren’t hurt. I made sure of that.’

‘What did they do?’

‘The techie came and took sperm, eggs, and DNA samples.’

‘Why DNA?’

‘It was more of a simple skin biopsy and some blood samples, for cloning.’ Dane pointed to the heavy-duty gas bottles. ‘Those cryogenic canisters make it easy to smuggle them out of the Territory, easier than trying to shift a fully grown bull around. The stock agent called it bio-smuggling, or genetic livestock smuggling, I think.’ Dane casually sipped on his mug, leaning back on his chair as if it was a morning smoko break.

‘Is that why you took Wraith?’ Who was a gorgeously proud looking beast—but she failed to see how it all connected to Everlight?

‘You can trace Wraith’s genes back a while. Like the heifers, they’re a genetic investment for their breeding potential, because they come from a very particular gene pool of successful rodeo bulls. And that’s big bickies.’

A lump rose in Izzy’s throat for the poor stolen animals and their uncertain fate. ‘What are you going to do with them now?’

‘I’ll be letting Wraith and the heifers go.’

She blinked a few times, not expecting that response. ‘Why?’

‘The techie is done with them. Those beasts are branded, so I won’t get far with them, that’s for sure. I’ll leave the gate open and maybe someone will find them.’

It made her wonder if Everlight was actually involved—or if their name was just being used as a convenient cover. Had the tenants simply taken advantage of the vacant property, or was there more to it? ‘And the calves?’

‘They’re cleanskins.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘They’re not branded yet. You see, it’s mandatory in the Northern Territory to brand cattle at eight months of age.’

‘How young are they?’ Now she felt bad for the poor babies.

‘Wraith’s sons are six months old.’

‘Are you going to sell them as Wraith’s sons?’

He nodded. ‘Along with my share of what’s in those cryogenic canisters.’

Which meant they’d used liquid nitrogen to give those canisters its frosty appearance, keeping the bioproducts frozen and protected. They were also small enough to hide in a box, making them perfect for transport.

She peered over at Wraith, inspecting his large body for any signs of harm. Yet, he looked completely unharmed. ‘Why? I get you had bills, but you’ve just sold your property.’ And Dane had been oddly calm chatting with her, but he’d also been sympathetic too. ‘Are you still working for Everlight?’

‘Pft. I’ve never worked for that mob—Renzo does. I worked with the stock agent to take that livestock. That was for me. For money. And a whole lot of payback.’ Dane scowled as he shifted his hat to shade his eyes as he peered over the penned livestock.

It made her slide back across the floor of her cage. She had to remember Dane was a bad guy. ‘You were a head stockman. And I was told the stockmen in this town were the good guys.’

Dane snorted as he sipped on his tin mug, wiping his mouth. ‘I liked to think so. Once upon a time I might’ve…’ He brushed down the dust ingrained into his jeans. ‘I have a problem with the gee-gees, you see.’

Searching for an answer, Izzy sat taller. On the table a newspaper lay open at the racing pages, next to a notepad, and a small radio that she’d bet was tuned in to the racing channel. ‘Racehorses?’ Dane was a gambler.

Cradling his mug in his lap, Dane’s sigh was so heavy, his whole body seemed to sag under the weight. ‘Lost my wife and my two sons to the sport. I was hoping that by going mustering in remote areas, I couldn’t lay down any bets.’

‘Did it work?’

‘For a while. Paid this place off in a hurry to plan a future for myself…’ He craned his neck at the tall shed, as a heavy sadness softened the sun-hardened crinkles around his eyes. ‘But then I was rodeoing a bit more, getting into town a bit more, and, well, let’s just say I borrowed money from the wrong people.’

‘I’m sorry.’ His addiction obviously got the better of him. ‘That’s how Everlight got this place so cheap, huh?’

He nodded.

‘And that’s why you took Wraith?’

‘Well, that’s coz the stock agent made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.’ Dane sneered behind his mug as he took a sip.

She shrugged at him. ‘What has that got to do with payback?’

‘It was Ginny who ruined everything for me.’

‘No. I don’t believe it. Ginny is so nice.’

‘Believe it.’ Dane’s brow ruffled into a scowl. ‘It was Ginny who dobbed me in, saying I drugged one of her bulls. Right before I was set to ride the beast, waiting for that chute to open, and there was Ginny holding that gate shut, effectively stopping my ride, and the rodeo.’

‘Did you hurt her bull?’ Izzy couldn’t help but nod at that corner of horrors telling the tale with its syringes and what not.

‘I’d bet a fortune to win my ride, I just needed to be sure.’

Arsehole.

But she had to remain calm, keep Dane talking, hopefully to win him over to let her out. ‘Why steal Wraith now, when he lives here?’

‘Because those two heifers were brought into town, making it all the sweeter.’ Dane pointed to the cows in the corner. ‘It also took a while for us to get near the place, what with them visitors coming to book Wraith for their rodeos, especially after what it’d done to Cowboy Craig. It made Wraith famous.’

‘Are you saying, because Wraith hurt Craig in that rodeo, it made him popular?’

‘It improved his value.’

Izzy twisted her face in horror at the thought of someone profiting off another’s pain like that. ‘I don’t get it.’

‘Wraith has just turned six. He’s about to start his prime years. And everyone who’s in the rodeo game knows this. It was enough to catch the attention of that mob who wanted a piece of Wraith and those two heifers.’ Dane nodded at the cryogenic canister.

‘Who are they ?’ It was the question that had gotten her into trouble in the first place—the one she’d never been able to answer. Who was the face behind Everlight Energy Solutions? Dane might not say it, or he may not know, but for Izzy, it was all connected somehow .

Dane narrowed his eyes at her for a long moment. ‘You’re a smart cookie. Too smart for the likes of someone like Cowboy Craig. He’s a cocky bastard, that one. But, to be fair, he’s a bloody good stockman. Yet I wouldn’t trust him with my wife, or my sister, for that matter.’

She rolled her eyes.

Dane chuckled. ‘I guess you already knew that, huh?’

She shrugged, gathering up a handful of hay and started sorting them out by lengths, hoping to keep busy.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. ‘So, you came here to hide, huh?’

‘It didn’t work, did it.’ Her cage, with its thick iron bars, sat firmly bolted to the back of a truck, along with that big ugly padlock securely in place, leaving her with no way out. ‘I’m stuck here for a bit, aren’t I?’

‘Yeah, miss, you are.’ He then adjusted his well-worn stockman’s hat, the way a man in a suit would adjust their tie before sharing bad news. ‘But that’s not the worst of it.’

She swallowed hard. ‘What could be worse than this?’

‘I’m sorry to tell you, but I’ll be transporting those calves inside your cage, and I plan to hit the road soon after sunset. And so is Renzo. He’ll be going back to Sydney, now he’s found you.’