Page 46 of Runner 13

Stella

When I finish telling Pete what happened in Ibiza, he leans forward, grabbing my hand.

‘I am so sorry, Stella. I had no idea.’

‘I know you didn’t. After Yasmin died – I didn’t want her associated with that man. Her name brought up in the same breath as his. I couldn’t tell you, because that would mean it all coming out. That’s why I just left.’

‘I can’t even imagine what you must have been going through. If I had known, I would have …’ His voice trails off.

I give him a sad smile. ‘You would have what? There was nothing you could have done to fix this, Pete. No action to take. Glenn was a monster. But then Glenn died too, and there was no one left to blame but myself.’

‘I would have been there for you.’

‘I know. Honestly, I really do. And you waited for me. After the way I ghosted you, I assumed you’d never want to see me again.’

‘Stella, your sister died. Of course I was going to give you whatever space you needed. It doesn’t matter anyway. We’re together now.’ He lifts my hand to his mouth, kissing my fingers. The he pulls away and sighs. ‘So Glenn was a predator. Only not to Adri.’

‘Yup.’

He frowns. I know what he wants to ask. Why didn’t I come to her defence? But he’s too afraid of upsetting me.

I take a deep breath, but I can’t calm my racing heart. There’s another secret that I’m keeping from Pete. Keeping from everyone. If Matthew is hunting his dad’s killer, then it isn’t Adrienne he’s after. Someone else visited Glenn that day, and there’s a chance Matthew has found out who.

We need to get to Boones. And fast.

A huge sandstone cliff looms above us. We must be getting close now to the starting point on the map; our eyes are peeled for tyre tracks in the sand.

‘The cliff is useful for us,’ says Ali. ‘It cuts off at least one direction for a car.’

‘Good. We’re going to need a miracle to find him in the desert,’ I say.

‘Stellz.’ Pete’s voice is tight. He taps Ali’s shoulder and points at something in front of us, at the bottom of the cliff. A car. Boones’s vehicle?

I barely wait for the Jeep to slow before I open the door and run. Pete tries to stop me. He’s saying something, but the ringing in my ears blocks it all out. He’s freaking out, but I feel calm. Like part of me expected this.

Because I’ve spotted my dad.

He’s slumped at the base of the rock, his head lolling against his chest. Blood splatters the cliff wall behind him, covers his face and drips down his neck, a dried-out pool of it in the sand.

‘Dad!’ I drop to my knees beside him. I reach out, holding two fingers to his neck.

He groans. He’s still alive. But for how long …?

‘Hang on, we’ve got you.’ I scan the rest of his body. There’s a gaping wound at his shoulder, which he’s managed to put some sort of pressure on. I gently remove the bloodied strips of shirt he’s stuffed against it, then gasp.

It’s a bullet wound.

He’s been shot.