Terror Stash by Tracy Cooper-Posey Page B

trouble was brewing elsewhere.”
    “Can I look in the database, anyway? Indulge me, Nelson. It’s not like it’ll hurt anyone if I see it.”
    “What would be the point? Think about it. Why would any self-respecting terrorist come here to Western Australia? Terrorists prefer thick, teeming targets, like cities where the population runs into the thousands per square mile. You’d be hard pressed to find a square mile even in Sydney that holds thousands of people and as for the W.A. bush....” Nelson shook his head again and this time his earlobes barely wobbled. “I appreciate your fervor and dedication, Montana, but it’s quite ridiculous and I’d be compounding the problem if I indulged you in this.”
    “But—”
    “No, Montana.” He sighed. “Do you think, perhaps, this is just a bit of cabin fever? You’ve been posted to Perth for six years now. That’s long enough to grow itchy feet when you’re as young and ambitious as you are. You must surely want to move on to someplace more exciting than here.”
    “I like Perth.”
    “You’re keeping your languages fresh?” he asked, as if she hadn’t spoken.
    “Of course.”
    “Next year’s postings come out in the new year. Perhaps you’ll be luckier this time.” He picked up his phone and let his hand hover over the keypad. “It’s good of you to drop by, Montana. We don’t really sit down and talk much about these sorts of things. We must do it more often.”
    She got to her feet and forced out a thank you. She shut the door softly behind her, trying to grapple with the speed at which Nelson had shut down the interview. Why had he done that? There really was no good reason to refuse her, after all.
    As she walked back to her office, it hit her. “ They’re from the Middle east ,” Caden Rawn had said. “ That was Arabic he spoke .”
    Rawn. Possibly a killer, definitely a dangerous man, and he was the only one who might believe her.
    Her footsteps slowed until she was barely moving, as she thought it through. Nelson could very well be right about Ghenghis Bob; that was the problem. If Nelson was in intelligence, then he knew way more about this than she did. Who was she to dispute him?
    On the other hand, she knew what she had seen last night and the man’s words still echoed in her head, the Arabic phrases completely undeniable. Why had Nelson shut her down? He’d barely listened to her. He hadn’t even considered her words. She had been dismissed before she stepped through the door.
    She sank into her chair and stared blindly at her computer monitor. What to do? What to do?
    “What would Nicollo have done?” she murmured aloud. She recalled Nicollo’s history, the decisions she had made. Above all, Nicollo had fought to do the right thing, despite absolutely no one with any authority believing her. So, what was the right thing, here and now?
    If she obeyed Nelson and stayed at her desk, a man she genuinely believed to be a terrorist would get away scott free after sending five of his men after an unarmed man. But if she followed her gut instincts and she was wrong , then...what?
    Montana, you know damned well you have to do this. Caden Rawn went out of his way to make sure you were safe last night. He deserves no less in return.
    The thought clarified her decision, but she continued to sit, staring into space. Then she realized why. She was afraid of where this would take her. She had never done anything like this in her life. Whatever she did now would likely bring her face to face with Rawn once more.
    “Gutless wonder!” she railed at herself.
    But...what if she was wrong about Ghenghis Bob?
    Worse...what if she was wrong about Caden Rawn?
     

Chapter Eight
    The news of Rabbit’s death reached all the way back around to Caden at about the same time the news of his own re-appearance in Yallingup must have circled back to the police. He knew the times matched, because it was fifteen minutes after that when the patrol car showed up