The Wildwood Sisters (25 page)

It's just you baby, I can't get enough.

Come on, give in to me baby,

These feelings are too strong to ignore,

This deep soul loving I've never ever felt before.

Come on, give in to me baby,

And put those sweet lips on mine,

'Cause I know this deep soul loving

Has the power to stand the test of time.

I wanna fly off the edge of this cliff.

I wanna break down all the walls.

'Cause baby I'm gonna be right here

To catch you when you fall.

I wanna hear you whisper in my ear

Words that send shivers down my spine.

I wanna love you like you've never been loved,

Yeah baby, until the end of time.

Come on, give in to me baby.

These feelings are too strong to ignore,

This deep soul loving I've never ever felt before.

Come on, give in to me baby

And put those sweet lips on mine.

'Cause I know this deep soul loving

Is gonna stand the test of time.

I wanna turn on the slow songs,

And dance with you in my arms.

I wanna be a victim to your seduction,

And be magnetised by your charm.

I wanna climb the tallest mountain,

And tell the world that you are mine.

I wanna hold you in my arms forever,

Until the end of time.

Come on, give in to me baby…

Dylan whispered the words, his gorgeously kissable lips so close to Renee's she could smell the sweet alcohol on his breath. Was this really him, or was it the liquor doing all the talking? Unable to gaze into his eyes any longer, and with the power behind the poignant words making her want to burst into tears, Renee pulled out of his embrace and ran back through the crowd towards where she'd parked the Land Cruiser.

Little did Dylan know she had daydreamed about him every time she'd heard this song since it had hit the charts eight years ago. In her heart, this was their song, and never would she have believed that one day, this day, he would sing it to her. Sucking in deep breaths, she fought to keep her welling emotions at bay. She needed to be alone. Now. Right this second.

At the edge of the darkness, she stopped and briefly looked back over her shoulder to make sure Dylan wasn't following her, instantly wishing she hadn't. Billy Burton grinned back at her, his leering face mere inches from hers.

Stumbling a little to the left, he corrected his footing and he reached out for a tree to stop himself from falling flat on his face. ‘Howdidoo, Renee. Why ya leaving so early—ya party pooper?' His words were slurred, and he was trying to stand up extra straight.

‘Oh, I'm tired, so I'm going to hit the sack. Catch ya, Billy.' Renee went to spin around and make a break for it, but Billy stopped her, his grip on her arm too tight. She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her.

‘Let me go,' she snarled through gritted teeth.

‘Nope, not until you tell me what your problem is. I thought you would have left the past where it was, but maybe not?'

‘I don't have a problem with you,' she lied. Now wasn't the time.

He laughed cynically. ‘Yeah right, and my mother's a nun and I'm an altar boy. Come on Renee, spit it out.'

Renee refused to answer him.

‘All right then, play mute.' Billy swayed backwards, dragging her with him. ‘Just for the record…I didn't have anything to do with your sister going missing.'

Yanking her arm free, Renee glared at him. ‘Like I said, I don't have a problem with you, Billy. Now leave me the fuck alone.'

Billy threw his hands up in the air in defeat. ‘Okay okay, whatever. I don't need your kind in my life anyway.'

Renee's eyes widened. ‘My kind?'

‘Yeah, your kind. You think it's okay to ruin other people's lives by pointing the finger, and then just waltz on outta town like you did, without even an apology?' Billy leant into her space once again, scowling. ‘Well it's not, Renee Wildwood. You damn near ruined me by telling anyone and everyone that you thought it was my doing that Scarlet went missing… I stupidly thought that after all these years you would have seen sense, but clearly you haven't.' Turning away from her, Billy stumbled back into the crowd, not bothering to wait for a reply.

Renee stood mute, wanting to respond but the words a complete jumble in her mouth. Even though she still had her reservations about Billy, she had to begrudgingly admit that he had a fair point—the same point Mick had tried to make the other day. It was just so damn hard when all she wanted to do was discover who had taken Scarlet from them—desperation did tend to take away all logic. What if Billy was telling the truth and honestly had nothing to do with Scarlet's disappearance?

And he wasn't the only person she'd pointed the finger at—amongst others she'd also done it to the one person in this world she should never have doubted. Her heart sinking even further, she momentarily caught a glimpse of Dylan still standing on the dance floor and her heart wrenched out of her chest. He looked completely crushed. At least he wasn't following her. She hated running from him like this, but why stay and pretend there was something going on between them? Nothing was ever going to come of it. He'd made that perfectly clear the other day. For fuck's sake—one minute he didn't want her, the next minute he did. What did he want from her? Anger, frustration and confusion filled her as she escaped into the darkness, tears now falling down her cheeks like a dam that had burst its banks. Incredible how quickly a great night could turn to absolute shit.

With the music now more of a distant thump rather than a thunderous rumble, Renee tried to find her way through the darkness, being mindful to watch out for bodies in swags—especially ones that might be dancing beneath the covers. Away from all the commotion, she could suddenly feel every drink she'd had in her unsteady legs—she was officially well and truly wasted. Hayley was a bad influence—not that she was complaining—she had needed a night like tonight, one where she was free to let her hair down. And she'd been having a ball, but all that had changed in an instant. Sniffling, she wiped her teary eyes, determined to stop crying before she reached where she'd parked.

As her eyes adjusted to the blackness, she looked around, noticing there were very few people in the camping area. The ones that were here were either asleep in camp chairs or passed out on the ground. There was not a voice to be heard, making it ear-ringingly silent compared to where she'd just come from. She felt like a party pooper leaving Hayley when the party was just getting started, but she wasn't in the mood to dance the night away now. Hayley would understand when she explained it all to her tomorrow.

The sound of leaves being crushed underfoot drew her attention, and she suddenly got the eerie feeling that someone was following her. Stopping in her tracks, she turned warily, her heart in her throat, but she couldn't see anyone.

‘Dylan, is that you?' she cautiously called out. ‘Hello?'

There was no answer. She shook her head, annoyed at herself for getting the heebie-jeebies. Bloody hell, why had she drunk so much tonight? It was making her mind play horrible tricks on her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she picked up her pace, wanting to get to the Land Cruiser quick smart so she could jump in her swag. Trying to shake off the unnerving feeling, she thought of the positives. At least she'd have a little while to try to get to sleep before people started heading back this way, towards where they'd crash for the final few hours if they weren't pulling an all-nighter. And at least she wouldn't wake up in the morning with a smashing hangover if she stopped drinking now and got some decent sleep.

The sound of leaves being trodden on dragged her attention behind her once again, and this time, it wasn't just a feeling. She was sure of what she'd heard. Spinning around, she glared into the darkness, the deep throaty laughter of a man sending a chill down her spine.

‘Billy, are you following me? Because if you are, rack off will you? I told you to leave me alone.'

There was no reply. Her pulse jacked up another notch.

‘Dylan, Hayley, come on guys. Enough is enough. This isn't funny at all. You're freaking me out.'

But there was nothing. No response, no more noise, nothing. Frozen to the spot, Renee started to shake, all her fears and nightmares crashing down upon her like a tidal wave, and suddenly, she was drowning beneath it all. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. Nan and Pa were right. She wasn't safe here. She never would be safe until Scarlet's real killer was found.

And maybe, she was about to find out exactly who that was.

Time stood still while everything around her moved in slow motion. Listening intently she tried to make out any sounds. Was someone hiding out there in the shadows, watching her? Or was she imagining it? Terror held her in a vice-grip as the shadows appeared to stretch like clawed hands across the ground, making the hairs stand up even further on the back of her neck. Finding it hard to breathe, she turned around slowly, assessing her surroundings. Other than the distant thump of the music, there was silence. Her heart hammered against her ribcage and the towering gum trees seemed to close in on her. The world felt as though it was spinning beneath her pretty rhinestone boots. Then there was a flash of light behind her, and she spun around. Was someone lighting a cigarette, or waving a torch about?

‘Please,' she cried out. ‘Whoever you are, stop it. You're scaring me.'

Intimidating masculine laughter broke the silence of the camping area once again. Whoever was hiding in the shadows was obviously enjoying taunting her. A loud crack of a stock whip from the far side of the showgrounds grabbed her attention for a millisecond. What she'd give to be back amongst everyone at the party rather than standing out here, all alone, in the dark. She knew she had to run. Now. And fast, before whoever it was got their hands on her.

Quickly assessing which way to go, Renee decided she had much more of a chance of making it to safety if she headed towards the Land Cruiser—there was too much shadowy ground to cross to get back to the party, and it also meant maybe running smack bang into the person that was trailing her. Turning on her heels, she bolted towards the ute, the terror that someone was about to harm her—or worse, kill her—almost rendering her motionless once again. But she pushed through the fear. She had to.

With everything blurring around her, Renee ran as fast as she could, all the while fumbling in her rucksack for the keys to the Toyota. Now she could hear the heavy footsteps of someone running at a distance behind her, matching her stride for stride, but she wasn't turning around. Making it to the passenger side she scrabbled with the keyhole, her hands shaking uncontrollably. The hurried footsteps were getting closer—someone's laboured breathing louder. Opening the door, she threw herself inside and slammed the lock down before lying down on the seat and sobbing her heart out. She had never felt fear like this before.

And then it occurred to her.
Call the cops. Craig is here already!

Reaching into the rucksack once again, she found her mobile phone. Flipping it open she felt like smashing it against the dashboard when she spotted the lack of service and then remembered Mick saying it wouldn't work here. ‘Fuck you,' she screamed as she threw it to the floor.

With her ears honed for any noises outside the four-wheel drive, Renee eased herself up and warily peered out the passenger side window, terrified she'd see a pair of malevolent eyes glaring back at her. But there was nothing, no-one. Was this some sick joke? Or was this real? Was she about to die or was she imagining things? Was this how Scarlet had felt before that son of a bitch had killed her? Closing her eyes, she prayed to God, begging him to save her. She was just starting to calm down when a knock at the window made her heart stop.

Holding her breath, she glanced towards the driver's side window. A flood of relief washed over her when she saw Dylan's kindly face smiling back at her. Gasping like a fish out of water, she fumbled for the lock, almost throwing Dylan backwards when she dived out of the Land Cruiser and into his arms. Sobbing breathlessly, she relayed the story, not even giving him a chance to speak. The alarm in his eyes melted her heart and made her see that he really did care about her. Deeply.

‘Holy shit, Renee. Thank God you're okay.' Dylan hugged her closer, his solid arms enveloping her. He stroked the back of her hair to calm her. ‘I really don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to Billy, though. His bark is worse than his bite. The bloke's pretty harmless.'

‘That's what people say, but I'm not so sure,' Renee replied, her voice still shaking.

‘Well, whoever it is will be very sorry if they show their ugly face right now—the sick bastard trying to scare you like that,' Dylan said sternly, and loudly enough for anyone who may have been nearby to hear.

Renee pushed the hair from her face and wiped her tears. ‘Do you really think this might just be some sick prank?'

Dylan shrugged, keeping her close to him. ‘There's a big possibility. I reckon this would be the last place someone would try something serious. There's too many people about for that.'

‘Maybe you're right,' Renee said as she huddled closer into his arms, still not sure what to believe. At least no-one would dare hurt her with Dylan here—he was known as a man not to mess with, thanks to his father's bad reputation. He wasn't as volatile as his father, but he definitely knew how to handle himself.

Pulling his mobile phone from his pocket, Dylan switched on the torch and shone the beam all around them. Renee stayed silent while he did so, her breath held once again as she rested her head against his chest. She was terrified they would see eyes staring back at them. But there was nobody there, nobody watching them.