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  “We’ve been trailing you since you left America. Just making certain you’re doing what you’re told.”

  “We? Whitey is here, too?” Gili sucked in a shaky breath. Jeremy frightened her. Whitey terrified the daylights out of her.

  “Whitey’s waiting up on the main road.” Jeremy moved closer, and before Gili could shift, whipped out a hand and grabbed her by the arm. With a quick twist, he spun her around and pushed her against the ticket counter.

  “So where is it?” he snarled in her ear.

  His hot breath wafted across the side of her face. Gili shuddered in reaction to the stench of stale cigar smoke. Her heart raced so hard, she was afraid she would pass out. Sweat ran between her breasts, turning to a cold slick on her heated body.

  God damn it, she hadn’t signed on for this. Hell, she hadn’t signed on at all.

  “I asked you a question, Gillian. I know you’ve been to see that Hunt fellow. Has he got it?”

  “Let me go.” She struggled against his hold, but it was useless. He was too damned strong.

  “I don’t work for you any more, Jeremy, so you can shove the orders.”

  He increased the pressure on her arm. “Finding the Dreamtime Fire was your father’s commission, despite the fact he tried to renege on the deal. But if you’re doing the actual work, then you answer to me. Understand? I don’t care what arrangement you have with your father, you’re mine until I decide I don’t need you any longer.”

  Anger burned in Gili’s gut. She was sick to death of playing the victim for the likes of Jeremy Grissom. “Yeah, well, this is called assault and I don’t think the authorities in Australia would view it in any better light than the cops in America. Get your hands off me or I’ll report you.”

  “Girlie, you aren’t telling anyone. Not if you want your family to stay safe.”

  He pushed her arm higher up her back. “Now answer the question. Did you ask Hunt where the stone is?”

  She swallowed the moan of pain lodged in her throat. Fear for her parents’ safety dried her mouth and she gulped convulsively before she could answer. “He wasn’t inclined to talk so I never got the chance,” she whispered.

  “You were up there a long time. What did you do? Stand there and make cow eyes at him? Don’t tell me you’re still mooning after him. Hah, he wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole now. He’s not about to trust you after that business in Iran.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Hell, maybe that is the way to get to him. A little bit of sex and a whole lot of pillow talk.”

  “I am not prostituting myself for you or anyone else,” she managed. Pain sliced through her arm and shoulder. “I’ll find out where the opal is and let you know, but I won’t steal it for you. And I’m sure as hell not sleeping with Morgan to get the answers.”

  “Hmm, maybe I should let Whitey off his leash and have him visit your mother.”

  Oh God, her mother. Shivers slid up and down her spine at the thought of Whitey going after her mother.

  Gili tightened her jaw and clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn’t beg Jeremy to leave her parents alone. He wasn’t about to listen anyway.

  He gave her arm an extra squeeze and let her go. She sagged against the ticket counter, biting her lip at the fire in her arm. Bile rose in her throat and she dragged in a deep breath to stop herself throwing up.

  “You’ve got a week before I come after you again,” Jeremy said behind her, giving her a sharp prod in the center of her back. “We know where you’re staying. We’ll be in touch. And you keep your mouth shut. You understand?”

  Gili stayed where she was until Jeremy’s footsteps faded away. Then she turned around and slithered down the wall until she was on her knees on the floor. The breath rasped in her throat. When she tried to unhook the bag from her shoulder, her hands shook so badly she dropped it, the contents spraying everywhere.

  Crawling on hands and knees and groaning as the pain in her shoulder intensified, she collected up tissues and lipstick, pens and keys, along with the rest of her belongings, and shoved them back in the bag. All the while tears leaked from her eyes, but she refused to acknowledge them, refused to hand even that small victory to Jeremy.

  “To hell with you, Jeremy. I will not give you the satisfaction.”

  Chapter Three

  Gili’s eyes snapped open and she stared around. The dull grey light of an early dawn seeped in through the window of the unfamiliar room.

  What—where am I?

  Hand clutched at the front of her nightie, heart pounding in her chest, she jumped out of bed. One foot tangled in the bed covers and she ended up sprawling half in, half out of the bed, with her butt firmly on the floor.

  It took a moment but then she remembered. When she’d arrived back at the hotel yesterday, security had informed her someone had broken into her room. They were most apologetic—this had never happened to them before—and had provided a new room for the night.

  Gili had jumped at the idea. It didn’t take much brain power to work out who had been in her room. Just Whitey’s way of telling her he really did know where she was staying. Nothing had been taken, but everything had been emptied out of her case, things strewn around the room. Bastard!

  With Whitey’s threat to her folks clear in her mind, Gili kicked out with one foot until she was free of the bedclothes. On hands and knees, she crawled to the bedside table and grabbed the phone.

  It was the work of a few seconds to put through a call to America. Her mother answered on the first ring. “Hey, Mom, how’s it going? How’s Dad?”

  “It’s so good to hear from you. I was worried. I really don’t like you having anything to do with Jeremy Grissom. I wish you hadn’t agreed.”

  “It was the only way to get him off your backs. I’m more worried about his threats to you and dad.” Gili decided right then and there not to tell her parents that Jeremy and Whitey had followed her to Australia. It would only create more stress for her mom.

  “I took your advice,” her mother said. “Now Joshua’s leg has been pinned, they let me move him. We’re at the—”

  “No, don’t tell me. At least, not right now. Just keep your phone on so I can ring you if necessary, okay?”

  “Will do, love, and you be careful, too.”

  “Give Dad my love and I’ll be in touch.” Gili gave a sigh of relief as she cut the connection. One less thing to worry about…for now anyway.

  A huge yawn caught her unawares. It was still early so she straightened the bed and climbed back in. Curling up on her side, she pulled the covers over her shoulder. Her eyes closed and she succumbed to the dragging need for more sleep. Relaxing, she lingered in the peaceful place between sleeping and waking, nothing more important filling her mind than Morgan and how much she wished their relationship could be so much more. Hell, a girl could dream, couldn’t she?

  Between one breath and the next, it all changed. Breathing became difficult. As if all the air had been sucked out of the room. She rolled onto her back and pushed the bedding down, trying to ease herself up on the pillows. It was useless. A weight settled on her chest and she couldn’t move.

  For a moment, she thought she was caught in a nightmare, but a glance at the light filtering into the room assured her she was wide awake. She struggled to fill her lungs, hands ripping at the front of her nightie. Each time she touched her chest, energy zapped through her, like a current of electricity.

  Gili tried to scream, but she didn’t have enough breath. Her heart raced. Everything around her started to dim. Her mind struggled to deal with what was happening. Opening her eyes wide, she glanced down her body, startled to see a black cloud hovering over her chest. A cloud of energy that scared her witless because she could see it. That meant it was real.

  Dark…

  Menacing…

  Seeking to take her over. Seeping inside and filling her with its dark presence.

  Back bowed, she arched her neck, eyes focused on the pall of darkness above her. Her chest wheezed, the s
ound emitted through clenched teeth. Pain clamped like a vice around her ribcage. Sweat coated her body. The horror of suffocating overwhelmed her, threatening to drive her to the brink of insanity.

  The weight suddenly lifted off her chest. The dark energy disappeared. Opening her mouth, she dragged in fresh air. It surged through her blood, driving the tension from her body until she felt light-headed with relief.

  The relief didn’t last long. No dream this, but a repetition of the visions—for want of a better term—that she’d suffered from since she was sixteen years old. The room swirled around her. Kaleidoscopic colors spun through her mind. Within a heartbeat, she found herself in a large cavern.

  Something was wrong with the picture. As if she floated high above the drama unfolding below her, looking down on herself. Or as if her spirit did.

  The picture changed again and, feet braced apart, she stood on the floor of the cave. Shadows bombarded her. Driving at her and trying to find a way inside. Each brush of the black tendrils felt like the lash of a whip. She spun her arms, tried to bat them away.

  With an audible electrical crackle, the dark ball of energy across from her morphed into the shape of a grown man. It lifted its arm and beckoned and the shadows broke off their attack and flew towards it. They disappeared, sucked inside, and then the dark mass grew in stature.

  A guttural roar poured out of a gaping hole that could only be its mouth. It launched itself at Gili, arms extended to grab her.

  All of a sudden, ghostly-white ethereal beings surrounded Gili, offering protection. They drove the energy away from her and turned to confront it.

  The colors of the rainbow broke across the cavern. Arrows of red, blue, green and yellow targeted the column of black until they twisted and twirled about the dark entity.

  The air filled with the soft chant of many voices. They started low before rising to a crescendo. The sound caught at Gili’s imagination and she swayed to the beat. A wispy shape hovered in front of her, too insubstantial to touch. It twisted and spun, gaining definition, until it morphed into the shape of a woman. A woman naked but for the loincloth wrapped about her hips.

  She backed up until her body fitted against Gili’s chest. Gili gasped at the heat surrounding her. With that one breath, the woman slipped inside her. Became a part of her. Superimposed over Gili’s image. Two beings sharing the one space.

  Gili knew she should be afraid, but the only feeling was one of comfort, warmth. Of this being destiny and she was a part of it. Without thought, she lifted her hands and called the fire. The red that bled through the flashing colors in the cave heeded her call and surrounded her, encompassing her in flames that didn’t burn. She felt the fire, excelled in the power of it, but suffered no harm.

  Instead, she felt alive. More than ready to deal with the black evil that haunted her vision. She directed the fire, surrounded the being until it was engulfed in flame.

  There was a sudden pause in the chanting voices and then an explosion of noise and color of such magnitude that the cavern rocked and the only ghostly figures remaining disintegrated into wisps of smoke. The darkness fled, burned away by the fire.

  Gili felt herself sucked back to the top of the cave and tossed into a vortex. For a moment, as everything spun about her, she thought the darkness had claimed her again. Then she felt the bed beneath her back and knew the vision had ended.

  With her heart thumping and breath rasping, she opened her eyes and sat up, the bedding twisted about her body. She no longer felt the brush of the ghost-like figure that had inhabited her body. No longer felt the approach of some powerful evil. If anything, she felt light-headed, as if she desperately needed more sleep to overcome the effects of the vision.

  “Not a dream,” she muttered as she extricated herself from the tangled covers. She’d had similar experiences in the past, the same scenario, only this time it had gone much further. Never before had she felt this affinity with fire. Never before had she felt so threatened.

  She tried to rationalize it. It was nothing more than the stress she was under right now. Working for Jeremy Grissom would freak anyone out.

  A shiver tracked down her spine. She grabbed the cover from the bed and wrapped it about her shoulders. Then she positioned a chair in front of the window and sat, staring out at the new day.

  Somehow, she had to complete this commission for her father. There would be no peace until then.

  One thing was certain. There’d be no more sleeping today.

  “What the hell are you doing here? I thought I’d gotten rid of you. Effing hell, you’re like a bad smell, turning up when I least expect it,” Morgan growled.

  Gili pushed away from the front of the white, four-wheel-drive vehicle parked outside Morgan’s motel room. She’d watched him arrive at dusk the night before and had then spent the rest of the evening staying out of his way.

  After hearing Morgan’s telephone conversation to the unknown Charlie, Gili had changed her plans slightly. She’d followed Morgan’s lead and hopped on a plane to Longreach. She’d figured she could hire a car and make her way to Opalton, reaching the opal fields before Morgan even hit Longreach. Problem was, she hadn’t factored in the rains and flooding in the area. She’d been forced to waste time at the Welcome Home Motel and had lost the advantage she might have had over Morgan.

  Trying to play it cool, she sauntered over to the veranda running the length of the motel and propped her arms on the top rail. “Fancy running into you here in Longreach. What a coincidence.”

  “Coincidence, my ass,” he muttered as he slammed the door of the room behind him. Grabbing his duffle bag, he stomped across the paved walkway and made for his car, skirting around the muddy puddle left from last night’s downpour.

  The morning sun peeked over the horizon and threw a weak beam of light at the darkened parking area. Gili glanced at the sky, but it was still too dark to tell what the day would be like.

  At least the rain had stopped…for now, anyway. The locals had told her yesterday more storms were forecast. Judging by the state of the main street running through Longreach—burnt brown and devoid of almost any green—they sure needed it.

  “I figured you’d be on your way back to America by now.” Morgan unlocked the vehicle and tossed the bag onto the back seat, then shut and locked the passenger door again. “So why aren’t you?”

  She spread her hands. “Sorry, no can do. I have to get to Opalton.” She gave what she hoped was a winsome smile. “Don’t suppose you’d give me a lift?”

  You don’t really expect him to say yes, do you, Gili?

  He snorted as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “You never give up, do you?”

  Shoving the key into the ignition, he turned it on, his foot on the gas pedal revving the engine with a throaty roar. As he flicked on the headlights, he frowned. “How did you know I’d be here today? Not just in Longreach, but at this motel?”

  “Well, I kind of—”

  “I am an idiot.” He shook his head. “You listened in on my conversation with Charlie, didn’t you? I noticed the door of my office hadn’t closed properly when you left, but I never expected you were still skulking around outside. You’re a prize package, you are.”

  Gili winced. He was right. Even now she was trying to manipulate him.

  She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to do this. Jeremy had forced the situation on her and she could see no other course but to carry it through to the end.

  “Morgan, I’m sorry. I really am, but I have to get to that opal. If the tribe Elders tell me they won’t consider selling it, I’ll give up. But until then…”

  She let her words trail off. One look at his face told her she wasn’t getting through to him. To make matters worse, the rain started again. A soft drizzle right now, but enough to dampen the shorts and t-shirt she’d put on this morning.

  “Please, take me with you. Or I’ll have to find my own way.” She shook the damp hair back from her face. “I’ll follow yo
u if I have to. This is too important.”

  “Don’t be a bloody moron, Gili. This is the Australian outback. You have no idea how to survive if something goes wrong.”

  He put the truck into gear and started to reverse. Then he stopped and stuck his head out the window. “There’s a flight service every day from Longreach to Brisbane. Get yourself a ticket and go home, Gili. There’s nothing for you here. That opal isn’t for sale.”

  Morgan floored the accelerator, tyres skidding as he took the corner out of the parking area too fast.

  Gili raced to the bright red Datsun parked outside the room two doors down from Morgan’s. It was pretty old, but the used car salesman had assured her it was in fine working order and would easily make the trip to Winton if necessary.

  Not that she was going to Winton, but she could if she needed to. She simply hadn’t felt comfortable telling the man her plans.

  Setting the car in motion, she took off after Morgan’s vehicle. By the time she’d reached the outskirts of town, she was right on his tail. On the seat beside her was an open map given to her by the owner of the motel. It was identical to the one in Morgan’s office, showing all the pastoral holdings in the central area.

  The plan was simple. Get to Morgan’s home and she was on the back doorstep of the opal fields. If she lost her way, she could follow the map. If she got delayed, she had food in a cooler—or Esky as the Aussies called it—and bottles of water piled on the back seat.

  Morgan indicated he was heading left, off the main highway. Gili frowned. This didn’t look like the primary road marked on the map. With a shrug, she followed, changing down to take the turn.

  The road was unpaved. Nothing more than ruts dug into the red mud. As the little car skidded across the surface, heading for the ditch on the side, she held tight to the steering wheel, yanking it back at the last minute until the wheels found traction in the deep-cut grooves.

  “Shame they don’t do something about their roads,” she muttered, fighting to keep the lightweight car on track. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, Gili. You could go down in history as the American woman who was just too stupid to live.”