Diamond Sky Read online

  ‘The luck of the draw isn’t important.’ She could still hear his deep voice over the plopping of the mango chutney on the stove as Mum stirred the huge, stained pot. The volume of the television in the small lounge room was turned up loud so Mum could hear the ABC news over the heavy rain pounding on the roof.

  ‘The second most important thing that will let you take control of a game is your face. Don’t move a muscle. Don’t give one flicker of an eyelid.’

  Dru had jutted her chin out and matched his bland gaze. Her face would be set in a stiff mask, her eyes wide and her mouth straight. They’d sit like that until the first one cracked with a tilt of lips, and the other would collapse into fits of laughter.

  ‘Gotcha!’ Dru had learned her poker face quickly and Dad was usually the first to give in.

  ‘Okay, chicken, you’ve got the face right. Now you have to master the most important thing.’

  Dru had stared at him as the gentle warmth of his voice washed over her. They were what she focused on; his poker face and his deep voice kept her rational when the bad memories tried to push in.

  ‘You have to control your emotions. And that’s the trick. We’re not wired to deal with probability and randomness, so you have to control your emotional reaction. Don’t follow your gut. You must make the correct logical play every hand, no matter what you’ve been dealt, and that is one of the hardest things to do in poker.’

  Logic. That was what had led her into an engineering career. If only Dad had been around to see her graduate. He would have been so proud. And he would have told her to wake up to herself, get over this stupid fear. She could just hear him now. ‘Control your emotion. You can do it in a poker game, now apply that to your life.’

  Well, not only had she learned to control her emotions, Dru had managed to bury them so deeply since Dubai that she didn’t feel much at all these days.

  All she had to do now was learn to stop worrying about things that were out of her control.

  ‘Up for a big one, Dru?’

  She jumped as Rocky’s gravelly voice interrupted her memories and she opened her eyes and put her cup down.

  ‘Nah, I’m on shift at eleven. What about you lot?’

  Rocky’s grin stretched his facial muscles in a wide arc. ‘We’re all on day shift. So we can go all night if we want.’

  ‘That’s if you have any money left after I’ve taken it all from you.’ She turned to him with a cheeky smile and Rocky shoved the stub of a cut cigar towards her. ‘Light that up for me while I cut the cards, will ya, love.’

  ‘Jesus, Rocky. If you want to smoke, you know you have to go outside.’

  ‘Let’s take the game outside, then.’ Rocky pushed his chair back and stood up and Dru shook her head.

  ‘Don’t be silly. It’s still stinking hot out there and the mozzies would carry us away.’

  ‘Ah.’ He flicked her a sidelong glance. ‘But there’s a few other fumes to cover up.’

  ‘Fumes?’ Dru looked across as Liam and Dave surreptitiously lifted a pair of hipflasks from beneath the table. She frowned as she shook her head. ‘Look guys, I don’t want to be a killjoy, but you know what happens if you get caught, don’t you?’

  ‘Worth the risk.’ Dave looked around before he took a swig from the small flask and shoved it back in his pocket. ‘And we’ve got a full twelve hours before we go underground. A couple of early drinks won’t hurt.’

  Dru rolled her eyes and then sat back and listened as the guys joked with each other. It was the first time she’d seen the guys drinking and it didn’t sit comfortably with her.

  ‘Where’s Paul?’ It would be a loud—and long—night if Paul wasn’t there to keep the guys in order. She began to wish she’d turned down the offer of tonight but she had a reputation to uphold.

  ‘He’s gone to the bog.’ Rocky sat back down and held his hand out to Gary for the cards and then tapped his fingers restlessly. ‘And he wants to get a move on. I ain’t waitin’ all night.’

  The sliding doors opened at the entrance and Dru looked over, but it wasn’t Paul. More workers from the day shift walked in, all showered and dressed in shorts and T-shirts—men and women. They’d finished work for the day, hair damp, and no sign of red dust as they headed over to the buffet for the night meal. The noise in the room increased as a few other groups settled into card games. Someone turned the television on over in the corner and Sky News blared across the room.

  As well as the new guy who had been with Adam, there were other new faces in the mess. The staff at the mine was large and itinerant, but Dru wasn’t interested in knowing who worked where. Working in an environment where the staff came and went suited her just fine. Casual relationships and a game of cards now and then kept her at the distance she wanted. No one up close and personal wanting to know her business, and no one knowing that her brash exterior was a mask for the uncertainty that dogged her most of the time. Her work was her life and that’s all she needed. She had her small crew and didn’t interact with the other sections, spending most of her days out at the southern end of the tailings dam.

  As they waited for Paul to come back, Dru stared out into the deepening dusk over the Matsu Range, thinking of the message waiting on her phone. Megan had been a great friend to her, and when things had gone to shit in Dubai, she and Sam had helped her. If it hadn’t been for their quick thinking, she could have ended up getting caught in a more difficult situation than they knew.

  Rocky’s curse interrupted her brooding and Dru looked over at him. The room had filled but there was still one empty seat at their table.

  ‘Jesus, where is he?’ Rocky put his beefy hands on the table and pushed himself up. ‘I’m not waiting anymore. I’m gonna go see where that bastard’s got to.’

  ‘Wait up.’ Dave lifted his head from his phone. ‘I just got a text from him. He’s gone back to his room. Doesn’t want to play tonight. He’s got the runs.’

  ‘Ah, fuckin’ oath. We’re not playing with five.’ Rocky scowled as he slumped down into his chair. Dru was used to his quirky ways; she’d learned to read his face and could easily guess what his hand was by the scowl or the sneaky look that crept across his face if he had a good hand of cards.

  ‘Suits me. I’ll go and get some more sleep before I start my shift.’ Dru went to stand but Rocky put his hand on her chair.

  ‘Nah, we’re here now. I’ll ask one of the boys over there.’ Rocky pushed his chair back while Dave and Liam argued.

  ‘Three hundred mate.’ Liam dug into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. Dru had noticed before that the truck driver always liked to flash his cash around.

  ‘No way.’ Dave shook his head. ‘You might be able to afford to lose that sort of money but my missus’d skin me alive if I did.’

  Liam would bet on anything. He apparently had more money than brains; one night she’d seen him betting on flies crawling along the windowsill. She tilted her face to the cool of the air conditioning pumping through the vents and looked out the window at the desert, now shrouded in darkness. Focusing on the view brought her to the now and she pushed away thinking about the decision she had to make.

  ‘Hey guys, I found us another victim.’ Rocky laughed. ‘Ah, sorry, Connor, I meant to say player. Guys, this is Connor Kirk. He’s happy to stand in for Paulie.’

  Great. Just bloody great.

  Dru forced herself to look up as Rocky gestured to the chair opposite her. The light was behind Connor’s head and his dark eyes were shadowed, but the silhouette of his frame showed off his height and broad square shoulders. She hadn’t noticed how tall he was before; she’d been too busy trying to evade that piercing stare. Mum, Ellie and Emma, were tiny, but Dru had thrown back to Dad’s side of the family. She towered over most guys she met but Connor was so tall she had to tilt her head back to make eye contact with him. Her antennae went back to high alert; he exuded the same air of authority and cockiness that she’d seen so many times in her engineering career, and the gu
ys always turned out to be dickheads.

  ‘Pull up a pew, mate,’ Rocky said. ‘Time to get this show on the road.’

  Connor nodded and as he sat in the chair across from her, Dru caught his eye. A slow lazy smile quirked his full lips and he raised one eyebrow as he leaned tanned forearms on the table.

  ‘The token female?’ His voice was slow and deep with an undercurrent of something unspoken beneath his words.

  Yep, a dickhead.

  Before she could come back with a smart reply, Rocky butted in. ‘Don’t be too hasty. Dru here is the queen of the poker table.’

  He held out his hand and nodded. ‘Hi, Dru. Good to meet you . . . again.’

  It would have been rude to ignore him. She half-rose and shook his hand briefly, then held his gaze as she slowly wiped her hand on the side of her shorts.

  ‘Dave and Liam are over there, and that’s Gary on your right.’ Rocky, social as ever, made the introductions all round. Connor shook hands and then settled into his chair. As Dru watched, he took off his tie and shoved it in his pocket, then undid the top couple of buttons of his shirt. Dru looked away and folded her arms, waiting for Rocky to go through his usual card shuffling ritual.

  He shuffled and counted and muttered and Dru looked up to find Connor watching her again.

  Bloody hell, she was so over this guy of the intense stares. Talk about obvious.

  ‘Are you right there?’ she said jutting her chin out.

  ‘I am. Why do you ask?’ His voice was deep and he kept his eyes on her. She could swear his chin lifted a bit too. Belligerent as well as being a smart-arse.

  She folded her arms and leaned back in the chair before she answered him.

  ‘No reason.’ She kept her voice light.

  ‘I’m pleased,’ he said.

  Great, just the way she wanted to spend the night. Two guys with alcohol hidden in their flasks, a pissing contest and way too much testosterone. And a new guy who obviously had something to prove. The only fun tonight would be wiping that knowing smirk off his face, although if truth be known she’d have been way happier back in her donga watching a movie.

  Liam’s chuckle covered the sharp click as Rocky split the cards on the table.

  ‘So what section of the plant are you working, mate?’ Liam asked.

  ‘All of it. I’m doing a workplace safety and compliance audit.’

  Dave and Liam spluttered and looked at each other as Rocky dealt the first hand.

  Dru picked up her cards. It was going to be a long night, but it would be far worse for the guys sitting at the table with the workplace safety officer and their hipflasks burning a hole in their pockets. She couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face when she caught Rocky’s eye.

  Chapter 6

  ‘Right, are we ready? Finally?’ Rocky’s husky voice ground out.

  The first couple of hands were slow and Dru let her usual focus slide. Connor had got under her skin, and Megan’s message was still at the forefront of her thoughts. She stared at her diminished pile of chips; it was time to get her act together and start concentrating on the game. She sat up straight and watched Rocky lick his lips as he checked his cards. He pulled them close to his chest, then looked up and caught her eye.

  Too late, Rocky. The lip licking was a dead giveaway; he had a good hand this time.

  Dru glanced down at her cards and her gaze roamed over the others, except for Connor. Liam was peering at his cards impassively. Dave, who didn’t bluff and as a result never won, was tapping his leg, a sure-fire signal that he had something worthwhile. But he surprised her when he put his cards down and said, ‘I’m out.’

  God, she was really off her game tonight.

  Dru looked down at the cards on the table before she finally forced herself to look at Connor. She’d processed what was there; it was highly unlikely that anyone was holding a better hand than she was. Keeping her face blank, she waited until the final card was turned. The back of her neck prickled and she looked over to Connor. His eyes were alight with a smile.

  Stuff you, Mr Smart-arse.

  She sat up straighter and raised the bet to twenty dollars. Rocky grunted in disgust, then put his cards down. Liam and Gary sat quietly until Connor spoke.

  ‘Fifty dollars.’ His voice was clear and smug.

  Dru knew he was bluffing. Putting on the big man act.

  ‘I’ll see you.’ She moved the same number of chips to the middle. An unpleasant shiver ran down her as Connor held her gaze. It was as though he was toying with her, like a cat torments its prey before pouncing. His expression reminded her of Zayed’s, and that unnerved her even more. She held back the need to swallow to ease her dry throat, and sat perfectly still, refusing to be intimidated.

  Liam and Gary spoke together. ‘I’m out.’

  Dru fanned her cards on the table and smiled as she displayed a full house. As she scooped the chips over, she bit back a satisfied smile as Rocky crowed proudly.

  ‘Told ya, matey. Our Dru’s the queen of the table.’

  *

  After Dru won the hand, Connor relaxed and looked at the group sitting around the table. He knew better than to put anything down to luck or coincidence. It was a large staff and to find Dru Porter, Rocky Cardella and Liam Carruthers all in the one place on his first day on the job was more than coincidence. It appeared that the three staff flagged by John Robinson were all known to each other. On a site this size, that had to be more than coincidence.

  It was a shame Hennessey had been called away. Connor had missed the end of the conversation about the favour between them when Adam had carried Dru’s tray across the room for her. But he’d be following that up.

  Being asked to join the poker game had been an unexpected bonus; he was already getting a fair idea of personalities from watching the play and he’d make the most of this opportunity to see what made them tick away from the worksite. He could smell the grog on Carruthers’ breath, but he wasn’t going to mention that. Keep them onside; he had a lot more to look for than an illicit swig here and there. Not his problem, but it did say a lot about the workings of the site. If security was lax in one area, the problem was sure to be widespread.

  It was a matter of finding the weak points—he’d identified a few of them from the paperwork alone—and then identifying who had created them, and was using them to get the diamonds off site. It might be one person, but logic told him there had to be more working together.

  Illicit alcohol and Hennessey’s comment about cheap equipment aside, the visible security on the site was equal to the best he’d seen. On the way over to the staff dongas, he’d noticed the cameras on every building and every road inter-section. He’d asked Hennessey about the cameras in the brief talk he’d given him about safety when he’d first joined him at the table. Apparently they were monitored twenty-four seven from the large windowless security building and at the Matsu head office in Perth. Those cameras could prove problematic as he moved around the site when he didn’t want to be observed. But Don Finlayson could probably sort that if it became necessary.

  Liam dealt the next hand. Connor sat back and watched Dru as she picked the cards up and stared at them without a change of expression. The same frown had wrinkled her brow since he had first looked at her.

  ‘Sour’ was the word that came to mind. The one time she’d grinned her face had come alight but it hadn’t lasted long.

  He looked down at her hands holding the cards. Square cut fingernails and no rings on her fingers. No wedding ring or jewellery of any sort; not even her ears were pierced. Despite the frown and her pursed lips, she was still a beautiful woman. Her face was strong; fair skin, lightly freckled, with high cheekbones and lush full lips. In contrast to her almost white-blonde hair, her lashes and brows were dark. Her eyes were a pale blue; almost an ice-blue that matched the look that she’d shot him when he’d deliberately dropped the sexist comment.

  When Cardella challenged her in the next hand, Connor could have
sworn he saw her lips tilt slightly. Maybe not, blink and you’d miss it.

  ‘Well?’ Her voice was husky and throaty and it held a hint of mirth for the first time.

  ‘Raise you,’ Cardella replied with a chuckle.

  ‘Nup. It’s all yours.’ She fanned her losing cards face down on the table and a huge grin crossed Rocky’s face.

  ‘Looks like I’ve got a chance tonight, sweetheart.’ He rubbed his hands together gleefully as Gary dealt the next hand. ‘Mugs away.’

  ‘Don’t get too fucking cocky, Rocky-boy.’ She flicked Connor a glance as she swore. Not as cool as he’d first thought; the look was a dead giveaway. She was putting on an act for him.

  The tension built with each hand and despite Connor’s intention of staying detached, a measure of distaste settled in his gut as Dru’s bad language continued, and even worsened. The way she held herself and the way she interacted with the men projected an extremely confident woman, a woman who was very comfortable in a man’s world.

  Hard as nails. From this first impression, he reckoned Dru would be capable of anything. She oozed confidence. Maybe she was someone who would have the guts to steal diamonds and smuggle them out of the mine. He was aware that she was watching him from beneath lowered lids as he threw his cards on the table. She won the next hand.

  ‘Jesus, Dru, anyone would think you were playing for a fucking cattle station.’ She grinned at the whine in Rocky’s voice.

  ‘Maybe we will be one day, Rocky-boy. Maybe we will.’ Her laugh was husky like her voice.

  Connor’s attention wandered as he thought about her choice of career and work location. There was a big difference between working in an international city like Dubai and here in the isolated wilds of the East Kimberley. And John had said she’d taken a fifty percent drop in salary to come here. He’d be looking closely at Dru’s records and references. Was she here for the takings? Salary and more?

  ‘So, are you still in?’ Her voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up and she lifted her chin and stared him down. He pushed back his irritation, forcing a smile. She rubbed him the wrong way but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Before he could find out if she was involved, he would have to win her trust, and getting her offside on his first night at the mine was not the way to go about it. He sensed he’d already upset her with his scrutiny and he hoped she’d take it as purely male interest.