LITMIR.BIZ

      To Bruce and Nadine

      You are such fun to be around, and have

       brought immeasurable joy to our lives.

      This one is for both of you, and when you

       read it you’ll know exactly why!

      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      COMING NEXT MONTH

      CHAPTER ONE

      MADDISON stared at her younger brother in abject horror.

      ‘What do you mean you sank his yacht?’

      A petulant scowl took up residence on Kyle Jones’s nineteen-year-old face.

      ‘He deserved it.’

      ‘Oh, my God.’ She put her head in her hands as she struggled to gain control of her sky-rocketing emotions.

      ‘I thought you’d be happy,’ Kyle said with a hint of pique. ‘After all, he’s the one who ruined Dad. I thought you’d be pleased I made a stand at long last.’

      ‘Kyle.’ She lifted her tortured gaze to his. ‘Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?’

      He set his shoulders defiantly. ‘I don’t care. He had it coming to him.’

      Maddison shut her eyes. ‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this.’

      ‘It’s all right,’ he reassured her. ‘He has no idea who did it.’

      She opened her eyes to face him. ‘How can you possibly know that for sure? People like Demetrius Papasakis always know who their enemies are.’ She got to her feet in agitation and paced the room. ‘You do realise what this means, don’t you?’ She turned to face him once more, her expression pale with worry.

      Her brother gave a dismissive shrug. ‘What are you so worried about? He’s never going to know it was me.’

      ‘Of course he’ll know it was you! You’ve already got a police record! It’s not going to take him long to put two and two together and come up with your name, and once he does you can be certain of one thing—he’ll make sure you end up in prison.’

      ‘I’m not going to prison,’ he said emphatically.

      ‘No, you’re not. At least not if I can help it.’ She gnawed her bottom lip as she hunted her brain for a solution.

      ‘I’m glad I did it, no matter what you think.’ An element of proud defiance had entered Kyle’s voice. ‘Anyway, it’s not as if he can’t afford another yacht; he’s positively loaded.’

      ‘That’s the whole trouble, don’t you see?’ Desperation was creeping into her tone but there was nothing she could do to stop it. ‘Unlike us, he can afford the very best legal advice. You won’t have a leg to stand on, especially after that last car you stole.’

      ‘I didn’t steal it,’ he protested. ‘I borrowed it.’

      ‘Don’t split hairs, Kyle. You know you stole it and you were incredibly lucky to get out on bail, which I might remind you at this point I have yet to pay back to the bank.’

      ‘I’ll pay you back when I get a job,’ he promised.

      Maddison sighed with frustration. ‘And when is that going to be? You’ve already had three jobs, none of them lasting more than a week. I can’t keep covering up for you; at some point you’re going to have to take responsibility for your own life. You’re nineteen years old, more than old enough to drive and vote. It’s about time you stopped blaming everyone else for what’s gone wrong in your life and make something good happen instead.’

      ‘Demetrius Papasakis wrecked our lives,’ Kyle said bitterly. ‘How can you simply sit back and let him get away with it?’

      ‘There are better ways than sinking million dollar boats,’ she pointed out wryly. ‘We could have gone to him and stated our case, perhaps fought for compensation.’

      ‘Oh yeah, right.’ His voice was scathing. ‘He’d laugh in our face; he couldn’t give a fig for what happened to Dad when he lost his job. And besides, look at the way he treats the latest women in his life; that man doesn’t have a conscience.’

      Maddison couldn’t agree more, but didn’t want to encourage her brother’s fiery temper. Hardly a day went past without one of the Sydney papers revealing the latest antics of the billionaire playboy, a six-foot-three Greek god of a man with too much money and not enough scruples.

      Their father had worked for Demetrius Papasakis as an assistant accountant in the Papasakis hotel chain for years, only to be dismissed without a fair hearing when a question had been raised about the supposed misappropriation of funds. The mud thrown had stuck, and within weeks their father had collapsed with a fatal heart attack, which Maddison knew had been due to the intolerable strain he had faced at the time.

      ‘People like Demetrius Papasakis usually get their comeuppance in the end,’ she said instead. ‘The trick is to hang around long enough to witness it.’

      ‘Maybe you’re right.’ The edge of her brother’s mouth lifted in a small smile. ‘According to yesterday’s paper, Papasakis is currently in the middle of yet another relationship scandal, a rich divorcee this time, the ex-wife of one of his business rivals.’

      ‘At the moment I’m not too concerned about the trouble Demetrius Papasakis may or may not be in,’ she said. ‘The thing I’m concerned with right here and now is how we’re going to get you out of the firing line until the dust settles over this boat episode.’

      ‘I’m not afraid of Papasakis,’ he said with a lift of his chin.

      ‘I know, more’s the pity,’ she answered wryly. ‘But I am. He’ll stop at nothing to pay back a misdemeanour such as this and I don’t want to make it too easy for him to do so.’

      ‘What do you think I should do?’

      Maddison took a deep breath of resignation before answering. ‘You’ll have to go into hiding.’

      ‘Run away, you mean?’ The look he sent her was brim-full of male affront.

      ‘Not in so many words,’ she reassured him. ‘I have a friend who is working as a nanny on a cattle property in the Northern Territory. In her last letter she told me of the trouble Gillaroo is having recruiting reliable station hands. I can just about afford to pay for your airfare to get you there. After that the rest is up to you.’

      ‘A station hand?’ Kyle wrinkled his nose.

      ‘Listen, Kyle.’ She eyeballed him determinedly. ‘I’m running out of both money and patience. This is your last chance. If you don’t take it I’m going to have to wash my hands and leave you to face the music, but let me warn you the sort of music Papasakis will want to play won’t be to your taste.’

      ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll do it, but only because you want me to, not because I’m scared.’

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