wasn’t a woman he’d ever known who would crawl through those dark, dank tunnels without a word of complaint. In fact, she seemed to have enjoyed the danger.
He let his mind wander back over their day together. To their funny boxing match. To her bravery when faced with that giant locust. To her sweet body as he’d followed it uphill. To her pretty, smiling green eyes. He stiffened.
To her plotting, lying green eyes. Cold, harsh reality flooded over him in a welcome rush.
Idiot. Ariana was a beautiful, brazen thief.
As he left the bridge, he glanced out at the river. The setting sun had changed its colour from muddy brown to pink and red and glittering blue. Very romantic. Did she deserve romance? Luke snorted. No. She’d brought all this down on top of herself, with the added crime of burning the shit out of his dick.
Tonight, little Ariana, tonight is the night when you are finally going to pay.
* * *
They lounged against the comfortable plush leather seats on the back deck. At the start of the meal, the atmosphere had been constrained, with Ariana quiet, and him still playing bastard. But her first course and the wine had mellowed them both. She’d made a spicy doughnut from deep-fried lentils. Delicious.
He sipped the crisp riesling. What had Changpu told the girls he employed? ‘What do you know about the emeralds, Ariana? Did Changpu tell you anything of their history?’
She shook her head. Her long hair, freed from its ponytail, swished around her lovely face in a blonde cloud. She wore that same wary expression she wore every time that bastard’s name came up.
‘Are you interested?’ he asked softly.
She nodded, smiling. ‘Yes, I’ve been wondering for ages. How the heck did they get themselves hidden in that cave?’
He laughed. ‘They’ve had a chequered history. They were mined and cut in India in the fourteenth century, and made a brief appearance in the King of Persia’s crown, till they were stolen back to India and set into a statue of a Hindu goddess, till it in turn was stolen by no-one knows who.’
Ariana leaned forward. ‘What was the statue of the goddess made out of?’
‘Gold,’ he replied, smiling, enjoying Ariana’s interest.
‘Then wasn’t the statue even more valuable than the emeralds?’
He shook his head. ‘Not emeralds this big, this green, this perfectly matched.’
‘What happened to the statue?’
Luke sat silently for a moment, weighing her words. She’d said Changpu kept her in ignorance of what his other employees were doing. Maybe she was telling the truth. ‘The statue had been lying, hidden, in a small temple outside Bangalore, eyes intact till, I think, there was some kind of war, and the Hindu monks believed it might get stolen again.’
‘Is that when they separated the statue from its eyes?’
‘Probably,’ Luke answered. He’d tried a few times to interest girls back home in the history that he found so fascinating, but their curiosity had always been tepid at best. Ah well, they moved in the same business circles he did, after all.
He glanced up at Ariana. Her eyes were sparkling as she leaned toward him. He smiled. ‘Anyway, someone, probably one of the monks, relocated the statue and the map to an old, run-down temple in Singapore, and someone else hid the emeralds deep inside the mountain on Manitia Island.’
Silence fell. Finally she sighed. ‘You’re so lucky…’ She shook her head. ‘I’ll get the next course.’
It was delicious. Perfectly cooked steak, lightly fried herbed potatoes, and a crisp and complex Asian salad.
‘So, Ari, any chillies in here I should be worried about?’ he asked, suspiciously poking at the salad with his fork. ‘Not that I mind chillies, mind you, but if there are any, I want to supervise you washing your hands myself.’
She giggled. ‘Nope, none in the salad. But there were heaps in the doughnut.’
‘Ah. Well, we’ll have a bath later, and I’ll make sure your hands are
He let his mind wander back over their day together. To their funny boxing match. To her bravery when faced with that giant locust. To her sweet body as he’d followed it uphill. To her pretty, smiling green eyes. He stiffened.
To her plotting, lying green eyes. Cold, harsh reality flooded over him in a welcome rush.
Idiot. Ariana was a beautiful, brazen thief.
As he left the bridge, he glanced out at the river. The setting sun had changed its colour from muddy brown to pink and red and glittering blue. Very romantic. Did she deserve romance? Luke snorted. No. She’d brought all this down on top of herself, with the added crime of burning the shit out of his dick.
Tonight, little Ariana, tonight is the night when you are finally going to pay.
* * *
They lounged against the comfortable plush leather seats on the back deck. At the start of the meal, the atmosphere had been constrained, with Ariana quiet, and him still playing bastard. But her first course and the wine had mellowed them both. She’d made a spicy doughnut from deep-fried lentils. Delicious.
He sipped the crisp riesling. What had Changpu told the girls he employed? ‘What do you know about the emeralds, Ariana? Did Changpu tell you anything of their history?’
She shook her head. Her long hair, freed from its ponytail, swished around her lovely face in a blonde cloud. She wore that same wary expression she wore every time that bastard’s name came up.
‘Are you interested?’ he asked softly.
She nodded, smiling. ‘Yes, I’ve been wondering for ages. How the heck did they get themselves hidden in that cave?’
He laughed. ‘They’ve had a chequered history. They were mined and cut in India in the fourteenth century, and made a brief appearance in the King of Persia’s crown, till they were stolen back to India and set into a statue of a Hindu goddess, till it in turn was stolen by no-one knows who.’
Ariana leaned forward. ‘What was the statue of the goddess made out of?’
‘Gold,’ he replied, smiling, enjoying Ariana’s interest.
‘Then wasn’t the statue even more valuable than the emeralds?’
He shook his head. ‘Not emeralds this big, this green, this perfectly matched.’
‘What happened to the statue?’
Luke sat silently for a moment, weighing her words. She’d said Changpu kept her in ignorance of what his other employees were doing. Maybe she was telling the truth. ‘The statue had been lying, hidden, in a small temple outside Bangalore, eyes intact till, I think, there was some kind of war, and the Hindu monks believed it might get stolen again.’
‘Is that when they separated the statue from its eyes?’
‘Probably,’ Luke answered. He’d tried a few times to interest girls back home in the history that he found so fascinating, but their curiosity had always been tepid at best. Ah well, they moved in the same business circles he did, after all.
He glanced up at Ariana. Her eyes were sparkling as she leaned toward him. He smiled. ‘Anyway, someone, probably one of the monks, relocated the statue and the map to an old, run-down temple in Singapore, and someone else hid the emeralds deep inside the mountain on Manitia Island.’
Silence fell. Finally she sighed. ‘You’re so lucky…’ She shook her head. ‘I’ll get the next course.’
It was delicious. Perfectly cooked steak, lightly fried herbed potatoes, and a crisp and complex Asian salad.
‘So, Ari, any chillies in here I should be worried about?’ he asked, suspiciously poking at the salad with his fork. ‘Not that I mind chillies, mind you, but if there are any, I want to supervise you washing your hands myself.’
She giggled. ‘Nope, none in the salad. But there were heaps in the doughnut.’
‘Ah. Well, we’ll have a bath later, and I’ll make sure your hands are
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