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‘I’ve already talked to the boss.’ Ellie leaned casually against a table, striving for nonchalance. She let the words hang in the air for a moment. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. They were two different people from the man and woman who had sought pleasure in each other’s bodies a few hours ago. She lifted her chin a fraction higher and held the intense gaze that was being levelled at her. ‘You are a qualified pilot.’

‘Sure am.’ Now there was a glimmer of a smile around his mouth and she held back the angry words that rose to her lips. The bastard was enjoying this.

‘Military.’

‘Clever lady.’

‘No, Jock told me.’ She folded her arms. ‘So what’s the big deal then?’ Ellie kept her voice level. ‘Are you going to fly here at all?’

‘That, babe, is not your problem.’ He turned away slowly as the gate opened and a middle-aged couple walked in.

‘Hey there.’ The guy had an American accent and he held his hand out to Kane. ‘Steve and Jodie Wallace. You’re taking us up at ten-thirty.’

Kane shook the guy’s hand and then gestured to Ellie with a cat-that-got-the-cream smile. ‘Good morning, Steve. I’m the engineer. Miss Ellie here is your pilot.’

Ellie damped down her frustration as the guy looked at her with a sceptical frown. Every few days she encountered tourists who wanted a male pilot but she’d got used to it early on. Whoever said sexism was dead?

‘Hey, Steve, Jodie. Come with me and we’ll get the paperwork going. Lovely morning to go up.’ Ellie forced the happy tone into her welcome chat as she led them towards the office, ignoring the wink that Kane gave her as she passed him.

Bastard. She ignored the temptation to poke her tongue out. He really brought out the worst in her.

*

Kane was pissed off. On top of his confusion over why Ellie had left his room with no explanation – and had so easily dismissed it as a one-night stand – guilt burned in his gut every time she took off with another load of tourists. Just how many bloody people wanted to see Kakadu from the air anyway?

It wasn’t his problem that Jock had stuffed up and hired him. Kane had made it quite clear when he’d been interviewed on Skype that he wasn’t flying these days. Whether Jock had misunderstood, or whether he’d thought Kane would change his mind when he saw the set up here at the lodge, didn’t matter. His contract stated it in black and white: he was the engineer. The looks Ellie had directed his way shouldn’t have bothered him, but they did. She’d taken seven flights back-to-back from ten-thirty; she hadn’t even stopped for a lunch break. He made sure the other chopper was ready and waiting as soon as she came down each time. And he looked after each group as they arrived and had the paperwork done so all she had to do was take them up. She smiled and chatted to the tourists but the occasional glances she flicked his way were hard to read. She was as prickly as all hell with him.

Kane shrugged; the last thing he wanted to do was hurt anyone, and Ellie’s vulnerability had already tugged at him. It had been a big part of the attraction last night. Something hard within him had softened a little when she’d drifted off to sleep with her fingers curled in his. He’d lain there for a long time watching her sleep before he drifted off.

It was bad enough that he hadn’t gone to her when he’d woken up alone in his bed. As the sun cleared the horizon, he’d jerked awake to the noise of machine gun fire. Before he could make a fool of himself, he pulled on his sweats and went for a long run.

He was too damaged to inflict himself on anybody. Ellie deserved better. Someone she could rely on; he was not going to connect with anybody. Maybe he’d been an absolute louse the way he’d treated her today but she was right – sleeping together had not been a good move.

I’m not worth it.

Chapter 11

Monday afternoon

Makowa Lodge

By the time Ellie touched down after her final flight, she was exhausted. Seven back-to-back tours on top of the late night and shock of the break-in had left her frazzled. Despite that, she decided to go back to the farm to have a look at what was happening at the river boundary. Flying over it again today had made her more determined to find out what was going on. The gash in the land was wider than it had been on Thursday; it almost reached the South Alligator River that bordered the national park. As she flew over on the last trip, a flash of silver had caught her eye. She dropped a little lower and peered down. There was a series of pipes sitting vertically in the ground very close to the river. Funniest looking dam she’d ever seen, no matter what Panos said.

‘Thank you, that was fabulous. We might do another one tomorrow.’ The last couple gave her a wave as they headed across the tarmac to the gate and Ellie secured the chopper.

There was no sign of Kane and she ignored the twinge of disappointment that hit her when she glanced over to the hangar. The roller door was down and bolted. He’d already turned the fuel pump off and everything else was in order.

Glancing at her watch, she dug in her pocket for her car keys. Rather than going back to her apartment and getting changed, she decided to go straight to her car. She’d put the phone on hands-free and make a few calls until the phone dropped out of service.

The wind was picking up and the clouds were scudding across a bright blue sky. Ellie loved this time of the year. She took a deep breath as she hurried across the car park; it was good to be away from the smell of avgas. The humidity was low and the air was tinged with the smell of the burning grass around the lodge. She grinned to herself; spot on. It was only yesterday she’d seen the flowering Darwin woolly butt down at Heather and Bill’s telling the indigenous people it was time to ‘clean the country’.

The highway was busy and she had to wait for a few vans and RVs to pass before she turned north. Gina’s number was programmed into her phone and she pressed the shortcut button and put it onto speaker before she picked up speed.

‘Hi Gina, it’s your nursemaid calling. I’m so sorry I’ve not called in to see you yet. How are you enjoying your stay?’

A soft laugh came down the line. ‘It is fine, Ellie. I don’t expect you to babysit me – no matter what David said.’

‘How about I come over after dinner? I have a chore to run this afternoon but I should be back about seven or seven-thirty.’