Diamond in the Desert

Her sisters were waiting for her just inside the glass entrance doors. Whatever the circumstances she was always thrilled to see them. Knowing there was no time to lose, she had come straight to the office from the airport with the intention of getting straight back in the saddle. Thank goodness she’d had a non-crease business suit and stockings in her carry-on bag. She needed all the armour she could lay her hands on.

‘Together we stand,’ Britt confirmed when they finally pulled apart from their hug.

‘Thank God you’re here,’ Eva said grimly. ‘We’re overrun by strangers. We have never needed to show a united force more.’

‘Not strangers—people from the consortium,’ Leila reassured her. ‘But he’s here,’ Leila added gently. ‘I just thought you should know.’

‘Tyr’s here?’ Britt’s face dropped as she realised from Leila’s expression who her sister was talking about. ‘You mean Sharif is here,’ she said softly. Better she face him now than later, Britt determined, leading her sisters past Reception towards the stairs. ‘With his troops,’ Eva added as a warning.

Britt made no response. Troops or not, it made no difference to her. She would face him just the same. She could only hope her heart stopped pounding when she did so.

How the hell had he got here ahead of her?

His private jet, of course—

Get your head together fast, Britt ordered herself fiercely. She was strong. She could do this. She had to do this. She had always protected her sisters and the people who worked for Skavanga Mining. That was her role in life.

Without it what was she?

Nothing had changed, she told herself fiercely.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I can handle this.’

Eva was right. The first-floor lobby was bustling with people Britt didn’t know. Sharif’s people—the consortium’s people—Sharif had moved them in already. Her temper flared at the thought. But she had to keep her cool. She had lost the initiative the moment she allowed her emotions to come into play, and that must never happen again.

* * *

So, Tyr definitely wasn’t coming. Sharif had tried to persuade him, but now he put his phone away. Their conversation had been typical of the type Sharif had come to expect from the man who was a latter day Robin Hood. If a worthy cause had to be fought Tyr would drop everything and swing into action. He couldn’t blame the man, not with everything that was going on in Tyr’s life, but his presence here today would have softened the blow for Britt, whose arrival was imminent. Britt’s campaign to save the company was on track, but a happy reunion   with the brother she hadn’t seen for years was not on the cards. So now she would just be bewildered by what she would see as Tyr’s betrayal and his.

He pulled away from the window when he saw Britt’s cab arrive. However angry she was he had to keep her on board. Skavanga Mining needed her—

He needed her—

He would protect her from further distress the only way he knew how, which was to say nothing about Tyr, just as he had promised, and allow the blame to fall on the ruthless Black Sheikh instead. He would live up to his reputation. Better she hated him than she blamed Tyr for throwing in his lot with the consortium. Tyr had seen it as the only way to save the company in a hurry, and Tyr was right, though Sharif didn’t expect Britt to be so understanding; and with Tyr and the other two men in the consortium tied up half a world away, it was up to him to handle the takeover. There had been time to leave a brief message for Britt with the women at the encampment, and he hoped she’d got it. If not he was in for a stormy ride.

‘Britt.’ He turned the instant she entered the room. His response to her was stronger than ever. She lit up the room—she lit up his life. She forced him to re-evaluate every decision he had ever made, and he always came to the same conclusion. He would never meet another woman like her, but from her expression he guessed she hated him now. ‘Wait for me outside,’ she told her sisters in a cold voice that confirmed his opinion.

‘Are you sure?’ the youngest asked anxiously.

‘I’m sure,’ Britt said without taking her eyes off him.

She looked magnificent—even better than he remembered. A little crumpled from the journey, maybe, but her bearing was unchanged, and that said everything about a woman who didn’t know the meaning of defeat. He’d made a serious error leaving her behind in Kareshi. He should have brought her with him and to hell with the consequences. He should have known that Britt was more than ready for whatever she had to face. Her steely gaze at this moment was unflinching.