Hidden Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

let’s start with the Grissom Gallery.”
    â€œI don’t work for the Grissom Gallery any longer.” She sighed. “Well, unofficially, I guess I do right now.”
    â€œEither you do or you don’t. Which is it, Gili?”
    â€œMy father has one last commission to fulfil for the gallery before he can walk away, free and clear. That’s all I’m trying to do. Help my father out so he can cut his ties with Jeremy.”
    â€œJeremy Grissom is the most evil bastard I’ve ever met. If I’d been able to prove he took that ring in Iran, I’d have had him charged. A few years in an Iranian jail might have made him wake up to himself.” He frowned. “Hang on. Why the hell isn’t your father here doing his own work?”
    Gili pictured her father lying in that hospital bed, his leg hiked up in the air. Then she thought of Whitey’s threat against Morgan, although, she didn’t believe for one instant Morgan was as big a wimp as Jeremy thought. She had a feeling he’d hold his own whatever the odds.
    So…should she tell him how her dad had been hurt? She definitely needed to let him know that Jeremy and Whitey were after the opal, but as far as her parents went…
    Maybe she should keep her mouth shut about that for now. Given the mood he was in, Morgan would think she was playing on his sympathy or trying to use him. She grimaced as she silently acknowledged, to herself, if no one else, that was exactly what she’d had in mind.
    â€œYour father, Gili?”
    Morgan’s voice jolted her back to the present. She tried to focus her thoughts. “My father had an accident. He has a busted leg, serious enough he had to spend a few weeks in hospital having it pinned. Which is why I’m doing this last job for him.”
    â€œAnd the job? What is it this time?”
    Okay, here goes nothing .
    Gili took a deep breath and blew it out in a loud whoosh. “The Dreamtime Fire .”
    She dropped the name of the opal into the conversation and waited for the ripples to form.
    â€œSay what?”
    â€œDon’t act dumb, Morgan. You know exactly what I’m referring to. I’m here to negotiate for its sale and you know where it is.”
    Morgan shook his head. “Okay, let’s say I do know what it is, but you have got to be kidding. The most important gem for the Aboriginal people and you think I’m going to hand it over to you? Lady, you have rocks in your head. And what the hell makes you think I know where it is?”
    â€œThis lady does her research. The Aborigines originally discovered the Dreamtime Fire in the Opalton fields. From what I saw of that map in your office, your ranch is right next door to that opal field. You told me in Iran about your connections with the tribe in your area, remember?”
    â€œOne…it’s a station or a property and two—”
    â€œSorry?”
    â€œWe don’t call it a ranch over here.” He held up one finger. “And two…how the hell do you know exactly where I live?”
    Gili drew in a deep breath. “That’s why I came to see you. Jeremy and Whitey know.”
    Morgan frowned. “Gili, you’re not making any sense. Know what?”
    â€œWhitey found out that you’re the Guardian of the Dreamtime Fire. That you know where it is, or at the very least, you know where to start the search.”
    â€œBloody hell!” Morgan slammed a clenched fist against the timber door before stomping over to the desk. “Damn that man. He can’t keep his nose out of anything.”
    Gili grimaced. “It’s worse than that. Whitey threatened to harm you, or cause you an accident, if you didn’t play ball and help me find the opal.”
    He burst out laughing. “You are joking, aren’t you? Even if I knew where the opal was—and by the way, it hasn’t been seen for about fifty years—it belongs to the