My eyes danced. There was nothing like sheer brute strength. I stood next to him and gazed down. This was always my favourite part, the heart-stopping moment before the big reveal when all our hard work and preparation would pay off. With a deep breath, I reached out and slid open the drawer.

I stared, my mouth dropping open. Crap-a-doodle-doo. Brochan cursed and spat.

‘What?’ Speck asked. ‘What is it?’

Lexie squeezed her way in and gazed down. ‘Shit. It’s gone?’ She shoved her hand into the box and felt around. ‘Maybe it’s rolled to the back?’

I shook my head. Frustration, disappointment and just the tiniest edge of relief mingled together in my stomach. ‘No. It’s empty.’ I sighed. ‘Taylor was so sure it would be here.’

‘A month!’ Speck shrieked. ‘It’s taken us a month of planning to get here and the stupid gem’s not there? Now what?’

There was only one answer to that. I slammed the box back into place. It clanged, the sound reverberating around the vault. ‘Now we go home. We’re done.’

Chapter Two

I stood at the back, leaning against the wall with my arms folded while the others yelled.

‘You know how long we took in planning that operation? Goddamnit, Taylor!’

‘How could you have gotten the intelligence so wrong?’

‘I could have died climbing up that building and all for nothing!’

Taylor glanced at me. ‘Wouldn’t you like to join in as well?’

I shrugged. ‘We went for the Lia Saifir and it wasn’t there. End of.’

His mouth twisted. ‘Everything I had led me to believe it was there. My contact said…’

‘Well, your contact was bloody wrong, wasn’t he?’ Speck exploded.

‘This isn’t over,’ Taylor said calmly. ‘We’ll still get it. You’ll still get your payday.’

Lexie squared up to him. There was something very amusing about the tiny pixie with her fists at the ready while Taylor’s large, hulking shape gazed implacably down at her. ‘You’re damn right we will. I still want my money. It’s not our fault the jewel wasn’t there.’

Taylor scratched his temple. ‘It wasn’t mine either.’

‘But it was your plan! Your orders!’

He sighed. ‘Okay, I admit, I may have been slightly hasty and didn’t double check everything. But I’m in rather a tight spot and time was of the essence.’

I had a sudden sinking sensation. There was something about the tone of his voice. This was familiar territory as far as Taylor was concerned.

‘How much are you in for?’ I asked quietly, fixing my gaze on him.

The other three swung their heads in my direction then back towards Taylor. Brochan frowned. ‘What does she mean?’

Taylor waved his fingers in the air in an attempt to be dismissive. It didn’t work. ‘A small matter. I might have borrowed some money and had a punt on the horses.’