Free Catier's strike by Jane Corrie

Sarah's shocked look, he nodded grimly. 'Oh, yes, I was able to pick up that much, although the trail was cold by the time I got on to the scene. You were headed for the big time, weren't you? You were offered a post on one of the city papers, and you took it, without a backward glance at the man who loved you.'
    Sarah's head spun. She hadn't known that Don had a grandmother. He had never mentioned her, but then he hadn't told her that he was related to Sean Cartier, either. It was true that she had been offered a post on the Daily the day after Don's death, and she had taken it, seeing it as an escape from her unhappiness. He had the facts right, but in the wrong order. She could have made an attempt to put the record straight, but he was in no mood to listen to her. He was determined to punish her, not only for Don's death, but his grandmother's, too.
    `If you've finished,' he said harshly. 'You can get back to your quarters. I think I've had enough of your company for one day.'
    Sarah needed no second bidding; she was out of her chair, and on her way, almost before he had finished the sentence.
    Back in the quietness of her room, she gradually calmed down. Her situation had been bad enough before, but now She closed her eyes and shook her head.
    She had been living in cloud cuckoo land, it seemed, when she thought that all she had to do was to walk off the site at the first given opportunity. She had never considered the possibility of finding herself on the wrong side of the law.
    All Sean Cartier had to do was to alert the authorities. He'd do it, too, Sarah knew for certain. He could say that he had caught her snooping and considered that she was a security risk. She drew in a deep breath. The worst of it was, that the whole affair would be put under wraps. It would be her word against his, and she wouldn't stand a chance of proving her innocence.
    It was detention here, or elsewhere, she thought, until the news was released, and goodness knew when that would be. Under the circumstances, she supposed she was lucky that she had a choice, she thought bitterly, that was the way that Sean Cartier would see it.
    He could have had her sent away, but that wasn't in the scheme of things. She was to be his diversion while the site operations were closed
    down. In a few weeks the workforce would take off, leaving only a skeleton maintenance crew on site. Whether Mrs Pullman stayed on, Sarah had no idea, but thought not. The same could be said of Sean Cartier. If there was only paperwork to do, surely there was nothing to stop him going back to headquarters. A man of his standing in his profession would not be expected to hang around once the drilling operations ceased, and would not begin again for at least four months.
    At this thought, Sarah shuddered. She couldn't imagine four months' detention in Sean Cartier's company. She was beginning to see now what he'd meant when he said that she would beg him to marry her. Four months was a long time. You couldn't go on hating someone—at least, not all the time. Not when they were the only contact you had with the outside world day in and day out. Some relationship or reliance was bound to result, and as he held all the cards, it was plain to see who would be relying on whom!
    The fact that he hated her so much gave Sarah some consolation. He was not likely to force his attentions on her. The way he had looked at her as he spoke about Don's grandmother's death, told of his feelings. She could have been a rattlesnake, and one didn't take a rattlesnake to bed, so she could at least be grateful for that.
    In one sense, it gave her a hold over him. Should he attempt any physical contact with her, she now knew how to handle it. All she had to do was to mention Don's name or his grandmother. Sarah closed her eyes. She wished that there was some other way, but she had no choice. She was
    fighting for her survival, but even so, things would have to get pretty bad before she used such