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Ten years ago …

The bells above the door of Toni’s Café tinkled as Indy pushed them open.

Her gaze darted across the people waiting for tables and those lined up at the counter to pay.

No one paid her any attention, which suited her fine.

She stepped through the crowd towards the tables, letting elbows and shoulders bump against her, distracting customers from the work of her quick fingers.

People were too trusting. Women with unzipped shoulder bags, men who shoved cash in their pockets as if flaunting their wealth.

Whatever. Indy used it to her advantage, particularly in a space this crowded, where Sunday brunch with friends was considered the ultimate distraction. It really was too easy.

She reached the edge of the crowd and stopped.

Beneath her too-big hoodie, the hunger monster grumbled at the smells of food.

Her stomach turned in on itself and she fought to keep the pain from showing on her face.

How long had it been since she’d been full?

She eyed a piece of leftover bacon on a plate near her.

Her insides snapped like pitbulls in an illegal fighting ring, out for blood.

Indy bit her bottom lip. What if she snatched that bacon from the plate?

The lady sitting in front of it was too busy waving her arms around as she told whatever bullshit story she was yabbering about to her friend.

She wouldn’t have any idea what hunger really was.

Indy pulled the brim of her hat down as the pain subsided. She’d be in trouble when it stopped hurting altogether.

With her hands in the front pocket of her jumper, she fingered the items she’d lifted.

Not a bad haul. Two notes. Same size. Not long enough.

She scrunched one up in her fist and drew her hand back.

A flash of pink and purple had her shoving it back in.

Damn. Ten bucks. She needed more. Dining and dashing would be too hard with the density of the crowd between her and the only exit.

Tipping her head back on the pretence of stretching out her neck, Indy took in who was around her.

The old man in baggy pants who waited in line to her left had his wife’s arm linked through his; three women were smacking their lips against each other’s cheeks in greeting behind her; and, to the right, a father was leaning down to listen to his daughter speak.

Diners talking and laughing, not paying any attention to her.

Except for one. A woman sitting on a stool at the counter, staring at her.

Indy’s chin snapped down to her chest. What the hell?

She slipped her hands back into the front pocket of her jumper. Did the woman know?

She shook her head. There’s no way she could’ve seen her. Roach said Indy had the quickest fingers in all of Denarlie. She peeked out again from beneath the brim of her hat.

The woman’s eyes were on the mug of coffee in front of her. Had Indy imagined the stare? Maybe their gazes had just met out of coincidence. One of those passing things. She really needed some food.

Thinking the father in front of her was her best chance, Indy stepped sideways as the crowd moved forwards.

Then the tinkle of bells and a flash of blue at the door snagged her attention.

Shit. Sarge wanted his morning brew. With her heart lodged in her throat, she slid her hand back into her pocket.

Stay cool . Blend in.

The only free seat was the stool next to the staring woman. Indy pushed down the urge to run to it.

The woman’s gaze didn’t shift from her mug when Indy slid onto the stool beside her.

Toni, the café’s owner, appeared in front of Indy wearing a stained white apron and a raised brow. ‘Milkshake?’

Indy’s eyes narrowed. ‘What am I, twelve? Iced coffee, thanks. Large.’

‘Usual, Nova?’ Toni asked the staring woman.

‘Better make it two.’

Toni shot a look at Indy that made her want to leap across the counter and punch her. But again, making a scene was a bad idea with Sarge around. He was looking for any excuse to lock her up and throw away the keys, just like he’d done to her parents. She didn’t want to continue that legacy.

‘Coming up.’

Indy shifted in her seat. The café was a mix of stark white, timber and black with green ferns shoved anywhere they fit.

The brightness hurt her eyes. She shouldn’t have taken that hit last night.

Or washed it down with the Smirnoff Double Blacks.

Roach had promised her he’d keep an eye out in case she tripped but he obviously forgot, otherwise she wouldn’t have woken up next to that guy.

Thank God Bonnie had crashed on the couch and they’d snuck out together before she had to awkwardly ask who the hell the guy was or he realised she was only sixteen.

He definitely hadn’t looked under twenty.

A shudder passed over her. Coffee, then head somewhere for a shower.

Hopefully, Vince was on at the pool. He didn’t mind looking the other way when she snuck in. Then she’d meet back up with Bonnie.

Indy drummed her fingers on the bench in no particular rhythm.

Sarge’s laugh boomed out behind her, and she tilted her face towards her neighbour.

Had Toni called her Nova? Nice name. She looked fit.

Not too old. Her boots were dirty, like she spent all day kicking around in the dust. Indy scoffed under her breath. Sounded like some clichéd country song.

A plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast was placed in front of her, along with her iced coffee.

‘I didn’t order this,’ she called to Toni’s retreating back. ‘Hey! This isn’t mine.’

‘Eat it,’ a voice said beside her. Nova. An identical plate was in front of her.

Indy opened her mouth, but her argument died on her tongue when fierce eyes turned on her.

‘Don’t speak. It’s not your turn to talk. You’re going to sit there, eat a decent meal before you snap in half, and listen.’

Indy’s mouth slammed shut, involuntarily.

The smell of bacon acted like a steroid to the monster in her stomach.

She wanted to tell this lady where to shove her decent meal but fuck it, she was starving.

The monster continued to rage, making her fumble with her knife and fork.

The eggs scorched her tongue and she dropped half of the next forkful down her front in her haste to shovel it in.

The more she ate, the more the pain in her head and gut subsided.

‘Glad to see you can follow instructions.’

The euphoria of getting to eat dampened. ‘I’m not a charity case. I can pay for my own breakfast.’

Nova gave a short laugh and resumed eating with a lot more control than Indy had shown. ‘You can pay?’ she said. ‘Or the guy you lifted the cash from will? How much did you get? Ten bucks? Won’t cover much.’

The bacon caught as Indy’s throat dried up and violent coughs shook her frame. Nova pushed the iced coffee towards her and she grabbed at it. Shit. She had seen her.

‘I’ll take that as confirmation that I’m right.’ The bitch sipped her own coffee. ‘And I can only imagine what your plans are for the other items in your pocket.’

‘What do you want?’ Indy snapped.

‘I have a proposition for you.’

‘Sorry, I don’t do women.’

Nova didn’t react. She just picked up her cutlery and calmly sliced into her breakfast. ‘You’re at what I call a fork in the road, Indigo Mills.’

There was a loud clutter as Indy’s real fork dropped to her plate. ‘How do you know my name?’

‘That’s not what’s important here.’

Indy jumped to her feet. ‘Who died and made you ruler of what’s important? How do you know my name?’

Nova levelled an icy look at her. ‘The same way I know what’s in your pocket. Sit down.’

She sat. Dammit. How did this lady keep making her do that? Indy took a couple of breaths, her bewilderment still simmering.

‘What fork are you talking about?’ She intertwined her fingers as Nova took another mouthful of her breakfast and chewed it slowly. Had she met this woman before? If she had, she couldn’t place her. How did she know so much about her? Well, at least her name and survival skills.

Nova swallowed. ‘Eat and I’ll tell you.’

You better . Indy picked up her toast but the monster in her stomach was sated. She put it back on the plate. Nova’s glare made her lift it to her lips again.

‘You have two options that will determine your future. Option one, you can hand over everything in your pockets to me and I will return them to their correct owners while you wait for me at my ute. I own a sheep station out at Windale and there’s a farmhand job waiting for you.

Three meals a day, a bed that’s yours and a basic wage, but there are rules. ’

Urgh, rules. In Indy’s experience, rules were pliable. ‘Where the fuck is Windale?’

‘Language. It’s about an hour east of here. In the tablelands of the Great Dividing Range. My place is on the mountain.’

Sounded cold. She hated being cold. ‘What’s the other option?’

‘I turn you over to Sarge, there. Give a witness statement that I saw you pickpocketing from those innocent locals, and you spend your next birthday in juvie.’

Indy tried not to blanch. ‘What if I don’t like either option?’

Nova shrugged and popped another forkful of eggs in her mouth. ‘It’s a two-pronged fork. There’s no third option.’

‘I can get out of the car and run,’ she mumbled.

‘Sarge will catch up with you eventually. You’re on his list.’

Fucking Sarge. ‘What you’re saying is, I either come with you or I go to jail?’

‘Look at that, she gets it.’ Nova placed her knife and fork together on her plate and slid it away from her. ‘What’s it going to be? You’re not afraid of a little physical work, are you?’

Indy’d been had. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her stash one item at a time.

Cash, designer sunglasses, cigarettes, a fancy-shaped lighter and two men’s watches.

Nova’s eyes widened, leaving Indy more than a little smug.

She picked up the gold-plated watch. It hurt to part with that one.

It would’ve been the best payout she’d ever gotten at the pawnbroker down the road.

‘Can’t deny you’ve got good taste,’ Nova said. ‘My ute’s parked right outside.’

Indy looked out the front window to see a white Hilux with ‘Windale Mountain Station’ written on the front door.

‘I have people I need to speak with first.’ Bonnie was her best mate; Indy didn’t want her to think she’d just abandon her. They needed each other.

‘I’ll make sure they know.’

One week. She’d give it a week then she’d be outta there even if she had to walk back to Denarlie.