Page 1 of Her Greek Protector

Prologue

Ranongga Island, South Pacific…

Two weeks earlier…

The retreating tide sucked the sand from beneath his feet, just as it had stolen his boat, his memories—even his name. The man calling himself Edward stood fast, his lip curling. The sea had stolen everything else, but it wouldn't take him. Not today.

His gaze was fixed on the speck in the distance, slowly but surely becoming bigger and bigger. Now, it was recognizable as a ship—a big ship, heading directly to the island he’d been living on for the last five weeks. A remote island he couldn’t have found on a map if he’d tried. He didn’t even know how he’d come to be there. From the warm weather, he assumed he was somewhere south of the equator, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

“Lopeti!” He waved to his constant companion since he’d washed up on the beach. He pointed out to sea. “Ship!”

The young man followed the direction of his pointing finger and a broad smile split his face. “Sip! Mi baim long nap!” He waved, indicating Edward should follow him to the beach.

Edward shook his head, only slightly understanding the language spoken by the islanders. Communication was a matter of guesswork, trying to correlate what was going on around him with the words he heard. Occasionally, he understood a single word, but somehow, he also knew those words were not his native language.If I knew what languages I spoke, maybe I could figure out where I’m from.“We should go join the others.”

Lopeti merely grinned and shrugged, clearly not understanding him completely either.

Edward didn’t let that bother him. He could remember things like the name of an ocean, or a few words here and there, if not his own name. He held a burgeoning hope he would eventually regain his memories.

Lopeti waved to him from the top of the exposed reef that protected the island in this location, pointing to the ship. He called out something that from the tone sounded like an exhortation to hurry. Edward smiled and a few moments later, both men jogged across the uneven ground towards a sandy beach area.

Edward arrived at the beach and raised a hand over his head to block the glare of the sun off the water. He could see the cargo ship even more clearly. It only had a few containers on its deck, and there was a green and gold emblem on the front bow, but he couldn’t make it out from this distance. He sank down on the sand, watching as a small boat was lowered to the ocean. Lopeti joined him. Soon they heard the rumble of a motor as the boat approached the island.

When the boat was bobbing in just a few feet of water, four men jumped over the sides and pulled the boat up onto the beach. Edward and Lopeti stood up and edged towards the group of men. Two more men alighted from the boat just as several of the elders from the village arrived to greet them, a rag-tag group of curious onlookers in tow.

Taha, the village head man, bustled forward. “Halo! Yu helpim mi pipel?”

One of the crewmembers stepped forward. “Eimaste edó me promítheies anakoúfisis. Wara. Kaikai.”

We are here with relief supplies.Edward gasped loudly in shock.I can...I can understand them!He started laughing hysterically, the relief a dizzying rush of emotion.

Everyone present backed up a step and looked at him warily. “Edward?” Lopeti turned to frown at him, puzzled.

“I can understand them. I can understand you!” He pointed to the ship’s crew members. “I can understand you!”

One of the men stepped forward. “Sir, you speak Greek?”

Greek?Edward stared back at him. A myriad of pictures flooded through his brain.Azure sea and brilliant sand. A feeling of pride as he looked upon a white columned temple.

The crew members gave him a curious look. The man in charge approached him. “What is your name?”

“They call me Edward. I had an accident and washed up on the beach, there.” He motioned to a place about a hundred yards down the coastline. “Is that what language you’re speaking? Greek? Does that mean I’m Greek?” Searing pain lanced from one side of his skull to the other. He pressed a hand to his head, his eyes closed as he sank to his knees. He felt as if his brain was swelling in reaction to the rush of surfacing memories.

He’d remembered bits and pieces of his life over the last week. Faces with no names, foods he couldn’t remember if he liked, and a boat he couldn’t be sure he’d ever sailed on. The most prominent memory was a green and gold emblem. A capital letter M and a funny capital letter E encircled by a golden ring of fig leaves. He’d found it disconcerting that he knew what the leaves were, but not what the letters stood for.

The crew member turned to speak to the others just as Edward opened his eyes and looked up. Suddenly, all of his questions were answered. There, on the back of the man’s shirt, was the logo of his memory. The M and the E, one green and one gold, the circle of leaves representing his father’s dedication to his family, his employees, and their clients. The insignia of Moustakas Shipping.

My family’s shipping empire!

“Edward?” Lopeti squatted down next to him, touching his own head and speaking to him in a worried tone. He couldn’t understand the words, but Edward knew he asked if his head was hurting.

“Not Edward. My name is Alexi,” he murmured, more for his own benefit than anyone else’s. He looked towards Lopeti, nodded gingerly and stood up, allowing the young man to steady him when his balance wavered.

“Sir, are you okay? I am the ship’s first mate, Kosmo Stephanopolous. How is it you speak Greek and are on this island?”

Alexi needed a few moments to process everything. “I’m sorry…I’m not feeling well.” Alexi turned and pointed towards the boat he and Lopeti had been planning to take fishing. He used hand signals to indicate he wanted to leave now.

Lopeti looked at him curiously, clearly wondering why Alexi was willing to forego what would be the biggest event to happen on the island that day. Just as Alexi despaired of explaining, Lopeti flashed a huge grin and headed back down the beach.