Page 28 of Her Greek Protector

Chapter 8

Later that evening....

Alexi’s head was hurting again and it was his own fault. After Kassi and Aimee left for town, he’d spent the remainder of the day reading and re-reading all the emails he’d received over the last two years. In all, there were fifty-six emailed threats, some coming just days apart, while others had intervals of more than three months.

He’d gone through each one, pulling out the specific threats and clues they contained. Then he laid them out on a timeline. As he worked, he felt a chill of horror. The threats lined up with various mishaps that had befallen Alexi or those closest to him.

A burst tire. Doctored pictures appearing to place Alexi in compromising places printed by the tabloids. Someone similar to his shape and build getting mugged outside his Paris residence. A bad engine on his private jet discovered just hours before he was to have flown to the States. Coincidences when viewed individually, but together they added up to someone intent upon causing harm and destruction.

The list continued to build, coming to an abrupt halt with Alexi’s self-imposed sabbatical aboard his yacht. He’d gone on the four-month sailing journey to not only work on building business in the South Pacific, but also remove himself from the reach of the vultures pretending to be reporters wanting to print the ‘truth.’ He was tired of always looking over his shoulder, wondering what horrible Photoshopped picture would appear next.

Since his accident, there had been no mishaps, and only veiled threats. Not like the earlier emails, but menacing nonetheless. Pictures of Gemma and Kassi started showing up approximately a month after his disappearance. It seemed the person behind these threats was not content to only target the head of the company. They intended to go after the entire family.

Alexi had been so agitated, he’d eaten dinner in his rooms, much to his parents’ dismay.

His mother had even come to see him. “You should come downstairs and eat with the family.”

“Mitéra,thank you for coming to check on me, but I’m not feeling like good company this evening.”

“Well, that is to be expected. You pushed too hard by going into the office today. You need to rest.”

“Nai, that is probably what I need to do. I will join you for breakfast in the morning.”

Tressa gave him a gentle smile and nodded. “Kalón ýpno.”

Sleep well.“I’ll do my best.” He gave her an encouraging smile and watched as she slipped quietly from his rooms. He looked down at the notes he’d been writing, feeling as if he was on the verge of discovering something important.If only Panos and Adelfo had survived...The two guards had been his sounding board these last two years, the three of them working together to flush out the person behind the emails.

Now Panos and Adelfo were gone. Sorrow welled up inside Alexi’s chest as he remembered the men who had been his constant companions and confidants these last two years.I need to do something to make things right with their families.

Neither man had been married, and to his knowledge, neither of them had children, but they had parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins—all who had been forced to hold funerals without a body to place in the casket.

Alexi allowed himself a moment to silently remember the two men, and then he turned his thoughts to the matter at hand. Without men by his side he could trust with the knowledge of the threats, he was left with two choices. Trust someone else with his knowledge, or continue to act alone. Both options had their drawbacks. Bringing someone else into his confidence ran the risk of endangering their lives. Acting alone meant he might not be able to prevent future attacks. The blatant ownership of his yacht’s accident was proof enough that whomever was sending these threats was not writing empty words.

Alexi paced his rooms for several long moments and then tossed his notes to the floor and strode for the balcony doors. No matter how much he looked at the emails, no matter how he lined everything up, he still wasn’t any closer to finding the bastard doing these things to him and his family. The information was all right there, he just didn’t possess the right skills to figure out who was sending him the emails and why. Frustrated, he walked along the balcony and found himself coming to a standstill before Aimee’s door.

The sun was just setting, the lights from her room casting a warm glow through the windows. She sat on the couch, reading to Damien. As she turned the page, she happened to look up. After only a brief pause, she waved Alexi inside.

He entered, taking a seat in the armchair as Aimee finished the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp. Her voice was gentle. When she was finished, she closed the book. Her expression softened at the sight of the little boy in her lap, his eyes already closed in sleep. She looked at Alexi. “Let me put him down…”

Alexi immediately reached for Damien, taking him from her arms. As he did, his hands came into intimate contact with her chest. She blushed, quickly transferring Damien’s weight to his arms. “Just put him in the middle of my bed.”

Alexi strode through the rooms, doing as she asked. He covered Damien with the thin blanket he found folded nearby. He turned down the lamp and then switched on the bedside monitor.

Aimee stood in the doorway, watching him carefully. He walked towards her, and she backtracked for each step he took forward.

He pulled the door mostly shut behind him. “How long will he sleep?”

Aimee shrugged. “Most of the night? Kassi and I tired him out in town earlier.”

“Good.” Alexi reached out and took her hand, pulling her into his arms and smoothing her hair back from her forehead. He searched her eyes for a long moment, but found it hard to read the emotion he saw there. Aimee was not indifferent to him, the reactions of her body said as much. But she was seemingly determined to ignore the chemistry between them. Alexi turned towards the room, leading her back to the couch.

“What are you doing here?” Aimee tugged her hand, but he refused to let it go. “Does your head hurt again?”

Alexi seated himself in the center of the couch. When she didn’t immediately move to join him, he pulled her hand lightly, forcing her to settle next to him, their thighs and hips touching. He threaded their fingers together and then settled their joined hands high on his thigh. His heart raced, and he inhaled slowly, the fragrance of her shampoo mixing with her unique scent and ratcheting his libido up another notch.

“Alexi?” She tugged her hand once more. “Does your head hurt?”

He met her eyes and then let his gaze travel down her body, wondering what her reaction would be if he were to lay her back on the couch and make love to her. He could see the way her nipples had hardened beneath her shirt, and yet there was wariness in her eyes.