Page 5

CHAPTER 5

W illow

My head still hurt, the dull throb behind my eyes just not going away.

It served me right for overindulging in one too many cocktails. I’d bought the thought hours of dancing would kill any chance of a hangover.

I’d been wrong. Oh, so wrong.

I felt like shit on a shingle, as my mother used to say.

I winced, the late afternoon sun still too painful, forcing me to shield my eyes.

“That was fun,” Athena said as she leaned out of the driver’s window. While it was late afternoon, I noticed she was keeping her sunglasses on as well. We’d been damn lucky we’d gotten home without wrecking, being arrested, or being accosted.

“Too much fun.”

“We should do it again before you leave.”

Exhaling, I glanced over my shoulder. “It might not be possible. My mother is insisting we spend quality family time together.”

Her laugh brought an instant pain in my forehead. “My mother is exactly the same way. But you can sneak out. I know you can.”

“Well, you’re moving to France. Your mother has a good reason to suffocate you. She wants to spend more time with you before you become rich and famous. I’m staying in Boston. She can see me all the time.” But I was getting my own place. I’d made the final decision. I’d saved enough money. Even if I had a shoe closet with a tiny bathroom, I’d be happy.

She pouted her full lips. “Call me anyway. Maybe we can squeeze in a lunch.”

“I will. It’s been so good to see you.” Now I was going to take a million aspirin and lie down for the rest of my life. Why had I been so stupid?

My God. My legs were still noodles as I backed away, waving for a few seconds before heading toward the door. My parents’ rental car was in the driveway. I’d hoped they’d be out enjoying the festive Greek streets or something. Why did it feel like they were waiting for me like they had when I was seventeen?

I made my way into the house, no longer surprised it was quiet. The place was so big, you could almost get lost in it. Besides, unless they were entertaining, my parents often did things away from each other. I envisioned my mother reading and Daddy talking to one of his clients. He just couldn’t get away from business. Not completely.

It seemed to take me twice the norm to head up the short set of stairs, walking into the kitchen. I was finally starving after being worried I’d upchuck whatever I consumed. I dropped my overnight bag on the floor, promising myself I’d do a load of wash later. After grabbing an apple, I tossed my purse onto the counter and headed to find my mother. At least if she knew I’d arrived back home safely, maybe she’d stop bugging me so much about seeing my friend.

“Mom? Where are you?” She wasn’t in what I’d thought would be her favorite reading spot. There were two comfy chairs, a warming fireplace, one small table, and a huge bookshelf full of novels. The quaintest location in the house.

She also wasn’t out on the deck. Neither was my father. Where the hell were they? I meandered down one side of the house first. There was a long hallway on the other side leading to the bedrooms, but I doubted either were taking a nap. There was also an upstairs, including an artist’s studio. I took several bites of my apple as I wandered into the large family room. With two doors, it connected with a media room and library as well as the kitchen.

A simply stunning home.

The moment I walked in, hair stood up on the back of my neck. I lifted my head, frozen to the spot the moment I noticed a strange man sitting in the huge leather chair near the set of all-glass doors. I darted my eyes to the doors leading to the hallway, trying to figure out how to handle this.

“Can I help you?” I asked in English. When he didn’t say anything, merely staring at me with the most gorgeous pair of deep blue, piercing eyes, I remembered where I was. “ Boró na se voithíso? ”

I repeated what I’d asked before, hopeful my Greek didn’t suck too badly. For all I knew, he could be a friend of my father’s. Sticking a letter opener in his eye socket wouldn’t be the best idea initially in case he was.

He smiled and cocked his head. I’d be a liar if I didn’t say he was without a doubt the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen.

With his sharply angular jaw, aristocratic nose, two-day stubble accentuating his dark curls, and a body that I had a feeling gods were carved from, I was lost in a slight haze for a few seconds. But there was something familiar about him.

He remained silent and I was getting very irritated. “I think I need to ask you to leave. If not, I’ll get my huge father to toss you out the door.”

He laughed, which meant he understood English.

“Who the hell are you?” I was now at the point of becoming livid, my skin starting to crawl. I’d definitely seen him before. Where?

Oh, my God. The man at the club.

I had a feeling he gathered I’d just figured out that he wasn’t a very nice man. I started to back away, my clumsy self bumping into another table and almost knocking over a lamp. After scrambling to rescue it, I took a deep breath. I hated looking like an idiot in front of anyone.

Especially dangerous, arrogant men.

Still, I was undaunted. He wasn’t going to barge into my parents’ villa and give everyone the silent treatment. A weapon. I needed a weapon. Shit. What could I use? No letter opener was available. A fireplace poker. Aha! I grabbed it with gusto, embers from the end flying in front of me. I was making a complete fool of myself.

“Get out. Now.” I even pointed toward the door, thrusting the poker in his direction.

Goddamn it if he didn’t look thoroughly amused.

I thrust the makeshift weapon forward again and he just offered another look of amusement.

Finally, he stood, adjusting his jacket. Why did I have a terrible feeling he wasn’t going anywhere? The powerful and dangerous man took a couple of long strides toward me and if I backed up any faster, I was going to trip on my own feet.

A strange sense of knowing him washed over me at the same time a bolt of electricity defiled my system. Then the ‘oh, my God’ moment hit me like a sledgehammer. Holy crap. He’d changed, but there was no denying who he was. A man I’d adored. He’d bulked out, the years adding to his seductive yet dangerous persona.

No. This wasn’t a pleasurable meeting.

“You’re Dimitrios Nomikos, my uncle’s best friend.”

Oh, God. Oh. My. God. This couldn’t be real.

I couldn’t tell if he was stunned from my recognition of him, his expression remaining bland. But seconds later, he smiled. “The little girl who chased me around the villa, laughing every time I picked her up and swung her around in my arms. The same little girl who tried to play hide and seek with me when I was conducting business. Sweet. Innocent. Willow.”

The way he said my name sent shivers down my spine. I darted another look toward the door and instantly heard him making a tsking sound.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you, my little dove. Crossing me at this point will not be in your best interest.”

What had happened to the man I’d had a tiny crush on? My God. What had I been, eleven or twelve? I’d thought him the most handsome man in the world. Next to my father of course. Perhaps Dimitrios was even better looking now that he’d aged. The hint of gray at both temples only added to his distinguished look, but it was the cold hardness of his eyes that captured the very innocence he’d just mentioned.

“What are you doing here? Where are my parents?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t help them, but you can provide assistance.” His voice was husky, carrying a deep rasp that kept the tingles shifting through every joint and muscle. His accent was light but defined enough that it only added to his provocative nature.

“How?” My anxiety was only increasing. There was something terribly wrong. I could sense it as well as continued danger. My thoughts about the trips where I’d met him, spent days with him and his family were more troubling than almost anything.

My uncle spoke of him as if he was a god, not a monster. But then men could easily hide who they really were behind designer suits and sexy haircuts.

“By telling me where your brother Shane is.” He took a single step closer and instead of the strange metallic scent I’d caught the moment I’d walked in, my senses were now filled with hints of timber and citrus, a dash of spice, and a hell of a lot of testosterone.

My body responded instantly, the betrayer that she was. My nipples were rock hard and I was certain the tips were poking through my thin tee shirt. Even worse, my pussy was throbbing, the scent of my desire wafting in front of me.

Could he tell I was aroused by his presence?

Could he sense I was disturbed and even terrified?

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen my brother since we got here.”

He cocked that sexy head of his, exposing more of his strong jawline and the thick cords on one side of his neck. “You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie to you?”

His chuckle irritated me. Why was he making fun of me? And what the hell did he want with my brother? My gut told me it was nothing good.

“Because you want to protect him. Sadly, you can’t do that, Willow. If you do, you’d be violating certain rules that were already established long before you and your family made a trip to my province.”

“Your province?” I switched the fireplace poker from one hand to the other, allowing him to see I wasn’t kidding. “That last time I checked, Greece wasn’t owned by any single man. Certainly not the likes of someone like you.” My fury was stronger than the crush I’d felt as a stupid kid.

“I thought you were a nice girl.”

“Think again. Now, what do you want with my brother?”

“To ask him some questions. Nothing more.”

“Now you’re the one who’s lying.”

Dimitrios started to close the distance and I reacted without thinking, swinging the poker at him. My grip was firm enough I managed to bash him in the arm, the iron split in the end reaching his handsome face. The instant spot of blood caught me by surprise.

I think it did him as well, the expression on his face becoming one of annoyance.

But he proved he was all male, grabbing the fireplace instrument and tossing it away as if I was still humoring him. The clatter as it hit the tile floor was jarring.

With no other choice, I knew I had to get the hell out of there. Fight or flight. I’d failed at one. I refused to with the other. I took off running, expecting him to grab me by the hair. All he did was block the easy exit, which meant I’d need to go out the back.

When I headed in that direction, he took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Willow. Come and talk to me.”

“No. I have no intention of talking to you.” I’d trusted the man in my youth. However, my instinct was shouting in a loud voice that I was in extreme danger. What had Shane gotten himself in the middle of? The Greek mafia. I couldn’t believe it.

All I could think about was getting away, finding my parents.

“Willow. Stop. Now.” Dimitrios was bellowing and I was almost to the sun porch where a set of stairs led down to the beach.

I didn’t say what was right on the tip of my tongue, instead flying into the room.

The disbelief and horror hit me at the same time and I skidded to a hard stop, my foot catching on the leg of a table. As I was thrown to the floor, my mind tried to process what I’d landed in. Instantly, I tried to scream, but the sound was comprised of angry hisses. Blood. There was blood everywhere. On the walls and furniture. Items had been flipped over or tossed against the wall.

Blood. So much blood.

Sitting back, I lifted my hands, gasping for air. They were covered in the red goo, the congealed substance oozing between my fingers.

“No. No. No.”

I couldn’t process what I was seeing, my mind drifting to images of time spent with my parents. Dinners. Celebrations. Holidays. Graduation. Were they dead? Were they hurt?

My feet continued to try to slide out from under me as I attempted to stand, finally smashing my hand on the same table where I’d tripped. I was close to hyperventilating, the ugly whimpers roaring up from my throat unrecognizable.

“Willow. I’m sorry.”

As soon as I heard footsteps as he entered the room, I spun around and lunged toward him. “Sorry? You did this. You killed them. You fucking bastard. You did something horrible to them. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?” I pummeled my fists against his chest, twisting and kicking him with everything I had.

He stood and took it, doing nothing more than trying to hold my arms to keep me in place.

“You killed them!”

“No,” he shouted back. “They were already dead when I arrived.”

With one additional brutal pound on his chest, I broke free of his hold and stumbled backward. Another moment of horror slammed into me with more force than before.

My parents were dead.

Why?

Why?

“You’re lying.”

“No, I am not,” he growled.

Tears finally formed in my eyes, hot, stinging wetness that caused me to double over. I hated my weakness, sobbing like a baby, but they were my world. They meant everything to me and I’d forgotten how much. I was a terrible daughter.

I was a horrible person.

“Now, you need to listen to me, Willow. This is difficult for you, but I need to find your brother.”

“What? What?”

“Time is important here. Where is he?”

His voice was more soothing than before and I jerked up my head, my jaw clenched to the point my teeth were grinding. “Why do you need to know? So you can kill him too?”

“No, Willow. That’s not what’s happening here.”

“Fuck you. And stop saying my name. I’m going to the authorities.” With determined steps, I jetted in the other direction, managing to grab my purse before racing down the flight of stairs. Only when I threw open the front door did I toss my head over my shoulder.

He wasn’t there.

I would get away, finding help. And I would avenge their deaths.

So help me God.

The savage thud as I was caught by strong arms knocked the wind out of me. With one look at the person who’d grabbed me, I knew two things.

The thug was working with Dimitrios.

And the second was worse.

“ Tin épiasa gia séna, afentikó ,” the unknown man told me with glee in his tone.

I wiggled and kicked him but to no avail.

“English, Nico. Our guest doesn’t understand our language.”

Nico cleared his throat. “I captured her for you, boss.”

Why bother repeating the words? I knew exactly what they meant.

I was now Dimitrios’ prisoner.