Page 25 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire (Heart & Soul #2)

Seventeen

Rose felt like she was floating on air as she stepped off the yacht beside Theo the next morning.

The golden light of dawn reflected off the water in a shimmer that matched the glow in her chest. She bit her bottom lip, fighting the urge to grin like a loon, as she thought about the night before.

Theo kept a firm grip on her hand as they walked together toward the waiting car.

Tomorrow, they’d travel to Syros, to his family’s villa. But tomorrow was tomorrow.

She kissed him at the curb, quick and playful. “You’re going to be late for work if you don’t leave.”

His eyes darkened, his mouth tilting into that wicked smile that always made her knees feel unsteady. “I’m the boss, agápi mou ,” he growled. “Who’s going to fire me?”

Her breath caught at the expression in his eyes. She cupped his jaw, her thumb brushing the rough edge of his stubble. “I love you, Theo.”

He answered with a kiss that devoured the words.

He lifted her against him, his arms locking her in place, and kissed her like he’d been starved for years. She clung to him, her heart pounding, until she was rosy-cheeked and breathless. Her eyes locked with his as she slid slowly down his body.

She became keenly aware of his driver and bodyguards, standing discreetly but close enough to see everything. Her cheeks burned hotter.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she said, stepping back, her voice soft and filled with warmth.

She waved as the car door closed behind him. Longing filled her as she watched until the taillights vanished into the morning traffic. With a sigh, she turned to her driver.

“Good morning, Christian. How would you feel about exploring Delphi today?”

Christian’s weathered face broke into a smile. “A wonderful choice, Miss. It’s about two and a half hours if the roads are clear. It’s a beautiful drive.”

“I call shotgun,” she laughed, moving to the front passenger side.

“You always do,” Christian chuckled.

Rose sank back in the plush seat of the Audi as they left the city behind, trading marble facades for rolling hills and distant mountains.

She loved chatting with Christian. He was a new grandfather, married to the love of his life after meeting her at a seaside café nearly forty years ago, and a wonderful tour guide as he knew the area so well.

She shared growing up in the theatre with him, telling him stories of her grandparents, the performers she had met, and the amazing plays she had been fortunate enough to see. It felt like that part of her life was an eternity ago.

An hour outside of Athens, the highway narrowed into winding ribbons of asphalt cutting through olive groves and rocky slopes.

Rose sat forward, watching sunlight flash through the trees as they rounded a sharp curve.

Christian muttered something under his breath in Greek as she lifted her phone and snapped a photo of the road ahead of her, along with several more of the views to her right and a funny selfie to share with Kerry.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Holiday drivers,” he said with mild irritation. “Everyone thinks they are a rally champion.”

She grinned. “They must be from New York.”

He chuckled, easing into the turn. “You have driven in New York?”

She shook her head with a mock expression of horror. “I’ve survived New York. Driving there? I’m not that brave.”

Christian chuckled at her confession. “Sometimes I feel like that driving in Athens. I am beginning to think I will add this road to my list,” he added when a dark sedan pulled abruptly in front of them, forcing him to slow.

“Yep. Looks like New Yorkers,” she teased, noticing that another vehicle eased up on their bumper.

She snapped a few more photos before she sent them to Kerry with a ‘ Guess where I am now! Heading to explore Delphia. Drivers here are as bad as back home. Wish you were here. Miss you!’

Her smile faded when the lead car veered onto a side road and they could now see that ahead, orange cones and a man in a reflective vest waved them toward the narrow turnoff.

“It looks like we may be taking the scenic route,” Christian said with an apologetic smile.

“That’s okay. It just means I get to see more of the countryside,” she replied.

The road tightened, the cliff face rising on one side and the drop-off yawning on the other. Rose tried to ignore the knot forming in her stomach as she peered over the edge.

Christian was still talking about aggressive Greek drivers when they rounded another bend?—

—and the sedan ahead of them was suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the lane.

“What the—” Christian slammed on the brakes.

Rose’s seatbelt bit into her shoulder as the car jerked to a violent halt. Before she could process what was happening, two men spilled out of the sedan—both from the passenger side, moving fast, their faces shadowed under masks.

Her pulse spiked. “Christian?—”

Two sharp pops shattered the morning calm. The Audi sagged in back—the tires blown.

“Rose, call Theo,” Christian said in a low, urgent voice.

She fumbled for her phone—no time to scroll for his number.

Her eyes flashed to the video icon, and she pressed it, hoping that Kerry wasn’t at work or asleep and would answer it.

The ping of Kerry answering was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass.

Rose flinched as the driver’s side window exploded inward, spraying shards.

“Hey, girlfriend. I just got your photos,” Kerry said.

“Kerry… call Theo! Oh, God! Call Theo!” Rose cried out as Christian’s body jerked violently.

“Rose, what’s going on?!” Kerry demanded.

“Christian!” she screamed, fumbling with her phone as his hands spasmed on the steering wheel as a bright arc of electricity flashed through the broken window.

The acrid tang of ozone burned her nose—taser.

“Rose! Tell me what’s happening!” Kerry urged with heightening alarm.

A hand shot in through the driver’s side, slapping at the door controls. The locks clicked open.

“They’re going to take me. Call Theo. Tell him?—"

Her door was yanked wide before she could move.

“No! No! Let me go!” she cried out, twisting and shoving at the arm that reached for her.

“Tell him… I love him?—”

If this was the last thing she ever said, let it be that. That she loved him. Fiercely. Without regret.

Her nails dug into the black fabric of her attacker’s arm as she fought to break free. Her body jerked when she felt a sharp prick in her upper arm that stole her breath.

Cold fire tore through her veins, each heartbeat slower, heavier.

“No—” Her voice broke and slurred as her limbs went heavy. She clung to her phone as long as she could, trying to give Kerry as much information as she could before she lost consciousness.

“The… photos?—”

Her fingers numbed until her phone slipped from her grasp and clattered between the seats.

Her vision swam. The men’s voices were distant, muffled.

She tried to resist when she felt herself being lifted. Her head lolled against a solid chest. Outside the car, the world tilted, the sunlight flashing in and out of view through the swaying gap of an open car door.

The metallic slam of a door. The sickening thought that she might never see Theo again?—

—then nothing.

The surrounding office was all polished glass and sharp edges, but Theo’s mind wasn’t on the merger projections scrolling across the digital display. It was on Rose.

On the way her eyes had softened this morning when she’d cupped his face and the way she’d whispered I love you before kissing him.

His fingers drifted to his pocket, closing around the small velvet box he’d been carrying for the past week. The ring had been burning a hole in his pocket since the day he bought it. He’d planned to wait until Syros—but last night, one kiss had nearly burned that plan away.

He’d wanted her so fiercely it had drowned out the words he should have said. And though he’d told her he loved her, she hadn’t said it back. Not then.

Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow, when I won’t be interrupted.

The soft click of the door pulled him from his thoughts. Markos Aetos stepped in, his tall frame filling the doorway.

Theo rose, clasping his hand. “Markos. What brings you to Athens? I thought you were in Paris.”

“I wanted to see how the new merger was progressing before heading over to New York for a few weeks,” Markos said, taking a seat and stretching his legs out.

“Worried I wouldn’t make it?” he joked.

Markos chuckled. “And I wanted to hear about the woman who captured the great Theo Kallistratos.”

“Her name is Rose. She’s amazing, Markos.” He paused, lost in the vision of her last night. “I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

“Marry! Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. You’ve only known her for how long?” Markos asked, straightening in his chair to stare at him in shock.

“A little over a month,” Theo confessed.

“Are you sure about this? Hell, Nikos told me she was Livia’s daughter, but damn, from the look on your face, I’m assuming this isn’t an arranged marriage. How did Lorenzo react?” Markos demanded.

“He doesn’t know yet,” he admitted.

“You love her,” Markos said.

Theo smiled. “Yeah. I love her.”

“More power to you, man.”

Theo relaxed back as Markos asked him about the newly acquired surveillance tech firm he had been drooling over for the past year. The AI-facial recognition advancements alone would be a game changer not just for corporate security, but for high-level government contracts.

When there was a lull, Theo asked, “Have you talked to Nikos lately? I forgot to ask him how the London merger went.”

Markos shook his head. “Not since London. He said it went well. He was heading back to New York while I headed to Paris.”

Theo was about to ask how the Paris merger went when his phone rang. He grinned faintly at the caller ID.

“Speak of the devil—” He answered. “Nikos?—”

The voice on the other end was clipped and urgent. “Theo. Kerry just called me. She’s hysterical. She said Rose has been taken.”

Theo’s knees buckled, his chest constricting until he couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone had ripped the ground from beneath him, leaving only a freefall into hell.

“What?! What are you talking about?”

“I’m heading to Kerry’s apartment now,” Nikos continued, his voice terse with tension. “I’ll call you as soon as I know more.”

Theo swayed, bracing hard against the desk, white-knuckled. “Keep me updated.” He ended the call, his throat tight, and looked at Markos. “Nikos just told me… Rose—she’s been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?”

Theo was already moving, his phone in hand, dialing Rose. The call went straight to voicemail.

He tried Christian’s number next.

Voicemail.

His pulse pounded in his ears. He hung up—and his phone pinged with a series of incoming messages. He glanced at the number.

Kerry.

A second later, it rang.

He answered on the first beat. “Kerry?”

Her voice was trembling, thick with tears. “Theo, I just found your number. Rose… sent me these. We were video chatting when… when it happened. I didn’t know what to do—she?—”

“Kerry. Tell me everything.”

“She said… she said they were taking her. She told me to tell you she loves you.” Kerry’s voice broke. “She also said something about photos. These are the only ones I could think of—she just sent them before—before?—”

Theo’s grip tightened on the phone until the casing creaked. “Listen to me. Nikos is on his way to you. You need to remember everything Rose said. Everything you saw. We will get her back. I promise. We’ll get her back.”

He ended the call before his voice cracked.

For a moment, he simply sat, his body folding into the chair as if the air had been punched from his lungs. Theo swiped blindly, his hands shaking, barely seeing through the haze.

The picture on the screen was of Rose. She was making a goofy face, the sun flaring behind her over some scenic stretch of road.

He swiped to the next.

Markos’s shadow fell across him. Without a word, the other man reached down and took the phone from his limp fingers, scrolling through the images.

Then he froze. “Theo… she’s brilliant. Look—” He turned the screen. In the background of one shot, the bumper of a dark sedan filled half the frame, the license plate visible. In another, a blurred profile—a man’s face, caught mid-turn.

Markos looked up, his expression grim. “She gave us their car. And maybe one of them.”

Theo rose, his shock replaced with cold and razor-sharp determination. “Call in Angel and Cole,” he said, his voice low and lethal. “Let’s see how good that new software really is.”