‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’ll contact the authorities on Sappheiros and Khryseis, and on mainland Greece. I’ll get out a description of the boat.’
‘There are hundreds of pleasure boats like that all along the Greek coast,’ one of his men said. ‘There’s no chance it will be found.’
‘I have to try,’ he said heavily. ‘Thena, please, let my men take you.’
‘I will,’ she said and tugged Nicky to his feet. ‘And then I’m packing. We’re leaving for Manhattan tomorrow.’
He ate a cursory lunch with his mother, and checked on Christa, who was happily drawing pictures of herself and her new brother. He told his mother what he needed her to do, he rang Alexandros, and he set a small army in motion. Then he walked slowly across the headland to the palace.
She had to see sense.
She wasn’t in her bedroom. He knocked and when there was no answer he went in. No Thena. He walked across to the adjoining bedroom and twisted the handle.
Dressed simply in jeans and a crisp white blouse, her bare feet tucked up under her, she sat in a big squashy armchair, watching over her sleeping son and her sleeping dog.
She put her finger to her lips, then rose and came out to him, closing the door behind her.
‘He was more scared than he’ll admit,’ she said. ‘He heard us talking of Demos. There’s a picture of him in the downstairs entrance. Nikos asked if that was the man who was trying to kill us.’ She shivered. ‘He had a cry, but he’s had a bit of lunch and we’ve talked it out.’ She managed a smile. ‘He’s even talking about what we could do to stop him. And we took down Demos’s picture and put it in the trash. So he’s okay. But the jet lag’s catching up with him as well. I’m glad he’s sleeping.’
‘You should be sleeping as well,’ he said, more roughly than he intended, taking in the shadows under her eyes.
‘I can sleep tonight. I won’t sleep while Nicky needs me.’
‘He’s asleep now.’ He hesitated. ‘Thena, we need to talk.’
‘I’m not talking. I’m leaving.’
She was leaning on the closed door. Her hair hadn’t been brushed since the swim. She’d obviously showered, tugged on her clothes and that had been enough. There were damp tendrils wisping down her forehead. She obviously didn’t care. She was concentrating solely on her son.
Did she have any idea how beautiful she was? Last night in her stunning ball-gown, he’d thought she looked magnificent. But magnificent was too small a word, he thought. He didn’t have words to describe how she made him feel.
She was leaning against the door as if she was protecting the child within. If anything happened to Nicky…
It didn’t bear thinking about. He’d thought if anything happened to Christa he’d be gutted. Now he had more to care about. Christa. Thena. And now his son.
There was no way he could let her go back to Manhattan. He wanted her to stay. He wanted to get to know Nicky properly, as a father should.
And…he wanted this woman. Despite their differences, he wanted her.
But there wasn’t time to voice his emotions. Wanting Thena had to wait. They had to avert this threat first.
‘I want you to go to the Eagle’s Nest,’ he told her. ‘I want us all to go there. You, Nicky, me and Christa.’
She stared at him in incomprehension. ‘The Eagle’s Nest…’
‘Someone in this castle told Demos you were down at the cove,’ he said. ‘There are people here I’d trust with my life, but the staff is too big for me to know everyone. Thena, I need time to sort things out, and I won’t have you at risk while I do.’
‘I won’t be at risk. I’ll have left.’
‘You can’t leave.’
‘I can.’
‘Then you’ll be watching over your shoulder for the rest of your life.’ He met her gaze with strength and unwavering conviction. ‘Thena, if anything happens to you and your son, Demos inherits. He and his friends. If you leave then I can’t protect you. And, Thena, I
‘You’re saying this because you want Nicky,’ she stammered.
‘I’m saying it because you’re in danger.’ Somehow he maintained that flat convincing tone. ‘But I won’t lie to you,’ he said softly. ‘I do want Nicky. He needs a father.’
‘He’s managed just fine without one until now.’ But her voice faltered.
How much had she wanted her own father? he wondered. Athena’s father had been a weak-willed man who Giorgos had bullied and finally bribed to leave the island almost as soon as Thena was born. As far as he knew, Thena had never seen him.
What would it be like, to be raised not knowing your father? He couldn’t imagine. His own father had died when he was twelve but he was still a huge part of who he was. And he had grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts…a huge extended family to constantly remind him he was loved.
Thena had been brought up by a single mother. Maybe she didn’t see the advantages of family.
Maybe he had to teach her.
‘So…why are you saying the Eagle’s Nest?’ She’d obviously been doing her own thinking. Asking about the Eagle’s Nest was a concession that it could happen.
The Eagle’s Nest was an exquisite castle, built for the sole use of the King. It sat perched high on cliffs overlooking the ocean. One road ran in along winding cliffs that soared as granite buttresses, and the cliffs themselves seemed to become its walls.
‘It’s safe,’ he said.
‘Have you been in it?’ she asked incredulously. As kids the place had fascinated them.
‘I have,’ he told her. ‘It’s fabulous. We should have seen it for the first time together, Thene. We tried hard enough as kids.’
They had. The Eagle’s Nest explained two matching broken bones. One sheer rock face rising from the sea. Two kids daring each other…
‘We can drive in now like normal people,’ he said.
‘Right. No one drives into the Nest like normal people.’
‘I guess they don’t.’ He smiled. ‘Thena, come on. Come to the Eagle’s Nest with me.’
She was refusing to meet his gaze. She was staring along the hall, as if looking for an escape route. ‘What… what possible purpose can we achieve by locking ourselves in the Eagle’s Nest?’
‘It’ll give us time,’ he said, softly now. ‘That’s what we need. Alexandros is flying to Athens tonight to try and find Demos. Unfortunately, we believe it’s not just Demos behind this. The money at stake…He’s weak-willed, there’ll be real power trying to get him set up as puppet ruler.’
‘I hate this,’ she whispered.
‘So do I.’ He tried to touch her hand but she snatched it away. ‘I’d like you to come home with me now and talk to my mother,’ he said.
‘Your mother?’
He smiled wryly. ‘Thena, okay, you don’t trust me and why should you? But have you ever had reason to distrust Annia?’
‘No, I…’
‘Then come. Let her talk to you. Please.’
‘She’ll talk me into staying.’
‘You’ll be fearful, whether you go or whether you stay. But if you stay, you’ll be safe. We promise you that. Myself. Alexandros. My mother. We’ll be your family, Thene.’
‘I don’t have a family,’ she whispered. ‘Except Nicky. How can I trust you?’
‘You can.’
She stared at him blindly. ‘No,’ she said at last. ‘Not after…’ She faltered and then seemed to make a conscious
