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‘One of the advantages of being the shy, reclusive daughter of a man feared by everyone is that no one is expecting to see me. But just to cover all eventualities I have a disguise.’ And she didn’t intend to share the details with anyone. Not even her mother, who was now looking at her with panic in her eyes.
‘And if you do manage to make it as far as the mainland, what then? Have you thought that far?’
‘Yes, I’ve thought that far.’ And further, much further, to a future that was nothing like the past. ‘You don’t need to know any of this. All you need to do is trust me and wait for me to return and fetch you. I’d take you now only two of us travelling together are more likely to attract attention. You have to stay here and keep up the perfect family pretence for just a little longer. Once I have the money and somewhere to stay I’m coming back for you.’
Her mother gripped her arm tightly. ‘If by any chance you manage to do this, you should not come back. It’s too late for me.’
‘It drives me mad when you say things like that.’ Selene hugged her mother. ‘I will come back. And then we’re leaving together and he can find someone else to control.’
‘I wish I had money to give you.’
So did she. If her mother had maintained her independence then perhaps they wouldn’t be in this mess now, but her father’s first and cleverest move following his marriage had been to ensure his wife had no income of her own, thus making her dependent on him in every way. Her mother had confessed that at first she’d found it romantic to have a man who wanted to care for her. It had been later, much later, that she’d realised that he hadn’t wanted to care for her. He’d wanted to control her. And so her mother’s independence had slowly leeched away, stolen not by a swift kill but by a slow, cruel erosion of her confidence.
‘I have enough to get me to Athens. Then I’m going to get a loan to start my business.’ It was the only option open to her and she knew other people did it all the time. They borrowed money and they paid it back and she would pay it back, too. All of it.
‘He has contacts at all the banks. None of them will loan you money, Selene.’
‘I know. Which is why I’m not going to a bank.’
Her mother shook her head. ‘Name one person who would be prepared to do business with you. Show me a man with the guts to stand up to your father and I’ll show you a man who doesn’t exist.’
‘He exists.’ Her heart pumped hard against her chest and she forced herself to breathe slowly. ‘There is one man who isn’t afraid of anyone or anything. A strong man.’
‘Who?’
Selene kept her voice casual. ‘I’m going to see Stefanos Ziakas.’
The name alone drained the colour from her mother’s face. ‘Ziakas is another version of your father. He’s a ruthless, self-seeking playboy with no conscience and not one shred of gentleness in him. Don’t be fooled by that handsome face and that charismatic smile. He’s deadly.’
‘No, he isn’t. I met him once, years ago, on the yacht on one of the occasions we were forced to play “happy families” in public. He was kind to me.’ Selene was annoyed to feel herself blushing.
‘If he was kind, it was because he knew it would annoy your father. They hate each other.’
‘He didn’t know who I was when we started talking.’
‘You were the only seventeen-year-old there. It was obvious who you were.’ Her mother sounded weary. ‘Ask yourself why a sophisticated man like him would spend his time talking to you when he came with the actress Anouk Blaire.’
‘He told me she was boring. He said she only cared about how she looked and who wrote about her and that being with him enhanced her career. He said I was much more interesting. We talked all night.’ About everything. She’d told him things she’d never told anyone before. Not about her family, of course—she was too well trained to let that particular truth slip—but she’d talked about her dreams and her hopes for the future and been grateful when he hadn’t laughed. He’d listened with those sexy eyes fixed on her and when she’d asked him if he thought she might be able to run a business one day he’d spoken words she’d never forgotten.
You can do anything if you want it enough.
Well, she wanted it.
Her mother sighed. ‘The schoolgirl and the billionaire. And because of this one conversation you think he’ll help you?’
Come back in five years, Selene Antaxos, then maybe we’ll talk.
She’d wanted to do a whole lot more than talk and she suspected he’d known that, just as she suspected he’d guessed the truth about the fabricated life she led. She’d felt more of a connection with him than she had with any other human being. For the first time in her life someone had listened to her and his words had stayed with her, day and night. When life had grown hard it had been a comfort to remember that she had someone to go to if things were desperate.
And things were desperate.
‘He’ll help me.’
‘That man is more likely to hurt you than help you. You have no experience of men like him. I would not put you with a man like Ziakas. I would find you someone kind and gentle who deserves you.’
‘I don’t want him to be kind or gentle. I need him to be ruthless or this isn’t going to work. If he doesn’t have the guts to stand up to my father then there is no hope for my plan. I want to run my own business and Ziakas knows more about how to do that than anyone. He did it all himself. He lost his parents when he was young. No one helped him. No one gave him a helping hand. And look at him now. He was a billionaire by the time he was thirty and he did that by himself.’
She found his story inspirational. If he could do it, why couldn’t she?
Her mother struggled upright, finding energy from anxiety. ‘Do you honestly think you’ll just be able to walk up to a man like Stefan Ziakas and ask him for money? He is protected from the outside world by layers of security, just like your father. Getting an appointment with someone like him would be almost impossible, especially at short notice. Even if you could somehow find a way to leave the island undetected while your father is away, Ziakas won’t see you.’
‘He’ll see me. And I have found a way to leave the island.’ Determined not to reveal too much, and even more determined not to let her mother batter her confidence, Selene stood up. ‘I will be back tomorrow, which gives us plenty of time to get far away before my father returns from—from his trip.’ ‘Trip’ was the word they both used to describe her father’s frequent absences from the island. It disgusted Selene that he didn’t even bother to keep his infidelities a secret. Disgusted her more that her mother accepted them as part of the marriage deal.
She couldn’t allow herself to think about what she’d do if her mother refused to leave, as she’d refused so many times before. All she knew was that she didn’t want to spend anther day on Antaxos. She’d lived here all her life, trapped within its rocky shores, thirsty for a life other than the one she’d been given. She didn’t want to spend another day in this ‘family’ pretending that everything was perfect.
The events of the last week had shown her that she had to do it sooner rather than later.
Bending down, she kissed her mother on the cheek. ‘Dream about what you’re going to do on the first day of your new life. You’re going to laugh without worrying that the sound is going to draw his attention. You’re going to paint again and people will buy those paintings, just as they used to.’
‘I haven’t painted for years. I don’t feel the urge any more.’
‘That’s because he didn’t like you doing anything that took you away from him.’ The anger was like an energy source, giving her a determination that felt close to power. ‘You’re going to get your life back.’
‘And if your father returns from Crete early and finds you gone? Have you thought of that?’
It was like stepping off a cliff or missing a step on the stairs. Her heart bumped uncomfortably and she wanted to clutch something for support. ‘He won’t return early. Why would he?’
Bored out of his mind, Stefan lounged with his feet on his desk.
Far beneath the glass cocoon that housed his corporate headquarters, Athens was slowly waking up. Athens, a city in trouble, licking its wounds as the world watched in wary fascination. People encouraged him to move his base to a different city. New York. London. Anywhere other than the troubled Greek capital.
Stefan ignored them.
He had no intention of abandoning the place that had allowed him to become who he was. He knew what it was like to have everything and then lose it. He knew how it felt to go from prosperity to poverty. He understood fear and uncertainty. And he knew all about the effort required to drag yourself back from the edge. It made winning all the more satisfying and he’d won in a big way. He had money and power.
People would have been surprised to learn the money didn’t interest him. But power? Power was different. He’d learned at an early age that power was everything. Power opened doors that were closed. Power turned no to yes and stop to go. He’d learned that power was an aphrodisiac and, when it needed to be, it was a weapon.
It was a weapon he wasn’t afraid to use.
His phone rang for the tenth time in as many minutes but he chose to ignore it.
A tap on the door disturbed his thoughts. Maria, his PA, stood in the doorway.
Irritated by the interruption, Stefan lifted an eyebrow in question and she pursed her lips.
‘Don’t give me that look. I know you don’t want to be disturbed, but you’re not answering your personal line.’ When he still didn’t answer, she sighed. ‘Sonya’s PA has been ringing and when you didn’t answer Sonya herself called. She isn’t in a good mood.’
‘She is phoning to give me an update on her moods? I have marginally more interest in the weather forecast.’
‘She wanted me to give you a message. She said to tell you she’s not playing hostess at your party tonight until you make a decision about your relationship. Her exact words were …’ Maria cleared her throat. ‘“Tell him it’s either on or off.”’
‘It’s off. I already told her that in words that even she should have been able to understand.’ Exasperated, Stefan picked up his phone and deleted all his messages without listening to them. Even without looking he could feel Maria’s censorship and he smiled. ‘You’ve worked for me for twelve years. Why the long face?’
‘Doesn’t the end of a relationship ever bother you?’
‘Never.’
‘That says something about you, Stefan.’
‘Yes. It says I’m good at handling break-ups. Go, me.’
‘It says you don’t care about the women you date!’
‘I care as much as they do.’
With a despairing shake of her head, Maria cleared two empty coffee cups from his desk. ‘You have your pick of women and you can’t find one you want to settle down with? You are a success in every aspect of your life except one. Your personal life is a disaster.’
‘I happen to consider my personal life an unqualified success.’
‘You must want more than this from a relationship.’
‘I want hot, frequent, uncomplicated sex.’ He smiled at her disapproving expression. ‘I pick women who want the same thing.’
‘Love would be the making of you.’
Love?
Stefan felt something slam shut inside him. He swung his legs off his desk. ‘Did your job description change when I wasn’t looking? Has there been some EU employment law that requires you to take charge of my private life?’
‘Fine. I can take the hint. It’s none of my business. I don’t know why I even bother.’ The cups rattled in her hand as she stalked through the door but she was back moments later. ‘There’s someone here to see you. Perhaps she’ll be able to persuade you to get in touch with your human side.’
‘She? I thought my first appointment wasn’t until ten o’clock?’
‘This person doesn’t have an appointment, but I didn’t feel comfortable turning her away.’
‘Why not? I employ you to be the dragon at my door.’
‘I can be dragon-like when I have to be but not when the person wanting to see you is a nun.’
‘A nun? You have to be kidding me.’
‘She says she has something urgent to discuss with you.’
Stefan gave a sardonic smile. ‘If she’s here to save my soul, tell her she’s too late.’
‘I will not. To be honest I have no idea what to say to her.’
‘Any combination of words would have sufficed, providing “no” and “get out” were included.’
Maria squared her shoulders. ‘I can’t turn a nun away. I don’t want that on my conscience.’
Stefan, who hadn’t made the acquaintance of his conscience for several decades, was exasperated. ‘I never saw you as gullible. Has it occurred to you she’s probably a stripper?’
‘I know a genuine nun’s habit when I see one. And your cynicism does you no credit.’
‘On the contrary, my cynicism has protected me nicely for years and will continue to do so—which is just as well given that you’re turning into a soft touch.’
‘I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can tell a nun you won’t see her. And she has a really sweet smile.’ Maria’s face softened momentarily and then she glared at him. ‘If you want it done, you’ll have to do it yourself.’
‘Fine. Send her in. And then take a trip to the nearest fancy dress store and see for yourself how easy it is to hire a nun’s costume.’
Clearly relieved to have offloaded that responsibility, Maria retreated, and Stefan felt a rush of irritation at the thought of an interruption that would bring him no benefit.
His irritation intensified at the sight of a nun in a black habit standing in the doorway to his office. Under the robes he could see that she was slightly built but she kept her head bowed, allowing him a single glimpse of a pale face under flowing black and white.
Unmoved by her pious attitude, Stefan leaned back in his chair and scrutinised his unwanted visitor. ‘If you’re expecting me to confess my sins then I should probably tell you that my next appointment is in an hour and that is nowhere near long enough for me to tell you all the bad things I’ve done in my life. On the other hand if you’re about to beg for cash then you should know that all my charitable donations are handled through my lawyers, via a separate part of my company. I just make the money. I leave other people to spend it.’
The tone he used would have had most people backing towards the door but she simply closed it so that they were alone.
‘There is no need to close the door,’ he said coldly, ‘because you’re going to be going back through it in approximately five seconds. I have no idea what you’re expecting to gain by …’ The words died in his throat as the nun removed her hood and hair the colour of a pale moonbeam tumbled in shiny waves over her black habit.
‘I’m not a nun, Mr Ziakas.’ Her voice was soft, breathy and perfect for the bedroom, a thought that clashed uncomfortably with the vision of her in a nun’s outfit.
‘Of course you’re not,’ Stefan drawled, his eyes fixed on her glorious hair, ‘but you managed to convince my hardened PA so I suppose you should get points for that.’ Suddenly he was annoyed with Maria for allowing herself to be so easily manipulated. ‘I’m used to women using all sorts of devices in order to meet me, but I’ve never yet had one stoop so low as to impersonate a nun. It smacks of desperate behaviour.’
‘I’m not impersonating anyone. But it was essential that I keep a low profile.’
‘I hate to break this to you, but in the business district of Athens a nun’s habit is not considered camouflage. You stand out like a penguin in the Sahara. If you want to blend, next time dress in a suit.’
‘I couldn’t risk being recognised.’ Her eyes flickered to the huge glass windows of his office and after a moment she sidled across and peered down at the city while he watched in mounting exasperation.
Who would recognise her? Who was she? Someone’s wife?
There was something vaguely familiar about her face. His mind coming up blank, he tried to imagine her without her clothes to see if he could place her, but mentally stripping a nun proved a stretch even for him. ‘I don’t sleep with married women so that can’t be the reason for the elaborate subterfuge. Do we know each other? If so, you’re going to have to remind me.’ He raised an eyebrow as a prompt. ‘Where? When? I admit to being hopeless with names.’
She dragged her gaze from the view, those green eyes direct. ‘When and where what?’
Stefan, who hated mysteries and considered tact a quality devoid of reward, was blunt. ‘Where and when did we have sex? I’m sure it was amazing but you’re going to have to remind me of the details.’
She made a sound in her throat. ‘I haven’t had sex with you!’
‘Are you sure?’
Green eyes stared back at him. ‘If rumour is correct, Mr Ziakas, sex with you is a memorable experience. Is it something I’m likely to have forgotten?’
More intrigued than he would have been willing to admit, Stefan sat back in his chair. ‘You clearly know a great deal more about me than I do about you. Which brings me to the obvious question—what are you doing here?’
‘You told me to come and see you in five years. Five years is up. It was up last week, actually. You were kind to me. The only person who was.’
