by Thorne, Elle
Niko had trusted Gavin implicitly since their time in the Middle East. He’d never led him astray. They’d served in the Sigma Eps together, until Gavin killed the second lieutenant for fucking up in a major way.
Niko kept his gaze on the door. She’d be out any moment now, or he’d have to go in after her.
* * *
Sophie snuck a look at the man in the turban sitting at the kafeneío. He was wearing a nice suit and had a well-trimmed goatee.
Why is he following me? Why’s he staring at me?
“Hey.” Without taking her eyes off the sexy sheik, she tilted her head toward the clerk manning the register.
“Yes, miss?”
“There’s a man out there…” Okay, a hellaciously sexy man, she had to admit. Her tigress snarled in agreement. “I think he’s following me.”
The clerk came toward Sophie, looking out the window.
“Don’t be obvious.” Sophie pulled her back. “I don’t want him to know I’ve spotted him.”
“Do you know him?”
I wish. Maybe. If he’s not a dangerous stalker. “No.”
Maybe she shouldn’t wish to know him. What woman in her right mind would want to know a man who was following her? Except Sophie didn’t get a dangerous vibe from him. At all.
Not the creepy kind of dangerous. Though he did give off an air of a whole different kind of dangerous. The sexy kind of dangerous.
“Do you want to leave in such a way he does not notice you?” The clerk’s English was clearly not her native tongue. She had the cutest accent and way of talking.
“That’s exactly what I want.” Sophie dug into her purse, pulled out several Euro bills, and handed them to the woman.
“No, that is not necessary. I would help you. There is no need to pay me.”
“Please take it, for your trouble.” And your help. “I also want to buy a dress and a hat and some dark sunglasses. Put them on this credit card, please?”
Sophie half-watched the clerk as she picked out a few random items fitting the description in Sophie’s size. Sophie’s other eye was on the sheik.
He fiddled with his coffee, keeping his eye on her. Was he someone she’d met out clubbing? She didn’t think she’d forget someone that hot. He definitely was hot, even though she couldn’t see his eyes because of the dark shades.
The clerk handed her the bag with her newly purchased items.
“Mind if I change here?”
The clerk indicated a sign that read Fitting Room. “And you can use the back door if you want.” She gave Sophie a wink.
Less than two minutes later, Sophie slipped out of the dressing room and through the back door. She was a completely different woman in a matron’s dress, flat shoes, and a floppy hat that would cover her face if she angled it just right. She’d tied a scarf around her head, concealing the blonde hair that was a dead giveaway.
She chanced a glance in the direction of the sheik. He had gotten up from his seat and was making his way toward the shop she’d just vacated. Turning her back on him, Sophie picked up her pace without looking too obvious and headed down the busy tourist street.
She needed to get packed and over to the docks at Piraeus. They were supposed to launch later this afternoon. She smiled inwardly at the idea she’d booked a spot on one of the Tiero boats, but hadn’t told them she was a Tiero. She’d had enough of smothering.
She’d obeyed her father’s request to return to Europe, but she had no intention of living the life he’d planned for her. Being the baby in the family wasn’t always a blessing. Everyone thought they could boss her around and butt into her business.
She smirked.
Let them butt in now.
They’d never be able to find her. For the first time ever, she wouldn’t be a Tiero. She’d be herself, on a little cruise, enjoying the islands.
Okay, okay.
And if she had to admit to it, she wasn’t just going to enjoy the islands. She was going so she could do some thinking. She needed to come up with a plan—and the backbone—to stand up to her father. She didn’t want to be the one who always kowtowed to him. She wanted to be her own woman. To enjoy her own world.
And her own dreams.
Yeah.
The first dream she planned to engage in would be studying Medieval Romance Literature. She didn’t care if it wasn’t practical. She didn’t care if there wasn’t a good use to put it to. The next thing she’d wanted to do was become a teacher.
She stiffened her back and squared her shoulders at the thought of the battle she’d have convincing her father of these things.
I don’t want to have to convince him. I shouldn’t have to. I should be able to be who I want to be.
She’d like to tell her father…
Her stomach roiled. Then rumbled.
No, no, no.
She’d gone several weeks without the vomiting.
No. She couldn’t get sick. Not now. The wave of nausea washed over her, leaving her with clammy skin and a film of sweat on her forehead.
One more secret.
Sophie’s tigress snarled.
I don’t want to talk about it.
She didn’t even want to think about it. Maybe she shouldn’t simply vanish for a cruise.
Maybe she should vanish forever.
That would do it.
Chapter Two
“Despoinís” Miss. Niko called to the clerk to get her attention.
She peeked at him then glanced down, as if whatever she was doing was far more important and interesting than a man dressed like a sheik would be.
“Could you help me, please?” He approached her.
The clerk flittered in front of him, her hands moving nervously as she arranged the items on the hangars.
Niko studied her.
Her movement became more frantic, bringing to mind a little mouse holding something between its paws as it moved excitedly.
“Malista?” Indeed? She glanced up as if she expected him to change into a predatory creature.
If she only knew.
“I’m looking for a woman.”
“We have had no women today, sir. None.”
What the hell?
“I’m looking for a woman who came in here a few minutes ago. Blonde, beautiful, built like this.” He made an hourglass shape with his hands, a low wolf whistle emitting from between his teeth. “She’s got a lot of curves, pretty smile. Light eyes.”
“Óchi. Kamía gynaíka.” No. No women at all.
Had Sophie bribed her? He was going to use the She’s my girlfriend and I can’t find her bit until he saw the expression on the clerk’s face. She’d definitely been bribed.
“I don’t think you understand.” Niko reached into his pocket and pulled out the Interpol identification he carried. Fake, of course, but a damned good fake; he knew that for a fact.
“She’s wanted. And you are going to face charges if you obstruct our efforts.”
She caved like a popped balloon. It almost saddened him to see her deflate, all the bravado Sophie had bought and paid for vanishing.
The clerk’s hands began to tremble. The hangers clattering together. She put them down and clenched her fists against her sides. “She went out the back door. Floppy hat, flats, matronly dress.”
“You’d better hope I find her. How long ago?”
“Less than a minute, sir. I’m so sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes.
He was gone, barely registering her distress in his own panic.
He was going to kill the beautiful blonde. How did she put the situation together? What had given it away? Was it the outfit, or had he stared too hard? It couldn’t be the hunter’s block; it hadn’t worn off already, it was too early.
He looked up and down the street. No floppy hats.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
He deserved whatever hell Gavin and Rafe Tiero were about to dish out on him.
He pulled out the GPS tracker. He’d dropped a tiny tracking u
nit into her purse yesterday, when he’d bumped into her as the clumsy American tourist. He’d at least know where she was, as long as she had her purse.
Hopefully, the cruise she’d booked was still part of her plans, and/or she didn’t lose her purse, or his ass was grass.
* * *
Niko had been staying at the same hotel as Sophie. When he arrived there, the GPS tracker said she—or at least her purse—was there, too. Now he could pack his overnight bag and head toward the docks, assured she wasn’t out of his reach.
The electronic double doors whisked open. He slipped into the dim lobby.
“Sir?” The red-haired front desk attendant got his attention. She’d shown up at his hotel room two mornings in a row. Room service, she’d said, though he hadn’t ordered any.
He’d had to decline. There was no way he could afford to be preoccupied with the redhead’s charms while Sophie Tiero had to be watched.
Oh, hell.
Who was he kidding? He’d rather watch Sophie Tiero while she was fully dressed than the redhead fully nude…though the opportunity was tempting.
“Good afternoon.” He kept his greeting brief. He needed to get going.
“Sir, there’s a box here for you.” She gestured. “Several.”
He made a quick U-turn, thinking it was funny how her voice hadn’t irritated him earlier, but it sure as hell did now. “Have them brought up, please.”
He headed to the stairs, avoiding the elevator.
It was unlikely Sophie would be on the stairs, so he’d walk up all eleven floors to avoid being seen by her.
He wanted to ask the redhead if she’d seen her but was worried she’d give him away. He couldn’t call Rafe and ask him if he’d heard from his sister. He’d be fired—justifiably—for sucking at his job. He had to have faith that if the unit said her purse was in her room, she was there with it.
There was only one thing he could do to find out if she was still at the hotel. It was risky, but what choice did he have?
He passed the eleventh floor and headed up to the twelfth. Hers. Opening the door to the corridor slowly, he made sure there was no one around. He slipped out and stopped in front of her door.
Shifter hearing time.
He listened, leaning against the wall, acting nonchalant, in case anyone walked by.
Then he heard it—Sophie’s voice.
Who was she talking to?
He heard her say Lila. One of her sisters.
Should he listen in? Was there a possibility she’d catch him?
“I’m fine,” Sophie was saying. “No. I’m in Athens. I’m leaving this afternoon.”
A long pause.
“No. I’m not telling you where I’m going. You tell our cousins to mind their own business. Maybe I didn’t come to Athens to see them.”
Another pause, this one shorter.
“It’s none of your business why I came here.”
The sound of a sliding door slamming shut.
He had to pack and be ready to go. She was still on course for the cruise.
Niko made for the stairwell and ran down the stairs. He beat the bellhop with the boxes to his room, but only by a few seconds. After he’d tipped the young guy, Niko shoved the boxes into his room and began to open them.
He’d told Rafe Tiero he didn’t have the kind of wardrobe that would allow him to fit in on a chartered cruise. Rafe had replied, “I’ve got a man who can set you up with everything you need in Athens. I’ll have it sent to your hotel.”
That had been yesterday.
Today, the box had arrived. Also a suitcase, shoes, and accessories.
He threw on a pair of slacks and a golf shirt and grimaced in the mirror. He was a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy.
Damn. He felt sissified. Got to fit in, though. Rich man’s camouflage, he scoffed to his panther.
The tracker beeped. It showed movement.
He shoved everything else in the suitcase and headed out.
The tracker had frozen just outside the lobby.
What’s going on here?
He stepped outside.
Fuck.
Her purse was in a trash can, its leather handles protruding from the open container.
Damn. Damn.
He ran inside, gave the redhead at the front desk cash for his room and checked out. He grabbed the first taxi he saw and told the driver to head for the docks at Piraeus, a good forty-five-minute ride away.
Niko adjusted his outfit. He couldn’t get comfortable in this stuff to save his life.
I’m not a damned babysitter. I’m a soldier. Why the hell did I agree to this part of the job? I should have had a partner.
But Rafe had insisted it be a one-man team. Two men working together would be suspicious. That Sophie had become accustomed to her father having her tailed by a team of two.
Niko cursed himself for agreeing to take on this mission. The stress of trying to keep up with this woman was costing him years of his life.
He didn’t see her.
He waited thirty minutes.
No sign of her. Surely, she hadn’t beaten him here. No taxicab would have gotten her here quicker than his had.
Maybe he’d lost her. He couldn’t exactly ask the attendant checking the guests in at the end of the ramp.
Damn.
Okay, time to own what a fuck-up he was.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. The first call he’d make was to Gavin. He owed it to his former Sigma Eps leader to tell him the truth.
He sighed an exhale that felt like it had been ripped from his very core.
This was the first time he’d let Gavin down. Ever.
Then Niko would call Rafe Tiero and tell him Niko had lost his sister.
Then I’ll probably never work in the security business again. Maybe that’s good. I’d rather be soldiering.
How had he let his guard down with her? That was so damned unlike him.
How did you let this happen? he snapped at his panther. We’re in this together. You’re supposed to be my backup.
His panther roared at him.
Sure. You had me so convinced she was harmless, that she wasn’t up to anything. Blah, blah, blah.
Niko didn’t really blame his panther, but he wanted to rip someone’s head off because he was supposed to be taking care of her.
Fuck.
What if someone had kidnapped her? What if something had happened to her? What if someone had hurt her?
The idea of the beautiful, vibrant woman lying hurt somewhere made his gut clench.
He had to call Gavin.
Now.
He tapped the phone’s screen so vehemently a tiny crack formed in a corner.
He put the phone to his ear.
Someone with perfect white-blonde hair, not a strand out of place, was making her way up the ramp. She had her back to him, but he knew from that ass it was her.
An ass like a temple he’d like to worship at.
“Hello?” Gavin’s voice penetrated through the fog of Niko’s admiration. “Niko?” Gavin had clearly seen his number on the caller ID.
“Yeah. Sorry. Hey.” Niko fought to get his concentration back on Gavin.
“What’s up? Everything okay? Is Sophie all right?”
“All good. Yeah. Just leaving. Heading out on the cruise. Thought I’d touch base.” Which was mostly bullshit, since Niko never touched base with anyone.
Gavin was silent.
Niko cleared his throat.
Finally, Gavin spoke. “Thanks for this. You had me concerned for a while there.”
Yeah, me, too. “Nope. Nothing to worry about.” No fucking way I’m letting that stunner get out of my sight again, even if I have to seduce her and spend every night in her cabin.
The prospect made his pants tent.
Damn.
He needed to cool it and get on that fucking boat before it sailed off and left his ass here on the dock.
Chapter Three
&n
bsp; “Good afternoon, Miss.” The attendant at the end of the ramp glanced up from his clipboard. “Name?”
“So-So—” She’d almost given him her name.
She’d lost track of her thoughts. She’d seen a gorgeous man at the other end of the ramp, clearly busy, clearly preoccupied, holding a phone, his body tense, his arm muscles bunched up, tendons protruding.
With a defined chest, obvious even through his shirt, and shoulders wide enough to block a door, the man was unmissable. It didn’t help he had a face that could stop traffic. Lips so sensual and full, it was unfair they were on a man. Except to the woman who was kissing that man. Then it would be more than fair. It would be damn pleasurable.
The man smiled at something, probably the person he was talking to on the phone. Probably a girlfriend.
She sighed, not realizing it until the breath was past her lips.
“Miss? Your name?”
What name had she made the reservation under? “Of course. Soleil Templeton.”
She smiled a brilliant smile at the guy, hoping he’d let it go. She had a temporary ID she’d gotten from a friend. It wouldn’t hold up with any government agency, but it wasn’t like she was crossing borders, for goodness’ sake.
“Here you are.” He marked a spot on the clipboard then smiled back, not immune to her charms.
Her tigress growled at Sophie.
I’m not picking him up. He’s just checking me in. Relax.
“Shall I have your bags taken to your cabin, Miss Templeton?” He beamed at her. “It is Miss, right? Not Mrs.?”
“That’s right.” She glanced at his nametag. “Yianni. Thank you. I’d love it. Then I can stop by the open-air bar.”
Because God, she needed a drink, even if it wouldn’t do her any good.
Being a shifter had mixed blessings and curses.
Alcohol had no effect on her.
But she could kick almost any man’s ass in a fight.
Unless that man was a shifter. Then…not so much.
Still, she’d enjoy sitting at the bar, enjoying the atmosphere as soon as they set sail.