Dark Avenger

by Alex Ryder

  He interrupted her with a loud snort of impatience. ‘For pity’s sake stop your yammering, woman. I’ll fill her damn tank.’

  She smiled coldly. ‘Good. I was hoping you’d say that.’

  He didn’t waste any time, she noted with satisfaction. As soon as she’d introduced him briefly to Kati he took the two plastic containers and disappeared down the hill.

  Kati was disappointed that Jimmy hadn’t come but she spun the old woman a yarn about Jimmy having gone to England for a few weeks.

  Then Kati’s eyes twinkled. ‘And this man Nikos? He is very handsome. It is about time you had a man like him. He looks strong, just like a good husband and father should be.’

  She managed to get off that subject quickly enough and now she was helping the old woman to bake some bread in the wood-fuelled outdoor oven. The sun beat relentlessly down on her back and when the bread was made both she and Kati sat in the shade near the front door.

  They stopped chatting for a moment and watched as Nikos appeared at the top of the path and made his way towards the water tank with a full fivegallon container in each hand. As he drew nearer she saw the way the corded muscles of his arms, shoulders and stomach were ridged with tension. His mahogany-coloured chest was glistening and he’d tied a rag around his forehead to prevent the sweat from his brow stinging his eyes.

  Kati clucked in sympathy. ‘He has carried enough. The tank must be over half-full by now. That’s all I’ll need. Call him over and we’ll have a glass of wine.’

  Carrie gave a light, dismissive laugh. ‘Let’s just leave him to carry on, Kati. Nikos enjoys hard work. He’d never forgive me if I stopped him before the job was properly done. Now, you were telling me about your daughter in Athens…’

  Much later, after they’d said their farewells to Kati, Nikos led the way down to the beach in silence while Carrie followed wearing a smug little smile of satisfaction. She hoped he’d done some permanent damage to himself, or severely strained a muscle at the very least.

  She placed the two fresh loaves and the slab of cheese Kati had given them into the dinghy then began to drag it down to the water’s edge.

  ‘Leave it,’ Nikos said curtly. ‘I need to relax for a while.’

  ‘Why?’ she asked innocently. ‘Was the job too much for you after all?’

  His upper body was streaked with sweat and her mocking smile froze and turned to an expression of consternation as he slowly undid the buckle of his belt. In her haste to back away she stumbled and landed on her rear end with a jarring thump. Horrified, she looked up and watched as he removed his jeans. Oh, my God, she thought. It was going to happen right here and now. He was going to take his revenge on her.

  He towered over her in magnificent nakedness. In a situation like this a lady was supposed to avert her eyes and blush furiously but her eyes refused to be averted. They were staring in fascination. His thighs were thick and powerful and his…his… My God! He was big. He was.. .was…Her mouth was dry and she scrambled awkwardly away from him, too week in the knees to get to her feet. ‘Nikos…? Now you keep away…You…you said that you weren’t going to…to…’

  ‘To what?’ he asked sardonically. ‘Have my way with you by force? Relax, Englishwoman. Surely you’ve seen a naked man before. I’m merely going for a swim to cool off. If you had more sense and less modesty you’d do the same.’

  Turning his back on her, he strolled down to the water’s edge and plunged in.

  It took a while for her thudding heart to calm down and shakily she got to her feet. He was right. She did need to cool off. The heat she was feeling right now wasn’t entirely due to the sun. For a moment there she’d actually wanted…No. She pushed that disturbing thought right out of her mind, kicked it downstairs and locked it in the cellar where it belonged.

  Suddenly it seemed like a good idea to go for a swim. But not here. Not this close to him. She walked along the beach to the other side of the tiny bay then glanced back. How far? A hundred yards? Well, she couldn’t go any further so this would have to do. She stood biting her lip and debating with herself but finally the lure of the cool, inviting water proved too much and sitting down on the sand she quickly removed her T-shirt and bra then wriggled awkwardly out of her jeans and knickers. With a final, suspicious look across the bay she took a deep breath then stood up and took a racing dive into the water.

  Blissfully she turned on her back and began a slow, leisurely backstroke. She closed her eyes and tried to relax but that thought kept hammering on the cellar door. She was going to have to do something about that man. Standing naked in front of her like that had been deliberate provocation. Oh, he was clever. Diabolically cold and calculating. No doubt about that. He’d done it to watch her reaction. And she’d fallen for it. Her eyes had lingered on him too long. Not just a fraction too long but far too long altogether, and that reaction had told him all he wanted to know.

  Well, she’d just have to be a damned sight more careful in future. There had to be some way out of this situation—some way other than giving in to his impossible demand or falling victim to her own human frailty. Oh, yes, let’s not forget human frailty, she told herself bitterly. Let’s face up to the truth, shall we? Let’s admit that he might be a swine, a bully, an egotistical chauvinist pig with a heart of ice but by God he has enough sex appeal to give a marble statue palpitations.

  She wallowed about in the water for another ten minutes then made her way back to shore. Rubbing the water from her eyes, she surveyed the beach but saw no sign of him, so once again it was streaking time as she stood up and raced for her clothes.

  Dressed and feeling a lot fresher, she began walking back towards the dinghy when she stopped and swore softly under her breath. His jeans were still lying where he’d dropped them, which meant that any time now he was going to emerge from the sea as naked as he’d been when he went in.

  Disconsolately she sat down, her elbows on her knees and her chin cupped in her hands, and waited. When she did catch sight of him a few minutes later from the corner of her eye he was swimming powerfully towards the beach and she turned her head away.

  After a while she chanced a quick look and saw thankfully that he was decent once again; she rose to her feet.

  He was lying on his back with his eyes closed when she approached and, as if sensing her presence, he sat up and gave her a long, measured look. Finally he patted the sand at his side and said, ‘Sit here.’

  She declined the invitation hurriedly. ‘No. It’s time we left.’

  His dark brows gathered themselves once more into a threatening scowl. ‘It’s time you learned to stop arguing with me. Now either you sit down voluntarily or I’ll make you.’

  The way those eyes of his were ripping into her was reason enough to submit meekly and she lowered herself hesitantly on to the sand.

  ‘Not away over there,’ he snorted. ‘Nearer. I’m not going to eat you. I want to talk about that imbecile you have for a brother.’

  She eased herself a little closer then said resentfully, ‘If it’s about your sister then I agree with you. But that doesn’t give you the right to—’

  ‘I’m not referring to my sister,’ he snapped impatiently. ‘I’m talking about his misguided attempts to help that old woman. Doesn’t he realise the danger he’s putting her in?’

  ‘Kati? Danger?’ A perplexed frown creased her brow. ‘I don’t understand what you mean. How is he putting her in danger? He’s simply doing what any right-thinking person would do. He helps her whenever he can.’

  ‘You mean he feels sorry for her?’

  It sounded like an indictment coming from his lips and her frown grew deeper. ‘It’s not just that. There’s a special kind of bond between Kati and Jimmy.’

  Now it was his turn to frown. ‘Bond? What kind of bond?’

  It was really none of his business but a refusal to explain would only provoke his temper again. ‘Well, Jimmy was only six years old when he first met Kati. My father was alive then
but Jimmy missed his mother. One day we came to this island by accident—actually we were sheltering from the Meltemi in this very bay. The next morning the wind had blown itself out but Dad decided to spend a few days here. Just after breakfast Jimmy decided to go exploring. When he hadn’t come back four hours later Dad and I went looking for him. We climbed the hill, saw the house and found Jimmy helping Kati to milk the goats.’ She paused and smiled at the recollection. ‘To cut a long story short Kati and Jimmy took to each other straight away. Kati was missing her family and Jimmy needed a mother so they found in each other the things they wanted most.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s been like that ever since. As I said, we always visit her as often as we can manage.’

  ‘Very touching,’ Nikos said drily. ‘And what would happen to her if she fell ill while you weren’t here? At her age she could easily fall and break a brittle bone. She should be with her own family where she belongs.’

  Puzzled by his reaction, she said defensively, ‘We know that. But if her own family can’t persuade her to leave what chance have we got?’

  ‘You can stop filling her water tank for her for a start,’ he responded harshly. ‘You and your brother are only making it easier for her to defy the wishes of her own children. If your brother was more interested in her welfare than in playing the part of a surrogate son he’d do everything in his power to make her leave. By force if necessary.’

  ‘But…but her husband is buried here. She says she couldn’t leave him.’

  ‘An old woman’s foolishness,’ he said dismissively. ‘Her husband’s grave will always be here. There’s nothing to prevent her coming back to visit any time she likes. It’s certainly no reason for incarcerating herself on a place like this.’

  She stared at him in bleak and angry silence. He was quite right, of course. What he said was true. It was the only sensible thing to do. It was also the cold and callous solution she might have expected from a man like him.

  Her despair deepened as a new thought occurred to her and she voiced it bitterly. ‘Since Jimmy won’t be coming back I suppose that Kati will have no option now but to leave. I suppose I should go up there now and break the news gently. In a couple of weeks’ time, when she’s got used to the idea, I’ll come back and take her to the mainland.’

  Another one of those dark frowns settled on his face and she braced herself for another tonguelashing. Nothing she said ever seemed to please this cretin. ‘Why do you say that your brother won’t be coming back?’ he asked. ‘I see no reason why he shouldn’t be restored to your tender ministrations in the near future. Of course, as I’ve already pointed out, what condition he’s in depends on you.’

  It was her turn to frown. ‘What are you talking about? He won’t come back to me. He isn’t the kind of a man to run out on his responsibilities. He’ll do the right thing by marrying your sister and looking after her and their child.’

  He seemed to find that idea wildly amusing and he drawled, ‘And who is going to look after you and your child in the meanwhile?’

  She bit her lip and looked away hurriedly to hide the torment in her eyes but there was no escape from his grating laugh of derision. ‘There’s no question of any such marriage being allowed,’ he declared coldly. ‘So put your mind at rest. Our family will support and maintain your brother’s child and he’ll be free to maintain and support mine.’

  Never had she experienced such a feeling of blistering outrage and it was all she could do to stop herself from leaping at him and clawing that cold and arrogant face to ribbons.

  She waited a moment then when she was calm enough to speak without choking over the words she said, ‘And what about Helen, your sister? Doesn’t she have any say in the matter? Supposing she’s in love with Jimmy and wants to marry him?’

  ‘Her future has already been decided,’ he asserted firmly. ‘Helen will be sent to America to live with another branch of our family. When she arrives there she will be dressed in black. The story, for public consumption, is that she is a tragic young widow. In time a suitable husband will be found for her.’

  She struggled to her feet and glared down at him in absolute fury. ‘You…you’re barbaric! Inhuman! A.. .a cynical, diabolical bastard!’

  Slowly, inexorably he rose and towered over her. ‘The only bastard in the Spirakis family is the one my sister is going to have courtesy of your brother.’ The anger in his eyes turned to something more chilling and his fingers entwined themselves painfully in her hair. ‘You’re trying my patience again, Carrie, and I’m not a patient man. I’ve already warned you about your insolence. Now why don’t you use all that emotional energy where it’ll do you the most good? You know the rules of the game and sooner or later you’ll have to make a start…’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE Miranda‘s deck was cluttered with her latest cargo. Up on the foredeck there were a dozen stone jars of olive oil, four crates of chickens, two goats, a lashed-down upright piano, various bags of fruit and vegetables and two old men sucking pipes and spitting over the side.

  In the wheelhouse Carrie reached up and switched on the radio to pick up the latest weather forecast. As far as the eye could see the water was a mirror-like blue but she felt uneasy. The weather had been too good for too long and when a storm struck the Aegean it came at you like an express train.

  ‘Why the worried look?’

  She glanced round at Nikos, who’d suddenly appeared in the doorway. It had been four days since they’d had that blazing row on the beach but since then their relationship had been tolerable enough. Conversation was sparse but at least they were no longer hurling insults at each other and he’d never made any further reference to Jimmy, nor had he reminded her of the threat she was under. It could be that he was having second thoughts, relenting at last in his impossible demand, but she doubted it. Nikos Spirakis didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d ever have second thoughts about anything. If he really intended to make her pregnant nothing on earth was going to stop him. It was more likely that he was simply changing his tactics. Probably trying to be subtle for the very first time in his life.

  ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this weather,’ she muttered.

  He looked around at the flat, calm sea and the cloudless sky. ‘What’s the latest forecast?’

  ‘Same as last time. Good weather to continue.’

  He nodded. ‘I see. But you’ve got a feeling?’

  She challenged him resentfully, ‘That’s right! Go on. Laugh. Ridicule me. Call me an idiot.’

  His features hardened and his green eyes took on that familiar hard glint. ‘Do I look as if I’m laughing?’

  She stared into his face then looked away in embarrassment. ‘No.’

  ‘If you say you’ve got a feeling then that’s good enough for me,’ he grunted.

  Her mouth tightened with suspicion then she looked at him again, searching his face for the least hint of mockery. Finding none, she blinked at him. ‘It is?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’ve had an opportunity to watch you at work over the last few days. You know how to handle this boat and you’re familiar with these waters. You’re a natural born seafarer and I’d trust your instinct any day.’

  The unexpected compliment caught her by surprise and she felt herself colouring. ‘I…I’m not saying that there definitely is going to be a storm,’ she hedged. ‘It’s just that if there is then this is a bad place to be.’

  ‘Why?’ He sounded genuinely puzzled at her statement.

  She explained hurriedly, ‘If you look at the chart you’ll see that we haven’t much water under the keel. We’re sailing along the top of a submerged ridge. Just north of us the sea is a lot deeper and any strong wind just creates steep rollers. In that case we’d just head into them and ride it out. But when these rollers reach the shallows they break up and the sea comes at you from all directions. Like a cauldron of boiling water, really. The Miranda won’t sink but she’ll take a hell of a pounding.’

  Too late she r
ealised that her invitation to study the chart was also an invitation to lean closer, and sure enough the smooth skin of his bare chest once again made contact with her upper arm. In spite of the tiny jolts racing through her nervous system she remained perfectly still, afraid that he might interpret the slightest movement on her part as some sort of sexual signal.

  Finally, to her relief, he straightened up and grunted, ‘It might be wiser to put the cargo in the hold. It’s too exposed on deck.’

  She nodded in agreement. ‘That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ve never lost a cargo yet and I don’t intend to start now. Even if we just get the piano and the goats in the hold for the time being it’ll only take minutes to clear the rest. The two passengers can go down to the galley.’

  ‘Right. I’ll do that now.’

  Switching the radio to short wave, she picked up the BBC World Service and to the strains of Mantovani covertly watched Nikos at work. Unlashing the derrick, he swung it forward and hooked it to the piano. A moment later it was in the hold and he turned his attention to the two goats. Using a piece of spare rope, he deftly fashioned a cradle and with much indignant bleating they were carefully lowered into the hold one at a time.

  Well, he’d certainly gone about that in a thoroughly competent manner, she admitted to herself. Jimmy couldn’t have done it quicker or better. He was obviously used to hard work. Of course she’d known from the time he’d carried all that water up the hill that he hadn’t developed a body like that by lounging about in an office dictating letters.

  Finally he unlashed the tarpaulin in case they had to cover the hold in a hurry.

  Tearing her eyes from him, she checked the compass bearing and scolded herself as she brought the Miranda’s bows to the correct heading. That was what happened when you didn’t keep your mind on the job you were supposed to be doing. Glancing astern, she saw the tall-tale curve of the wake drawing attention to her lack of attention at the wheel. She hoped Nikos wouldn’t notice but he probably would, she thought with chagrin. Those calculating green eyes of his never seemed to miss much.