Sam's Surrender

by Elle James

  The door to the kitchen swung open again, and Mrs. D entered the dining room carrying a large tray loaded with food. “I will make more eggs and toast, if this is not enough.”

  Kinsey looked at the spread of meat, cheeses, tomatoes, scrambled eggs and beans. “This is way more than enough. Will others be joining us?”

  The older woman shook her head. “The others have all eaten and checked out. You two are the last to come to breakfast.”

  “We’ll be on time tomorrow,” Sam assured her. That there would be a tomorrow with Kinsey, struck Sam as strange. Now that she was working for him, he had her exclusively until his two weeks were up, and he could return to his unit.

  Kinsey dug into the food, loading her plate with eggs, toast, bacon and bread rolls.

  “I’m glad to see you’re not one of those women who only nibble.”

  Kinsey gave him a twisted smile. “I don’t normally pick at my food, but I am hungry.”

  Sam chuckled. “The moussaka last night wasn’t enough?”

  “Oh, it was wonderful, but that was last night.”

  “I would think after what happened, you’d be too nervous to eat.”

  She snorted. “When I’m nervous, I eat.” As if to prove her words, she ate until she cleaned her plate and laughed. “With my luck, I never know when I’ll get another meal.”

  “Stick with me. I don’t miss chow.” Sam pushed back from the table. “Did you get enough?”

  “More than enough.”

  “Then let’s go find you some shoes and clothes.”

  “And my suitcase,” Kinsey added.

  “And your suitcase.” Sam held out his hand. “Come on, fiancée, we have a lot to accomplish before I check in with my commander. I can’t have him thinking you only have one dress in your wardrobe. He might get suspicious. And we have to plan some activities to look like I’m having fun and relaxing.”

  “I can take pictures if you have a camera and schedule excursions like snorkeling, scuba and sailing.”

  “You’re on. As soon as we get you outfitted.” Sam grinned, gripped her elbow and led her toward the exit. “Hell, I’d stand on my head and do back handsprings if it means keeping my flight status. We need to get moving.”

  The sooner they started sending the proof of his relaxing vacation to Colonel Cooley, the better off he’d be. With a plan in place to keep his commander placated, he really could relax and enjoy the rest of his mandated time on the island. Then he could get back to the real work of flying helicopters into the war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq or wherever the hell they were sending the Spec Ops guys.

  6

  They hiked halfway through the village before they found any shops selling shoes and clothing.

  Kinsey was ready for a pair of shoes to save her feet from the small stones she inevitably found when she was least expecting them. Her heels bruised and cut, she gladly sat in a chair. Thankfully, the shop keeper gave her a cloth to wipe her dirty feet before she tried on shoes. Eventually, she found a pair of sandals that would protect the soles of her feet and still go with most anything she might wear from casual to dressy.

  Once they had her shoes, she stepped out of the store and glanced up to where the Porto Takisi stood. “Now we can go retrieve my suitcase.”

  “Not yet.” Sam hooked her elbow and guided her into a store selling classy shorts, skirts and blouses.

  Kinsey took one look at the price tags, bit back a gasp, and crossed her arms over her chest. “No. I can’t afford these clothes.”

  “I can, and I need you to look like you’re on vacation.”

  “I can find a thrift store and accomplish the same goals at a tenth of the cost,” she insisted.

  “On Santorini?” Sam shook his head. “Humor me. I really need my commander to believe I have a girlfriend and not a homeless person.”

  “Don’t knock the homeless,” she grumbled. “We don’t all get in these situations because we want be homeless,” she said softly.

  He captured her hands in his. “I know. And I’m not making fun of you. I want you to appear as happy and carefree as I do. And you can’t do that in a torn cocktail dress.” He selected several blouses, shorts and skirts, piled them in her arms and sent her toward the changing rooms. “I want to see what they look like on you.”

  “Seriously? Are you getting a little too personal with your new assistant?” she said, half-joking. Travis had never asked her to model clothes for him. A trickle of excitement ran through her.

  “I’m the boss, which means I’m calling the shots. If you can’t stand the heat, maybe this deal isn’t for you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s it to be? Clothes, or back out on the street? I need an assistant and companion. If you won’t do it, I’ll find someone who will.”

  “Fine. I’ll do it.” She shuffled off to the changing room. As she entered, she glanced over her shoulder to where Sam was taking a seat in front of the three-way mirror.

  She shook her head and hurried inside. If he wanted a fashion show, she’d give it to him. He was paying for her ticket back to the States, so why was she arguing with the man?

  One by one, she tried on the outfits. When she stepped out, Sam gave her a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down gesture. They settled on four blouses, two pairs of shorts, a bikini that made Kinsey blush when she stepped out of the dressing room, and a long skirt she could wear out to dinner. They went next door to complete her wardrobe with underwear, a new bra and accessories. On their way back to the Porto Takisi, they found a store selling toiletries where Sam bought her a toothbrush, hairbrush and makeup.

  “Not that you need it,” Sam assured her.

  When she asked for the receipts, she practically had her hand slapped by her boss.

  “Consider the clothes and supplies as part of your pay.”

  “If you spend all your money on this stuff, you won’t have enough left to purchase my airline ticket back to the States.”

  “I have enough,” Sam announced. “In the past eight years, I’ve been on active duty, I never use all of my leave, and I’m never home long enough to spend the money I earn.”

  Kinsey wished she could claim she was as financially secure. She had used most of her savings to pay for her flight to Greece. What little she’d had left was gone with her backpack. She admired a man who managed his money.

  Travis had been a big spender, running up credit card debt with no thought as to how he’d pay it off.

  At least Kinsey didn’t have any debt. Except what she now owed Sam. She sighed. She’d pay him back if she had to sell her organs to do it.

  Less than an hour later, she walked out of the shopping center with several large bags of clothing and wearing a casual, sky-blue sundress and the new sandals. “When we get my suitcase, we can return some of these items.”

  “You will not.”

  Kinsey frowned. “But I won’t have room in my case for the new clothes.”

  “Then we’ll get you an additional suitcase.”

  “I can’t afford to pay you back of all of these items.”

  “I told you, I’m including them as part of your pay. Consider it a bonus.”

  “But I haven’t done anything to earn it yet,” she argued.

  “After we hit the Porto Takisi, I want you to organize a snorkeling excursion, and we’ll need an underwater camera.”

  “I can set up that activity.” They passed a shop with dive and snorkeling equipment. Kinsey ducked in, selected a disposable underwater camera and a couple of large beach towels.

  Sam paid for the items and carried the bag out of the shop. “Now, you’re getting the hang of spending my money. Like a proper fiancée.”

  Kinsey felt bad about being so easy with his credit cards. “If you think anything is too much, just tell me. I don’t want the bank to block your account.”

  “I was just kidding.” Sam took one of the bags from her, lightening her load. “Let’s run these back to our room before we hit the Takisi.”
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  Kinsey agreed, wanting to have her hands free for when she confronted the staff at Porto Takisi about her belongings.

  After they dropped off her new clothes and the beach towels and made their way to the hotel, the time was getting close to noon. The act was almost surreal stepping into the lobby of the place where she’d spent the past week with a family that hadn’t had the decency to pay her before they skipped town.

  “I hope we have better luck with the day staff than we did with the night shift.” Kinsey squared her shoulders and marched past the empty concierge desk to registration. Kinsey didn’t recognize the woman behind the counter, but that fact didn’t slow her down. “I’d like to speak with the manager.”

  “Is there something I can help you with?” the clerk asked.

  “Nope,” Kinsey said. “I need the manager.”

  “I’m sorry, miss. But the manager is not available,” the clerk said.

  “Then get me the president or the CEO or someone in charge.” Kinsey congratulated herself on how calm she was at delivering her demand.

  “Miss, those people are not available at this time. They had a big meeting on the mainland, and the management team left this morning to attend.”

  “Seriously?” Kinsey gritted her teeth to keep from screaming. “What time do you expect them to return?”

  “Late this evening, miss.” The clerk glanced over her shoulder. “If that’s all you want, could you step aside so I might assist another customer?”

  “Maybe you can help me, after all,” Kinsey said. “Will you check and see if I have a reservation for a room here?”

  “Name, please?”

  “Kinsey Phillips.” Kinsey waited while the clerk ran her fingers over the keyboard.

  Moments later, the woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, miss, but no one is registered under that name.”

  Anger roiled in Kinsey’s belly. “Did I ever have a reservation here?” she asked. “Check for yesterday, and the entire week before.”

  The woman clicked the keys and finally shook her head. “I show no record of you having stayed at this hotel last week.” She glanced up. “Is there a problem?”

  “If I had a problem, would you be able to fix it?” Kinsey drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Never mind.” Spinning on the smooth tile floor, she headed back toward the exit, stopping when she came to the concierge’s desk.

  Sam kept pace with her, standing beside her as she addressed the man with his back to her.

  “Excuse me,” Kinsey said.

  Giorgio had been the concierge for the past week, there early in the morning, and staying until late at night. He’d been cordial, friendly and the one person Kinsey felt comfortable talking with other than the Martins. The man at the desk wasn’t Giorgio.

  “Miss, can I help you?”

  “Yes, you can.” Kinsey fought feelings of hopelessness and disappointment. Self-pity would accomplish nothing. “You can tell me where I can find Giorgio.”

  He blinked and tipped his head to one side. “Excuse me?”

  “Giorgio, the concierge. Will he be in to work today?”

  “I am the concierge,” the man said, pressing a hand to his chest. “How might I help you?”

  “You can help by telling me where to find Giorgio.”

  The concierge frowned. “Pardon me, miss. No one by the name of Giorgio works at this hotel.”

  “Was he fired?” Kinsey asked.

  The concierge shook his head. “No, miss. I have been the concierge for the past seven years.”

  Kinsey glared at the man. He was lying. He had to be. She searched his face, looking for some indication he wasn’t telling the truth, but he appeared sincere. “Then where were you last week when Giorgio was working this desk?”

  “I’m sorry, miss, but you must be mistaken. Perhaps hotel security can help you.” He waved to a man dressed in a gray suit across the room.

  “Time to go.” Sam hooked her elbow and steered her toward the exit. “You heard the manager last night. He said he’d have us arrested for trespassing if we showed up today.”

  Her thoughts swirling, Kinsey dug in her heels, refusing to go another step. “But I don’t have my things.”

  “I don’t think you’ll win this argument, and I won’t have an easy time of it explaining to my commander why I’m sitting in a jail cell because I was trespassing.”

  She didn’t want to put Sam in a bind, or she would have stood up for herself and demanded to know where they’d placed her clothes, toiletries and photos. She wasn’t asking for anything else, only the things that belonged to her.

  With a security guy closing in on them, she couldn’t take that risk when her actions could impact Sam. Kinsey marched out the door and into the street. “What else can I do, other than search the entire hotel to find my things?”

  “We can come back later when the management team returns from their big meeting,” Sam suggested.

  Kinsey’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know why they’re lying or going to such great lengths to hide the fact I was here and staying in that suite. Yeah, we’ll be back later. I want to speak with the manager, the manager’s manager, and anyone else who might have the balls to tell me the truth.” That suitcase contained her last connection to her parents. She had to find it.

  Sam drew her hand through the crook of his elbow. “But for now, let’s go to the beach.”

  Kinsey clamped her mouth shut to keep from screaming. How could she go to the beach and act like nothing was wrong, when all of Santorini seemed to be plotting against her?

  She had to remember Sam was her ticket home. All she had to do was be his companion for the next two weeks, and he’d buy her that plane ticket to a new life.

  Ha! That had been her original plan coming to Greece. A new life. An escape from the dead-end relationship she’d wasted three of the best years of her life on.

  The promise of a job had fallen through, then the Martins had skipped out without paying her. Her track record of judging peoples’ characters wasn’t all that good. She stopped before she’d gone more than three yards with Sam. “You’re not ducking out on me at the last minute, are you?”

  He stared at her, a frown denting his forehead. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I spent an entire week looking after the Martin’s kids and they left without paying me what I was owed.”

  “I told you, I’ll buy your ticket today. But you wanted to earn it. If it makes you feel better, I’ll purchase the ticket, hand it over to you, and let you decide if you’re staying for the two weeks or going back to the States.” He patted her hand. “How’s that?”

  Some of the tension drained, and she started walking again. “I guess that would be okay. I’m sorry. You’ve been amazing, and I’m being ungrateful.”

  “Don’t knock yourself. I’d be skeptical, too, if I was in your predicament. Let’s go back to the room, change into beach clothes and I’ll make that reservation. And, hopefully, Mrs. D will have a printer we can use to print out a copy.”

  “Thank you.” Kinsey squeezed his arm. “And we’ll be sure to take some awesome pictures for your commander.”

  “I’m counting on it. The sooner I convince him that I’m taking it easy, the more likely he’ll get off my back.”

  They’d gone around a corner, out of sight of the hotel when a dark-haired young woman stepped out of the shadows, carrying a suitcase.

  Kinsey recognized her as Leora, the maid who’d taken care of the Martins’ and her room for the past week. The case in her hand had a bright red, polka-dot ribbon tied to the handle.

  Joy filled Kinsey’s heart. “That’s my suitcase!”

  Leora didn’t put up a fight when Kinsey grabbed the case and clutched it to her chest. “Where did you get this?”

  The young woman’s gaze darted left and right. She ducked back into a shadowy gap between buildings and motioned for Kinsey and Sam to join her. When they did, she whispered. “You must leave, now.”
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  “So, they are lying.” Kinsey’s hands balled into fists. “Why?”

  Leora twisted her fingers together. “They will be unhappy if they know I gave you this suitcase. Please, you must leave Santorini now.”

  “But why would they tell me I wasn’t a guest there?”

  “Not all is as it appears,” Leora said. “Stay away from Porto Takisi.” Then she was gone, slipping through the shadows and disappearing around a corner.

  “What the hell just happened?” Kinsey said, her gaze following Leora. “Why would the hotel staff lie to my face and tell me I’d never been to that hotel?”

  “I don’t know, but we should take the woman’s advice and get as far away from the place as we can.” He took the suitcase from her, hooked her arm and led her away, glancing over his shoulder several times as they worked their way back to his B&B.

  Kinsey noted the direction they were headed was a little more convoluted than the route they’d taken the night before. “Why are we going a different way?”

  “If anyone is following you, you don’t want to establish a routine. Doing so makes it too easy for them to lay in wait and nab you when you least expect it. When you vary your route, you keep your pursuers guessing.”

  At his serious tone, Kinsey shivered. “You think someone might follow me?” She couldn’t imagine why anyone would think she was that important. “Why? I’m not from a rich family. I’d make a terrible hostage. My parents are dead and didn’t leave me any money.”

  “You’re blond and female,” Sam said, his tone flat. “You’re worth a lot on the sex market.”

  Kinsey gasped and ground to a halt. “You think those two guys who tried to kidnap me were taking me to some sex market?”

  Jaw clenched, Sam nodded. “Most likely.”

  “That’s insane.”

  “It’s big business and happens all too often to lone females. Not only in foreign countries, but in the U.S. The military requires every soldier to attend briefings on human trafficking to be aware and observant, as well as to report any possible human trafficking rings.”