by Caro LaFever
Perhaps they were just waiting for her to leave the hotel. Glancing up at her new friend, she gave it a resigned smile. Maybe, like the spider, they were waiting to catch her in their web.
Okay. Well, she was ready. She was ready to get this over with.
Shuffling into the bathroom, Nat forced herself to brush her teeth and wash her face. She didn’t have time for a shower to tame her unruly hair. Instead, she yanked the strands into a braid. What did it matter? She wasn’t out to impress the mob with her looks. The only thing they wanted was cash.
Cash she didn’t have.
Cash she’d given back because of her stubborn need to prove herself to a man who didn’t care and wouldn’t understand her actions even if he took a moment to think about her.
Honestly, though, Aetos Zenos wouldn’t be thinking of her at all.
A dry, hoarse chuckle escaped her. Why did she continue to love? When it was utterly hopeless. Why did she continue to torture herself when the man had flown away so easily?
Don’t think about him anymore.
The door creaked as she opened it. The hall was empty except for a plastic bag left in front of one of the dozen other doors. She trudged down the threadbare carpet to the elevator. The elevator creaked, too. Or perhaps it was her bones.
She felt as if she’d aged a hundred years.
The foyer was deserted, a blaring TV the only sound. The cheerful voice, chattering on and on about some kind of new treatment for hair loss, grated on Nat’s nerves. Rolling her suitcase behind her, she quickened her pace and soon found herself outside the swinging front doors.
It was sunny and warm for January.
She stopped in her tracks. The world hit her all at once. The traffic streaming past the hotel, horns honking. The bustling crowds on the sidewalk, swirling around her motionless figure. The calls of the vendor selling newspapers at the corner.
Life went on. Even though she had convinced herself she was dead to everything.
“Finally.” The brisk word came from right behind her.
Her breath caught in her throat and her brain froze in horror. The trackers. She realized with stunning clarity she wasn’t dead inside and she didn’t want to be dead on the outside either.
A strong hand grabbed her arm. “Mágissa.”
The nickname, said in a rough, raw voice, turned her entire being into ice. Aetos? The man she never thought to see or touch again held her?
“It took my security too damn long to find you.” Frustration ripened his words.
Against her will, she lifted her head and looked at him. The sun splashed the inevitable golden glaze over his hair and face. His dark gaze burned with determination and a hint of something she didn’t want to define. The ache she’d cried out on her pillows for the last two days threatened to return with a vengeance. “Get your hand off me.”
“I bribed the hotel clerk.” Ignoring her brittle demand, he tightened his grip. “He told me you had to leave today.”
“I said, get your hand off me.” A crack opened in her numbness, releasing a waft of fiery anger from deep inside. “Now.”
“Now,” he responded, his voice going harsh. “I have you.”
His claim of ownership was enough to propel her into action. Only this could be worse than the mob. She hadn’t had any time to recover from the last, brutal confrontation with him and she had no reserves left to deal with him. “No, you don’t.”
Jerking her arm from his grasp, she turned and walked blindly down the sidewalk. A shiver of panic ran up her spine. She felt him, felt his gaze on her back, felt his silent purpose in the air. What could he possibly want from her? He’d been clear two days ago. Was he some kind of sadist who wanted to see what effect his rejection had had on her?
To hell with him.
To hell with Aetos Zenos.
She reached the curb as the light turned green. Two old men gingerly stepped onto the pavement in front of her and Nat rolled her suitcase around them, over a lump of melting snow, intent on getting across the street and away. A long, stretch limo, black with tinted-silver windows, came to a stop halfway into the walkway. One of the old men wagged his finger at the chauffeur.
With no warning, a strong arm wrapped around her waist in a grip so tight her breath came out in a gasp. “Apparently,” Aetos murmured in her ear. “I need to work on my communication skills.”
Before she could catch another breath and cry out, the limo door in front of her opened. With economical skill she’d have admired at any other time, she and her suitcase were stuffed into the backseat. Jumping in behind her, he slammed the door closed before she could mount a defense.
“Go.” His one word held complete authority.
The chauffeur nodded, the vehicle eased into traffic and the privacy barrier slowly inched up, leaving her alone with him.
The two old men outside stared, their eyes wide and jaws slack, as the limo pulled away. An excited crowd on the sidewalk pointed at the limo, some of them busily punching numbers into their phones or frantically texting.
“This is kidnapping.” Tugging on the locked door did no good, so she wrapped her arms tight around her.
“We need to talk.”
She pinned her gaze on the outside instead of him. She couldn’t stand to look at him and catalogue all the things she yearned for even when she knew he was deadly to her heart. Perhaps the police would find them and arrest him. Maybe that’s how she’d finally be free of him. But the thought of him, the image of him being dragged away in handcuffs, put a stop to any idea of turning him in or ratting him out. Even if the police did manage to track this vehicle down, she wouldn’t say the words that would get him in trouble.
She might hate him, but she couldn’t hurt him.
The knowledge angered her.
Her hands twisted into fists.
The silence deepened around them, the only sounds were from the outside—muted horns and muffled yells. The limo turned onto Fifth Avenue, heading towards Central Park.
“You look like crap.” The words were harsh, but his voice held a husky tinge of warmth.
Gulping in a breath, she lectured herself. She would not allow herself to do this. She would not pretend she heard something in his voice or saw something in his eyes. Something she could mistakenly hold on to with her stupid hope. Look at the pain she’d experienced after sticking her neck out in Greece.
She kept her gaze pinned to the outside world. Yet, her entire being vibrated, waiting for what was going to come next inside of this limo.
He shifted beside her and his clean pine scent drifted to her.
God. The tears welled again despite her silent cursing. She shouldn’t continue to want him. She shouldn’t let him do this to her.
“Mágissa.” A soft tug on one of her long curls made the tears slip down her cheek. “Talk to me.”
She couldn’t speak. If she opened her mouth, she’d howl. Though his voice held a pleading note and though he touched her hair as if begging for attention like a young boy, she couldn’t be sure of him. She’d believed and hoped and everything had crashed around her only days ago. She couldn’t allow him the opportunity to hurt her once more.
Managing to swallow the rest of her tears, she straightened her back. “Let me out of this limo.”
A dead silence answered her. She sensed rather than saw him withdraw. They drove past the beginning of Central Park. Sun slanted over the bare trees and across the dusting of snow lying white and pristine on the brown grass. A flock of pigeons pecked aimlessly on the sidewalk while a gaily decorated horse-drawn carriage waited patiently for its next ride.
“I paid them off.” His voice cut through her turmoil, his accent heavy, his tone desperate.
The meaning of his words finally penetrated her thoughts. She whipped her head around and stared at him. “What?”
His dark eyes blazed in his pale, taut face. She’d seen this expression before. When he’d been determined to get her cooperation with his famil
y. When he’d doggedly taken on the task of converting his grandparents’ farmhouse. Whenever she saw this look in his eyes, he always got what he wanted. The question was…what did he want with her?
She had nothing left to give.
The knowledge sank into her like a dead weight.
The line of his mouth tightened when she shrank back on the leather seat. “I said, I paid them off.”
“Who?” But she knew. This was why she hadn’t been tracked down and grabbed in the last two days. The thugs had already got what they wanted from Aetos Zenos. Who, for some unknown reason, had paid them off for her.
“You know who.” His stare turned into a glare. “What were you thinking?”
Her chin lifted in the face of his blast of anger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The hell you don’t.” He rustled in his coat pocket and pulled out a familiar envelope. Slapping it on the seat between them, he turned his glare on her once more. “I know you’re not stupid, so there has to be some other damned good reason you didn’t take this money. Money you desperately needed.”
She turned her back to him. She couldn’t chance he’d see the hopeless love in her eyes. A love he didn’t want and a love she didn’t want to reveal. The only thing she had left was her pride. “I’ll pay you back.”
Another silence fell. This one deeper and darker than any that had come before. A sudden, sharp rap on the privacy barrier made Nat jerk around.
Aetos lowered his hand from the barrier, his mouth grim as he stared at her.
The limo slid to a stop. The door locks clicked open. Before she could respond by jumping off her seat and running away as fast as she could, he grabbed the envelope lying between them and threw open the door. Leaping out, he turned back to peer in.
“Come out here with me,” he commanded.
Her hands gripped the door handle, trying to force herself to open it and leave him.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him lean into the interior, his whole attitude one of fierce resolve. “You said you’d pay me back.”
She managed a nod.
“Then look at me.”
Her head was no longer in her control. She turned and faced him.
“Get out of the car, Natalie.”
She stared. But didn’t budge.
His eyes blazed, a rich, dark brew of intention. “If you want to pay me back, do this one thing for me.”
Money. She’d meant she’d pay him back the money. Not this. Whatever this was.
“Get out of the car and walk with me.”
Walk with me.
His voice had turned from demand to plea, a tone that sounded like something she could believe in, dream of, hope for. The simple words hit her straight in the heart and shattered the last of her control. Tears sprang into her eyes again and threatened to dribble down her stiff cheeks.
He sucked in a deep breath and his eyes turned to black. “Please.”
Aetos Zenos saying please.
Shock ran through her like an electric current. She froze on the seat.
Grimacing, he ducked his head into the limo, coming closer. “Natalie.”
“Yes?” she gulped, still sorting through her disbelief.
“I know I don’t deserve your time—”
“Fifty thousand dollars can buy a lot of time.” She choked out an ironic chuckle.
“True.” He didn’t flinch from the jibe. “And if that’s what I have to use to get you to talk to me, then I’ll do it. I’m asking for your time because I need to know.”
“Know?”
His expression went from fierce to bewildered. That adorable look she found completely impossible to ignore. “You’re the only one who has the answer.”
Confusion ran alongside her continued shock. “I don’t have any answers.”
A short bark of laughter came from him. “I have a feeling you have all the answers.”
He acknowledged having feelings? He believed she had all the answers after dismissing her from his life? Was this the hard man she’d dealt with when she’d first met him and at the very end? Unwilling concern flashed through her. “Are you okay?”
He stared at her. “No. I’m not.”
“Aetos—”
“And I need your help.” He stopped, his jaw tightening. “Please.”
A second time. In minutes. Her heart turned muddled with incredulity and bafflement. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either.” A flush rose in his cheeks making him go from adorable to undeniable. “I need your help.”
Lost once more to him. Whatever he wanted, she’d give him. Just as she had on those moonlit nights in Greece, in their small bed. If he wanted her body, he had it. If he wanted her heart, he had it. If he wanted her love—
No, he didn’t want that. She had to cling to that knowledge to protect herself.
“If not for me, then for the sake of my family.” He held out his hand, his blunt fingers reaching for her. “Give me a few minutes.”
Instant concern flooded inside. “Has something happened? To your grandfather?”
He stared at her. “My grandfather is fine. But something has definitely happened.”
“What?” she gasped. “Your grandmother?”
“No.” His hand didn’t move, still held out to her in supplication instead of demand. “But come with me anyway.”
Her hands knotted on her lap. She shouldn’t let him do this to her. Tug at her heartstrings and pull her back into his need and his family and all the dreams she’d discarded during the last two days. “I don’t think—”
“Please.” The word came again, this time stark and urgent. “I’m begging you.”
She jerked her head up to stare at him with astonishment.
His lips twisted. “Nai, I’m begging.”
The flush came across his cheeks once more and her good intentions were swamped by her curiosity and yes, her love. The love she still held inside her heart for this man even though he didn’t want it and didn’t deserve it. “All right.”
Relief washed across his face. “Thank you.”
Thank you? Please? Begging?
Her mind boggled as she slid across the seat, ignoring his outstretched hand because she couldn’t chance touching him. He moved back, dropping his hand in a stiff jerk, his face going blank.
She came to a stand on the sidewalk in the pale light of the January sun. A crowd of students strolled past, giggling and teasing each other. Two businessmen strode by, cell phones at their ear. A young woman pushed a baby carriage in front of her, the pram loaded with two smiling toddlers. Again, Nat was astonished at life placidly rolling along, oblivious to the turmoil blasting through her.
“Come on.” Aetos started a brisk pace down the sidewalk and onto the path leading deeper into the park.
She followed. For the sake of his family, because of the money he’d paid on her behalf, but more than anything, for the sake of the man who needed answers. There weren’t any answers inside her that she could detect, none that he would want, yet she’d agreed so she was stuck.
Following him again, down a path to ultimate destruction just as before, unable to pull herself away from his pleas and needs and draw.
The pain billowed in endless waves in her stomach.
Yet she forced herself to follow him.
He kept the pace at a fast clip, past the rolling hills dipping into patches of forest. Past the fanciful Belvedere Castle with its turrets and flourishes. Past the turtle pond, sunk in deep-winter hibernation and across the path leading right by the sculpture of soaring eagles.
Two eagles.
Shoving her shaking hands deep into her woolen coat, she kept her gaze turned away from the accusing statue. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of was her stupid folly in buying him a present that blared her need to be included in his insular aloneness. To share his perch and his life forever. How could she ever have thought such a fantasy could become a reality?
He walked ahead of her, his shoulders tense, his head bowed. Where was he going? What kind of answers did he want from her?
He jerked to a stop in front of a stone bench. The Whispering Bench, New Yorkers called it. She’d sat here with her brother, long, long ago. Whispering and chortling and enjoying a love that flowed easily between them as siblings. Another love she’d lost forever.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
Aetos swung around at the sound, and his expression turned bleak. His jaw immediately knotted, though, with his familiar determination. “Sit,” he barked.
Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, Natalie sat on the side she’d always taken as a kid. The cold of the stone seeped through her coat, making her shiver, and yet, she felt the warmth of old memories wrapping around her in comfort.
He sat on the other end. Clasping his hands, he leaned on his legs and stared out at the park.
Another endless silence descended. The shift of a slight wind batting against the bare limbs of the trees surrounding them was the only sound. For a moment, she imagined they were back in the sublime silence of the country. In Greece, where, for a time, she’d let herself believe.
In him. In them.
“Why did you give the money back?” The whisper came across the bench. With masculine husk, male bewilderment.
Her hands clenched in her pockets. Still, somehow the silence and odd peace of the place gave her the courage to speak. “I don’t want your money. I never wanted your money.”
Taking a deep breath in, he flicked a glance at her. “You needed that money to save yourself and we’d made a deal. You’d fulfilled your side and I was just fulfilling mine.”
Instant rage at his stupidity made her whip her head around to spear him with a heated glare.
“What?” his sugar-gold brows frowned in confusion. “Why are you angry?”
Here was an answer she did have for him. “Because,” she spat, “I don’t take money from a man I…slept with.”
His brows rose at her pause, only to fall back into puzzlement when she finished. “But that was our deal.”
Leaning across the stone, she spit out another answer. “Deals have nothing to do with love…making.”