Chapter 6
"Theos! Stop, you fool!" Costa growled as he caught Tallia just before she went right off the edge of the cliff.
She made a terrible sound, like a wounded animal, as his arms locked around her, and her body arched violently away from his as if to throw him off. For an instant they teetered on the very edge of the precipice, and he thought they might both go hurling down into the sea far below. But as he snatched her off her feet, the momentum of her body swung them to safety, and he found himself standing on the crumbling edge of the cliff with his boot heels hanging off into empty space.
Costa took a quick step away from the edge, clutching Tallia hard to his chest as primal fear shot through him at their close call. "What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted furiously, his heart still hammering with the sick terror that gripped him when he watched her run straight for the edge as if the devil were on her heels.
"Do you have some sort of death wish?" He asked more softly when he felt her limp weight hanging in his arms and knew the fight had gone out of her. She was probably scared witless, he thought as he drew her higher against his chest and swept a hand up to push the mass of fine, silvery hair back from her face.
He only realized she was unconscious when her head flopped back on his shoulder as if she were a doll made of silk and cotton wool, not a woman of solid flesh and bone. Whispering her name, Costa leaned back against the side of the car and cradled her carefully in the crook of one arm. He slid his hand down to press his fingertips under her delicate jaw, searching for a pulse. He was alarmed at the amount of time it took him to find her pulse and how reedy and weak it was when he managed to locate it halfway down her long neck. Her skin felt icy to the touch and when he patted her cheek to revive her she didn't react at all, not even her lashes fluttered.
Scooping her up effortlessly, he settled her back into the passenger seat and stood bent over her for a moment, just staring at her as he tried to decide if she was faking. There was something about her pallor and her utter stillness that made him unaccountably uneasy. If he hadn't felt her pulse he would have thought her dead she was so limp and wan. No one could fain unconsciousness so skillfully, or make their heartbeat slow and uneven.
"Tallia," he murmured softly, hoping to get some reaction from her as the minutes ticked past. He stroked her smooth, fair brow and found her skin cold and clammy. Touching her shirt he found it damp with perspiration, but her flesh was icy to the touch.
Realizing she was genuinely sick, he quickly buckled her in and shut the door, rushing around to his side of the car to slip into the drivers seat. I pushed her too hard, Costa admitted to himself as he spared her a last lingering look before turning his attention to getting them home.
A dull flush burned across his high cheekbones when he recalled what a bastard he had been to her just now. He wasn't proud of his behavior, he only meant to question her, but things quickly got out of control. All he could think about as they drove was her with Fidelio, and he had wanted to punish her for being with his brother. More than that, he had wanted to punish her for being so damn beautiful, for making him want her so fiercely.
Costa couldn't account for what had come over him, but for some reason he had turned into a total monster, needling her mercilessly and using her obvious fear of his car against her. He wasn't even sure why he had done it, since he already knew she was his brother’s lover. Perhaps he wanted to punish himself, he mused darkly, for lusting after his brother’s girl. Perhaps he hoped that hearing all the gory details might kill this crazy attraction that was burning him up.
Whatever the reason, he knew he had crossed the line and behaved with unconscionable viciousness towards Tallia. He would have to apologize profusely. The idea didn't bother him half as much as the knowledge that, with his rough treatment of her, he had surely ruined any chance he might have of getting her into his bed.
He would never forget the fear he saw in Tallia's face as she ran from him. It felt like a hot knife twisting in his gut. Costa had never treated a woman so harshly, never seen one look at him with such naked terror in her face, and never had a woman run- run from him.
Once she regained consciousness, he imagined Tallia would want nothing to do with him. She would probably insist on being taken off the island immediately, just to get away from him. It gave him no joy to know that he had succeeded, probably beyond his wildest dreams, in running her off because he had surely lost any chance with her through his callous behavior.
By the time he reached the house Costa was beginning to really worry, Tallia still had not stirred. She lay like a broken doll in the seat beside him, her breathing so shallow he could barely hear it, her chest hardly rising. Killing the engine, he caught himself rushing around the car to gather her up, and almost running into the house when he felt how cold she was in his arms.
Fidelio appeared as he was laying Tallia on a wide chaise in the living room, having heard the sound of his car. Fidelio's expression did nothing to ease Costa's worry, all the color drained from his brother’s face, leaving his skin sallow beneath his tan.
"What the hell happened?" Fidelio whispered as he rushed to the chaise and fell to his knees beside Tallia. If Costa needed any greater demonstration of his brother’s feelings for Tallia, he got it then as Fidelio turned to look up at him with a stricken look.
"She passed out," he replied lamely, feeling the first tingle of unease set in as he realized he was going to have to explain himself. Once Fidelio learned the truth it was going to be even harder to pry him away from Tallia. His brother would be indignant, with just cause, and that would only serve to make him all the more protective and devoted to the lovely and now wounded-looking Tallia.
"Passed out… what was she doing? Did she overexert herself? How long has she been out?" Fidelio demanded, his voice rising as he clearly began to panic. He smoothed a hand over Tallia's forehead and chaffed her arms lightly, his hands fluttering over her indecisively.
"We were driving along the cliffs-"
"You took her up that suicide road in your damn black rocket?" Fidelio barked furiously.
"I told you I was taking her on a tour of the island," Costa replied defensively, feeling like the lowliest cur as he found himself prevaricating for the first time in his life.
Fidelio shoved a hand that was visibly shaking through his hair, "Oh shit, you weren't driving like a maniac were you- of course you were," he muttered, answering his own question. "Couldn't you tell she was scared? Damn it Costa, Tallia is terrified of cars, you must have realized that, she freaks when anyone drives over 25. Didn't she say something?"
"She might have," he muttered.
"Might have? Costa, this is serious! She's deathly afraid of any sort of speeding, you saw that yesterday," Fidelio snapped angrily.
"Don't bark at me Fidelio, your little girlfriend is not what she seems," Costa shot back, never one to tolerate being put on the defensive. He was aggressive and unapologetic by nature, having learned from a young age that being polite got one nowhere, and he knew he was in the right, even if he had cost Tallia some peace of mind and scared her witless. She would recover, he thought coldly, hardening his heart towards her.
"Girlfriend! What the hell are you talking about?"
"She told me everything Fidelio, how she threw herself at you to get you to marry her, how she only wants you for your money. I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you, but I know her type and it's my duty to protect you, even if you are a grown man," he informed his brother quietly.
"What are you talking about Costa?" Fidelio demanded in an ominously soft voice. He jumped to his feet then and leaned across the chaise and Tallia's prone body, so his face was as close to Costa's as possible, enunciating brutally as he told him, "Tallia is not my girlfriend."
Costa snorted, "What do you mean," he replied scornfully, "she just told me everything Fidelio, how she seduced you the first time you met-"
Fidelio cut a hand through the air between them, "Are y
ou out of your mind Costa! Tallia is the sister of my fiancée Emily- Emily Maitland-"
"That's not possible…" Costa hissed.
"I think I know who I'm in love with, Costa," Fidelio bit out.
"You never explained your relation to her," Costa replied stiffly, falling back on cold arrogance as the shock of hearing the truth and how it reflected on his actions washed over him.
"Are you completely insane?" Fidelio growled, his face darkening with fury in a way Costa had never seen before. "I told you to be careful with her. I asked you to treat her like family. Can't you see she's sick?
“For God sake, she's been in hospital for the past two years. Emmy and I had to spend a month begging and wheedling just to convince her to leave London, and you have to terrorize her with your overbearing, big brother routine the first chance you get!"
"Hospital?" Costa asked, his show of indifference swept away by genuine concern.
"We need to get a doctor, immediately," Fidelio snapped, falling back down onto his knees beside Tallia and stroking her cheek lightly. He pushed back one of her eyelids and cursed softly when he saw nothing but white.
"I think she's in shock. She must be having some sort of relapse from the stress. God, I'm such an idiot, I knew she was too tired after yesterday, I should have told her to stay here and rest!"
Costa grit his teeth, hating to see his brother berate himself needlessly when he knew perfectly well he was the one at fault. He was stunned by Fidelio's revelations and the slowly creeping awareness of what he had done to Tallia.
He had tortured her.
There was no other way to put it. He had literally driven an innocent woman to the breaking point, terrorized her until she spewed lies just to satisfy his sadistic demands. He was so shaken by his behavior that he could hardly think at all. He noticed Ari standing in the door, clasping his hands tightly as he watched them with a worried expression, and ordered him to send for a doctor immediately.
"The helicopter will bring Dr. Giannopopoulos. Fidelio, this is not your fault-"
A tiny sound from the chaise cut him off in mid sentence and Costa leaned down, hardly daring to hope as Tallia's eyelids fluttered ever so slightly. She turned her head a few inches on the chaise and her smooth brow pleated in a slight frown. She turned her head the other way and her body went rigid.
Fidelio grabbed up one of her hands and squeezed it encouragingly. He spoke in a low, coaxing whisper as he rubbed her hand. "C’mon Tallia, wake up."
Moaning softly, Tallia obligingly opened her eyes, but when the vague, unfocused look sharpened, as she became aware of her surroundings, she shrank back on the chaise, lifting a hand as if to ward Fidelio away. Digging the heel of her foot into the chaise she tried to shove herself up on the seat, whether to rise or get away from them both, as her eyes darted between them, Costa could not say.
There was a blankness in her frightened eyes that told him she didn't recognize either of them, worse, her entire body shook. Even her face trembled, as if she were fevered, though he knew it was fear that had a hold of her- fear and pain. The whiteness of her lips and the low, ragged saw of her breathing as she panted harshly, told him more clearly than words that she was in serious distress.
"It's ok Tallia, just relax, you're safe," Fidelio soothed, but it had no effect. When he reached for her shoulder, Tallia flinched so hard she threw herself right off the side of the chaise. Fidelio cursed in horror as he saw the way her body arched when she hit the floor.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Tallia whimpered softly. She was too disoriented to calm down, even in pain, and when Fidelio tried to help her she pushed herself back on the rug. Costa watched in frozen disbelief. She could barely move she was so weak and a chill ran through him as he realized the entire right side of her body was hanging limp, both the arm and the leg sprawled out on the floor as if they were useless appendages fixed to her torso, weighing her down.
Tallia was bloodless with distress; sweat beading all over her face, shaking like a leaf. Spurred to action by her suffering, Costa stepped over the chaise easily with his long legs, intent on picking her up and taking her to her room so she could rest in a bed until the doctor came. Her eyes darted to him as he came to loom over her and she groan piteously, becoming even whiter, if that was possible. She literally cringed from him!
A light step in the hall drew his attention and Costa was desperately relieved when Calamini rushed into the room. He had never been the sort to look to others for help, preferring to do everything himself or delegate. Panic, however, was beginning to edge in all around him as Tallia's anguish only mounted and neither he nor Fidelio could calm her.
He could tell Tallia had only known his brother for a short time; it was glaringly obvious since she took no comfort from his presence. In her fear she seemed to have forgotten that she knew Fidelio at all. It was very cold comfort to Costa, at that moment he would have gladly learned she was Fidelio's lover if it meant she would stop struggling and let someone help her.
Calamini hurried forward, perhaps it was the mother in her, or the woman, but she seemed to understand without being told that she was needed. Tallia looked up at her with relief, and when the plump little housekeeper swooped down to gather her against her breast, Tallia sagged against her gratefully. All the tension drained from the pale girl as Calamini began to cluck like a worried hen over an injured chick. Tallia's eyes flickered shut and Costa was certain she passed out. Her mouth went slack and the hand that worked stopped clawing at the carpet.
"Oh, my God," Fidelio gasped, sitting back on his heels with a shell-shocked look on his face. "What's happened?"
More suited to action than handwringing, Costa shoved the chaise back with his foot and bent to slip his arms carefully under Tallia. Fidelio made a sound as if to stop him and he lanced his brother with a hard look. "She needs to be in a bed," Costa bit out, gathering her gently against his chest with Calamini's help.
"Let me take her," Fidelio objected, his thick black brows drawing together in a harsh frown.
"Get out of the way," Costa growled, not about to entertain ridiculous suggestions or get into an argument. Time was essential, as was Tallia's comfort. He couldn't stand to see her lying on the floor like a broken bird.
Fidelio heard the urgency in his voice and immediately stepped aside. Moving carefully, so as not to jar her more than necessary, with Calamini rushing along at his side fretfully, Costa took Tallia upstairs to the blue guest room and eased her carefully onto the wide, soft bed.
Tallia did not stir once, not even when she was flat on the mattress. Costa stared down at her, scrapping a hand through his hair as he realized he was completely useless. He had no idea what to do now. Glancing at the small army of prescription bottles arranged like soldiers on parade, he cursed viciously. He was not in the habit of feeling helpless and paced away from the bed to stare blindly out the French doors at the other side of the room. He could hear Fidelio and Calamini fussing and worrying behind him but paid them no mind; all of his energy was focused on silently willing the helicopter to appear.
It was the longest twenty minutes of his life, Costa thought as he waited for the big black helicopter. When he finally heard the thump of the powerful rooters he relaxed fractionally. The huge machine swooped down on the lawn at the rear of the house and he watched with silent gratitude as Ari jumped out, followed by a tall young man wearing a bright blue flight suit, who carried a red duffle bag boldly emblazoned with a white cross.
Costa was never more thankful that he had such good people around him and that Ari had personally gone to make certain everything went smoothly. Within minutes footsteps were pounding towards the room and the flight medic burst through the open door, his eyes taking everything in with one sharp look. He went to the bed without breaking stride and dropping the medical bag he began checking for a pulse.
"How long has she been unconscious?" he demanded, digging a stethoscope out of his flight suit and pressing it to Tallia's ribs.
<
br /> "10-20 minutes, she's recovering from a spinal injury," Fidelio rushed to tell the medic.
"What happened? Did she fall?"
Fidelio glanced at Costa, who had not moved from the window but now faced the room. "N-no, she had a bad shock. She just came to the island yesterday, I think she was fatigued…"
"Mmmm," the medic murmured noncommittally. He pushed aside the stethoscope and began plucking the prescription bottles up off the bedside table, reading the labels with quick precision. "Muscle relaxants, pain killers," he muttered under his breath. Forgetting the bottles as Tallia groaned, he lay a hand across her brow and coaxed her awake with a few soft entreaties.
Just as she had in the living room, Tallia woke in a daze, her expression confused and faintly frantic. The sight of the medic didn't seem to alarm her unduly, probably because of the stethoscope and the white crosses emblazoned boldly across the front of his flight suit.
She exhaled a jerky breath and relaxed as she stared up at him, a mild, peaceful look settling over her features as her worry melted away. Costa sent a silent thank you upwards, even if it rankled to see her turn so quiet and trusting in the presence of a complete stranger.
"Are you alright? What's her name?" the medic asked brusquely of no one in particular, he was bent over Tallia with his attention completely fixed on her. "Do you remember your name?" he demanded of her.
"Tallia," she and Fidelio replied at the same time. The medic laughed softly.
"Good. Good. Where does it hurt Tallia?"
She swallowed and drew a deep breath to answer, but then her eyes shifted from the medic and lit on Costa. The change in her was instantaneous; she paled and stiffened, then let out a muted cry of pain. Her left hand fisted in the covers and the shaking began. Costa started forward, only to stop when Tallia whimpered. Her eyes remained locked with his and he could see the muscles in her face twitch as spasms shook her.
"Calm down Tallia, just relax," the medic urged her, pressing his hand back to her brow and putting his other hand on her stomach to restrain her as her body started to convulse.
He muttered something when she kept shaking and scrambled in his bag. Producing a syringe and a bottle, he bit off the cap on the needle and stabbed it into the bottle with swift, practiced motions. "I'm going to give you a sedative Tallia, try to relax," he told her as he seized her arm and jabbed the needle in with an expert touch.
It must have been a very powerful sedative because in seconds Tallia's eyes rolled back and she went limp. The medic listened to her heart through his stethoscope, as he waited for the injection to work, and then for a minute longer to make certain she was fine. Once he was satisfied he jerked his stethoscope down around his neck and looked up with a grim expression.
"I need to call her physician, doctor…" he grabbed up one of the prescription bottles, "Ellsworth. He should be able to help. Spinal cord injuries are problematical. We may have to send for a specialist from the mainland. It could be nothing more than stress and fatigue, the trip out could have aggravated her injuries, or she might be experiencing some sort of complication. I need to do a thorough examination, if the two of you could please leave?" he said, indicating Costa and Fidelio. Calamini, as a woman, was apparently safe to stay and help.
Costa's first instinct was to refuse, he was responsible for this mess and he intended to see it through to the end. No matter what it took he would not be satisfied until Tallia was fully healed. Whether they had to fly a hundred specialists out or airlift her to a hospital in Athens or Geneva- or even America, he didn't much care. He could not be at peace until he knew Tallia was better.
Even once her body was healed, Costa doubted he would know any peace, not when he thought of how reprehensibly he behaved towards her. He was haunted by the memory of how he carelessly grabbed her on the edge of the cliff, and that terrible sound she made when he did. If she was permanently injured he knew it would be his fault, he must have done her some serious bodily hurt when he manhandled her so thoughtlessly.
Glancing at the medic and then Calamini, he nodded stiffly, knowing he had to go, for Tallia's sake. After her reaction when she saw him, it was for the best. Clearly she could not stand the sight of him, and he would not risk upsetting her again by staying in the room.
For Your Love Only Page 6