‘There is no safe landing spot on the island of Antaxos. It’s renowned for its inhospitable coastline.’
‘I’ll fly to the yacht and take the speedboat.’ He delivered instructions to his pilot while Kostas caught up with him, following him as he took the stairs up to the helipad.
‘What’s going on? Is this to do with Selene Antaxos?’ When Stefan looked at him, he shrugged. ‘The pictures are all over the internet. Why all the questions about bruises?’
His lawyer tone was several shades cooler than usual and Stefan shot him a look. ‘I don’t pretend to be perfect, but I don’t hurt women.’ Except that he had. Not with his hands, but with his actions. And by his actions he’d made it possible for someone else to hurt her physically. A cold feeling spread down his spine.
You have no idea what you’ve done.
Her final words still rang in his brain and alongside was a picture of Selene stuffing her new possessions randomly into her battered bag. He’d caught a glimpse of the nun’s habit and samples of her soap and candles. But it wasn’t the contents of her bag that stuck in his mind as much as the look on her face.
She was a woman who wore her emotions openly and over the past two days he’d witnessed her entire repertoire. He’d seen hope, mischief, flirtation, shyness, wonder, excitement and laughter. This morning he’d seen something new. Something he hadn’t understood until now.
He’d seen terror.
Suddenly his collar felt too tight and he called Takis, his head of security, and instructed him to meet him at the helicopter pad.
Kostas caught his arm. ‘I have no idea what you’re planning, but I advise caution where Stavros Antaxos is concerned.’
Stefan shrugged him off. ‘Your advice is duly noted and ignored.’
* * *
‘You have brought shame upon me and upon yourself and you did it with a man I hate more than any other.’
Selene stood stubbornly to the spot, clutching her bag like a life raft as her father vented his fury. She knew better than to answer back. Better than to try and reason because his anger was never driven by reason. And she was angry with herself, too. Angry for deviating from her original plan. If she hadn’t flown to the villa with Stefan she wouldn’t be in this position now.
‘Why him?’ Her father’s eyes blazed with every emotion but love. ‘Why?’
‘Because he’s a businessman.’ Because he’d talked to her when no one else had. Because he’d paid her attention and flattered her and her stupid brain had built him up into a hero so when he’d invited her to the party it had seemed all her dreams had come true. Instead of questioning what a man like him would see in a girl like her, she’d been blinded by his stunning looks and masculine charisma.
She’d lived in the moment without thinking about tomorrow and now tomorrow had come.
‘A businessman? And what is your “business”?’ The derision hurt more than any blow.
‘I have an idea. A good idea.’
‘Then why didn’t you come to me?’
‘Because—’ Because you’d kill it, the way you kill everything that threatens to break up our ‘family’. ‘Because I want to do this by myself.’
And she almost had.
It made her sick to think how close she’d come to a new life.
All of this could have been avoided had she simply shaken hands at the point where Stefan had agreed to give her a business loan, but she’d mixed business with pleasure and even she knew you weren’t supposed to do that.
‘He used you. You know that, don’t you? He used you to get to me and you have no one to blame but yourself. I hope you feel cheap.’
Selene closed her eyes, remembering the way she had felt. Not cheap. Special. Beautiful. But it hadn’t been real. He’d done it so that he could get juicy fodder for the photographers. All those things he’d said. All those things he’d done. It hadn’t been about her—it had been about scoring points against her father. He’d sacrificed her on the altar of personal ambition. ‘I made a mistake.’
‘We’ll say he forced you. Physically he’s much bigger than you, and you’re so obviously innocent no one will have any trouble believing it.’