Chapter
Twenty-Six
Dani
Alight sea breeze blew thewhite curtains on the balcony into a billowy wave. Beyond the door, she could see the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean sparkling under Helios’s rays as she lay in bed. She’d never truly believed in Greek myths before this trip, but as she stared at her own Greek god sitting shirtless out on the balcony railing, she’d come around on the whole idea.
Theo trulywasGod’s gift.
It had been a week since they’d discovered the eye of the Minotaur. Fortunately, the piece remained intact despite Theo tossing it at Maurice. For now, the gem was being held in a vault at the police station, but eventually it would make its way to one of Athens’s many museums. Theo’s gut initially told him the ruby likely came from some other land, given that rubies weren’t typically found in Greece. As he’d explained to the police, it may have made its way to Greece during the Persian ruler Xerxes I’sinvasion. What that meant for Papantonis’s account remained to be seen. Perhaps his stories had been true. Perhaps the Persians found the beast’s remains and traded it for the ruby. They would probably never learn the truth.
As Dani and Theo had come to understand, like most Greek tales, the lines between fact and mythology sometimes blurred.
Which had given Theo a great idea for his next story. And when she’d teasingly asked him to make sure he described Xerxes in his story to look like that hot guy who played him in the movies, the one fromLove Actually, Theo had simply responded, “Whatever you want, babe.” She almost liked it when he called her “babe” more than when he called her “Juicy.” Almost.
The first few days after the discovery had been hectic, full of police interviews and questionings, consultations with the Greek Archaeological Service, and meetings with the US Embassy. Thankfully, due to Vautour’s notoriety, no one had questioned Theo’s and Dani’s presence at the Acropolis nor believed Vautour’s, Louis’s, and Maurice’s claims that they’d merely followed them there.
At long, long last, Pierre Vautour was in jail.
Theo and Dani had presented enough evidence to support their claims, including Theo’s medallion, which gave the police location data for his movements over the last year. Such as Pierre’s Aegean island villa.
And the estate of the Minotaur’s Children.
Even though the GPS had been spotty, it still managed to capture a brief ping at the estate.
Not wanting to break their agreement with Lysander, they lied and said the estate was another of Vautour’s. But when the police went to check it out, it was suddenly empty. All the books in the library, gone. The eye emblem on the door to theLabyrinth, missing. The only indication that the house had been connected to the secret society was the intricate maze pattern built into the floor. Even the property records pointed to shell companies and off-shore accounts that would likely take ages to untangle.
In the eyes of the law, the Minotaur’s Children didn’t exist. But Theo and Dani were okay with that. After all, if it wasn’t for Lysander, who knew where they might be right now.
Certainly not where she was currently relaxing in a cliffside luxury resort on Santorini—all-inclusive, courtesy of some unknown benefactor.
Or, more likely, Lysander.
Dani stared at Theo as he sipped on his coffee, unaware of her gaze. She caught a glimpse of his tattoo as he lifted his arm—It’s always been you.Truer words had never been spoken.
God, she loved him. She couldn’t stand watching him any longer without touching him.
She climbed out of bed and headed to the balcony. The instant he noticed her movement out of the corner of his eye, he startled. It probably would take a while for his nerves to relax. Even with Vautour, Louis, and Maurice in jail and the police on their side, Theo hadn’t quite gotten used to his freedom. But just as quickly as he’d startled, he smiled, seeing it was only her.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Καλημ?ρα,” she replied, planting a quick kiss on his lips.
“Been working on your Greek?” he asked, reaching out for her as she approached and immediately wrapping his arms around her waist.
“I figured if we’re going to be here for a while, I need to put in a little more effort to learn the language.”
“Sounds good coming from your lips.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm. I love everything that comes from those lips.” He kissed her again, this time giving her a taste of his coffee-soaked tongue.
“Is that an invitation?” she asked, pressing her hips against his cock and waggling her brows.
“That depends on how you’re feeling abouthowwe’re going to tell our families about us today. If you want to make the announcement obvious because my dick is hard, then sure. Because they landed at the airport a little while ago, and they’re on their way here right now.”
“What?!” Dani shouted. “Theo! What time is it? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
