“Harder? I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be looking for!” Theo protested. “And even now that I do, I have no fucking clue where it might be. I told you it was just a story.”
“You’re a smart man,” Pierre said matter-of-factly. “Like I said, I’ve been following your career. You’ve been quite successful at finding things. This should be no different.”
“And what happens if we don’t find it?” Dani asked.
“Then I make no guarantees,” Pierre said, yet again turning Dani’s blood ice-cold.
Pierre stood up. “You will stay here tonight as my guests. Please, feel free to enjoy my island. Eat my food. Raid my wine cellar. Swim in my pool. I’ve already had some clothing left for you in your room.”
Um, creepy.
“Understand, however, that we’re the only inhabitants on this island,” he continued. “There is no phone, and Maurice has the only key to the boat, so please do not even bother with trying to steal it. I’d like to enjoy my evening without having to worry about the two of you trying something foolish.”
“And tomorrow? After this little holiday getaway?” Theo asked.
“Tomorrow, you will return with Maurice and Louis to Crete to continue your search for the Minotaur. All of you.”
“She doesn’t know anything about this,” Theo said. “She’s not an archaeologist.”
“Then I suggest she start learning.” Pierre then turned his attention to Dani. “What is it that you do, Daniela?”
“I…” She paused for a moment, debating whether to lie. But what difference did it make? This man clearly had money. He already knew who Theo was, and it wouldn’t be difficult to confirm who she was, too. “I’m a librarian.”
Pierre clapped his hands together and smiled. “Seems your fiancée, Dr. Galanis, is your perfect complement.”
Chapter
Five
Theo
“When are you going totell me what the hell is going on, Theo?” Dani asked as he brushed by her searching their—shared—bedroom for bugs.
The recording sort, that was. By the spotless look of this place and everything about Pierre Vautour’s image, a bedbug wouldn’t stand a chance on this island.
“I don’t think it’s safe to talk here,” he finally answered softly, lifting a corner of the king mattress on the one—and only—bed in the room.
“What do you mean it’s not safe to talk here?” she asked at full volume as he continued looking for microphones. Opening drawers. Looking in vents.
“What are you even doing?” Dani asked.
“Making sure no one is listening or watching,” he said. He couldn’t stop. Not until he knew the coast was clear.
“Theo? What sort of trouble are we in, exactly?”
“Enough that people think I’m dead,” he said without looking at her as he turned over a lamp. “I think that probably explains enough.”
“Will you stop for a minute? You’re scaring me.”
Her words stopped him in his tracks, and he stood up straight to face her head on. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. She looked small, and not only in the literal sense. This wasn’t the Dani he was used to. The tough, no-nonsense woman who stood up for herself. The woman who took care of business and never shied away from danger. She was never scared of anything.
It was one of the things he loved about her.
No. You can’t say that.Theo quickly wiped the thought away.
It wasn’t that Theo hadn’t thought about Dani in that way. Oh, he’d thought about her in lots of ways over the years.
And now, there she was—hisfiancée.
