“I apologize.” His hand found the small of my back again. “He invited us to join them for dessert.”
“And you declined,” I stated, watching his brother’s retreating form.
“I did.” His gaze traveled slowly down my body before returning to meet mine. “Tonight, it is ours, yes?”
A few days later, I was checking the weather on my phone when Katalina’s name flashed on the screen.
Odd. Tia’s best friend never called me.
“Ms. White—” Kat’s voice came out in a breathless rush. “It’s Tia. She’s in trouble. A man’s got her locked up in his house and won’t let her leave!”
My blood ran cold. “Slow down. Where is she?”
“At Santo Christakis’ estate,” Kat’s words tumbled out between sobs. “He’s manipulating her and controlling everything. Won’tlet her have her phone, won’t let her come home! She’s trapped, Ms. White, I know she is—”
This was exactly why I’d come to Greece. To protect my daughter. “Give me the address. Now.”
I punched it into my GPS while Katalina stammered through the location. Forty-five minutes, maybe less.
I called Tia three times while yanking my hair into a ponytail. Each call went straight to voicemail, confirming everything Katalina had said.
My jewelry clattered onto the floor as I stripped it off and headed to the kitchen, grabbing two sharp knives before rushing for the door.
The streets blurred. I took corners too fast, barely slowing for lights. My mind cycled through worst-case scenarios of Tia hurt, scared, and calling for me.
This was why I came to Greece. Not for Aris, or adventure. For this moment, if it ever came.
I tried calling her again at a red light. Voicemail. Again. The bastard had her phone.
I pressed harder on the gas.
Forty minutes became thirty. The GPS directed me off the main road, through increasingly affluent neighborhoods until iron gates materialized ahead, cutting off a long driveway that disappeared into the property.
I couldn’t see the house from here, but the scale of the entrance alone told me everything I needed to know. A goddamn fortress.
Two uniformed guards approached my car before I’d fully stopped. The taller one barked something in Greek.
“Let me in.” My voice came out flat. “Now.”
“Identification. State your business.” His English was broken but clear enough.
“If you don’t let me in, I’m driving through this motherfucka.”
He repeated himself, saying something about protocols and proper procedures. My vision went red.
“I don’t give a shit about protocols. My daughter’s in there.” I jabbed a finger at the fence. “Open that fucking gate!”
He stepped between me and the entrance while the other spoke rapidly into his radio.
Was Tia bound? Drugged? All those times I’d told myself I was being paranoid about her coming to Greece without me now seemed like gut instinct I should’ve trusted sooner.
I cranked down all my windows and screamed her name at the top of my lungs. “TIA! BABY, I’M HERE!”
The guards exchanged amused looks as I continued hollering. Whoever had my girl was about to meet a side of me I hadn’t shown since my month-long stay in juvie.
With a sharp command, the bigger guard waved for the gate to open. I gunned the engine before they could reconsider, tires spitting gravel as I tore up the winding drive.
When the mansion came into view, I slammed on the brakes. Stone, marble, and old-world grandeur spread before me like something from another century.
