The Art of Retaliation (19 page)

“What the hell have you done with my sister?”

“Come on now,
Stephane
,” Ryan laughed
nervously.
 
“People are
watching.
 
You wouldn’t want to
cause a scene now would you?
 
You do
want to find out where your sister is
don’t
you?
 
Come on I thought we were friends.”

Mara stood and put her hand on his arm.
 
Stephane
felt
the gentleness of her touch and her voice soothed his anger when she spoke.

“Please,
Stephane
he isn’t worth it.
 
We will work this out.”

Her soft slender fingers stroked his arm and her comfort broke
through his anger and calmed his raging heart.
 
He let Ryan go and sat back down again.

“Where is she?” he asked calmly.

“She’s safe.
 
But before
she can come home I want five million pounds deposited in my bank account.”

“What?
 
Forget it,”
Stephane
snapped.

“It’s a small price to pay out of the money you make from that
wonderful business empire of yours, and compared to what your sister is about
to inherit from her uncle it is a pittance.”

“No.
 
The deal is I let
you get away without prosecution for attempted murder.”

“No, the deal is I give you your sister back and get an annulment
for five million pounds or I wait until she dies and her money transfers to me
as her spouse and I become a billionaire myself.
 
The wills are already drawn.”

Again he was moving his chair out to stand ready to fight Ryan but
again Mara’s hand was on his arm pushing him back down in his chair.
 
She shook her head at him.
 
She looked ready to collapse and he
figured she didn’t need to suffer the consequences of any more confrontation
between the men.
 
He remained still
for her sake.

“And what about Mara?” he enquired making every effort to ignore
Ryan’s threat.

“I want her too.”
  

“Now darling I know that you are a bit unsure about coming back to
me but I want you to give me your word that you will.
 
The deal rests on you.
 
Leave my side and I will have you
killed.
 
And yes I know people who
will do it and leave no incriminating trace.”

Stephane
heard
himself issue a range of
colourful
French expletives
at the man.
 

“You harm her, Ryan and I will kill you,” he said darkly.
 
“And that is a promise.
 
I also know someone who could easily
take care of you,”
Stephane
threatened.

Ryan laughed.

“You really have it bad for her, don’t you?”

Stephane
said
nothing.
 
He caught Mara’s hand
under the table and held it tightly.
 
She was trembling and he didn’t like the way she had gone very quiet.

“I will do what you ask,” was all she said.

Stephane
closed
his eyes with frustration resisting the urge to put his hands around Ryan’s
neck and squeeze the life out of him.

The food arrived forcing the silence between them to remain.
 
The billionaire pushed his plate away
his appetite gone and ordered a brandy.

To his disgust Ryan tucked into his meal.
 
The man never refused anything that was
free.

“When are you going to bring my sister back?”

Ryan stared hard at the Count.

‘Do we have a deal,
Stephane
?”

The billionaire had to fight hard to control his temper again.

“Yes we do.
 
Now when?”

“I can ask her to get on a plane tonight.
 
She is in Italy.
 
She will do anything I ask of her,
rather like a pet puppy.”

Stephane
refused
to bite.

“It will be hard telling her that I don’t want her anymore and that
I am leaving her for another woman, but then again I have done it before.”

“I don’t care how you tell her, just get her back here.”

“Give me a week to sort it out and that will give you time to sort
the money out.”

“I’ve waited long enough, Ryan.
 
She needs that operation.”

“Patience,
Stephane
, patience.
 
You have three days then.
 
Have Mara ready.”

“I can’t believe what you are doing to Mara.
 
If she was mine, I would never treat
her the
way you have.
 
I know you hit her and I know what you did to her tonight,” the
billionaire was unable to help himself.

He leaned over the table glancing at Mara who was dipping her head
away from him.

“Remember what I said.
 
You lay one hand on her in violence and I will kill you” he told him in
a deadly dark voice.
 
“And he meant
every word.

Mara couldn’t believe what she had to listen to.
 
They were arranging the rest of her life
and Louise’s without any thought to what they wanted.
 
She couldn’t wait to turn the
tables.
 
Sick of the scene and her
humiliation she stood and without a word left the table and ran off to the
ladies toilets downstairs vaguely aware of Leon following her and Ryan’s
laughter ringing in her ears.

She darted through a group of people waiting to go up the stairs to
the bar and into the ladies toilets.
 
A woman was just leaving.
 
She looked at Mara’s tear stained face and turned away embarrassed that
Mara had caught her staring.
 
She
put her head down and quickly left to avoid any involvement. Mara waited for
her to leave and then walked towards the mirror.
 
She pulled a paper towel out of the
holder and wet it under the tap to dab the mascara that was running down her
face but every time she tried more tears came.
 
She eventually raised her head to look
at the redness and discoloration beginning to appear on her neck.
 
It was sore to the touch.
 
She remembered how she had fought to
take in air as he held her throat against the wall.
 
For a brief moment she had thought he
was going to kill her.
 
She took in
a deep breath, she needed to keep her head and try and work a way out of this
mess.

Mara took in another deep breath to calm her remembering how someone
had told her that if she ever felt she was panicking to take in three deep
breaths and she would feel better.
 
She finished clearing the mascara from her face as she took in the final
breath and then left the room ready to face whatever was necessary to secure
her freedom.
 
There was a crowd
outside of people who had finished their meal and were going upstairs to the
bar.
 
She stood back waiting for
them to clear when she felt someone grab her arm.
 
Mara didn’t look round, she didn’t want
to.
 
It had to be Ryan.
 
She pulled her arm away and began
pushing past people in a flurry but the hand was there again pulling at her
arm.

“Mara stop. Mara.”

“Ryan please leave me alone,” she shouted above the noise.

This time the hand took firm hold of her own and pulled her round.

“Mara, its me, Christophe.”

“Christophe.”

She threw herself in to his arms and clung to him burying her head
in his chest.
 
He quickly put his
arms around her and held her tightly.

“We’ve been so worried.
 
Maxine is beside herself and so am I.”

He kissed her head affectionately and then held her at arms length.

“Come on we have to get you out of here.” he said cautiously eyeing
Leon who was distracted talking to a long legged blonde in the crowd by the
stairs.
 
His back was turned.

“No, no, I can’t leave.
 
I promised.”

“You promised what?
 
Come
on the boat is going to dock in a few minutes to let on some more
passengers.
 
We have to try and get
off when some of these people do.”

He gestured to a group waiting patiently for the boat to dock.

She gave a small gasp as Ryan passed by making his way to the
group.
 
Christophe recognized him
instantly and pulled Mara back into the small corridor that led to the toilets.
 
She was still clinging to him unable to
let go.

“Look at you, you’re shaking.
 
Here put my jacket on you must be cold like that tonight.”

He slipped off his suit jacket and made her put it on and then took
her firmly by the hand as the boat juddered to a stop.

“No I can’t he needs me.
 
I can’t Christophe please let me go.”

She was pulling away from him but he was stronger.
 
As they opened the gate to allow the
passengers off he gave a sharp tug on her hand and led her into the heaving
crowd.
 
They passed by Leon unnoticed
as he searched in vain and out into Paris.

When Leon ran back in to the restaurant in a panic,
Stephane
knew she was gone.
 
He cursed Leon and almost felt like
hitting him.
 
Not now.
 
Not when they were so close.
 
He looked back out of the window.
 
She couldn’t hide, not in Paris. He
would find her again.
 
A part of him
was
angry,
he thought she had really cared.
 
Her
rekection
stabbed him through the heart.
 
He’d
thought that she was doing it all for him.

She must realize he would get her away from Ryan when it was all
over or maybe she didn’t.
 
She
couldn’t really know where she was with him.
  
He couldn’t blame her but she
wouldn’t be away for long.
 
He would
get her back in time and he would make her go through with it.

Why did you run from me?
 
I love you.

Mara let Christophe lead her through the people descending the ramp
of the boat and up on to the road running parallel to the river until it merged
into La Place de Concorde.
 
Christophe broke out into a small run forcing Mara to as well.

“Please, Christophe slow down.
 
Didn’t Maxine tell you that I hurt my ankle?”

He stopped abruptly.

“I’m sorry but we have to hurry.
 
We don’t want them to catch up.
 
Look the car is just around the
corner.
 
It won’t be long.
 
Please try.”

She nodded through clenched teeth and quickened her pace.
 
Moments later they were standing by his
car, a sleek black BMW.

“How did you find me?” she asked out of breath with the exertion as
he helped her get in to the car.

“I’ve been following him
Stephane
all
day.”

He paused until he moved out of the junction and turned right up the
Champs-
Elysses
.