The Greek Tycoon's Tarnished Bride (Men of the Zodiac) (19 page)

“We all need to be sure you can stand up and go to the toilet unaided before we take that out.”

Erica threw back the crispy sheets and swung her legs to the edge of the bed, now horribly aware of the tube that was visible at the bottom of the robe she had been put in. “I am so angry right now.” She stood up and glared at the collection bottle that must have been filling up for a while and retched. “Get all these tubes out of me, or I
’
m going to go berserk.”

“Yes, ma
’
am,” both nurses replied in unison and Erica caught them rolling their eyes at each other which made her even crosser.

“And where are my bloody clothes?”

The younger nurse with the big brown eyes didn
’
t exactly smirk but her arched eyebrows had a sarcastic look about them. “I
’
m afraid Mr. Makris told us to incinerate them. They were a bit of a mess…”

Ten minutes later, and then only after a doctor
’
s approval, Erica was unhitched from all the medical paraphernalia that kept her attached to the hospital bed like an animal in a pen. She hated hospitals ever since having Nick. It had been a painful, drawn out process in a dirty, noisy ward, and she had been alone apart from the overstretched medical staff. She had been the only woman who had nobody she knew to cling to for reassurance or comfort. She
’
d been shipped out of the hospital within twenty-four hours and when the baby blues kicked in on about day three she had been at her lowest ebb ever. Even the smell of the place brought back those hollow, terrifying memories, and she wondered if Nick would be sensing the same level of panic and anxiety, because that kind of trauma stayed in the subconscious for a long time if not forever.

A community volunteer took her in the wheelchair the staff insisted she use down the corridor and pushed open a pale-colored door with a tiny pane of glass in it for viewing purposes. What she saw made her heart skip a beat. Tito sat in an armchair, his eyes closed and head leaning back against the wall. Dark stubble covered his jaw, and his normally immaculate hair was unkempt. There were stains all over his blue shirt, and Nick lay sleeping in a white blanket in his arms. As she was wheeled into the room Tito
’
s green eyes opened, and they were dull with fatigue. He smiled weakly and tipped his head towards the baby
’
s sleeping form.

“Great to see you
’
re back with us so quickly.” He yawned and something about the sight of his jaw and throat made her insides melt. He was still crushingly handsome even if he did look like he
’
d gone a few rounds in an illegal boxing ring. “I
’
ve been going back and forth between you both all night. The doctors said you couldn
’
t be in the same room, which is understandable but I am exhausted.”

Now that the volunteer had gone, she wanted to hug him senseless for being on duty all night and for being there for Nick when she couldn
’
t be, but she needed to know what was going on immediately. “What
’
s wrong with him, Tito? What did the doctors say?”

“They
’
re not entirely sure. The first set of blood tests didn
’
t come back with much so they
’
ve run some more. He
’
s hydrated now and the diarrhea has stopped. I think the poor little guy must be empty by now.”

Pain lanced through her at the thought of her child
’
s suffering, and she stood up weakly from the wheelchair. “The nurses say I
’
ve got a bug. Could it be the same thing? Did I give it to Nick? Oh God, this is so awful.”

“There
’
s no point speculating, Erica. You
’
re both in the right place here, and nobody is going anywhere until you
’
ve both got the all clear. They took your blood, too.” Tito leaned down to kiss Nick
’
s head and her heart plummeted into her stomach and bounced back up again at the softness in his eyes. “Come and sit down in this chair and give him a mummy hug, that
’
s what he needs.”

She didn
’
t need convincing, and the feel of him being lowered into her arms was like being able to breathe properly again. His warmth and weight was what grounded her and gave her life meaning. She would be lost without this little mite. “It doesn
’
t seem right him sleeping so peacefully. Usually he
’
s shouting the house down and kicking his bedding off. He
’
s almost civilized right now.”

Tito perched on the arm of the chair, and the warm scent of his body was another layer of comfort in that sterile, scary place. “Make the most of it. The general opinion is that he
’
s not in a critical state now, but they want to make absolutely sure there are no underlying problems waiting in the wings.”

“You don
’
t think there are, do you?”

She looked up at his face, and he shrugged as if it hurt him not to be able to give her an answer. “We
’
ll find out soon.”

As if on cue, the door opened and two doctors came in carrying clipboards. “Ah, good to see you
’
re both in here together,” the older man with a beard said and shook both their hands in turn. He leaned over and peeled back the blanket covering Nick
’
s chest and pressed his fingertips to his skin briefly. He seemed happy with that, and Erica shot Tito a querying look to which she received another shrug. They were both in the dark.

The younger doctor with thick black glasses spoke. “We
’
ve had the third set of blood tests back and a result.”

Erica felt sick
—his expression was somber. “What have you found?”

“It wasn
’
t easy to pin down, but the diagnosis is the same for both you and your son, Mrs. Makris.” He glanced at his clipboard briefly and swallowed. “I
’
m afraid you both have acute Q fever.”

Erica began to shake and Tito pressed a firm, calming hand down on her shoulder. “Q fever? What the hell is that?”

The older doctor took over. “Basically you have been infected by a bacteria called
Coxiella burnetii
. The symptoms vary from person to person and some people show no symptoms at all. You, Mrs. Makris, weren
’
t quite so badly affected as your son. He had a much higher temperature than you but we need to put you both on a course of antibiotics to clear it up. That usually works.”

“
So it
’
s not so bad after all, thank God.”

The doctor held up his pen and looked serious. “We need to keep an eye on things. Most people with acute Q fever infection recover, others may experience serious illness with complications that may include pneumonia, liver inflammation, inflammation of the heart tissue, and central nervous system complications.”

Her fingertips touched her cheek and they felt cold. “Christ.”

“Is there any chance you could be pregnant, Mrs. Makris?”

Her jaw dropped. “Um…”

“Because, I
’
m afraid that pregnant women who are infected may be at risk for pre-term delivery or miscarriage. But, as I said, antibiotics should fix you both fine.”

Erica felt like she
’
d been hit by a truck. “You say
should
…”

The doctor pursed his lips. “The chances are you will both be fine, but it
’
s my duty to tell you the facts however unlikely they may be to occur.
Coxiella burnetii
 can persist for long periods of time in your body after infection. Although the majority of people with acute Q fever recover completely, a post-Q fever fatigue syndrome has been reported to occur in ten to twenty-five percent of some acute patients. This syndrome is characterized by constant or recurring fatigue, night sweats, severe headaches, photophobia, muscles and joint pain, mood changes, and difficulty sleeping.”

“Shit, that
’
s up to a quarter statistically.” Erica felt stunned and then very angry. “I was wrong to bring Nick to this country. This would never have happened at home. What have I done? How did we get infected by this crappy bacteria?”

The doctor scratched his chin. “It
’
s hard to avoid completely, because it lives in domestic animals like cattle, sheep, goats, birds, and cats. Wild animals and ticks carry it. You can get Q fever by drinking unpasteurized milk, or by inhaling dust or droplets in the air that are contaminated with infected animal feces, blood, or birth products. High risk groups are slaughterhouse workers, veterinarians, food processors, sheep and cattle workers.”

Erica
’
s head fell back against the wall behind her chair with despair. “Those women,” she moaned. “It must have come from them. Those crones with their goat cheese, their herbs, and infected
dust
between their toes.”

“
We don’
t know that,” Tito said calmly, and she felt his hand squeeze her shoulder.

“It
’
s a worldwide disease,” the younger doctor added. “You can get it anywhere.”

“Anywhere?” Erica said almost hysterically.

The doctor shrugged innocently. “Of course.”

This wasn
’
t fair, and she wasn
’
t sure she believed him. “Then why didn
’
t Tito get it?”

“He may have it but shows no symptoms. He may have had it unknowingly before and now has immunity. He may have been lucky.”

Erica now felt exhausted from venting her fury. “Well, that
’s just marvelous, isn’
t it? What happens next?”

“We
’
d recommend you both stay in hospital for a few days to be on the safe side, but as the infection is acute as opposed to chronic at this stage we are confident you
’
ll both make a full recovery. You will need to arrange your own general nursing care, though. We simply don
’
t have the resources for that.”

Tito stood up and his voice was steady. “
Understood. I
’
ve already booked them into the private hospital in Heraklion so that you have free beds for people who need them.”

The doctor looked relieved and both men made for the door. “That
’
s excellent,” the older doctor said over his shoulder as his pager went off. “I
’
ll email over the case notes and arrange for the first doses of antibiotics to be administered.”

“
I feel knackered,
” Erica whispered and hugged Nick close.

Tito hunched down next to her and rested his elbows on his thighs. “Erica, this whole thing has really shaken me and going back and forth between you both all night has given me more than enough time to think things over and dwell on things I would rather not.”

“I
’
m sorry I flaked out on you too. I hate being needy like this.”

“No, I didn
’
t mean that.” He took a deep breath and the dark circles under his eyes made his irises seem even greener than usual. “The other day I went to watch Nick sleeping. It makes me feel so calm and puts all the stupid niggles of the day in sharp perspective. I didn
’
t mean to wake him up, but I couldn
’
t resist giving his little cheek a stroke and he woke up. He smiled and said
dada
. I know it
’
s a noise babies make all the time, but… I haven
’
t been able to get it out of my head. Even though I
’
ve always said I won
’
t have kids of my own, there is something telling me I can be a good father to him. Maybe him saying that to me was fate or Yannis was watching over us. Erica, I want to adopt Nick, because if anything happened to you…”

“Nothing will happen to me,” she said and then realized what a stupid statement that was under the circumstances.

Tito was silent but the one raised eyebrow spoke volumes. His fingers knotted together and flexed so that his knuckles went white.

“No, you
’
re right,” she said meekly. “And I have to be sensible. It
’
s crossed my mind before that if something did happen to me Nick might end up with my mother as next of kin.”

“Exactly.”

“God, that is a terrible thought. And if she realized there was any cash to be had out of it then nothing would stop her…” A torrent of emotion and mixed feelings swept over her. Being a grown-up was too hard to bear sometimes. “Tito, you swore to me and on Yannis
’
s memory that you would lay down your life for Nick, and I believe you. I saw how you were with him last night and this morning, and I know in my heart that there is no other living man on earth who would make a better father for him than you.” She swallowed and paused for a moment as his eyes anxiously searched her face. “He needs a father and adopting him would formalize it. Then I won
’
t have to worry about dying from Greek cheese poisoning anymore.”

His face lit up, and she felt like bursting into tears at how relieved he seemed to be. “It would mean so much to me,” he said in a low soft voice and took the hand she had stretched out to him. “I do love him very much.”

“He called you
Dada
, Tito. I don’
t think that was just a baby noise. I think he knows who loves him instinctively. He loves you back and it
’
s unconditional.”

And somewhere along the line I fell in love with you too…

Chapter Fourteen

T
ito stood at the top of the square tower of the castle and squinted in the bright sunshine. The breeze whipped his hair into black peaks, and he took a deep fortifying breath as a church bell rang out. He was supposed to be clearing his head up there and adapting to the shocking news that meant everything was about to change.

The Athens wedding bomber had been arrested, and it wasn
’
t a gang of mobsters or terrorists; it was a small unhappy woman. A woman who believed she had been cheated out of a husband had planned the cold-blooded murder of the bride and groom out of revenge. The fact that so many other people were murdered was purely coincidental; her incompetent accomplices had grossly miscalculated the amount of explosive they would actually need and although the entire male Frangos line had been wiped out that was not her intention. She had confessed and handed over enough evidence to make sure she went behind bars for a very long time if not forever and that was her wish. Life without the man she loved so much she destroyed him had become unbearable.

He would tell Erica the good news when he picked her and Nick up from the hospital in an hour. She would be ecstatic that they didn
’
t have to stay hidden any longer, but Tito couldn
’
t come to terms with the fact that this would change everything. The reasons he had been able to keep them so close and get so attached to looking after them both had gone. There was no longer a mortal threat to either of them and he, Tito, had the trustee
’
s blessing if they now divorced. Erica could stay as Nick
’
s mother on her own terms. He would now have to relinquish control and let Erica have her independence back. He couldn
’
t hide the news from her, and it was a cause for celebration. But his heart wasn
’
t singing because now she could walk out and leave him if she really wanted to.

With any other woman he wouldn
’
t have to worry because Khloris had been right. Just the luxury lifestyle and pots of money in the bank would be enough to keep her with him, but Erica was different. The only way he had been able to get her to come to Crete and marry him was because of her son
’
s safety—money hadn
’
t motivated her at all. She had even questioned whether coming to Crete to claim Nick
’
s legacy was the right thing to do anyway. The Frangos women wanted her son taken away from her but Nick was still the legitimate heir whatever the trustees decreed. Perhaps she and Nick could fight them in the courts another day…

And what had happened to them leading pretty much separate lives once things had settled here anyway? Somehow that hadn
’
t happened, and they had become
involved
. They were both to blame, stuck together in an emotional bubble, bound together by the child they would both die for. God, this was going to turn out a mess.

“What the hell am I going to do now, Yannis?” His softly-spoken words were carried away by the breeze, and he felt hollow. He wanted Erica to stay in his Cretan home. A divorce seemed…so final, so terminal. It would sever all the tiny connections they had made as a “family.” But if he said that to her she might get the wrong idea. She might start thinking that he had deep feelings about her and that their marriage could be real, and he wouldn
’
t be able to defend himself. Everything would unravel, start to rot, and he would end up a tortured shell of a man like his father because he couldn
’
t allow himself to love any woman. He had to protect himself and maybe putting physical distance between them would be the answer. The feelings he had would fade over time and his heart would be safe.

Locked up in his castle, confined to her private hospital suite, and never far away from him he could get away with being deliberately emotionally distant with her and ignore what was beginning to happen inside him with physical distraction. There were always people around and when they were alone it was easy to roll into bed and have sex rather than talk. Talking would get dangerous eventually, and she would want him to say things that he could not—words of love and commitment.

Now he had to give her the key to her gilded cage while she still tolerated his carefully controlled morsels of affection. Would the great sex, bank account, and the security he offered her be enough to make her stay? The dull ache in the pit of his stomach spoke the truth; she wasn
’
t interested in wealth and luxury. Erica was a woman who would demand his love and commitment or her freedom to leave and find love elsewhere. He wasn
’
t ready to even say that word, let alone admit that he didn
’
t want to face the coming years without her.

What a mess his head was in. He wanted Erica close, yet he had to push her away to protect himself and to protect her. He would only disappoint her in the end because he couldn
’
t give her the love and commitment she would inevitably demand and getting further entangled would only cause deeper pain for both of them. They had to put Nick first, and he needed stability and unconditional love, not two emotionally bereft adults forming a warped world around him. It was time to get things back on a businesslike track. Perhaps it would be wise to wind up their relationship now before either of them got more seriously hurt even though the prospect was almost unbearable to contemplate.

Sapere aude
…dare to be wise. Now was the time.

Tito made his way slowly down the stairs and went into his study to fetch his car keys. The adoption papers were lying ready to be signed on his desk, and his chest felt tight at the thought. He shook his head, unlocked the left hand drawer and went to slide the envelope in on top of their marriage certificate, prenup, and the undated divorce papers his lawyers had drawn up at the same time. Divorce papers because that was how all this was supposed to end ultimately. They had agreed on it, but neither of them could have expected it to happen so soon. They had both been skillfully played and manipulated by the Frangos women, and it was not a good feeling.

Tito slammed the drawer shut and locked it again. He had no choice but to open all the windows and doors that kept Erica confined and just pray that she would choose to stay with him as they were. He had to offer her that freedom. How could he not when just the thought of a locked door made him break out in a sweat? He was no hypocrite, and he was no jailor. The most important thing about all this was Nick. Nick
’
s future in Greece. He had to keep Nick close at all costs, and that fact needed to be at the forefront of his mind.

“O
h, Tito, it
’
s so wonderful to be out of that place!” Erica grinned with delight as they pushed Nick along the promenade that ran parallel to Rethymnon beach. “It feels like we
’
ve been locked up forever, but it
’
s only been a week since they admitted us.”

“You need some sun on your skin and some fresh air in your lungs, both of you. I didn
’
t think a little stroll on the way back home would do any harm.”

Erica took a bite of the gyro pitta they had bought from a beach café after Nick had been fed a little baby
mezze
and closed her eyes for a moment to savor it. “Maybe it
’
s the fresh air or the sea or the fact everything doesn
’
t smell of bleach, but this is completely delicious.” She glanced over her left shoulder and then to her right before staring straight ahead at the yellow sand and regimented lines of blue sun umbrellas. Something was different. “We
’
re on our own. No bodyguards…”

Tito bit down on his bottom lip and scrunched up the paper napkin that had held his food. “Yes. It
’
s just us three today.”

“But—”

“They
’
ve caught the bomber. She
’
s behind bars, and she won
’
t be coming out. There was never any vendetta against the Frangos family in particular as it turns out. It was a very personal act of revenge that got out of hand.”

“But that
’
s brilliant news!” Her mind began to race and her heartbeat was trying to keep up. “We
’
re free! No more hiding behind big walls. We can come and go how we please without a carload of people to look after us.” She bent down to tickle Nick
’
s chin, but he had fallen asleep after his lunch. “Life is really going to take off now, my little horror,” she whispered with a smile.

Tito looked down at him affectionately as well and then drew the buggy hood down to protect him from the sun. “I thought you
’
d be pleased.”

“Of course I
’
m pleased. Who wouldn
’
t be? Aren
’
t you?” She laughed, but Tito didn
’
t join in. There had to be more to all this and her heart sank. “What
’
s up?
”

“Nothing, I
’
m tired that
’
s all.”

She didn
’
t believe him. Tito was rarely tired, and they hadn
’
t had sex for over a week so he should be fizzing with excess energy. “Perhaps we should go home and get you into bed?” she said and touched the side of her head playfully against his shoulder. He stared out to sea, and it irritated her. He was putting a damper on her excellent mood, and she wasn
’
t going to tolerate it. “Come on,” she huffed. “Spit it out, whatever it is.”

He assumed an airy tone that didn
’t suit him.
“I
’
ve put some money into your bank account as we agreed.”

“I said I didn
’
t need it, but you did it anyway.” She knew he would do what he wanted in any case, and she shouldn
’
t complain. Millions of women would kill to be in her shoes. “So thank you. It
’
s very kind of you.”

“It
’
s practical. You can do what you like with it and don
’
t need to ask me for anything.”

“Thank you again.” She was feeling a little icky about this, but whatever. “
I won
’
t spend it all on shoes and sweets.”

He crossed his arms across his chest. “Everything has changed. There is no reason for you not to be independent now, to follow your dreams knowing that you are safe and Nick is being looked after.”

“It
’
s great news, but I don
’
t really get what you
’
re saying.”

“I thought you might want to get back to university now, to make something of yourself, boost your self-esteem. You
’
ve only been away from it for a short while and perhaps you could pick up where you left off. Being a meek little Greek wife was never something you wanted, was it? You said so enough times, especially when the subject of getting Nick christened came up.”

“I felt very strongly that he wasn’t christened.
We didn
’
t have an orthodox wedding and neither of us are religious so—”

His reply was sharp. “Our
wedding
just served a purpose, we both know that.”

He was building that emotional wall up again, and she sensed he wasn
’
t going to let her climb over any more. “And that wedding wasn
’
t real, I haven
’
t forgotten. It was just a contract, right?”

“Yes. And it occurred to me that you might like a house of your own to live in, somewhere more convenient to the university in Rethymnon if you went back to your studies. That way you can enjoy the social life and not get distracted from your work. I would pay all the course fees up front for you, naturally, and Nick would only be a short journey away with me and the nannies. Or we can leave things exactly as they are, but you now have the choice to do your own thing as your lives aren
’
t under threat. It
’
s up to you.”

Her own house? Greek wives didn
’
t live in different houses from their husbands. But, of course, she wasn
’
t a “real” wife, and now she felt much more like a mistress with access to her lover
’
s charge card. It hit her like a bullet train right in the face: he was trying to get rid of her after all that had happened, to distance himself. And then she paused to think rationally. What had actually happened? She and Nick had been sick. They all three had been in hiding, and to stave off the boredom of it all she and Tito had indulged in lots and lots of sex. He probably wasn
’
t that attracted to her after all, just scratching that itch he had referred to because there was no other discreet outlet. And she had practically forced herself on him the first time, hadn
’
t she? She felt degraded. He was bored with her already. She wasn
’
t good enough for him to want her around him anymore. All the nasty things the women in black had been whispering in her ear were coming true. This really hurt…

Erica
’
s mind was reeling, but she also felt confused and angry. She could see what was happening but felt helpless to stop it. Tito was trying to maneuver her almost back to square one, to a situation where she would be potentially separated from her son. Was this how he planned it all along? Now she was in Crete and had no allies and nowhere to run she was even more vulnerable than when she was pole dancing. She might have money in the bank, but she only had his word for it, and he could easily not put in a penny more if she didn
’
t do as she was told. She chose her words carefully. “I
’
m not sure that I want what you
’
re suggesting.”

“Then perhaps you should consider your options now that the scenario has changed. There are lots of way to play this that will ensure your happiness and Nick
’
s welfare.” Still he wouldn
’
t look her in the eye, and she felt cold in spite of the fierce Cretan sun. “We are only here now because of Nick, after all.”