The Power of the Legendary Greek (11 page)

‘Ready and waiting. How is the lady?’

‘Doing remarkably well after her ordeal. Thanks, Andres. Keep me informed.’

Luke went outside to prowl round the garden. Given the choice, he would have returned to Athens immediately, to be right at the heart of things well in advance of zero hour. Luke’s fists clenched at the thought of Isobel helpless in the kidnapper’s hands. His blood ran cold at the thought of what he might have done to her before killing her. Because whoever was behind all this knew that the perfect way to make him suffer was to threaten the woman they assumed was his. But a fatal mistake had been made in choosing a kidnapper. The man had taken it for granted that the guest staying in his house on Chyros was Arianna Stratos, the woman most recently linked with him.

Luke stalked restlessly through the garden. His feelings had been indescribable as the
Athena
approached that barren little island—hope and gripping fear and then overwhelming, engulfing relief as he spotted the bright gleam of hair against the undergrowth and saw Isobel, dirty and defiant, brandishing her weapon as she prepared to do battle. One look, and all his original suspicions of her had vanished, consumed in the fire of his rage at the thought of losing her, of another man touching her, or worse. Luke smiled crookedly. How polite Isobel had been, making it plain that if he was expecting anything more from his little friend than gratitude for his trouble he was out of luck.

I
SOBEL
woke to a hand patting hers gently and smiled into Eleni’s hovering face. ‘What time is it?’ she asked.

‘Dinner time.’

‘Already?’ Isobel yawned as she sat upright. ‘You should have woken me sooner.’

‘
Kyrie
Luke said leave you rest.’

‘Right. Just give me a few minutes.’

‘Spiro put paintings in room downstairs,’ the woman informed her.

Isobel thanked her warmly. So much had happened since painting them, she’d forgotten about her watercolours. Ten minutes later, her hair and face were as good as she could make them, but her shirt was badly creased. Not that it mattered if she was eating alone. Though she would have appreciated some company after her adventure. But, as had happened in the past with other men, maybe Luke wasn’t interested in her sparkling conversation if it was the only thing on offer. Isobel’s thoughts skidded to a halt. Why, exactly, was she so adamant about that? After her brush with possible death, would it be so terrible to enjoy a brief love affair with a man who appealed to her on every possible level? She leaned back in the chair with a sigh. Not terrible, at all,
which was the problem. A love affair with Luke might—would—be a thing of glory for a few days. And nights. But she had to think outside the box, to the time when she flew home to the real world. So she’d pushed him away, even though every instinct had been screaming at her to celebrate life by making love with the charismatic man who’d saved that life for her. Twice.

Luke suddenly appeared in the open doorway as though her thoughts had conjured him up. ‘You look very serious, Isobel.’

‘I was contemplating the mysteries of life,’ she said lightly. ‘Is there any news?’

‘Only that all arrangements are in hand.’ Luke drew up a chair beside her. ‘My assistant is keeping me up to speed.’

‘Is she super-efficient?’ And probably beautiful, too, thought Isobel glumly.

‘The best. Andres Stefanides has been my right-hand man since I bought my first freighter. I would trust him with my life, Isobel,’ said Luke and got up, still too restless to sit. He went over to the glass doors to open them wide and brought in the veranda table. He set it in front of Isobel, then closed and locked the doors.

‘Do you
really
think there’s a danger he might come here again?’ she asked.

‘It is best to guard against the possibility.’ He slammed one fist into the other in frustration. ‘I will not rest until the police have him in custody and I can find out who is pulling his strings. From your description, he sounds like another hired thug, so there must be some mastermind behind him.’

She hesitated. ‘It couldn’t possibly be your grandfather? Because of his wife’s death?’

Luke shook his head. ‘Even if he did the unthinkable and hired a man to kill someone of his own blood, Theo would
not have arranged the abduction. Arianna’s grandfather is a lifelong friend.’

‘You mean the kidnapper thought I was this Arianna?’ said Isobel, eyes narrowed.

‘Yes. She is a good friend of mine.’

‘Pillow variety?’

‘No. We share the kind of relationship you say you yearn for, Isobel. She is an intelligent, handsome woman whose company I enjoy when we get together, but—’

‘But she’s not the type you take to bed.’

‘No.’ Luke lifted an expressive shoulder. ‘She is proof that it is possible for a man and woman to be just friends, Isobel.’

‘I just wish more men felt the same. When I was in the hut, wondering if the man was going to come back and finish me off, I wondered if I’d ever see any of my friends again, Joanna most of all. It was an extra spur to get myself out.’ Isobel smiled. ‘And then you came, so all’s well that ends well.’

‘You should not have been forced to endure such treatment,’ said Luke bitterly.

She shrugged. ‘I survived. By the way, when he found he had the wrong woman, surely whoever’s behind this must have wondered if you’d pay to get me back?’

‘You were a guest in my house, whoever you were,’ said Luke with emphasis. ‘He knew I would pay. Though he made a big mistake with old Denis Stratos. Arianna was actually there in the room with her grandfather when the ransom demand arrived.’

Eleni beamed at them both as she came in to lay the table. For two, Isobel noted, brightening, as Spiro followed with a tray of steaming dishes.

Luke thanked them and smiled at Isobel as the couple left them to their dinner. ‘You look surprised.’

‘I am. I was expecting to dine alone tonight.’

‘You would prefer that?’

Isobel shook her head irritably. ‘Of course I wouldn’t.’

‘Then you must eat well tonight,’ he urged. ‘You must be very hungry, Isobel.’

‘Oddly enough, I wasn’t when we arrived home. I was just dirty and thirsty—’ She broke off at the look he gave her. ‘What is it?’

‘You said “home”.’

She flushed. ‘I suppose the villa felt like that after my adventures.’ She went on eating for a moment, then met his watchful eyes. ‘In the hut I thought I might never live to eat another meal of any kind.’

Luke’s mouth twisted as he put out a hand to cover hers. ‘Do not think of it any more, Isobel. I have you safe now. And I swear I will keep you that way.’

‘Right. Let’s talk about pleasanter things.’ She raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Tell me about this Arianna of yours.’

‘She is not mine!’ Luke grinned. ‘Arianna is an attractive, intellectual woman who refuses to marry any of the men her family keep bringing out for her.’

‘Are you one of those?’

He shook his head. ‘Due to the circumstances of my birth, I am not considered eligible.’

‘Even though you’re the grandson of Theo Andreadis?’

‘Since he refuses to acknowledge the relationship, yes.’

‘Would you like him to?’

His mouth tightened. ‘Would you, in the same situation?’

Isobel gave it some thought. ‘If he was the only relative I had it’s possible I might make some kind of move towards détente, yes.’

‘I do not possess your capacity for forgiveness. Also your
experience of grandparents was very different from mine,’ he reminded her.

‘True.’ She smiled fondly at the memory. ‘I was very lucky. But tell me more about Arianna.’

‘We dine together occasionally, and if she needs an escort for some function her family insists she attend, I help her out. Which is no hardship. She is good company and I am fond of her.’

‘Is she fond of you?’

‘Of course,’ he said, grinning. ‘But she is in love with someone else.’

‘So why doesn’t he escort her?’

Luke smiled wryly. ‘Arianna is a follower of Sappho. Her lover is a woman. But, other than me, and now you, no one knows that.’

‘That kind of secret must be hard to keep,’ said Isobel. ‘But at least she has one thing going for her—she didn’t get kidnapped.’

Luke laughed and seized her hand to kiss it. ‘She would have been more of a handful for the kidnapper than you, Isobel. Arianna is built on heroic lines.’ He eyed her challengingly. ‘So, I have told you about the woman in my life. Now tell me about the men in yours. There must have been other men in your life before the swine who tried to force you.’

She winced. ‘There were several in college, of course, but the ones who remain constant in my life are Leo and Josh Carey. Their family lived near my grandparents, so we grew up together. When they were teenagers they had a party. Joanna, the new kid on the block at the time, was invited to it, and the four of us have been firm friends ever since. Jo and I had boyfriends, of course, and the twins, who are doctors now, attract women like magnets, but Jo and I have a special relationship with them. Though Jo is married now.’

‘And does her husband approve of these men?’

‘Of course. But it wouldn’t matter to her if he didn’t. Jo is fiercely loyal.’

Luke smiled. ‘I think you are, too, Isobel.’

‘I try to be. Besides, I’ve known the twins since nursery school. To me, they’re like brothers.’

‘Ah, but do they look on you as a sister?’

‘Of course they do. ’She looked at the straight-backed chair he was sitting on, legs outstretched. ‘You can’t be comfortable on that. If I lie on the bed you can have the easy chair. Unless you have things to do.’

‘What could be more important than spending the evening with you, Isobel?’ He stood up. ‘But first I shall go down to the study and check again with Andres. Though there can be no real news or he would have contacted me. Then I shall come back and take advantage of your offer. Unless you need sleep?’ he added.

‘No.’
She shook her head so emphatically he frowned.

‘You are nervous about sleeping?’

‘Not exactly. But I’d like to be a lot more tired tonight before I try.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘It was a bad move to sleep before dinner.’

‘Rest was vitally necessary after your ordeal.’ His eyes darkened as he looked down at her. ‘I would give much to have spared you that.’

‘But you rescued me—again,’ she pointed out.

‘For which I have not been suitably rewarded,’ he said casually and strolled to the door, slanting a glittering smile over his shoulder. ‘Is there anything you need when I come back?’

‘Nothing, thank you.’

Isobel wondered what Luke meant by a suitable reward. Who was she trying to kid? What would any man expect
under the circumstances? She piled the pillows against the headboard and propped herself upright against them.

When Luke came back she eyed him expectantly. ‘Any news?’

‘No. Just that all is in readiness for tomorrow night, and I shall leave early in the morning. I shall be there on the scene when the ransom money is claimed.’

‘
What?
Are you mad?’ Isobel stared at him, horrified. ‘Surely it’s best to leave the police to deal with that! You’ve already escaped a stabbing; you might not be so lucky a second time.’

His face set into lines which made argument futile. ‘Then that is my fate and cannot be avoided. This is something I must do, Isobel.’ He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. ‘Surely you can understand this.’

‘Oh, I do,’ she said with hostility. ‘It’s all down to testosterone. But I don’t approve.’ But, if he was taking off in the morning, maybe this was a good time to give him her present, just in case… She pushed the thought away. ‘I should have asked you to fetch something for me.’

‘I will fetch it now. What is it?’

‘The watercolours I was working on. Spiro put them safe somewhere, in the room I was using downstairs.’

Isobel felt tense as she waited for him to bring the paintings. A man like Lukas Andreadis could buy whatever expensive artwork he fancied. Would he consider her efforts amateurish? The pool painting was no Hockney, but she hoped Luke would like it as a keepsake just the same.

He came back quickly, holding a large package. ‘Spiro wrapped them up very carefully,’ he said, handing it to her.

‘He’s such a star, your Spiro,’ said Isobel warmly. ‘Eleni, too. You’re lucky to have them.’

‘I know this.’ Luke gestured at the package impatiently. ‘Open it.’

Isobel removed the wrapping paper carefully, then handed him the painting of the pool.

Luke stood looking down at it, his face inscrutable, and then said the last thing she expected to hear. ‘So. You really do paint.’

Isobel’s eyes blazed as she realised what he meant. ‘My sketches didn’t convince you, then. You still suspected me of wanting a story for some tabloid—or, worse still, that I was a tourist out for a holiday thrill.’

‘However beautiful and appealing you were, past experience made me suspicious,’ he admitted, and gave her a long, unsmiling look. ‘I soon discovered that you were neither of those things.’

‘But you still doubted that I could paint!’

‘If I did, I doubt no longer. This is exquisite.’ He was so obviously sincere she calmed down. ‘You are not only an artist, but a very gifted one, Isobel. You create atmosphere. I feel both the cool of the water
and
the heat of the day in your painting.’

‘It’s a present for you—a very small way to thank you for all your kindness,’ she said with formality.

He bowed, equally formal. ‘
Efcharisto poli
, Isobel. I am honoured.’ He put the painting very carefully on the dressing table. ‘I shall have it framed in Athens and hang it in my bedroom there.’ He watched closely as she unwrapped the painting of the beach. ‘This also is wonderful.’

‘It’s
my
keepsake. To take home to look at and convince myself that all this really happened.’

Luke took the painting to join the other one, then sat beside her on the bed. ‘As I said before, Isobel, I shall need no reminders of my trespasser. But I shall treasure the painting because it is not only beautiful, but a gift from you.’

‘Now you know I really am an artist!’ she said acidly, then looked at him in appeal. ‘I wish you wouldn’t go there tomorrow, Luke.’

‘You are afraid I shall be killed?’

‘Of course I am!’

‘I was brought up in a hard school. I can look after myself. And I am not fool enough to go there alone. Andres and my security team will be in the background in support.’ Luke looked into her eyes, as though assessing her mood, then drew her into his arms and held her close. ‘Do not worry, Isobel.’

‘I can’t help it. I’ll have nightmares tonight.’

‘I know a remedy for that,’ he whispered.

‘Cocoa?’

He let out a smothered crack of laughter. ‘I tasted that once in England, but I doubt that we have any here. My remedy is even sweeter, Isobel,’ he added in a tone which sent her pulse racing. ‘I must go down and tell Spiro what hour I intend to leave.’ He kissed her fleetingly on the lips and brushed a hand over her hair.

Isobel lay frowning at the door he’d closed behind him. Had that been a
goodnight, sleep well
kind of kiss? She slid carefully off the bed to collect the beautifully laundered nightgown Eleni had left ready and limped to the bathroom, impatient with herself. He probably thought his doubts had made her angry. Maybe normally they would have. But tomorrow he was going to risk his life to hunt down the man out for his blood. She shivered, knowing she had no hope of any sleep tonight, for more reasons than one. She should have been more blunt and simply asked Luke to sleep with her. Best cure of all for nightmares—and probably a good many other things. Surviving kidnap had put things into perspective, teaching her that life was not only short, but could also be very sweet if she let it.