The Renegade Billionaire (4 page)

“I can understand that. Both his reasons make perfect sense. Would you have liked a stepmother?”

No one had ever asked her that question. “I don't know, since I never grew up with my own mother. To be honest, I didn't care for some of his girlfriends and they didn't care for me, so I'm glad he didn't marry one of them.”

She could hear a change in his breathing. “How old are you, Andrea?”

“Twenty-six. And you?” she fired back, growing more curious to know everything about him.

“Thirty-two. Tell me about the man you were going to marry.”

He'd changed the subject fast.

“Ferrante was Italian-Swiss from Ticino. He came from a large family with five brothers and sisters of whom he was the eldest. I've never met anyone so happy and friendly. Some people have a sunny spirit. He was one of them.”

In the silence that followed, a warm hand reached out and found one of hers to squeeze. “I'm sorry you lost him.”

His sincerity reached the deepest part inside her, but Andrea wished he hadn't touched her. Still, she didn't pull away because she didn't want to offend him when he was trying to give her comfort.

“I'm much better these days. What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?”

He removed the hand that had spread warmth through her body. “Like your father, I've had my share.”

“But so far you've stopped short of marriage.”

“Yes.”

“That
yes
sounded emphatic,” she observed. “With a last name like yours, I guess you can't be too careful.”

“Your perceptiveness must be a gift you were born with.”

“I think it's the influence of my rather cynical father.”

“So he
does
have one flaw...” His response sounded almost playful. “I was beginning to worry.”

“Why?”

“A perfect father is hard to live up to.”

“Are we talking about mine?”

She was waiting for his answer when she heard a faint noise. Andrea supposed it could be a rodent running around, but she hoped it was Darren and jumped to her feet. In the process, her body collided with Stavros, who was also standing, and he wrapped her in his strong arms.

“Don't make a sound.” This time his lips brushed her cheek while he whispered. Instantly rivulets of desire coursed through her bloodstream.

While she stood there locked against his well-honed frame, there was more noise, a little louder than before. Whatever made the sound was getting closer to them. Stavros must have been holding his flashlight because he turned it on in time to see a ferret scurry away.

Andrea relaxed against him, but Stavros still held on to her. No longer whispering, he said, “It's past eleven o'clock. If Darren had planned to come here tonight, he would have arrived by now, don't you think?”

She eased out of his arms and turned on her flashlight so he couldn't tell how much his nearness had turned her body to mush.

“I do.” Until she got herself under control, Andrea wasn't capable of saying anything else.

“Since the lieutenant hasn't phoned me with news yet, that means Darren's still out there, but I doubt he'll do any more hiking before first light.” He scooped up the blanket and folded it. “Since he's not here, it's possible he took the trail leading away from the quarry that eventually goes down the mountain. There are firebreaks that crisscross it. We'll take one, then another. Hopefully we'll locate him.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” Together they left and made their way back to the Jeep. The slightly warmer air outside the dank cave felt good, but she kept the parka on. Once they'd climbed inside, he started it up and they took off at a clip. He turned on his brights to help them in their search. Andrea drank some of her water, thankful he knew where to drive.

“Are you hungry, Stavros?”

“Another gyro sounds good.”

She turned around and got another one out of the hamper and handed it to him. He'd also packed some plums, so she took one for herself and settled back to eat. “Seeing Thassos Island in the dazzling light of day isn't anything like driving through this forest at night.”

“Not so benign, is it?”

A shiver passed through her. “No. Wherever our runaway is, he couldn't be feeling as comfortable about his plan right now. My boss checked with the American consulate. Darren has never been issued a passport before. Since this is his first trip to Europe, it's amazing he'd be willing to run away from the tour in a place so foreign to him. He has to be desperate.”

“Or adventurous and headstrong,” Stavros suggested, “and too spoiled to realize how hard this has to be on his parents or anyone who cares about him.”

She had a hunch he was talking about his younger self. “We have to find him before the press turns his disappearance into an international incident.”

“You took the words out of my mouth.” His voice sounded an octave lower and resonated to the marrow of her bones.

At the first crossroads they came to, he braked and turned right. “While I drive slowly, shine the big flashlight into the trees. We'll take turns calling out his name. If he's hurt and needs help, he might show himself.”

“That's a good idea, but if he wants to stay hidden—”

“Then the sound of our voices will make him nervous that people are looking for him,” Stavros supplied. “Hopefully he'll try to run and in the process give himself away.”

For the next half hour, he drove them over one rough firebreak, then another. “There doesn't seem to be any sign of him, Stavros. Do you think it's possible he hid himself in one of the employees' vehicles while no one was paying attention? Maybe the back of a truck or the trunk of a car?”

Andrea noted the grim expression marring his arresting features. “Those are the first places I assumed the police had looked before I got there. But if they weren't thorough enough...” His voice drifted off.

“Do all the workers live nearby?”

“Their homes are in or around Panagia. If that's what Darren did, then he could lose himself among the tourists in the morning.”

Andrea nodded. “With enough money, he could buy a bike or steal one. Once in Thassos, he could take the ferry to the mainland.”

For the second time that night, Stavros clasped the hand nearest him. “Who should have been the detective now?” Heat passed through her system in waves before he let it go. “I'll find us a place to camp on the outskirts of Panagia.”

The gorgeous man at the wheel had no idea that the thought of spending the rest of the night with him sent her pulse ripping off the charts.

“We can try to get some sleep for what's left of the rest of this night. In the morning, we'll make early rounds of the bike shops.”

“We might actually bump into him.”

“Or her,” he added. “If he's wearing a disguise.” He hadn't forgotten what she'd said. “If not there, maybe at the ferry landing.”

“I want to believe that.” She was worried sick about Darren of course. Stavros couldn't help but hear the tremor in her voice.

“That makes two of us.”

Before too long, he found them a secluded spot. “Do you mind if we don't set up the tent?” His question prompted her to lift her gaze to him, noticing the shadow on his firm jaw. If anything, he was more attractive when he needed a shave.

“No. It's a beautiful night. I've slept out with my father like this hundreds of times. A tent is too confining and we could miss spotting Darren if he were to come this way.”

“You're too good to be true. I think I must be dreaming.”

“You'll know this is for real if I scream out loud because another ferret the size of the one in the cave creeps onto me.”

With a low resonant chuckle he unraveled the bedroll for her to sleep in and made himself a bed on a couple of blankets. They both ate and drank from the contents of the hamper. Then she snuggled into the bedroll and turned on her side toward him.

“Stavros? Thank you for letting me search for Darren with you. I appreciate everything you've done, not only for me, but for him. You're a remarkable man.” He was a lot more than that. She needed to turn off her feelings for him. They were spinning out of control.

“Don't give me any credit,” he said. “I have just as much at stake here as you. And how long it's taking to find him is convincing me he's more clever than I realized.” His hand went to his watch. “I'm setting my alarm so we'll have time to grab some breakfast at one of the cafés first thing in the morning.” Andrea watched him pull out his phone. “I'm going to leave a message for the lieutenant about our plans for tomorrow. Then it's lights out.”

She turned off her flashlight while she listened. In a minute, he shut the big light off and stretched out on his back with only one blanket pulled over him. He put his hands behind his dark head. “You're a very trusting woman to be out in the forest with me.”

“I know the important things,” she came back readily. “I did my research and learned that the Konstantinos Corporation enjoys an excellent reputation far and wide for the quality of their products and their fair dealings. The fact that you cared enough to look for Darren on your own time when you didn't have to says a lot about your character.”

His compassion and understanding of her loss had really been the things that told her he could be trusted. But she refrained from sharing that with him.

“I'd rather talk about your character, Andrea. No one would expect you to have joined in the search. I'm touched that you would tell me about your harrowing experience waiting to hear news of your fiancé.”

She stirred restlessly. “I couldn't just stand by this time. You'd be surprised how many searches I've gone on in the past.”

“What do you mean?”

“Living in some of the third-world areas meant helping out in a crisis at a moment's notice. In some ways, it was easier to find someone's lost son or daughter from a remote village than to track down a teen like Darren who wants to be lost in a country as modern and sophisticated as Greece. With money he could be anywhere doing anything. His poor parents must be frantic.”

Stavros turned on his side. “Has this happened before on one of the tours?”

“There've been a few serious health issues, but no one ever left in the middle of a tour before. Georgios has been with PanHellenic fifteen years and said he's never had someone disappear on him.”

“It's a bizarre situation, one we can't solve tonight.”

“You're right. Good night, Stavros.” She rolled onto her side away from him.

“Kalinychta, despinis.”

His silky voice permeated her body, as if it had found a home. The sensation shocked her before oblivion took over.

* * *

The alarm awakened Stavros at six thirty. He hadn't wanted the night to end and was surprised he'd slept. Probably knowing he'd be with her first thing in the morning was the reason he'd fallen off fast. For the first time since he could remember, a woman had come into his life who excited him in inexplicable ways.

Andrea was still asleep, her shiny blond hair splayed around her. He could still feel her wrapped in his arms in the cave. Between that memory and the intensity of those blue eyes fastened on him last night, it was all he could do not to move closer and draw her into his body. But until the boy was found, he needed to focus on matters that could have an adverse impact on everyone involved.

He packed up and started putting everything in the Jeep. When he went back for the hamper, he discovered Andrea had awakened and was rolling up the bedroll.

“Good morning, Stavros.” Her smile filled his body with warmth. “How long have you been up?”

“A few minutes.”

“Don't tell me if I snore. Some things are better not to know.”

She looked so beautiful with her hair in attractive disarray it took all his self-control not to kiss her voluptuous mouth. “You were quiet as a mouse.”

“So were you. I think.” Despite the seriousness of their situation, she didn't take herself seriously, a trait that appealed to him. They both chuckled.

He took the bedroll from her and put it in the back of the Jeep. She joined him a few minutes later. He noticed she'd brushed her hair and put on a frosted pink lipstick he'd love to taste before he started on her.

Stavros was thunderstruck by his strong physical attraction to her. But right now he needed to concentrate. “Let's go find Darren.”

Once they got in the Jeep, he drove back out to the road that led into Panagia. He stopped in front of a cafeteria, where they went in for rolls and coffee. The proprietress recognized him and hurried over to their table.

He questioned her about Darren and showed her his picture from the cell phone. She said she hadn't seen the American teenager in her café, but she'd call the police if he came in.

For the next half hour, they made the rounds of the bike shops. No one had seen the missing teen. When they went back to the Jeep, Andrea turned to him. “I think we should drive to Thassos and watch for him at the marina. He may have stolen someone's bike in order to get there.”

“Or maybe he hitched a ride with some local.”

“Let's check out all the bars and
tavernas
at the docks. He could be hanging out near the ferry landing stage.”

“The police will be searching everywhere, but we'll add our eyes.”

For the next two hours, they covered the waterfront, but didn't see anyone who resembled Darren. “Stavros? Let's go on board the ferry that's loading and take a look inside the vehicles. I know the police will have already done that, but maybe they missed something. What do you think?”

He saw the pleading in her eyes. It tugged at him. Neither of them wanted to give up the search, even if the police had already looked here.