Little White Lie
Page 8
“Is that your choice or his?” Cara asked.
“Mine.”
“He wants to see you again! So why not?”
“Car, I can’t. I want to so bad, but I can’t. I’m engaged, remember?”
Cara pouted in anger. “Syddie, why don’t you just break things off with Brett, honey? You don’t love him at all—that much I know.”
“I… I can’t.”
Cara put the pooch on the floor and sidled up beside her Syd, enveloping Syd’s hand in her own. “You know how much I love you, right, Syddie?” Syd nodded. “Then don’t be mad at me for saying this. This morning, and all evening, I’ve noticed something in you that I haven’t seen in years. There’s a light in your eyes again, Syd, a flush in your cheeks. Genuine happiness in your laughter when you talk about Caleb. I’m certainly not one to tell you what to do.” Cara snorted. “Hell, look at my track record. I’m still single.”
Syd eyed their clasped hands and frowned. “You’re my best friend, Cara.”
“Well, if I am your best friend it’s high time we had a talk. Listen, Syd, you never told me why you even agreed to marry someone you essentially despise. You need to come clean with me and tell me what’s going on. I can’t help you get through this if I don’t know.”
“I made a deal,” she whispered harshly. “A fucking deal. If I married him, my father—” she paused, trying to rein in the tears.
“What? A deal? No. No, no, no, Syddie. Break the deal!”
“It’s too late,” she said, covering her face and letting the tears that flooded her eyes flow freely.
“Talk to me, Sydney,” Cara said softly.
She took a deep breath and sniffled. “It’s been so hard keeping this from you, Car. It’s a long story and you have to promise not to say a word of this to anyone, ever. Okay?”
“I swear, Syd.”
“When Papa lived in Greece, years before he came here, he was married, as you know. Her name was Nalla. Nalla Papandrea. And Papa, his name was Stefanos Papandrea.”
Cara interrupted. “Wait a sec, but…isn’t your family’s last name Christou?”
Syd nodded. “I’m getting to that.” She folded her hands in her lap and continued. “They both came from poor families and didn’t have a lot when they set out on their own. Papa cooked in a tiny restaurant and took on other odd jobs when he could to help make ends meet. Nalla worked in a factory, packaging food. They were okay until Nalla got pregnant. Later in the pregnancy, Nalla was finding it harder and harder to spend those long days on her feet, and Papa finally forbade her to work any longer, worried for her health and that of the baby.”
She stood and paced as she spoke, a confused Puff shadowing her every step.
“There was no way they could survive on one salary, especially when the baby came, so Papa…well…” She paused, trying to find the words. “Cara, he joined this gang, worked for a crime boss, a ‘godfather of the night’ as they’re called apparently.”
“Oh no,” Cara whispered.
“He was running small, nondescript errands for them at first and he was making enough extra money so that Nalla didn’t have to go back to work right away after Theo was born. She had no idea what he was doing to make the extra money. He said that he told her he had gotten another restaurant job and she never questioned him, happy to have the extra time with Theo, I guess. Eventually Nalla went back to work when Theo was a couple years old and in school. But Papa…well, he couldn’t quite give up working with the gang. It was easy money for an easy job, mainly delivering packages and whatnot.”
“What was he delivering?”
Sydney shrugged. “He never asked. He liked the quick cash, and the praise he’d get from being so reliable over the years made him believe he had succeeded at something big in life. There were rumors of him moving up the gang’s ranks, and that enticed Papa to work harder. He brought more and more money home and eventually convinced Nalla to be a stay-at-home mom. One night when Theo was eight or nine, Nalla sent him over to a friend’s house for a sleepover. Papa had been spending time at one of the crime boss’s homes and was coming home late almost every night.”
Syd sat and pulled a panting Puff onto her lap. She buried her face in the soft golden fur and closed her eyes. This wasn’t even her story to tell, and yet still…in recounting the details she felt the pain of the coming events herself.
“There were prostitutes there, Cara. A lot of them. Papa, he swears left and right he never touched a single one, and I believe him—he loved Nalla with everything, it’s how Papa loves. But these ladies knew he was a boss favorite, so they clung to him. He’d come home with the stench of their perfume all over him time after time. He lied to Nalla, trying to explain it away, but she must have gotten suspicious and, Papa thinks, she wanted to confront him without Theo present.
“There was this other gang member, Bacchus I believe his name was.” She turned away from her friend and leaned her head back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling as she forged on. “He was jealous of Papa, how likeable he was and how successful he was becoming. He wanted Papa’s rank in the gang, and was willing to do whatever he could to secure it. Papa…” She paused, working to hold back a sob. “Papa said that Bacchus must have been waiting outside the house for an opportune moment, and when he saw Nalla was alone that night, he snuck in…”
“Oh no.”
“And he… He killed her, sliced her throat.” A tear rolled down her cheek as her heart broke all over again for her father and Theo. “He killed her, Cara, and planted tons of drugs all over the place.” She turned to her friend. “Papa came home and found her—blood everywhere. The knife was on the ground beside her and Papa, in shock, picked it up. He was about to call the police when Bacchus walked in. He… He threatened to kill Theo next if Papa didn’t leave. He had to take the blame for killing his wife, for the drugs in the house—for everything—and run. After all, his prints were on the murder weapon and her blood was on his hands. He was scared for Theo’s safety so that’s exactly what he did. He fully understood what these people were capable of and he grabbed what he could, whatever money he could, picked up Theo and ran.”
“Oh Jesus, Sydney!” Cara reached out to hold one of her friend’s shaky hands.
“Papa got fake IDs, changed their last names and fled to Canada. They kept a very low profile. Back in Greece, he was a wanted man. He still is. The police hunted him for the murder of Nalla and for the possession of contraband, and his old gang was looking for him because they thought he was a traitor and stole from them.”
“Was your mom aware of any of this?”
She shook her head. “No, Papa worked very hard to keep it a secret. Theo wasn’t even told all the details surrounding their departure from Greece and the death of his mom until recently.”
“Syddie, this… This is a terrible story. My heart absolutely breaks for your family… Poor Theo,” Cara whispered. “But, honey, how does Brett fit into this?”
“Fuck,” Syd ground out, “I’ve known Brett since university, right. We dated for a while, and honestly things were amazing. I was positive he was my happily ever after, even though I was only twenty-one. But then something changed in him—he became a total stranger with the way he treated me—and I ended it. Even back then I could see he had become possessive and controlling, and a little unstable. He was furious when I broke it off with him, furious because I was the one to call it quits. He felt that it somehow undermined him, that he wasn’t in control of the relationship. How dare I shun him? He’s never been able to let it go, you get how he is. Eleven years and he can’t let it go. He’d call me now and then, show up on my doorstep unannounced, and has tried to force me to get back together with him. He told me years ago he’d find a way to not only get back together with me, but also to get back at me for what I did.”
Cara drained her glass. “Okay, so we’ve established Brett is a freak of nature, but how does this tie in with your dad’s story?”
“B
rett comes from a highly affluent, highly influential family. I don’t know how, but he managed to do some digging—very deep digging by the looks of it—and found out about Papa’s history. He knows everything, all the gory details, and is threatening to tell the government and have Papa extradited.” She twisted her hands in her lap.
“Oh, shit.”
“My father is still a wanted man in Greece, Cara. And Bacchus, well, Theo and I did a bit of our own digging. He’s the godfather, or whatever they call it, of a mafia household now, and has a great deal of power. Papa can’t go back to Greece—Bacchus would hunt him and have him killed. It’s not like Papa is a real threat to him at this point, but Theo and I are positive he’d hurt him just for the sport of it. We’re stuck, and Brett is well aware of that and is making the most of it. He finally has the leverage he needed to regain the control over me he’d lost a decade ago. He could, at last, get what he always wanted—me, groveling to him, doing anything and everything he asked of me. He said he would keep quiet about it, and that, I quote, ‘my drug-dealer, wife-killing father’ can stay free in Canada, but only if I agreed to marry him.”
“That bastard,” Cara spat, standing suddenly, her face furious.
“Papa said he’d never ask me to agree to Brett’s terms. But it’s the only way. Forget about the fact the legal costs would cripple us right now, more importantly I am so terrified of this coming to light—Cara, Papa doesn’t seem well lately. He’s been getting progressively worse, and I don’t think he’d survive it.”
Her breath shuddered and tears traced along her cheeks. Cara sat again and reached an arm around her, hugging her tightly. “Syd, honey, I’m stunned by all this. I don’t know what to say. I can only imagine how trapped the lot of you feel.”
“I’ve already lost two parents, Car. I can’t lose Papa, too,” Syd sobbed. “I just can’t.”
Chapter Fifteen
Syd had opened her front door and was about to head out to the restaurant when her phone rang. She groaned and moved back into the foyer, dropping her purse on the floor with a thunk and muttering under her breath. She ran into the kitchen and snatched up the receiver.
“Hello?”
“I’m coming over tonight, Nikoleta,” Brett said flatly.
“Is that right?” she asked, her voice unintentionally thick with impatience.
He huffed. “I’ll be there at seven.”
“That’s fine, but you can’t stay long. I’m meeting Cara for dinner,” she lied.
“I’ll stay as long as I want to,” he snapped and abruptly hung up.
Syd put the receiver back in the cradle and stuck her tongue out at the phone. She kneeled and scratched her little dog, taking the small face in her hands. She nuzzled Puff nose to nose and sighed. “Aw, Puffy, what am I gonna do?”
Puff wagged her fluffy tail and licked Syd’s face happily.
She laughed and got to her feet. “Now, now. Don’t mess with the makeup.”
Syd picked up her purse. She let out a big sigh and headed out to Christou’s in the balmy March weather.
“Theo!”
“I’m sorry I’m late, sis. I don’t just wake up this beautiful, you know.” He struck a pose and pretended to flip hair over his shoulder, all diva-like.
“Aw, I appreciate how much time you spend getting pretty for me,” she laughed. “Now come here and give me some sugar.” Syd spread her arms out wide, inviting him in for a hug.
He marched straight for her and picked her up, twirling her around in his strong arms, before gently setting her on solid ground again.
“Are you ever going to stop doing that?” she asked, laughing.
His brown eyes twinkled as he grinned at her. He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Nope. Never. It’s an honor reserved especially for you.”
“Thank God for that. I wouldn’t wish being swung around in mid-air like that on anyone else.”
He winked at her. “Being my little sister has its perks.”
“So does having you for a big brother,” she commented, smiling softly. “I need some sort of happy in my life right about now, and I knew I could always count on you.”
Theo glimpsed at her, a deep frown creasing his brow. “Brett,” he simply stated, knowing that was the cause for her misery. He nodded at her hand. “Not wearing the engagement ring, I see.”
“Oh, shit,” she whispered. She had totally forgotten to put the ring back on after her time with Caleb.
“Aw, Syd, just break things off.” When she gaped at her brother, he continued. “Papa won’t die, I promise you. He’s much stronger than you think. If Brett chirps after you break it off we’ll close Seattle. Banff, too, if we need, take the money and get some legal help. We’ll go with Papa to Greece and…”
“Are you kidding me?” Syd asked, stunned that her brother even suggested what he did. “If we go to Greece, if this story comes out, Bacchus and his goons will be right there to kill Papa!”
Theo’s face went stony. “So let that bastard come.”
“Theo!”
“What? I’ll kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands before he has a chance to get to Papa. He’ll pay for what he’s done.”
Heart racing, Syd gazed at her brother in a whole new light. She had been so busy moaning and groaning over what this situation had done to her life—and yet, Theo had found out only three months ago that his biological mother had been brutally and senselessly murdered. Papa, he’d had to relive the horror of the day he had found his wife. What she had to do to protect her family… That was nothing.
“Come,” she said softly, taking Theo by the hand and leading him to one of the darkened corner booths in the restaurant. It was only eleven in the morning and the venue wasn’t open yet. Syd heard the cooks busily moving in the back, banging pots and pans, chatting and getting prepared for the evening ahead, but they weren’t within earshot so she and her brother could speak freely.
“Theo, please, please don’t let this knowledge change who you are. Don’t think those thoughts. We need to protect Papa—here. Not in Greece. What you were thinking, you have to get that out of your head.”
“But…”
“Do you believe for a moment if Papa heard what you said that he would be proud? That it would make him feel better? That it would be helping the situation at all?”
“No,” he mumbled, dropping his chin to his chest in resignation.
“What does help Papa is your boundless positivity. You’re always sure things will turn out right. You’ve always been like that, no matter what this world has thrown your way. Don’t lose that, Theo. Don’t lose yourself in the hate and anger.” She reached over and took her brother’s hand. “We need our goofball, ray of sunshine, happy-go-lucky, nice-guy Theo back. Can you please bring him back?”
His face a mask of pain, he answered, “It’s hard. I have to protect you and Papa, Syd.”
“It’s not your responsibility, Theo. And I know… I know it’s hard for all of us, in a whole lot of different ways. I’m marrying Brett—that is a burden I’m willing to take on for now. But I’ll only have the strength to do it and make it through if I have my brother back.”
He sighed. “He’s an ass for even suggesting this, you know.”
“He’s more of an ass for thinking he can somehow make me fall in love with him again.”
“Oh my God. What if you do fall in love with Brett?” Theo asked, horrified.
Syd chuckled. “Not a chance. If the way he’s acting now is indicative of what he perceives romance to be all about, it’s a wonder he doesn’t have women lined up on his doorstep, armed with guns. No,” she said, clenching her jaw. “I’ll never be his trophy wife, I’ll never let him control me like that and I’ll never fall in love with him, that’s for sure.”
“All right, Syd, I hear you loud and clear.” He smiled softly at his sister and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for the pep talk, mom, slash sister, slash motivational speaker, slash therapist, slash dork.”
His eyes widened briefly. “And, new topic!”
“New topic,” Syd laughed.
“Let’s talk food. It is the reason you’re here after all.” He popped out of his chair and headed toward the back of the restaurant. A moment later he was on his way back, two menus and two pads of paper in hand.
Syd pulled a couple of pens out of her purse as her brother navigated the empty tables. This was one part of her work she enjoyed—discussing a menu revision, coming up with modern twists on classic recipes, trying to spice things up a bit. Theo had graduated from George Brown’s culinary program in Toronto, and his vision and creativity were renowned in the Canadian marketplace. He’d been offered position after position at various hotels and resorts, and yet he remained Christou’s top chef, earning less than half of what he might elsewhere.
“Okay,” he said, sitting opposite Sydney once again. “Let’s do this. I was thinking for appetizers—getting rid of the humus. It hasn’t been the greatest seller, and to be honest it’s so boring. What about adding something different and fun like…like Greek salad tacos, or tzatziki flatbread pizza somethings?” he suggested, his voice bubbling with culinary excitement.
“You know,” Syd said, wiggling her pen at him, “with all the health kicks going on, what about getting rid of the deep-fried calamari and replacing it with a marinated, grilled version?”
The front door opened and a courier rushed in. “Where can I find a…” He paused and consulted the thick padded envelope in his hands. “A Sydney Bennett?”
“That’s me,” Syd said, waving the courier over. She signed for the package and thanked him as he ran back out to his truck.
“What’s that?” Theo asked, peering across the table.
She shrugged. “Not a clue. I wasn’t expecting anything.” She ripped open the envelope and pulled out a small gold box with a business card tucked under a red velvet ribbon. She plucked the card out and eyed it. It was from the Fairmont in Banff.