Dark Desires (Dark Romance Boxed Set)

by Cerys du Lys

  I’d never even found him bright on the surface. I’d seen the rot quickly enough.

  “I knew Nigel would come after you,” Nick went on. “He’s so fucking predictable.”

  “I thought you were going to kill him. That really scared me. After just finding out you weren’t a thief, I didn’t want to see you turn into a murderer.”

  The change of expression on Nick’s face was almost comical. “What do you mean, you found out I wasn’t a thief?”

  “Nigel told me that some artifact you’d stolen had been returned. Real thieves don’t give back the loot.”

  “Wait. What? How the fuck does he know that?”

  “And you admitted you were working under cover, trying to save your grandfather. You also told me a few days ago that you had a plan. I’m still not sure what the plan is, but clearly there is more to you than I originally thought.”

  He was silent, so I prodded, “You told me you’d explain.”

  “I will. It’s just—if Nigel knows the stuff is being returned, somebody has fucked up. Shit. That means he’s on his guard. No wonder he’s planning to abandon ship earlier than he’d intended.”

  “He mentioned he’d heard of one case where something had ended up back in the country instead of in private hands.”

  “There’ve been a lot more than one case, but it’s been done in secrecy. He shouldn’t have heard of any cases. Damn. Someone has been careless.”

  “Well, he’s definitely suspicious. He tried to make me tell him what you were planning, but of course, I didn’t know.”

  “People are onto my cousin. Serious people. They want to take him down. Not only for antiquities smuggling, but for other crimes as well. So yeah, I’ve been helping them achieve that goal.”

  “It’s true, then.” I was exultant. “From the beginning you’ve been playing a role with me. The big, bad antiquities smuggler.”

  “I had to. I couldn’t risk you knowing. I’ve brought enough trouble down on your head as it is.”

  I listened while he explained that it had been Nigel who had gotten his grandfather involved in illegal antiquities trading. “I don’t pretend that the old boy hasn’t taken avidly to a life of crime, but it never would have happened if Nigel hadn’t facilitated it. I didn’t even know what was going on until an old acquaintance clued me in. The authorities were going to go after both Nigel and Granddad, but I managed to talk them into giving Granddad a break. But to make it work, all his thefts had to be undone by me.”

  “Undone?”

  “Since I’ve been involved, everything he’s stolen has been returned by my agents. Granddad and Nigel think the stuff has been sold to certain private art collectors—the sort of folks who aren’t fussy about provenance.”

  I worked through the implications. “But it hasn’t?”

  “Not any longer. The private collectors are no longer in the loop.”

  “Someone must have had to fork over money in exchange for the artifacts. Right?”

  “Fortunately, my friend Max, whom Nigel used to bully when we were in high school, is a billionaire. He’s the one who lent me the yacht.

  “For the scheme to work, it was essential to make Nigel believe that I had turned to the dark side. That’s where the human trafficking thing came in. He and I grew up together, so we know each other’s weaknesses. He knew that if anything tempted me—” He paused. “Just to be clear, slave trafficking could never tempt me, but kinky sex is a different story. Nigel doesn’t draw much distinction between the two. The principle of consent is something that has never resonated with him.”

  “So you told him you were into human trafficking, and he believed it?”

  “I didn’t tell him outright. I made sure he heard it from other sources. And then you came along. I realized that it would all seem much more believable if I had a slave in my possession.” He grinned at me. “A beautiful young woman who would act submissive around me and obey my every order.”

  I winced. “Okay, so I wasn’t exactly perfect.”

  “You did fine.”

  We took a break from the story for some intense kissing. Which turned into intense yearning, desire and need. Soon the question of Nick’s true character began to seem irrelevant. Whoever he was, I adored him.

  Chapter 36

  Ellie

  Early the next morning, Nick and I rowed back into the rocky inlet of Golden Dolphin Island. Metin remained on the yacht, and Nick had tried to get me to stay there, too. “I want you safe. There’s no telling what might happen today.”

  “Well, you’re not going back there without me. Besides, I’m scheduled to take the photographs today.”

  “There’s no need for you to do so. I’ll tell them you’re too injured and upset by what Nigel did to you.”

  “I’m not going to hide from that bastard. I’m bringing my camera and coming to the excavations.” I lifted my chin, which was swollen and aching. I had a black eye, too, but I was determined to wear it like a badge of honor. “It’s something I have to do.”

  He stared at me for a long time, his green eyes seeming to see deep inside me. At last he nodded. “Okay, canim. I’ll be there to lend my support.”

  We landed the boat and hiked over the rocks to the compound. There was a clattering of dishes from the kitchen. The men were up and eating breakfast. “Good, I could use a glass of tea,” Nick said as we entered.

  They were all seated around the table—Nigel, looking far from his usual suave self, with pale skin, a shitload of bruises, a bandage on his shoulder where Nick’s knife had struck him, and a swollen-shut black eye; Sinan, narrow-eyed and more bandit-like than ever; and the workmen, all conversing animatedly until we walked into the room, when a heavy silence fell.

  “Gunaydin,” I said. I was conscious of a collective hostility as they stared at us. What? They didn’t care for the evidence that Nigel had attacked a woman? Of course, Nigel’s men were always hostile, but Sir Avery’s crew usually had a smile for me.

  Instinctively I reached out and grabbed Nick’s hand.

  “How’re you feeling this morning, Nigel?” asked Nick.

  Nigel’s swollen face widened into his habitual charming smile. “Much better now that I see what a fool you are. I can’t believe you’ve had the nerve to come back here.”

  “You’re the one who should be hanging your head in shame for assaulting Ellie.”

  Nigel didn’t even bother to deny the charge. “I underestimated you,” he said to me. “But you’ve both underestimated me.”

  “Where’s my grandfather?” Nick snapped.

  I heard the swish of the wheelchair from the doorway to the corridor behind us. “Here I am.”

  Nick and I turned. Sir Avery was sitting stiffly in his chair, looking sad and frail. In his lap he was cradling a large-caliber handgun.

  “Good morning.” He raised the gun, holding it in both hands. “Yes, it’s loaded. And yes, I’m aiming it at you.”

  There was a long, electric silence. I sensed Nick closing in upon himself. He didn’t speak, and I was at a loss. Had Nigel convinced their grandfather that the rumor he’d heard about a stolen object returned to its rightful country was true?

  Sir Avery looked only at Nick. “I trusted you. It breaks my heart to learn that you could do this to me.”

  Nick said, “Not sure what you think I’ve done, but I wouldn’t hurt you for the world.” Never dropping his gaze from his grandfather’s, he added, “I love you.”

  Sir Avery’s face crumpled, but he held the pistol steady. After a moment he managed, “Don’t insult my intelligence.”

  Nigel had risen from the table. He was gloating. He moved across the room to a table where he opened the lid of his laptop. “You didn’t count on this, did you? Listen.” He pushed a button and I heard my own voice saying, It’s true, then. From the beginning you’ve been playing a role with me. The big, bad antiquities smuggler.

  To which Nick’s voice replied, I had to.

 
And as we listened, appalled, to part of the conversation Nick and I had had the previous night in our cabin on the yacht.

  “You bugged my cabin.” Nick’s voice was totally devoid of expression.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “When? The night Metin saw someone swimming away from the boat?”

  “That’s right. When I realized I wasn’t going to escape without being seen, I fiddled around a bit with your fuses and your radio. I didn’t want you to guess the real reason I was there.”

  The cabin had been bugged for more than one night? That meant...

  “It took you long enough to confess your real role in all this,” Nigel taunted. “But listening to everything else you’ve been doing there has thoroughly entertained my men.”

  Nick’s face darkened. I could feel his whole body tense. I squeezed his hand hard. Keep control, I told him silently. Now is the time to keep control. But my cheeks were hot with shame and anger at the thought that Nigel had been a silent, smirking witness to us having sex.

  “What a shame you decided to clue her in at last. If you’d continued to lie, I’d have nothing, and our grandfather would continue to believe you trustworthy.”

  Tight-lipped, Nick turned from Nigel to Sir Avery. The old man’s grip on the handgun had not wavered. “If you’ve listened to the entire conversation, Granddad, you know that it was my intention to save you from this mess you’ve landed yourself in. Nigel is the target, not you.”

  “Nigel is your cousin. Betray him, and you betray our entire family.”

  “Nigel’s a criminal. He has been for years. He’s corrupted you.”

  “Be that as it may, blood is thicker than water,” Sir Avery said stiffly. “I hope they were paying you well for your betrayal.”

  “Nobody’s paying him,” I objected. “He was offered a chance to keep you out of prison and he took it. It was just a matter of time before you’d have been tried and imprisoned.”

  The stare Sir Avery gave me was different from anything I’d ever seen before in his eyes. There was hurt there, but even more, there was anger. Maybe his temper was like Nick’s. It didn’t often erupt, but when it did, he was implacable. Any regard he might briefly have had for me was gone.

  I felt a pang of grief. I’d begun to think of Sir Avery as my friend.

  “I’m not interested in your opinion, young woman. There’s only one thing I want from you. We’re going to the excavations now to shoot those photographs. That much use, at least, you shall be to us.”

  We argued with him. But Sir Avery would not listen. He paid no attention to Nick’s warnings that he’d better get the hell off the island today. “I’m not leaving until the site is secured and those photographs taken,” he vowed. “I’ve sunk all my savings into this venture and I’m going to sell those pieces if I can. The dig will be closed and the cavern will be sealed. When this unpleasantness has blown over, I’ll return to the island and continue my search for the treasures of Troy.”

  “You’re a stubborn old fool,” Nick was driven to proclaim. “You’ll find no treasures of Troy from a Turkish prison.”

  Sir Avery ignored him.

  “What are you going to do with us when you’ve finished sealing up the cavern?” Nick demanded of his grandfather as Nigel bound his hands behind his back, taking pleasure, it seemed to me, in jerking the cords so tight that Nick’s face whitened.

  “Nigel has suggested shooting you.”

  “I don’t believe you’re cruel enough to murder me.” He paused, glancing at his cousin. “Or to permit anyone else to do so.”

  I felt a chill in the depths of my stomach. I wouldn’t put anything past Nigel.

  “For myself I don’t give a damn,” Nick added. “But Ellie’s been an innocent bystander, from beginning to end. It isn’t right for your wrath to fall upon her head.”

  “How noble,” Nigel cut in. “Do what you will with me, but spare the lady? Too bad you didn’t think about her welfare before kidnapping the girl and forcing her to gratify your lusts.”

  Nick would have hit him again, I suspected, if he hadn’t been bound. As it was, there was little he could do except seethe with emotions he was no longer making any effort to control.

  It was Sir Avery who calmed things down slightly by saying, “Neither of you will be harmed. We’ll leave you on the island—you, Ellie and your friend Metin. Your yacht will be disabled. No doubt you’ll have the wherewithal to survive here until your friends come to the rescue.”

  This seemed odd to me. Weren’t they afraid that, once rescued, Nick would be able to provide the authorities with enough evidence to nail them? How long did they imagine they could keep this illegal operation running?

  I was trying to remember exactly what we had said last night in the cabin. They wouldn’t have learned much about Nick’s real intentions from any prior recordings, since I hadn’t known myself. And he had broached the idea of me pretending to submit to Nigel in our room here in the compound, not on the boat. I knew he hadn’t told me everything last night. I’d brooded over how closed off he could be, but now I was glad he had spoken so little about his plans. Apparently the crooks didn’t know that they were about to be rounded up by the Turkish authorities or Interpol or whoever Nick had been working with. That was something he hadn’t fully disclosed to me.

  I wondered how soon the reinforcements were going to get here. Maybe not soon enough.

  Within the hour, surrounded by Nigel and half a dozen armed and hostile men, we were marched to the site of the excavations. Several of the laborers were already there, packing up. They were all Nigel’s crew.

  At the low entrance to the cavern, I hesitated. Descending into a hole in the mountain was my nightmare. I was prodded forward by a jab in between my shoulders from Nigel’s rifle. My hands had not been bound—I was carrying my camera equipment. “Easy,” Nick whispered. “I’ll be right beside you, and it’ll be over soon.”

  The cave’s entrance was hidden behind a thick slab of stone that melted seamlessly into the cliff face. It was just a small hole, and we had to crawl to enter, but once inside we could stand—or rather, stoop. A narrow passage led to a large inner chamber. The uneven rock floor of this passage sloped downward at a sharp angle, and not even the light of half a dozen powerful flashlights was sufficient to ensure safe footing. I stumbled once and felt Nick steady me with his body. But my stomach was churning with fear.

  “Hurry it up,” Nigel growled, prodding us again from behind. The passage turned to the right and widened. The ceiling rose higher, until at last we were able to stand erect. We rounded a massive stalagmite and entered the central chamber.

  I looked about me in awe. The roof of the cavern now vaulted over our heads, and the air smelled fresh, even sweet. The chamber was like a natural cathedral, and it was not as pitch-black here as it had been in the entry passage.

  The ceiling, which must have been close to twenty feet high, was encrusted with stalactites that hung down like monster icicles. Somewhere in the highest part of the dome was a narrow fissure through which a sliver of sunlight poured. Relief flooded me. The light was not enough to aid in my photography, nor could one see into the corners of the chamber without the aid of a flashlight, but we could see objects and people’s faces. The fissure lessened my feelings of being trapped. My muscles slowly began to untense. I’d been braced for a claustrophobia attack, but now I knew I could keep the panic at bay.

  I studied the cavern’s contents. The first thing I noticed was the statue I’d seen Nick filch from the western coast of Turkey. It had been removed from its crate and posed erect near the center of the chamber, as if on exhibit.

  Such was also the case with the other artifacts, which consisted of several large statues, some temple pillars and friezes, an early Christian stone altar and a baptismal font. These were too bulky to transport unless careful precautions had been taken in advance—costly precautions that Nigel wouldn’t bother with until each item was sold.

 
“Okay, let’s get started,” Nigel ordered. “I don’t want to kill the whole day.”

  At my direction, the workmen set up lights and reflectors. When Nigel expressed annoyance at the length of time it took me to get the lights into the correct position for each shot, I turned on him, saying, “Unless you want dark shadows distorting the artifact in each picture, you’ll allow me to work at my own speed.”

  While I worked, Nick’s hands were untied, and he was forced, at gunpoint, to help move some of the smaller items out of the cave, where Sir Avery’s men transferred them to Nigel’s boat.

  It was well after noon by the time we were finished. I was tired, hungry and thirsty. The workmen had eaten lunch, but nothing had been offered to Nick and me except a can of warm beer, which we had shared. I’d done my best work, despite the adverse circumstances. I took pride in my art and could not bring myself to do anything less.

  After taking my final shot, I informed Nigel that I was ready to leave.

  “Fine,” he said genially. “We are ready, too. Bring him over here, please,” he said to Sinan, who, with the help of one or two other men, had once again bound Nick’s arms behind his back.

  “Now what?” said Nick, sounding bored. “We’ve done your dirty work, Nigel. Now if you really expect to make good your escape, I suggest we close this place up and get the fuck out.”

  “That’s precisely what I intend to do. Unfortunately for you and your girlfriend, you won’t be joining us.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. My stomach had turned to ice.

  “You’re going to kill us.” Nick’s voice was expressionless.

  “You leave me no choice.” Nigel relieved me of my camera with all the photos I’d shot. “I’m afraid I can’t tolerate the idea of your spilling everything you know to the authorities.”