Despite herself, Lauren found herself leaning closer. She didn’t need to pry into Dimitri’s life; it was none of her business. And yet the idea of the rough and tumble captain scavenging the rocky shoreline of this tiny island for wreckage that he had to know wasn’t forthcoming made her unaccountably sad. “Why did he think Ari’s plane would wash this far south?” she asked. “I thought he took off from the mainland and crashed…” She frowned, trying to remember the details. “Wasn’t it near Thassos?”
“You know the story! But of course you do. I forget that the whole world was watching our little country for a while. Yes, Thassos is where they found the wreckage, after that storm blew up and the seas finally calmed enough for the search. But Dimitri, he was convinced Ari wasn’t heading to Thassos but to Samothrace, east of us. There is a small landing strip there, and the royal family has a house, as they do on many of the Greek islands. He became convinced everyone was looking in the wrong place, and, well…” She sighed. “He could not let it go.”
“And did you? Find any wreckage?”
Alexi looked at her with pity in her eyes. “I can see why he likes you. But no, we did not. There was no wreckage to be had. And everyone looked. When he started giving out his phones to the fishermen, men you’d think would simply sell the things off to tourists and make some fast cash, they didn’t. We all felt for Dimitri and for his quest. The only things that have ever turned up, however, are parts and debris from Turkish planes. Which makes sense—we are one of the easternmost islands in the Aegean, and if the seas wish to offer up her finds, it is often those that have washed over from Turkey. But that’s it. Dimitri looked over the Turkish debris for a while, then he, eventually, trusted us to know what it was we were looking for.” Her expression turned rueful. “He has never stopped sending the phones, though. When he does, then we’ll know he is finally on the path to healing, yes?”
They passed the rest of the meal on lighter topics, but Lauren couldn’t let it go. She puzzled over it while they shopped—a euphemism, as when someone else is buying you clothes, you accept whatever largesse they see fit to give—and found her attention drifting again and again to the open waters as they moved through the tourist section of Miranos, a surprisingly thriving minimarket that catered to divers and sun worshippers alike.
“It’s beautiful, I know.” Alexi stopped beside her, shielding her eyes as the sun glared down on them. “You will see, this is only the beginning. The sunset celebration is truly breathtaking.”
“This is the western coast,” Lauren said. “This is where he thought the plane would have washed up?”
“Yes.” Alexi pointed to a spot where the island stretched into the sea, like the defiant prow of a ship. “The water is relatively shallow there, and there are reefs that are treacherous to navigate. It’s a natural holding spot for anything the sea might wish to share with us. Dimitri used to camp out there when he was little. Ironic that now that he is a grown man, it has become such a mix of despair and hope for him. Every tide brought new possibilities and ultimately new disappointment.”
Lauren scanned the open water. From this height, she couldn’t see the beach below them, where Dimitri had his villa. She knew without asking, though, that the beach connected to that distant promontory. How many times had he taken his beach rover out to that lonely spot, casting out for an answer that wouldn’t come? Her heart shifted uncomfortably in her chest. Dimitri wasn’t her problem.
She closed her fingers around Alexi’s phone. She had plenty of her own problems to solve. “Give me a minute?” she asked Alexi. She had to trust that Dimitri wasn’t tracking this device. And it was time.
Angling herself toward the center of town and the lone cell tower, she looked in either direction, though what she expected to see she didn’t know. No one knew she was here. No one could reasonably guess that she was here.
She hoped that that would stay the case, despite this call.
She dialed the number and turned back to face the ocean. Her heart was in her throat as it rang—and rang.
No one picked up. Lauren closed her eyes, knowing she shouldn’t be so grateful. Her sister Maddie could have missed the phone call entirely, or been at one of her interminable practices. The only way to know that she was actually following Lauren’s instructions was to finish out the protocol. She flipped over to the text, keyed in the three letters. Her phone jumped in her hand less than a minute later.
“Lauren! Where are you! Mom and Dad are so pissed!”
She closed her eyes against the sudden rush of affection. Maddie had not been a planned child, to hear her mother speak. Her father, however, had doted on her from the beginning, in a way he’d never quite seen his way clear to doing for her. Lauren didn’t mind, because Maddie was so much younger than she was—eight years. A lifetime, it seemed, sometimes. Maddie had been a perfect gift to their family—she was sweet, special. And Lauren would make sure she would always be protected.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she said now, past the lump in her throat. “I’m fine, but I’m going to be out of touch for a few days, okay? I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Where are you? Are you in hiding? Mom said you totally ran away from a party.” The excitement in her sister’s voice made her heart ache. “This is so cool.”
“Yeah, it’s real cool,” laughed Lauren. “But keep my secret, okay?”
“Are you kidding? Of course. You better bring me back some awesome stories, though.”
Lauren sighed, looking out over the sparkling Aegean. “I’m working on it.”
Day had begun to edge toward evening, and Alexi had dutifully checked in three times over the past few hours. That did little to assuage Dimitri’s concern about Lauren’s safety, but it was important that she not feel trapped here. It was important that she trusted him enough to allow him to keep her on the island for her own safety. The last thing he needed was a headstrong socialite calling in favors from the Greek embassy and causing an international incident that would look like, to anyone on the outside peering in, a lover’s quarrel.
He knew it was more than that, of course, but this was not a conversation anyone in the Garronia royal family wanted to have with outsiders. Least of all the king and queen. No. He needed to keep things as quiet and close as possible. Which meant he needed to keep Lauren as quiet and close as possible.
Dimitri’s phone buzzed, and he plucked it out of his pocket, recognizing the number immediately. Cyril’s voice was cool, crisp. And the man was clearly on speaker phone. “Report.”
“She’s safe,” he said gruffly. “Meeting a town’s worth of witnesses. Shopping. Eating. Everything in the open, exactly as if she’s a tourist on holiday. No sign of Smithson or anyone unusual on the island.” He paused. “I can get her to mainland Greece tonight if you’d like. It will take some doing to keep it quiet, but it could be arranged.”
“No.” This was from Stefan, who paused, clearly waiting for the go-ahead to continue. Then he spoke again. “Our intel on Henry Smithson is proving increasingly problematic. It appears Ms. Grant’s suspicions are well-founded. There is reason to believe that he has begun financing insurgency forces in Turkey and Armenia, with outliers who might be rallied to his cause with sufficient motivation. That he has not acted yet to find Ms. Grant is simply a matter of him not knowing where to look, we expect. Any attempt to move her to another country could potentially prove dangerous to her, requiring official action, which we don’t want to initiate if we can avoid it.”
Dimitri nodded, though they couldn’t see him. “Any information on your end from her call to Nicki?”
“Ms. Clark offered assurances and confirmed that nothing new has been received in the palace.” He paused. “She knows something more, but we cannot interrogate her without causing suspicions to rise. And I’m not convinced her information would be worthwhile.”
Dimitri stifled a snort. Stefan wasn’t convinced that anything Nicki Clark had to offer was worthwhile. Her brash behavior mi
ght be blinding him, but in this case, he was probably right. Nicki knew only what Lauren had told her about Smithson, both today and throughout their relationship. Based on what he’d learned about Lauren, so far, he suspected she hadn’t shared much.
“What has Smithson done to Lauren?” he asked instead. “Beyond these stupid gifts he has sent her. There’s something more.”
“That intelligence is being accumulated now,” Stefan said. “But his affection for Ms. Grant is, at a minimum, suspect. By her own admission, the attention began when she was a child and increased every year, becoming romantic in nature only when she turned eighteen. Within the letter of any law in any territory.” Stefan’s words seemed to disgust him, but he was right. Smithson had not assaulted Lauren by any account, neither before nor after she’d turned eighteen, and he’d acted at all times within the boundaries permitted by her parents, as evidenced by the fact that they maintained ties to him. There was something distinctly wrong about his attention, but it was not criminal. And, perhaps most damning, Lauren herself had not brought charges against him. Even if her reasons were sound in her own mind, there was little she could do without having stated her case to the authorities. “Smithson’s relationship with her father showed signs of strain at approximately the same time, but the two clearly reached an amicable resolution, and now they remain tightly connected. We will continue to compile data and cross-reference to all his other known relationships and romantic partnerships. In the meantime, keep Ms. Grant secured.”
Dimitri grimaced, weighing the words, trying not to let his mind stray to the way Lauren had reacted to him physically since they’d first set foot on the boat to Miranos. Perhaps some time up close and personal with her would be to her liking, perhaps not. But he would keep her safe. That was a nonnegotiable. “Of course,” he said smoothly. “How long?”
“Twenty-four—forty-eight hours. Miranos is close, your childhood home. You had a hysterical woman on your hands, the guest of the royal family. You needed to make a quick decision, one that kept her out of harm’s way. You have done all these things. Further, you are an esteemed military captain, with lengthy service and proven integrity. It’s a reasonable story, as long as Ms. Grant is returned to her family safe and whole within the next forty-eight hours. That’s your number one assignment.”
“Forty-eight hours?”
“No more. We’ll leak awareness of a false location to the parents within the next twelve hours, along with the fear that Ms. Grant has toward Smithson.”
“I wouldn’t do that—”
“It’s necessary to maintain the illusion, and to determine the full scope of the danger to Ms. Grant. We cannot know what sort of threat the woman’s parents pose otherwise. The information will be reversed within an hour of its release, and Smithson carefully watched. If he makes any move toward the false target, it changes the game. At that point, your plan to head for Greece might make more sense.”
“Right.” Dimitri nodded. “Forty-eight hours, then.”
Cyril took the line again. “What phone activity has she had? Other than the call to Ms. Clark.”
“Unknown. She’s been with my sister all day, and she has no money or devices on her. If she’s placed a call, Alexi will know. We’re rendezvousing shortly.” Dimitri’s gaze flicked toward the horizon as he heard the familiar sound of a beach rover. “Now, actually. I’ll check in tomorrow. Let me know if there are any developments.”
They signed off, and he stowed the phone as he squinted into the sun. Alexi waved as Lauren exited the vehicle, and the two of them shouted back and forth before Lauren turned toward the house. As Alexi roared off again, Dimitri noted Lauren’s handbag, a new purchase, and her long, loose trousers and top, also new. She carried another shopping bag with her, and from what he could see, she now had enough clothing for a week. At least her clothes looked easy to move in, quick to dry, unrestrictive. Exactly the ensemble you’d need for an island getaway…if you were actually trying to get away from someone.
Right now, he narrowed his gaze on her purse. He’d need to see what she’d bought, what Alexi had given her. If his guess was on point, he’d bet she’d given Lauren a phone. Who had Lauren called? Her accountant? Her friends? Her lover?
Did she have a lover, given her worry over Smithson? He supposed he should care more about that concern, but whether she had a man back in the States or not, that man was not here. And Lauren was capable of making any decisions she wanted regarding her own pleasure.
His lips twitched as she trotted up the steps, and he wasn’t able to wipe his expression fully clean before she saw him. “You’re looking satisfied.”
He leaned forward with his elbows on the railing and gestured to the sun. “It’s almost sunset. There is much to be satisfied about.”
“Hmm.” She swiveled to take in the sun as well, her face half-hidden by giant sunglasses. “You do this every day? Just, you know, stand here and watch the sun go down?”
“No. We only do it on the days when we wish to be good to ourselves. The rest of the time, we make do with a lesser life.” He held out his hands. “Let me take your things and put them inside. I will get us both a beer so we can celebrate the sunset appropriately.”
She willingly handed him her shopping bag, then hesitated with her purse, keeping it close to her body. “I’m good with this. But thank you.” He had no choice but to take her bag and retreat. Dropping it inside the door, he fetched the beers quickly enough as his mind clicked through the possibilities. He needed to see the phone, before they were to meet others. And that would be after sunset, so he didn’t have a lot of time.
How could he get Lauren worked up enough that she demanded a shower before she saw anyone else?
The solution was, of course, obvious. He’d always been known for his excellent ideas in the field. It was good to know that his instincts did not fail him while he was on leave.
He pulled the tops off the beers and headed back outside.
Lauren was sitting on one of the sling chairs, angled toward the sun. A thin crawl of clouds had surfaced on the horizon, running purple against the water. It looked more beautiful than any photograph he’d ever seen, and he’d watched tourists try to capture the magnificence a thousand times over. Some things, you had to experience in person.
He handed her a beer. “Good, yes?”
“It’s pretty, I guess.” Her smile softened her sarcastic words, and when he held his beer out to her, she clinked hers against it. “What are we toasting to?”
“To a perfect sunset. It’s enough.” Instead of taking a seat beside her in the matching swing chair, though, Dimitri folded his body to the porch, his head level with Lauren’s knees as he lounged back on one elbow. He was close enough to her body to feel her heat, sense her sudden tension. But it wasn’t the tension of a frightened woman, he thought. Simply one who was uniquely, subtly aware of him.
He took a long pull on his beer. He could work with that.
Chapter Ten
Lauren held her beer in a death grip. What was Dimitri doing? Or, more to the point, was he really doing what she thought he was doing, so obviously showing his interest in her? And if so, how did she feel about that?
She was no stranger to the act of sex. While any sort of real relationship might have been off the table due to Henry’s particularly vicious brand of jealousy, she had needs and ran in the kind of crowd that appreciated discretion more than most. Everyone had something to lose, and anyone with half a brain in his head understood that sex was one thing, romance was another. But was that what Dimitri wanted? And was that what she wanted him to want?
Dimitri lounged at her side, his powerful, suntanned legs stretched out beneath his soft gray sweat shorts. He’d been exercising while she was gone, or at least walking the beach. Sand and salt crisscrossed his shins and thighs, the muscles beneath the dark skin now relaxed, pliant. She kept her chin up as her gaze raked his body, but there was no way the sunset could compare to the magnificent m
ale specimen beside her. He’d topped the shorts with a loose navy-blue tank top that bore no logo or insignia, and he wore no jewelry other than a thick watch that she suspected could shoot lasers to the moon and back.
He was earthy, vital, real…and safe, she realized.
He was safe.
Henry Smithson would never know anything about this gruff, taciturn captain of the GNSF, other than he’d had his hands full with a runaway American for two days or however long she was on this rock. He’d never have any reason to suspect a military captain had done anything with her, or…to her…
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” she snapped, not liking the sound of her own voice. It was too breathless, too sharp. She took a drink of beer, needing the cool wash of liquid as a distraction from her own thoughts. Beside her, Dimitri lolled in the sunshine, his eyes nearly shut as he gazed out at the water. If he hadn’t spoken, she might well have believed he’d fallen asleep. But he wouldn’t have fallen asleep, right? He was as aware of her as she was of him, certainly. Men generally were, right?
Of course, most men didn’t quite fit the description of Dimitri Korba. But surely—
“For nothing, it seems to be making you very upset.” Dimitri reached over, touching her calf with the back of his hand, the hand that was holding the beer. She had on long pants, so it wasn’t like he was touching her skin, but the simple contact of him sent all the blood shooting from her brain to pool in her belly, her mouth dropping open involuntarily before she could shut it. Of course, he couldn’t see her face, her reaction. Thank God.
Captured (Gowns & Crowns #2) Page 10
