Her Greek Protector

by Amanda Horton

  She glanced at him and quickly looked away, fighting a blush. “I’m fine.”

  “Where have you been all day? I came to your rooms, but the doors were locked.”

  “I had things to do.” It was harder than she thought to resist him. Her entire body strained to be closer to him. Aimee firmly directed her attention to Damien’s antics as he rejoiced in being the center of attention.

  “Malakíes!” Alexi snapped.

  His rising voice caught Kassi’s attention. “Cousin, you know no member of your mother’s kitchen would ever serve such a dish. Bullshit belongs in the fields.”

  Aimee covered her mouth in silent laughter when she saw Alexi’s face turn red. His harsh, “Mind your own business!” brought forth another surge of giggles she found hard to contain.

  “Your mother allows you to curse at her dining room table?” she asked softly.

  Alexi glared at her, but was prevented from answering her when Leo grabbed his attention. “Alexi. We should talk.”

  Tressa looked at both of her sons and then sighed. “Dinner will be served in twenty minutes. Can you talk fast?”

  Leo and Alexi nodded dutifully, excusing themselves from the table.

  Gemma kissed her son’s head. “I’ll be up to read you a story in just a little bit.”

  Tressa and Vasil took Damien upstairs so that one of the maids could give him his nightly bath while the rest of the family enjoyed a quiet dinner.

  Aimee took advantage of Leo’s absence to sit next to Gemma. “You look a little pale. Are you getting sick?”

  Gemma shook her head. “I don’t think so. I wasn’t feeling very good this morning when we changed planes and threw up a couple of times. Leo made me promise to see the doctor tomorrow if I’m not feeling better. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  Kassi leaned forward. “Can you believe how much Leo and Alexi look alike now? Before I could tell them apart because Alexi’s hair was short and he wasn’t as tanned. The media is going to have a field day when this story finally comes out.”

  Aimee gave her a stern look. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

  “I won’t, but you know it’s going to come out sometime.” Kassi shrugged. “They can’t stay holed up in the house forever.”

  *****

  “We have to be careful about leaving the estate,” Alexi warned Leo as they waited for Piotr to join them. He’d been told to arrive an hour after Leo and Gemma, not wanting to raise the media’s suspicions.

  Piotr joined them in the front room, saluting as he entered. “We really need to figure out a way to get rid of those vultures hanging around the front gate. If the media get hold of the situation...”

  “They’ll go away in time.” Leo turned to look at his brother, his arms crossed over his chest. “Now that Piotr is here, tell me what’s going on.”

  Alexi gave Piotr and Leo the condensed version of what had been occurring for the last two years. “I thought this person would have gone away when news of my death became public knowledge, but it seems the threat has now transferred to you,” Alexi looked at his brother, “and the women. Pictures of Gemma and Kassi were included in some of the emails.”

  Leo cursed and clenched his fists. “I won’t stand for anyone threatening my wife or this family. Enough is enough.”

  “This person needs to be hunted down and stopped.” Piotr’s declaration had all three men nodding in agreement.

  Alexi paced the room. “I tried having the emails traced, but they’re being routed all across the globe. A friend is looking into it further for me.”

  “A friend?” Leo inquired.

  “Yes. Now, Piotr, what plans have you made to ensure this family stays safe?”

  Piotr outlined his security plan, including guards on Damien and Aimee. “I’ve told my men to stay out of sight, but only if they could do so and still perform their duties thoroughly. There are certain members of this household that will be less than thrilled to know their every move is being monitored.”

  Alexi eyed him. “Anyone in particular you care to mention?”

  Piotr shook his head. “You know I’m referring to Kassi, but let’s leave her out of this for now. I have it under control.”

  Alexi hesitated. He’d done a little investigating of his own, and discovered that Piotr and Kassi had a history together. Before coming to live with his family, Kassi had been dating Piotr almost exclusively. Piotr was several years older than Alexi’s lovely cousin and independently wealthy in his own right, and yet he’d taken a position as head of security for Moustakas Shipping. The only reason Alexi had been able to come up with for this career choice was so that Piotr could keep an eye on the one woman who drove him crazy.

  Alexi met Piotr’s gaze with an unspoken promise in his eyes. “We will discuss Kassi, but I agree, that conversation is for another time.”

  Piotr inclined his head. “So, what’s the next move?”

  Alexi narrowed his eyes. “We lure this coward out into the open.”

  “Do you really think that is wise?” Leo asked.

  “Everyone is here and going to be under surveillance. There won’t be a better time,” Alexi told him.

  “Do you have a plan in mind?” Piotr asked.

  Alexi’s expression hardened. “I’m going to send this person an invitation to meet with me, but I’ll be pretending to be Leo. Let’s give them the chance they want—but on our terms and in a place and time of our choosing. I’m betting whoever is sending those emails won’t be able to resist.”

  “That could work.” Leo stroked his chin. “Especially if they think I’m the only one they have to deal with. Finding out we are both still very much alive and aware of their existence should give us the advantage.”

  The three men looked at one another and then nodded. A plan had been formed, now they simply had to refine the details, execute it and keep everyone safe until it reached its conclusion—the elimination of their mutual enemy.

  *****

  Piotr excused himself from the front room, taking a small detour to check in on Kassi before leaving the estate grounds. Of all the people he had to safeguard, Kassi was the most headstrong and most willfully disobedient.

  She seemed to delight in thwarting his attempts to ensure her safety on a day-to-day basis. Even after she’d had several harrowing rescues from overzealous admirers, she still refused to heed his advice and steer clear of the underground nightclubs. Her stubbornness and refusal to let him explain what had happened a year earlier seemed to be the driving force behind her irresponsible decisions.

  Just the night before, he’d trailed her to one of the less desirable parts of town, filled with university students with no brains and a thirst for trouble. She’d been fighting off two drunken frat boys. Piotr had intervened, forcing her from the basement of the building and driving her back to the estate in stony silence. He’d lost his temper and told her she needed a keeper. She’d not only cursed him, but she’d refused to let him apologize and now wouldn’t even speak to him.

  He rounded the corner and then froze as Kassi stepped out of the dining room. She had her head down and didn’t see him until she was almost upon him. When she looked up, Piotr could see so many different emotions pass through her eyes, it was hard to focus on just one.

  Anger was evident. But beneath the anger was a vulnerability and pain Piotr ached to erase. “Kass.”

  The shortened form of her name drew her immediate ire. “My name is not Kass!” she spat at him, turning on her heel.

  “Prinkípissa…” Piotr reached for her, missing her arm by a mere fraction of an inch.

  Kassi wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t touch me. Don’t talk to me. In fact, why don’t you find another one of your goons to follow me around and ruin my life?”

  Piotr sighed. “Still can’t admit you shouldn’t have been in that dive?”

  Kassi sneered. “Regardless of what you might think, I don’t need a keeper. Nor do I need an overbearing
asshole following me around. Just leave me alone.”

  Kassi’s voice had risen and Aimee appeared in the doorway. “Is everything okay?”

  Kassi nodded and turned her back on Piotr. He wished he could demand she come back and explain why she was so adamant about not letting him do his job, but this evidently wasn’t the time or place. He offered a nod to Aimee. “Good evening. I’ll see myself out.”

  He made his way out of the house, ignoring the half dozen reporters still camped outside the estate’s gates. Alexi had a plan in place, and whether Kassi liked it not, she would have his protection until the threat was neutralized. Just like every member of the Moustakas household was going to be protected. Piotr smiled grimly. Whoever was sending those emails was in for a surprise the next time they came after the family.

  Chapter 11

  Two days later…

  Kassi knocked on the second-floor library door and entered. Leo and Alexi sat in front of a laptop. Alexi started to rise, only to be stopped when Kassi looked to Leo. “Something’s wrong with Gemma and she’s hiding it from you.”

  Leo strode from the room. “I’ll be back.”

  Kassi and Alexi watched him go. Alexi turned to his cousin, his brow rising in question. “What’s going on with Gemma?”

  “She was sick before they flew home from Dubai. She’s been throwing up and she almost passed out a few minutes ago when she bent over to pick up Damien.”

  Alexi looked alarmed. “Where is Damien?”

  “Aimee took him to the beach for a while.”

  “The beach?” Alexi pulled his phone from his pocket and punched in a series of numbers. “Who is watching Aimee and Damien?” He listened to the answer, murmuring something Kassi couldn’t quite hear before hanging up. “I’m going to go find my mitéra and have her call the doctor.” Alexi touched Kassi’s shoulder. “Efkharisto, Kassi. I know something is not quite right in your world and as soon as I deal with a small problem, you and I are going to sit down and figure things out.”

  Kassi nodded. Hopefully, that will be many weeks from now. “Fine.” She watched Alexi leave. Turning, she saw the two brothers had left their laptop open on the table. Knowing how private they were, she walked towards it, intending to simply shut the lid, securing the information contained on the device.

  As she reached for the lid to pull it down, a picture of herself and Aimee, swinging Damien between them stopped her. She smiled at the picture, remembering the afternoon they’d spent in town a few days earlier. “I wonder where they got this picture?”

  She moved the cursor to the see if there were more pictures, but the screen closed, revealing an opened email underneath. The words on the screen made her blood run cold.

  So you think you’re better than me? You think you can ignore me and I’ll just go away? Your brother made the same mistake and became fish food. That’s right. It took me a while, but I accomplished my goal.

  I must say, you’ve surprised me. I was sure you wouldn’t rise to the occasion, but continue your self-centered lifestyle. Alas, your sense of responsibility has arisen and now I must eliminate you as well as the other members of your family. Don’t think I can do it? Take a look at the attached picture. I can get to you anytime I want.

  Enjoy being in control for the time you have left. This time, there will be no one left to come to the Moustakas family’s rescue. If you’re not afraid now, you should be.

  Kassi’s entire body shook as she finished reading the email. She glanced at the email address the threatening letter had been sent to and then frowned. “This is Alexi’s private email address. But the letter seems to be written to Leo?”

  She heard a noise at the door and quickly shut the laptop. When the footsteps continued past the door, she took one last look at the computer and then left the room. Aimee was out for the next few hours, but when she returned, she and Kassi were going to talk about both the picture and the email. Alexi and Leo were keeping things from her and Kassi wouldn’t have that. Someone was trying to kill her new family. Kassi had already lost one set of parents and didn’t even want to contemplate the idea of losing any more members of her family.

  Alexi reappeared in the doorway. “The doctor is on his way.” He retrieved the laptop, not seeming to notice she’d closed it. “What are you up to for the rest of the day?”

  Kassi shrugged, her mind still spinning with questions about the emailed threat. “I don’t know. Aimee wanted to take some more landscape pictures. I thought maybe we would head down to the docks.”

  Alexi frowned for a moment and then his face cleared. “Fine. I’ll make sure there is someone available to watch Damien if Gemma is not feeling better.”

  “Why don’t we take him with us? You’ve got more than enough men watching us all to ensure Damien remains safe.”

  Alexi shook his head. “Not at the docks. There are too many people milling around and he’s getting too good at hiding. If he got away from you there, he’d be very hard to find and Gemma isn’t feeling well. She doesn’t need to worry about her son going missing as well.”

  Kassi gave him a chagrined look. “You’re right. I would feel awful if we lost him. We’ll leave him here.”

  “While I would prefer you all stay close to the estate, I also realize telling you to do so would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. That being said, I would like you to be more cautious than normal.”

  Kassi looked at her cousin, suspicion that Alexi and Piotr had talked growing in her mind. She said nothing.

  Alexi nodded, evidently taking her silence for consent. “When are you going?”

  “Later this afternoon.” When Alexi opened his mouth to give her further warnings, she stayed him with a raised hand. “Look, stop worrying about us. We’ll be careful and back here for dinner. Nothing’s going to happen to us. We’re just going to walk around and Aimee’s going to take a few pictures. We’ll be back before you even realize we’ve gone.”

  “Be careful.”

  She bit back her retort, not wanting to invite another lecture, or worse—a change of mind. Alexi and Leo must think I don’t have a brain if they’re keeping something like a threat against the family from me. I’ll show them I can take care of myself. Then they’ll see they can trust me.

  *****

  Two hours later…

  Gemma cooperated with the doctor’s exam, wishing she had told Leo what she suspected before now. She’d intended to share her news with him on their wedding night, but the picture of Alexi had thrown the entire family into a tailspin. Knowing how protective Leo could be, she’d kept her news to herself, not wanting to be left behind when he went searching for his lost twin. And then her body had betrayed her.

  She’d been feeling ill for several days, but after Leo had threatened to take her to the hospital, she’d tried her best to hide how poorly she was really feeling. She’d even started to second-guess her condition, her sickness more than she’d endured with Damien. She felt nauseous, at times unable to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged. Her breasts had become unbearably tender, and she’d admitted to Aimee just that morning that she felt more tired after sleeping for ten hours than she had before going to sleep.

  When she’d rushed from the room at breakfast with Kassi looking on, she’d known her ability to conceal her condition from Leo had come to an end. Kassi was gone when Gemma had left the bathroom, and Leo stormed in mere seconds later.

  Alexi had been very helpful, getting his parents involved and summoning the doctor to come straightaway. Now she and Leo were awaiting the results of the doctor’s tests.

  The doctor cleared his throat. “Congratulations, Mrs. Moustakas. You are pregnant.” He patted her on the shoulder, shook Leo’s hand and then excused himself from the room.

  Gemma searched Leo’s eyes for his reaction to this news. This was not quite how she’d envisioned telling him he was to be a father again. Not at all.

  Leo seemed to be in shock. “Are you happy?”
<
br />   Gemma looked at her husband of barely a week. “I think so. I thought I might be pregnant, but with everything else going on, I didn’t want to distract you.”

  Leo sat on the side of the bed, his hands moving tenderly over her still flat stomach. “You are exactly the kind of distraction I will always need.”

  Gemma smiled up at him and then brought one of his hands to her lips, kissing his palm lightly. “I don’t remember feeling this sick before. I almost had myself convinced I wasn’t pregnant.”

  “The doctor said it could vary each time,” Leo reminded her gently.

  Pregnant! The word rattled around in Gemma’s head. What had just been a suspicion was now very much a reality and she felt a smile break over her face. “We’re going to have another baby.”

  Leo lifting her hand to his mouth. “Yes, and this time you won’t be alone. I will be here for each and every step. Every visit to the doctor. The delivery. All of it.”

  Gemma smiled at him. Damien’s excited voice announced his arrival, and she looked to her son. “Damien, did you have fun?” she asked as Aimee followed him into the room.

  “Castle!” he told her, pulling himself up to sit beside her. Leo lifted him into position and Gemma looked to Aimee for an explanation.

  “He’s talking about the sand castle we built this morning. This one didn’t fall down, thanks to Grigo and his help.” Aimee ruffled Damien’s hair. “I just passed the doctor downstairs. What’s going on?”

  Gemma looked at Leo and he nodded once before picking Damien up and striding from the room. “The doctor was here for me.”

  “Oh my God! What’s wrong with you? Are you still sick?”

  Gemma nodded and then hurried to calm her friend down. “I am, but the doctor assures me it will go away. In about eight and a half months.”

  “What? You’re pregnant?” Aimee asked, disbelief on her face.

  Gemma smiled and covered her stomach with a hand. “Yes, only just barely… It seems Leo is more virile than normal.”

  “I’ll say. I mean, you’ve only been married a little over a week.” At Gemma’s blush Aimee shook her finger at her. “You naughty girl. The two of you didn’t wait, did you?”