by Teri Gilbert
She focused in on Stephanos, and a tiny pressure in her chest released. He looked exactly the same as he had before Mallaki’s attack on Amalgamated.
But he was heading into a trap.
Alec felt his skin start to tingle. The hair on his arms and along the side of his head began to rise as the low hum of unseen energy again pulsed rhythmically through the air.
What devious scheme had Mallaki come up with now? He wanted to beat the shit out of the man standing on the other side of Eleni, but couldn’t risk escalating the situation, though he really couldn’t imagine how it could get any worse.
He scanned the expanse of the Atlantic. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Then he noticed changes, changes most people wouldn’t be able discern; the slight shift in wind direction, the slight increase in humidity, the rise in barometric pressure.
He glanced at the people surrounding him. Were they responsible?
If he hadn’t seen the glacier shear off with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe such a thing was possible.
He watched as the sea churned and waves lapped over the break wall near the marina. Clouds thickened, then darkened. A jagged bolt of lightning burst from the sky, striking the ocean below.
Cumulus clouds and immense thunderheads all concentrated within a radius of less than a mile? However unlikely, the strange conglomeration had formed and was heading in the direction of The Argon.
Alec glanced at Eleni again. She had turned over her eyepiece to Mallaki. She gripped the balcony railing with both hands, fear and anguish etched on her face.
His heart slammed against his chest. No matter how Stephanos navigated through the now treacherous waters, the strange formations followed, while the sea churned and bubbled, as if sitting on top of a bed of magma.
A particularly threatening thunderhead closed in on The Argon at a rate of speed Alec had never heard of before, much less seen with his own eyes. In any other circumstances, he would have been impressed by the storm’s magnitude. However, now there was too much at stake.
A pitch-black thunderhead with an eerie greenish tinge hung low above the ship. Alec couldn’t help but admire its perfection, the towering column with a magnificent domed head.
Then the skies opened up and a deluge began, covering everything, including them. Though the air around them was warm, the rain was icy cold and stung as it took tiny bites from his exposed skin.
Alec could make out the frightened cries of fishermen who’d minutes ago been trolling quietly along the shore. He watched helplessly as they fought the unexpected storm and tried to head to safety.
Lightning danced between the clouds in a brilliant display of nature’s power. Only nature didn’t have anything to do with this.
The people controlling the elements stood transfixed, totally engrossed in the havoc they were wreaking, while others stood with their mouths cracked open, twisted smiles, eyes gleaming, a sort of horrifying mixture of exultation and delight written on their faces.
Mallaki gestured toward the sea and the water retreated, as if some unseen creature were siphoning it away. Alec had witnessed that phenomenon before. In the footage taken on the shore of Indonesia, just after a major earthquake.
His heart beat in slow, sickening strokes, and the horror of it nearly drove him to his knees.
Mallaki and his people were creating a tsunami.
Someone touched her arm and that was enough to snap her awareness away from the deplorable events playing out before her. Eleni swiped her rain-soaked hair from her eyes and turned on shaky legs to find Alec standing beside her. She’d been watching the horrifying tableau unfold, then found herself unable to move, unable to tear her eyes away from the mesmerizing scene. She’d never heard Alec approach.
He gripped her arms. “You’ve got to get inside.”
“I’m not leaving.”
Alec gave her a little shake and dragged her away from the group. “Mallaki is drowning The Argon.”
His words acted like a slap across the face, bringing her into the harsh reality. “Then we have to stop him.”
“At this rate, Stephanos and the others will wash up onshore a mile or so from here.” He paused, searching her face. “They’ll need help.”
“You have to go to them.” She swallowed. “Heal their injuries.”
“Yes.” He dragged out the s, as if it were truly painful for him to say. “I’ll need a diversion.”
She nodded and glanced toward Mallaki, still too occupied with his operation to notice the two of them. “I’ll take care of Mallaki. You take care of the others.”
Alec lowered his head, planted a firm kiss on her lips, then pinned her with his steely gaze. “I will be back, with the others. Then you and I will leave, together.”
“I’m going to hold you to that promise.” She leaned up, brushed her lips against his again, then turned, unable to watch him walk away. She’d give him a few minutes, then put her own plan into motion.
Alec jogged, quickly navigating his way through the labyrinth of hallways, ready to take on anyone who got in his way. But the place was empty. Everyone must be occupied with the intruders.
He exited the mansion via the lowest level, completely out of sight of those engaged in destroying Stephanos’s beloved ship. Hunching his shoulders against the assault of rain, sleet, hail, and wind, he made his way toward the area he knew Stephanos’s ship would succumb and the survivors, if any, would come ashore.
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw something flying toward him. He dodged to the left. Pain erupted on the side of his face as something hard struck him. Stars danced before his eyes, then darkness took over.
Over the roar of the wind, Eleni heard a triumphant, uniform cry as a waterspout formed and rose into the sky. Swiping the water from her eyes, she spotted Stephanos’s vessel, being tossed around in the ocean like a toy in the bathtub of an angry child.
Her stomach plummeted as something dark and massive appeared on the horizon. Her mouth dropped open and she shuddered. The tidal wave was enormous.
She raced toward Mallaki, whose gaze remained fixed on the sea beyond her. “No.” She shoved at his chest. “Stop.” It took her several tries before his eyes widened in a combination of disbelief and anger.
She braced herself for his wrath. She didn’t have to wait long.
Mallaki grabbed her by the upper arms and squeezed brutally hard, bringing tears of pain to her eyes. “You dare interrupt me?”
She squirmed and lashed out at him. “Don’t do this.” Rain changed to hail, and the wind blasted the pea-size chunks of frozen water against them, the shards of ice tearing at her delicate skin. “Please, I’ll do anything you want. Just stop.”
“Your pleas are too late.” Mallaki relaxed his grip.
Eleni returned her attention to the sea in time to see the fifty-foot wave crash over the top of The Argon.
“Master Mallaki.”
Eleni faced the slender, slightly effeminate man heading in their direction. His hands waved and twitched as he approached. “I just had a vision.”
Eleni’s stomach clenched at the hint of smile creeping along the man’s face.
“Yes?” Mallaki sounded impatient.
The man was so excited he could hardly get out the words. “Alec Androulakis is dead. Struck by a piece of debris as he fled your hospitality.”
A dull roar started somewhere deep in Eleni’s ears and flowed into her head, obliterating everyone and everything around her. She felt herself fall backward, vaguely hearing Mallaki barking orders as the world faded away.
Alec groaned and tried for the third time to open his eyes. Water lapped at his head, and he seemed to be lying on a patch of coarse ground. His whole body felt as if it were on fire, even though he was soaked to the skin. He moved, and pain jarred through every bone.
But he was alive. That counted for something.
Finally, he managed to drag open his eyelids a fraction of an inch. Moonlight illuminated the
sandy area around him. He’d been correct in his estimation of where the wreck of The Argon would wash ashore. Unfortunately, he was too late. A few feet away, Adrian lay on the debris-ridden beach, a deep, gruesome gash across his once attractive face.
Alec forced himself to his knees. His vision cleared and his pain eased as he made his way across the beach to where Stephanos sat in a grassy area, his back against the trunk of a palm tree.
As he approached, Stephanos peered up at him, dazed and disoriented. His mentor and friend clutched his left arm, where blood oozed through his fingers. “How many did we lose?” Stephanos’s gaze drifted behind him.
“One that I know of.” He paused, unsure of how much to reveal, then decided Stephanos need to know the truth. “Adrian.” Sorrow washed across Stephanos’s face before it transformed into a grim mask. “You’ll have to heal those who are alive. You can start with this.” Stephanos lifted his injured arm.
Alec hunkered down next to the man he now considered his friend. “I don’t know how much I can do for you.”
Stephanos managed a weak smile. “Judging from how quickly your wounds are healing, I think you’ll do just fine.” He gestured weakly to his midriff, where only moments before a series of minor scratches had crisscrossed his flesh.
Even his head injury seemed to be improving. The searing pain behind his eyes had dissipated, and already it was easier to take a deep breath.
Gathering what little strength he had left, Alec soon felt the now familiar energy forming somewhere deep in his gut. When the tingling sensation started, he took hold of Stephanos’s arm. White-hot sparks formed at his fingertips, then coalesced into a steady stream of energy that flowed over and into his friend’s wound. He stared in wonder at the reality of what he was doing. It felt so right, so natural.
Stephanos flexed his hand and flashed him an appreciative grin. “Like Theo said, better than new.”
Alec rose to his feet, feeling elated and energized. “I’ll see to the others.”
He found Quinn out cold, on his back, about ten feet away, covered in seaweed and seagrass. He was also swathed in blood, making it difficult to separate the wounds from the flesh that was undamaged. Alec placed his hands on the man’s chest, hoping the energy would seek out the injuries.
After a few minutes, Quinn bolted upright, nearly knocking Alec to the ground.
The big man looked around, a crazy glint in his bright blue eyes. “I’ll kill the mother-fuckers who did this. Where are they?”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Alec grinned. Obviously Quinn would be all right.
The giant of a man grunted and stood, scanning the horizon. “Where is she?”
So far he hadn’t seen Adara anywhere. Alec shook his head slowly, hating what had to be said. “I don’t know, Quinn.”
“That’s bullshit. She’s got to be around here somewhere. You haven’t looked hard enough.” He put his hands to his mouth and started calling Adara’s name. Alec swallowed hard. God help them if she were dead.
Chapter 30
“You have once again embarrassed me in front of my friends.”
Eleni’s eyelids fluttered at the harsh words, which seemed to be coming at her from a great distance away. Though muffled, she knew who spoke them. Mallaki.
It seemed to take a great deal of energy to open her eyes. Now that she had, she wanted to go back to the comforting darkness. Mallaki, dark and furious, stood above her, feet apart, hands on his hips.
Eleni avoided his angry gaze and sat, feeling at once woozy and sick to her stomach. She took in her surroundings and fought a surge of panic when she realized she was in her bed. With Mallaki in such a state, she couldn’t afford to stay there, despite how she felt.
Bits of thought drifted in and out, like waves bouncing against the shore. She had the sense something bad had happened, but she couldn’t remember what. Swinging her legs over the edge of her bed, she got to her feet. Then an insistent part of her memory, one she never wanted to return, crested, black and furious, before breaking over her in a relentless surge. Alec. No. She struggled against a sudden onslaught of queasiness as the evening’s events came flooding back.
Mallaki titled his face toward the sky. “Gods. Why did you plague me with such a woman?”
Eleni fought to maintain her balance as another wave of nausea struck her.
“How much of the aphrodisiac did you consume?”
She shook her head. “Not much.”
“You’re fortunate. In larger amounts, if you don’t act on your passion, it can make you quite ill. Many of my other guests aren’t so fortunate.”
He circled her. “Eleni, Eleni, Eleni. Whatever am I going to do with you? Your now-deceased lover cost us precious time and energy. We had to stop for the night.”
Relief sagged her shoulders. Finally, a break, but at what cost?
Mallaki came up behind her, his breath hot on the nape of her neck. “I was so looking forward to making you mine tonight.” He traced a finger along her shoulder blade.
She stilled. “You can force me to sleep with you, forcibly take my body, but I’ll never be yours. You made sure of that when you killed the man I love.”
“You sorely tempt me.” Mallaki’s voice shook with rage. “You helped Mr. Androulakis leave here without my knowledge. I should take you to bed now and teach you how to be respectful, but I have sick guests to attend to.”
As the door slammed closed behind him, Eleni sank to the bed and buried her face in her pillow, which captured the wail issuing from somewhere deep within her. The tears weren’t for her, but for Alec. It was all her fault he was dead. If she hadn’t brought him into this mess, he’d still be alive, working his dream job at CNN.
And without Alec, she had nothing to live for, and that gave her an advantage over Mallaki. Like any suicide bomber, she would gladly give up her life to take the enemy down.
Now it was up to her to stop Mallaki. Wiping the tears from her face with a corner of the sheet, she sat.
The solution was simple.
She’d have to kill him.
And she knew just how to do it.
Chapter 31
“I need help here.”
Alec turned toward Stephanos’s voice, trying to block out the fear he’d seen in Quinn’s eyes.
Stephanos had Jules’s arm and was attempting to drag him out of the water. “He must have been invisible. I didn’t see him before.”
Alec took Jules’s other arm and together they brought him to shore.
Stephanos felt for a pulse. “Weak.”
Alec responded by flipping Jules on his side and giving him a couple firm whacks on his back. When Jules didn’t improve on his own, Alec allowed the healing energy, what he now thought of as second nature, to flow from him into the injured man.
Jules coughed, and water shot from his mouth and nose. Then he turned on his side and threw up almost continuously.
“I want you to try something, Alec.”
Stephanos sat on his haunches next to Adrian’s body.
Alec shook his head. “I can’t bring the dead back to life.”
“What makes you say that?” Stephanos pinned him with a steely gaze. “You healed me.”
“We already discussed this. You must not have been totally dead yet.”
“What defines totally in your book?”
Alec let his mind drift, focusing on the sound of Quinn’s desperate voice calling for Adara and Jules barfing his brains out. He couldn’t think about Stephanos’s question. He didn’t know the answer.
“Look.” Stephanos raked a hand through his hair. “All I’m asking is that you try.”
“Will that shut you up?”
At Stephanos’s nod, Alec gave an exasperated grunt, then squatted next to Adrian. The gash was deep, exposing bone and tattered flesh. A plank or something heavy must have caught Adrian in the head.
Alec touched a bloodless patch of icy skin and once again allowed the energy to flow through h
im.
Stephanos grabbed his arm excitedly and pointed at Adrian’s face. “Look. I think it’s working.”
Alec shook his head. He knew how difficult it was to lose someone. Stephanos didn’t want to admit his friend was gone. Since Quinn was obviously not ready to give up on Adara, he’d humor Stephanos. But that didn’t mean he had any hope.
Stephanos’s face held a feverish glow. “Look at Adrian’s pupils. They’re not fixed anymore.”
A chill trickled down Alec’s spine. Sure enough, there seemed to be slight movement.
Stephanos gave a wild laugh. “Maybe Lazarus was a descendant of the Greeks.”
“Could you keep it down?” Adrian blinked several times, then scowled up at them. “I have a bitch of a headache.”
Nausea churned in Alec’s stomach. Every time Adrian spoke, the gaping gash across the side of his head exposed strands of muscle, torn flesh, and a side view of his teeth. He had to close this wound, and fast, or he’d be heaving like Jules. He placed his palm firmly near Adrian’s temple.
“Hey.” Adrian struggled against his touch, then sat. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Saving your life.” Stephanos placed a stilling hand on Adrian’s shoulder. Something in his tone must have convinced Adrian because he sat unmoving, allowing Alec to close the wound splitting his colleague’s face.
While Eleni’s skin bore a thin, pink line, Adrian would likely carry a thick, jagged scar the rest of his life. “I can’t say you’re as good as new. You’ll have quite a reminder of tonight.”
“But it’s better than being dead.” Stephanos clapped a hand on his friend’s back.
In unison, they all turned their attention to Jules, who had progressed to dry heaves. “Shit.” Jules sat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “What the hell hit us?”
“Mallaki and his team of A Number One Assholes, that’s who.” Adrian got to his feet, stumbled a few steps, then sank to the sand a short distance away. He dropped his head in his hands. “What’s wrong with me?”
