by Kim Baldwin
Jasmine was waiting for her in the hallway, her expression one of hopeful expectation, no doubt because of the gunshot.
Jack closed TQ’s door behind her and nodded. “It’s over.”
Jasmine broke out in tears and wrapped herself around Jack.
“The captain is out cold,” she told the young woman as she hefted the rucksack with the icon over her shoulder. “Wait until I’m far away in the dinghy, then rouse him and tell him you were in your room when you heard a shot but never saw anyone. He never got a look at my face, so he has no idea I was ever here.”
“Thank you,” Jasmine said.
“Write down my number.”
Jasmine ran back to her room and came back with pen and paper. Jack gave her her cell number. “Call me when you’re back in the States. We’ll take care of you.”
Jasmine hugged Jack again. “I can’t believe I’m really free.”
Chapter Thirty
Mount Athos, Greece
Next day
Switch had only one last task to complete her assignment—returning the icon to the Simonopetra Monastery—and for that she’d transformed into her male persona one final time. Allegro had left that morning for Venice, and Jack would be leaving later in the day for Colorado.
She’d be happy to put Operation Divine Intervention behind her. It definitely hadn’t been one of the more dangerous or trying missions she’d been on, but she felt emotionally drained. She had contemplated calling Ariadne at least a million times but could never think of what to say or how to start. Switch had practically told her to get lost when Ariadne wanted to see her, and she didn’t know how to take that back.
Even if she could think of a way, and even if Ariadne agreed to see her, what could Switch possibly say, aside from Let me tell you what happened, so I can go back to my life. And…oh, yeah, I want you like crazy, have fallen like a ton of bricks for you, but I’m afraid of commitment and generally not an easy person to be around.
“I can’t believe you found it!” Archbishop Manousis exclaimed when Switch walked into his office with the Theotokos. He smiled broadly at the gold icon as she took a seat opposite his desk.
“I’m glad we could help.” Switch couldn’t muster the excitement she usually felt after accomplishing a job.
“Are you not well?” the archbishop asked. “You seem troubled.”
“I don’t know anyone without troubles, Father,” Switch replied flippantly.
“Of course, of course. We all merely get short breaks in between worries.”
“Amen to that.”
“Is it something you want to talk about?”
“I don’t see how talking about it will help.”
“Maybe it won’t,” he said gently, “but you have nothing to lose and perhaps something to gain. If nothing else, the unburdening of saying something out loud.”
Switch studied his face for a long while, then stood and put her hands in her pockets.
“Would you like to talk while we walk?” he asked.
Without a word, Switch went to the door and waited for him. Manousis called another priest, who came at once, and instructed him on what to do with the icon. Once the man disappeared with the Theotokos, the archbishop got up and led the way to the gardens that ringed the rear perimeter of the administrative building. Neatly tilled plots of vegetables and flowers were laid out in a semicircles, and beyond were rows of olive trees. “Talk when you’re ready,” he told Switch. “I have all day.”
It took her a few minutes to know how to start. “I’m afraid to love.”
“Of course you are,” he replied. “Who isn’t? There is nothing that exposes us more or makes us exceptionally vulnerable.”
“I don’t want to hurt again, Father.”
“I see.”
They walked silently for a while.
“There are no guarantees.” The archbishop stopped to pick up an olive. He examined it for a long while, like it was a diamond. “It’s very likely that you will hurt again, but that’s life. What’s important is the journey and the lessons we take while on it. Everything is a passage until we shut our eyes for good. Death is the final destination, and everything else—every memory, every disappointment, every sweet moment—prepares us for our departure.”
“How do you figure?” she asked.
“Your fear comes from a previous relationship? A woman you once loved?”
Switch nodded. “She claimed to have loved and accepted me as well. Only thing is, I never stopped loving her. It took years to get over the pain, and she just moved on with someone else without a care in the world.”
“Just because it didn’t work out or because she found another does not mean she didn’t love you,” Manousis said. “Love cannot be measured or compared. Some people give their heart whole, and others give what they think is a whole heart. Some want to stay and fight for what they believe to be true, and others…others.” He gestured with his hand. “Others need distractions to end the fight, because it’s only then that they feel strong enough to do so.”
“But it’s not fair,” she replied. “Then why utter the words ‘I love you’ if you can’t stick to them? If, when times get rough, they get going?”
“Would you have preferred she’d said that she’d love you as long as it was easy?”
“Well, yeah…I mean, no. I don’t know.”
“Alex, I’m sure she never intended to hurt you, and that you never intended to hurt her by being…difficult. Sometimes, people are meant to enter and leave our lives and we theirs, but it’s never for no reason. Regardless of the result, we take lessons and beautiful memories to strengthen our journey.” Manousis put the olive in his pocket. “Don’t dwell on the bad. Reminisce about the good and let that give you strength. Let the past be something you remember with sweet nostalgia, not bitterness. And…” He stopped to look at her. “In God’s name, do not let cynicism enter your heart or make decisions. It is only the foolish who forsake the future because of a few rough patches.”
Switch stood looking at the archbishop, but her mind was hundreds of nautical miles away in Santorini. “I know you’re right,” she finally said.
“I do not mean to belittle your worries, but think of the child who loses its mother. Or worse, the mother who loses her child. Now, those are grievances that scar lives forever, and still, because we are, after all, instinctual animals that will fight to survive, they find ways to cope and move on in their journey. I’m sure that in your line of work, you have seen much distress and despair.”
He was right. There was so much pain in the world—true horrors and loss of hope people had to face every day—that Switch felt almost ridiculous sulking about not having been loved enough.
“I’m so grateful for your time, Father Giorgos.” Switch smiled. “I think it’s helped me a lot.”
“You can come talk to me anytime.” He patted Switch on the shoulder.
“I have one more question,” she said. “And you are not at all obligated to answer.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Hmm, this sounds interesting.”
“It’s about the icon.”
“Yes?”
“The Theotokos was never stolen, was it?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Back at the office, you seemed happy to see the icon, but not relieved.”
The archbishop cleared his throat and crossed his hands behind him. “It was important that we get it back.”
“I suspect that the real Theotokos,” she said, “serves as the base of the icon that was taken. That simple, hand-carved, and extremely old piece of wood. You were much more anxious and concerned about me handling that, as I recall.”
Manousis looked from Switch to the ground as if contemplating how to answer. “I’m afraid I cannot discuss this.” He gazed up at Switch.
“The man who had it stolen did it because he is dying, but in the short time he had it, he’s gone from being a very sick man to one who looks perfectly he
althy. I know it wasn’t the real Theotokos, so how did…a placebo, if you will…?”
“Faith is more potent than any icon,” the archbishop replied. “More powerful than any church, and more reassuring than any priest.”
“So it’s all in the mind?”
“It’s all in how strong your faith is.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Next day
Ariadne watched Melina get out of her lounge chair to stand by the rail, shading her eyes against the glare coming off the water. The girls were all in their bikinis. They’d been hanging by the aft pool sipping margaritas and trying to fix Ariadne’s mood ever since she’d hung up on Alex in frustration.
“Isn’t that Alex, the faux-male secret agent, undercover whatever?” Melina asked as she pointed toward a Zodiac zooming toward them off the starboard bow.
Ariadne and the other two looked in that direction. Alex was driving the inflatable at top speed, but slowed down when she got close to the yacht.
Ariadne wanted to say or do something to stop staring and look busy, but she couldn’t come up with anything. Her mind and vision blurred, and all she could focus on was Alex. Her face burned, and it wasn’t from the sun.
“She has some nerve showing up here after she lied to us and…and totally avoided giving you any answers,” Natasa said.
“Hey, welcome back!” Manos shouted as Alex approached the aft docking area.
Ariadne watched from behind her shades as they talked for a while. Manos was all smiles.
Alex was wearing a pair of old-looking jeans and a white, long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned enough to expose her cleavage. Her hair was combed differently and, though short, made her appear very feminine. All in all, she looked simply edible, and Ariadne hated herself for admitting that.
“She cleans up pretty damn well,” Jo said as though reading her mind. “She’s even sexier as a woman.”
“Yeah, she sure does,” Ariadne mumbled.
Alex approached them slowly, like she was giving Ariadne and her friends a chance to check her out.
“Stop staring,” Ariadne said.
“Look who’s talking,” Melina replied.
“Yeah, but I’m wearing shades.”
“Yeah, but I don’t care,” Melina said.
Alex stopped in front of them. “Hi.”
“Hi to you, too.” Melina shaded her eyes with her hand and openly assessed Alex from head to foot. “No sock in your briefs today,” she commented.
Jo and Natasa laughed.
“Nope.” Alex smiled, that sexy and inviting smile that always twisted Ariadne’s stomach into knots. “Not today.”
“You make a very convincing man,” Jo said.
Ariadne wanted her friends to stop talking so Alex would move on and go see her father or whomever she was there to see. This small talk and casual demeanor were driving her crazy. If Alex thought they could just converse like friends and pretend that kiss never happened, then good for her, but Ariadne was nowhere near ready to play girlfriends and probably never would be as long as she couldn’t ignore what happened to her body every time she saw Alex.
“So I’ve heard,” Alex replied. “What can I say? Practice makes perfect.” She didn’t seem to mind the teasing at all.
“Sure does. You’ve managed to perfect the male role down to the nasty habit of love ’em and leave ’em,” Melina said with open sarcasm.
“Stop it, Mel.” Ariadne spoke up for the first time but didn’t look at Alex. “Besides, being a jerk is not a male prerogative.” She picked up her Fortune magazine and pretended to resume reading.
“I’d like to talk to you, Ariadne,” Alex said.
Ariadne looked up but didn’t reply.
“What about?” Melina asked when she didn’t respond.
“It’s personal.” Alex never took her eyes off Ariadne.
Ariadne finally responded. “Since when?”
“Since we kissed.”
Ariadne’s stomach fluttered at the mere mention, but she looked back down at her magazine and tried to remain nonchalant. “It was just a kiss. You don’t have to explain yourself.”
“But I do have to explain what it meant to me.” Alex knelt next to Ariadne’s chaise. “If, of course, you care to find out.”
“Why?” Ariadne hated herself for reacting this way, but her defense mechanism was crumbling under Alex’s intense and smoldering gaze.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about it…about you.”
Ariadne quit the fake-reading bit and finally looked straight at her. Alex was less than a foot away. Her blue eyes penetrated past Ariadne’s shades to her heart.
“Because I’m in love with you,” Alex whispered.
Ariadne’s stomach did a back flip. She thought she was going to lose her mind and her breakfast. “I, uh…I…wh—”
“Can we take this somewhere else?” Alex placed her hand on Ariadne’s leg. “Somewhere private?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, just get a room,” Melina said.
“She’s right.” Alex continued to caress Ariadne’s leg. “I’d really like to see you alone.”
Ariadne would’ve shot up if she weren’t too breathless to move. Alex’s hand on her knee, combined with her sexy smile, was driving her crazy.
“So, what do you say?” Alex asked.
“S…sure,” Ariadne muttered. “Is my room okay?”
“Perfect.” Alex stood and offered her hand to help her up.
Alex couldn’t take her eyes off Ariadne as she led the way through the yacht. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation and explanations. They had time for that later. After her talk with the archbishop, she’d resolved to put her heart out there again and open up to Ariadne. But seeing her now, so provocatively enticing in her smoking-hot bikini, all she wanted to do was undress her and do all sorts of—
“This is me.” Ariadne stopped in front of her door.
“I know.”
Alex noticed Ariadne’s hand shake as she slid her card through the lock.
Once inside, Ariadne turned to her. “So, here we are. Alone like you wanted.”
Alex stood a foot away from her. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“You could’ve told me that on deck.”
“Did you not hear that I’m in love with you?”
Ariadne looked away. “I did. What do you want me to do about that?”
“Am I alone in this?”
“You gave me a whole speech about not wanting to take a backseat to my life and family. What changed?”
“I did.”
“Oh?” Ariadne raised a curious eyebrow. “Wasn’t it you who told me not to trust anyone who was willing to sit on the sidelines?”
“If I remember correctly, you told me that would be the case.”
“And you believe me, now?” Ariadne asked sarcastically.
“I want to believe you.”
“When did that change?”
“When I realized I was condemning you and forgoing a possible future with you because of a bad experience.”
Ariadne bit her lip. “My father asked me to take his place, starting…soon. He also told me about his miraculously cured illness.”
“I think he should check with a doctor before—”
“He won’t. He wants to retire and spend time on the Holy Mountain.”
“Good for him, then.”
“That’s what I said. I also told him I didn’t know if I was ready to take over the company. I love the job, but it means a lot of late hours, trips, huge responsibilities, and the list goes on.”
“Sounds a lot like my life. I’m gone a lot, too. I never know where they’re going to send me next, and very often, lives depend on how I handle a situation.”
Ariadne stared at Alex for a long time before she spoke. “Great. We get to be pen pals, then.”
“I want more.”
“Like what?”
“Spend every minute I can with you.”
“I…
” Ariadne moved away and turned to stare out her port window at the sea.
“I asked you if I was alone in this. Alone in love. But you never said.”
“I don’t know how to answer that.” Ariadne kept her back turned to Alex.
“A yes or no is sufficient.”
“I don’t like being lied to, or fooled, or ignored.” Ariadne kept her back turned.
“I get that about you,” Alex said to lighten the atmosphere.
“I also don’t like—” Ariadne stopped mid-sentence when Alex closed the distance between them and put her arms around her. The scent of her was intoxicating, and Ariadne’s sharp intake of breath when they touched made Alex suddenly light-headed.
“You also don’t like what?” Alex whispered in her ear.
Ariadne turned around to face her. Her eyes were shining with unmasked desire and need. “Just kiss me.” She sounded breathless.
Alex placed her hand around Ariadne’s neck and pulled Ariadne up against her. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” She kissed her softly on the lips. “I can’t stop thinking about your mouth.” Another kiss, still sweet and gentle. “I’ve fallen so hard,” she said against Ariadne’s lips and kissed her thoroughly then, probing and exploring Ariadne’s mouth with her tongue, unleashing her pent-up passion.
“Yes,” Ariadne mumbled when they came up for air. “Head over heels.”
Alex’s breath caught at the admission. “I don’t know if you have to be somewhere, and I don’t care.” She thrust one leg between Ariadne’s thighs. “I want to show you how much in love I am with you.”
“I can’t remember if I need to be anywhere, and I don’t care to remember.”
Alex smiled and led her to the bedroom.
Ariadne started to untie her sarong.
“Let me,” Alex said. “I’ve been wanting to undress you ever since I laid eyes on you.”
She pulled Ariadne forward and undid the knot. The sarong pooled around their feet.
“And I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I want to see that beautiful body of yours.” Ariadne unbuttoned Alex’s shirt. “I’m so glad you’re a woman.” She pulled off Alex’s shirt and gazed admiringly at the sight of her bare-chested.
