Chapter 9
As soon as the warm air of the evening wrapped around them, Emma pulled in a deep breath. There were only a few couples and small groups milling around and the openness instantly relaxed her. Nikos pulled her into his arms and started slowly dancing with her to a slow, unheard melody. She pressed her body to his and let him lead them around his imaginary dance floor. The fine linen of his shirt pressed against her cheek and his arm was snug around her waist.
They floated, suspended in time with nothing around them but the warm evening and candle light. Nikos felt her body firmly against his. Her wary look had receded a bit as she was swept away in the energy of the evening. He lowered his head and rested his cheek on the top of her head. He tightened his grip on her hand and held it over his heart. He was well and truly lost to this woman he still knew so little about. Without conscious thought, he pulled them further and further into the shadows of gardens. Hedges ringed the edge of the massive lawn, dotted with openings leading to paths lined with rose bushes, oleander, juniper and myrtle joined with decorative stone walls, columns, and sculptures to form a maze.
Nikos stopped his gentle rhythmic steps and led Emma down a random opening in the hedge. They wandered silently down the path, hand in hand. Occasionally, voices would drift across the foliage with indistinct words. A small recessed bench caught his eye and he drew Emma into the small enclave. With unspoken agreement, they dropped onto the bench and Emma leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It felt like they were back among the vines. Time slipped away as they sat, not speaking, just absorbing the stillness.
Voices jarred them out of their reverie. A small group of people passed behind them, joking and laughing. Emma jerked and pulled up straight before she let out a soft laugh. “I forgot where we were.”
“Yeah, me too,” Nikos agreed as he sat up and stretched. A waiter appeared on the path, with an empty tray and soft light clipped to his belt. Nikos stood and stepped from the hidden outcrop. The waiter jumped and let out a string of what could only be Greek curses. Emma giggled. The man immediately began apologizing in rapid Greek. Emma listened to the short exchange and recognized the word for wine. The waiter disappeared and Nikos stuck his head back into the small opening.
“He is bringing us some wine. I’m going to go out and meet him at the edge of the lawn. He doesn’t want to come back into the maze.” Nikos’ rolled his eyes at the man’s foolishness. “I’ll be right back.” He gave her a wink and grin before disappearing in the night.
Emma sat on the bench and stretched her back. She felt invisible in this little nook, and it felt wonderful. For a fleeting moment, she wished that she could stay here, cloaked in darkness and rose leaves forever. The moment passed and she thought instead of Nikos. Minutes slipped by as she reflected on the roots she never intended to let anchor her. Thoughts of the necessary reckoning with her past invaded her mind, tainting the blissful warmth of her love for him.
She heard footsteps and thought it was Nikos until she realized they were approaching from the wrong direction and on the other side of the shrubs. A man’s rough voice froze her in place. His tone was coarse and angry. “I don’t give a fuck what she said. I said do it. Remind her that she has a job to do and what happens to people who don’t do their jobs.” Emma’s heart hammered as the footsteps passed her. She didn’t know the voice, but the words, the tone, the anger stirred memories that she fought to keep contained in a far corner of her mind.
The cozy little nook suddenly felt like it was closing in on her. The dark felt heavy and she struggled to breath. She launched off of the bench and out of the half hidden opening. Stumbling onto the path, she headed in the opposite direction of the footsteps. Images swam in her head- the dead man on the floor of the garage; the cold concrete floor of the warehouse floor where she had curled in on herself trying to avoid the kicks aimed at her gut; the pain of the pointed toe of a cowboy boot connecting with a vicious impact in her lower back. Echoes of voices ricocheted in her mind- “I don’t give a fuck what he said. Kill her and be done with it.”
Emma ran wildly through the maze’s twisted paths, trying to out run the ghosts in her mind. Sweat poured down her face, mingling with tears and snot as she sobbed and ran. She could hear boots crunching on the gravel behind her. She thought of the wicked points of his boots and ran harder. Her gut roiled with terror. She tamped it down. She couldn’t be sick now. If she stopped, they would catch her. If they caught her, they would kill her for sure this time.
The path opened suddenly into a wide circle, like a cul-de-sac at the end of a lane. She careened into the center of it. A fountain gurgled merrily, and the water danced with reflected light. Emma frantically searched for a way out, but her heart sank as she realized that there was only one way in and out. She bolted for the far side of the fountain and whirled around searching for her pursuer. Maybe she could lure him away from the opening and make a break for it. Desperately, she pulled in air and tried to think. Emma’s chest heaved as she looked at the fountain, trying to place it. Her body shook and she pressed back against the hedge, hoping it would swallow her.
A man appeared at the end of the path. He looked around the circle. Emma’s heart sank when his eyes trained themselves on her. She couldn’t hold in the sob as her body anticipated the pain that was to come. Hysteria burgeoned in her chest. All thoughts of escape scattered as the certainty of pain and death gripped her terror soaked mind. Her legs crumpled, and she pulled herself into a ball on the ground. One small corner of her mind shrieked at her to run, to survive, but it sounded distant like a fading echo.
Her eyes swam with tears that made it hard to see the expensive leather loafers that filled her vision as the man stood in front of her. Emma wondered why he had changed out of his cowboy boots. It seemed important that he wasn’t wearing cowboy boots. A bottle of wine and two glasses joined the shoes in her view before the man dropped to his haunches in front of her. Instantly, she shrank away from him, but with the hedge at her back, she had nowhere to go.
“Emma! Take it easy, baby. It’s alright. It’s Nikos.”
The words penetrated her sobs, but she couldn’t make sense of them. “No, no, no…” She heard herself moaning the word over and over and bit hard on her lip to silence it. The man was talking still and she tried again to hear what he was saying.
“You’re alright. Emma, look at me. Look at me!” Issued in a harsh command, the last words made her flinch, even as she obeyed. His dark eyes bored into hers. His hard, handsome features darkened as concern etched across them.
From a very distant place in her mind, a thread of hope began to take shape. She pulled in a deep breath and held his gaze. Those chocolate eyes danced in her mind, full of passion, laughter, and love.
“Nikos,” Emma whispered and tears continued to flow. The panic subsided just enough for her to see past the blinders. She took in the opulent garden and dancing fountain, the warm sultry air and bottle wine with its glasses next to his feet. Greece; the party; Nikos- it all snapped back into perfect clarity. Bile rose in her throat, and she scrambled away from him. She retched and heaved into the shrubs.
Nikos stood over her, keeping his distance. She would come to him when she was ready. His hands shook as he looked down at her being sick in the bushes. His vision blackened as he thought again about the terror she must have endured to leave these kinds of scars. The night terrors had been gone for weeks. He had thought she was playing with him when she had burst out of the opening in the hedge and taken off down the path. It soon became clear she wasn’t running a merry chase. She was fleeing as if the hounds of Hell were on her heels. Someone will pay for this, he vowed silently.
Slowly, he took his jacket off and draped it gently over her shoulders. She didn’t move. She just stayed on all fours staring at the dark ground. Cautiously, he reached out a hand and placed it lightly on her back. “Let’s get off the ground, baby. I’m right here, Emma. I’ve got you.” He kept up a series of reassuring phrases as he helped her to her feet and over to a bench close to the fountain. She trembled as he pulled her into his lap and cradled her against his chest.
Nikos’ hand rubbed her back and his soft steady cadence rumbled against her cheek. He had switched to Greek, a sign of his own distress at the situation. Emma cringed, embarrassed with such a display of insanity. She knew he would be gracious about it, but it was hard to ignore your girlfriend running like she is being chased by a banshee through the gardens at a fancy party. She swiped at her face. It would be red, blotchy, smeared with tears and snot. There was no way she could go back looking like this.
“I’m so sorry, Nikos,” she said quietly into his shoulder. His hand was still caressing large circles over her back, but the tremors had pretty much stopped. She pushed away from him and cupped his handsome face between her hands. “I have to go.”
“Of course. We can go out a side entrance and have them bring the car around.” Nikos started to shift her so he could stand, but stopped at Emma’s sad shake of the head.
“That’s not what I mean. I have to leave Athens… Greece… I have to go… somewhere,” she trailed off as tears started to leak from her eyes again.
“You’re not going anywhere tonight.” Nikos stood, setting her on her feet and holding her as she swayed unsteadily. “You see. You are in no condition for an escape at the moment. It will have to wait until tomorrow.”
Emma leaned her swimming head forward against his chest. She didn’t have the strength to argue. He was right anyway. The rollercoaster ride of the last hour had left her spent and exhausted. With shaking legs, she made her way to the fountain. Cupping water in her hands, she splashed her face and tried to wash away the worst of it. Grimacing slightly at the abomination of using the expensive Italian suit as a towel, she wiped her face on the sleeve of Nikos’ jacket that hung off her shoulders.
She took a couple of deep breaths and straightened up. She leaned on him as they made their way out of the maze and through a side exit of the hotel. A generous tip sent a valet scurrying to bring the car. Nikos drove silently through the crowded streets. Emma rested her head on the window and stared unseeing out the window. She tried to formulate a plan. She tried to decide where to go and how to get there. She could never get past the front door of the town house. Her mind refused to string together the steps that would take her away from him. Her eyes drifted shut as her waking mind forfeited to the lure of sleep and the oblivion that waited there.