Chapter 17
They left Athens before the moon had fully risen. Nikos drove like a man possessed. His grim silence filled the car. Emma sat and stared out the window at the featureless black tableau of the Greek coast sliding past her window. Nikos’ intensity was unnerving. It rolled off him in waves.
When they left the rocky cliffs behind and began winding through the lush valleys of the peninsula, Nikos broke the silence. “How did you get away?”
The question startled Emma and she pulled in a sharp gasp. She had been thinking about that very thing as they sailed through the night. She didn’t answer for several moments. Nikos, as always, just waited. He always gave her the space she needed. He deserved to hear the rest of it. The time for secrets had passed.
Emma took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. Grateful for the darkness, she looked out the window and spoke to the night.
“They left me in the closet for a long time. I was so scared, but I kept thinking that Uncle Malachi had told them to find out what I knew. All I had to do was convince them that I didn’t know anything and they would let me go. When they came and got me out of the closet, they…” Emma’s mouth had gone dry as she remembered the fear that had gripped her. She had thrown up and that earned her the first kick. “They asked me a lot of questions and most of them I could honestly answer I had no idea what they were talking about. I just kept saying that over and over. They didn’t believe me.”
She went quiet for several minutes. Memories of the brutal punches and kicks that they had landed played in her mind. She felt each one again. They had been strategically placed. They never once hit her face. Emma pushed on through those dark hours. “When they took me back to the closet, they filled the sink with water. They asked me if I saw them kill Gary. I told them I had no idea what they were talking about. They held my face in the water. I fought so hard but I only managed to beat myself up. The brought me up and asked me again. I answered them the same way. I could taste blood in the water when they pushed me down a second time. I tried not to fight but they kept me under longer and longer.”
Nikos sucked in a ragged breath and Emma jerked. She had been so lost in her thoughts she had forgotten him. Her body trembled as old terrors rolled through her. Now that the words had started, she didn’t feel like she could stop them. The next part spilled from her lips, the words coming faster and faster.
“The one guy was really getting off on it. He rubbed against me and started to pull at my skirt, but the other one stopped him. He said Uncle Malachi would cut his dick off if he tried that. I thought that was hilarious and started laughing. It just all seemed so absurd. He didn’t like being laughed at and shoved my head under again. I thought that it was all over. My world went black, and I woke up on the floor of the closet.” She thought for a moment about the cold cement on her cheek; how her lungs had burned; how her body had hurt. She had cried as she pulled herself into a ball and huddled in the corner. When she ran out of tears, she focused on the pain and anger gradually replaced her fear.
“The door opened again, eventually, and the light almost blinded me. They pulled me out and took me in the warehouse. There were pallets and shipping containers everywhere. They tied my hands and put a piece of duct tape over my mouth. They tossed me in the trunk like a sack of groceries. It smelled like blood. It was so hard not to throw up. I knew I couldn’t, not with the tape over my mouth. I pressed my face to the back of the seat that didn’t smell as bad and just told myself over and over to stay calm.”
Her stomach heaved at the memory, and Emma pulled in a few steadying breaths before she continued. “I explored the trunk. I know cars and how they are made. I pointed all of those little things out to customers. I wasn’t surprised when I found that they had cut the emergency release cable for the trunk. I couldn’t get that lucky. Then- they stopped for gas. I still can’t believe it.” She stopped for a moment and stared out the window. Over the last year that moment had always baffled her. Ultimately, she had chalked it up to fate and made her peace with it.
“They both got out of the car. As soon as I heard both of their doors slam, I played my only card. I had found the release cable for the rear seat. I pulled at it and started pushing at the back of the seat with my shoulder. It took a few tries but it finally gave. I wiggled through the hole and flopped and floundered my way to the front seat. The guy pumping gas was turned away from the car, and the other guy was nowhere to be seen. My hands were still tied, and they were shaking so much that I didn’t think I was going to be able to get the key to turn.
“The guy at the pump saw me just as I turned the key. He started to pull the back door open. I dropped it in drive and floored it. The back door opened a crack, but he couldn’t hang on. I remember looking back as he fell on his face and hoping it hurt. The back door was open, and I was dragging the gas hose behind me, but I didn’t stop until I couldn’t see the station any more. Then, I pulled the tape off my mouth and got my hands free. I ran around the car and got the door closed and left the hose in the middle of the road. I drove until I found a main road and headed west toward Chicago.” She paused again and looked out at the lights of an unknown city.
It never ceased to amaze her that wherever she found herself in the world, there was so much that was the same. The middle of the night in a sleepy town looked much the same regardless of where you were on the globe. Emma wondered how many of those sleeping people ever thought about the wanderers that passed among them, through their train stations, on their sidewalks or cafés. As they left the city lights behind them, Emma took up her tale for the last time.
“My roommate and I had been best friends since the third grade. Katie always joked we could count on each other to help bury a body. Turns out she was good to her word, though I didn’t actually have to ask her to help with a body. She met me at a gas station outside of South Bend with my passport, the contents of my checking account, and our fake IDs. She had thrown a few clothes and stuff together. She didn’t even ask any questions. I told her to get a new roommate and left her standing there. I drove straight to O’Hare and got on the first flight overseas. I landed in Edinburgh 20 hours later and didn’t stop moving until I fell asleep under a tree in your vineyard.”
Another silence filled the car. Emma felt a strange numbness after sharing her story. She felt like she was looking down from a great distance and was somehow not part of anything happening around her. Nikos didn’t say anything, and she was grateful. Of course, what was there to say to something like that? He took her hand in his and continued driving. Emma let her eyes drift closed and held tightly to him, to the one thing that seemed real.
He felt her grip relax as she fell asleep. He hadn’t trusted himself to speak once she had launched into the details of her saga. His blood boiled with the desire to hurt those who had hurt her. First, he had to make sure she was safe. If she was right and they had found her, he had to make sure that she and his family were protected. He put his foot down and made his plans as they sped through the night to safety. The villa had always been his haven. No one could hurt them there.
Chapter 18
Emma looked at Nikos over the rim of her coffee mug with a pang of guilt. He looked haggard and exhausted. They had made their nocturnal escape at the expense of his rest.
“You don’t look any better,” he grumbles, divining her thoughts. She never had had much of a poker face.
Despite her fatigue, she felt better than she had in a year. Finally, someone else knew the truth, and he hadn’t booted her out on the side of the road. She had brought secrets and danger into his world, but he had kissed her and made her coffee when they had arrived at the villa. She had never loved anyone more than this wonderful man.
“Why don’t you get a nap,” she suggested. “We’re here and I know you’ve already circled the wagons.” As soon as they had entered the sprawling vineyard, Nikos had systematically closed every gate they passed through. Some had clearly not been closed in years judging by the protest they made. He had called Alec and given instructions that no one was allowed on the premise that wasn’t family. He had also called Gretchen and told her to bring herself and Abby straight home.
“I have calls to make. I need to talk to Dimitris. He’ll be wondering why I am not at the office.” He didn’t mention that he had to deal with Cassandra as well. His 24 hours were up. She had sent him an email with instructions on how to set up payments. As much as he hated it, he had decided he couldn’t fight that battle just now. There would be a reckoning for Cassandra once he was sure Emma was safe.
Wearily, he stood and started for his office. He paused at the doorway and without turning he said, “I will protect you, Emma. No one will hurt you ever again.”
Emma’s eyes flooded with tears. She felt another pang of guilt for bringing this to him. She hoped that he would never come to regret those words.
Abigail raced through the kitchen as few moments later and was almost through the door before she noticed Emma sitting at the small table. She skidded to a stop and galloped back for a hug before resuming her headlong flight.
“Nice to see you too, kiddo,” Emma said to the little girl’s back as a tear trekked down her cheek. She looked to the door to see Gretchen following at a much more sedate pace. The older woman’s eyes looked at Emma with accusation. She had no idea what Nikos had told her, but apparently Emma was back on her shit list. She couldn’t seem to care. Being on Gretchen’s bad side didn’t exactly compare to being on the wrong side of her Uncle Malachi.
“Where is Nikos,” Gretchen asked in her heavily accented English.
“In the library, I think. He had some calls to make.”
“You have brought trouble to him. I knew you would. Now he has his house like a castle, guards and gates. Thanks to you.” She spat the last word at Emma before turning and walking resolutely out of the room.
Yep, definitely back on the shit list, Emma thought and took another deep drink of coffee.
Alec dropped a handful of letters on the table when he ambled into the kitchen close to noon. Emma jerked awake, spilling the last swallow of coffee that had grown cold in her mug. She snatched up the mail and grabbed a napkin to sop up the liquid. She pulled a hand over her face, trying to focus her mind. When she dropped the envelopes back on the table, her tired brain was slow to process the typed front of a plain envelope with no postage on its face. With a surge of adrenaline, her mind snapped into focus.
“Alec,” she called after him. When he turned, she asked, “Who brought this? Did you see who brought this?” She waved the envelope at him.
Alec looked at her as he usually did- like she was a few fruit loops shy of a bowl. Emma blew out a frustrated sigh. She really did need to improve her Greek. She grabbed Alec by the hand and pulled him with her toward the library.
They heard Nikos and Gretchen’s raised voices well before they opened the door. They were arguing heatedly in Greek so the words were lost on Emma, but she had no doubt of the subject. Without knocking, she burst into the room pulling a reluctant Alec with her.
“There’s another envelope. Ask him who brought it,” Emma crossed directly to Nikos and thrust the envelope at him while pushing Alec to stand directly in front of his boss. Anxiety coiled tight in her gut, making her feel like she was a breath away from flying apart in all directions. Panicky thoughts raced through her mind. Without waiting for a response, she asked with sudden terror, “Where is Abigail?” She turned and began to run from the room.
Nikos’ hand closed around her arm just as she reached the library door. She struggled against it, desperate to make sure the little girl was safe. “Emma, stop,” he commanded as he pulled her easily into his chest. She pushed at him ineffectually. “She’s fine. Look,” he said as he pointed to a leather chair in the far corner of the room. Curled in a ball among pillows and blankets, Abby was sound asleep.
Emma deflated and leaned against Nikos’ chest. She blew out a sigh and gave her head a slight shake. “Oh, Nikos, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Worrying about my daughter? Never apologize for that. Now, let’s look at this envelope.” He let her go and crossed back to his desk to begin questioning Alec and Gretchen in rapid Greek.
Alec left a few moments later with one final disapproving glance at Emma. Gretchen followed with a venomous look of her own. Emma dropped her eyes to the carpet after they left. She didn’t blame them for their hostility. She had brought nothing but discord and upset into their lives and now true danger was lurking in the shadows thanks to her.
Nikos interrupted her rapidly darkening thoughts. “Alec didn’t see anyone when he pulled the mail from the box today. We do not get mail every day. He only checked it because he was out walking the perimeter like I asked him.” He paused and fingered the envelope. “Gretchen says that a man asking questions about an American has been in the village. She says he has ugly blond hair.”
Emma’s eyes flew to Nikos’ steady gaze. “The man in the train station.”
“Yes, and I think I saw the same man in the neighborhood several times outside the townhouse in the last week. This is the investigator?”
Emma bit her lip and considered for a moment. “I think so. If it was Malachi, they would have just snatched me, not sent letters. I don’t know what his angle is though. I mean, what’s the point? If he wanted to find me, he’s done it.”
Nikos regarded her for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, let’s see what he has to say today.” He opened the envelope and smoothed out the sheet of paper on the desk.
A business card was clipped to the top of the page. Block letters written in the same red ink as the other letters simply indicated a time and place. Emma looked closely at the card. In plain black letters it read:
Jack Bennett Investigations
Specializing in Missing Persons and Unsolved Crimes.
On the back of the card red ink scrawled: Emma- your parents sent me. JB.
Emma stared at the words. They blurred as tears filled her eyes. She had put her parents firmly in a corner of her mind and erected a wall to keep them securely out of her thoughts. She thought of her mom crying with her dad’s arms around her while he gruffly cleared his throat trying to keep it together. It gutted her to think of their grief and pain.
In the early days of her flight, she had called home twice. She had hung up immediately when her mom answered and cried until she made herself sick. Laying on the floor of a filthy boarding house bathroom where she collapsed after the second call, she vowed to never think of them again. She had made them dead in her mind, but they had never given up on her. They had sent a man halfway around the world to find her. She had no idea how he had managed to find her, but she was glad for it. She was tired of running. Jack Bennett had forced her hand. She didn’t know what would happen now, but anything was better than life run by secrets.
Nikos looked down at her as she clutched the business card. He rubbed her back and let her lean on him as she absorbed the words.
“What time is it,” she asked suddenly and lunged for the paper.
“Almost 11:00,” Nikos answered. “We have plenty of time. That cafe is in the village. We need to check this Jack Bennett out first.”
Emma whirled and looked at him like he had lost his mind. “My parents sent him, Nikos. My parents.” She stressed the last two words with a desperation that tugged at his heart.
“I know, but we need to make sure he is who he says he is. It should take but a moment, Emma.” She was staring back down at the card like it was the most precious thing in the world. “Emma,” he said with an edge in his voice. She looked up at him. “We have to be sure.”
Emma knew he was right. Malachi was more than capable of pulling such a ruse. Reluctantly, she nodded and sank down on the couch. Nikos tapped away on the computer, and she stared at the red ink. Her mind spun trying to keep up with it all. All the ironclad rules she has been living with for the last year were being thrown out the window. This was a new game, with new players, and it was time for new rules.