Or maybe because he was determining what he would do with me when I was no longer of use. I hated thinking that way, but it was the truth. I was expendable just like my brother. Shane hadn’t called and as of yet, I hadn’t been instructed to even send him a text. That would begin later today.

  I suspected there would be some announcement of our engagement after the funeral. I wasn’t certain I could stomach attending. It was too close to home. I’d talked to my uncle briefly, but the call had been stiff and controlled. I hadn’t been allowed to tell him about our plans.

  My uncle wouldn’t be a happy man. He was still enraged, acting as if he would find the killer. I had no way of being able to handle his anger along with mine. At least Dimitrios had stepped in, keeping the conversation short with little information provided.

  But my uncle wasn’t a stupid man. He would realize he was being used.

  Just like I was.

  The thought had troubled me all night. I hated the feeling, the knowing that my life didn’t mean anything in Dimitrios’ powerful world. I watched as he walked from the room, holding his head high with confidence that never wavered.

  “I’ll get my things.” I’d issued the statement just as he was walking out. Whether or not he heard me I couldn’t tell. I’d already packed most of my items except for the wet bathing suit hanging over the shower door. I’d insisted on wearing it the one the last time we’d ventured into the surf. I’d suddenly felt as if we were being watched. The last thing I’d wanted was for pictures of my naked body to end up on some tabloid.

  Dimitrios hadn’t given a hoot if there was someone standing in the shadows, taking pictures of the two of us. He’d paraded his naked body—correction, his gorgeous naked body—around the beach for me to gaze upon.

  And hunger for.

  He couldn’t care less about what other people thought. If only I could be that way. I’d lived a quiet life, never seeking attention. That just wasn’t me. However, Shane adored attention and always had. The class clown. The jock. The school hero.

  What was he now?

  I yanked the still damp bathing suit off the shower, grimacing at how wet it remained. Other items in my suitcase would be soaked by the time we arrived back… home.

  Not my home.

  His home.

  With the bag in my hand, I headed downstairs. The house was quiet, music no longer playing as it had been the last few days. Yet I heard his deep voice coming from another room. Maybe it wasn’t fair to listen in on his conversation, but I couldn’t help myself. He hadn’t wanted to discuss whatever plan was cooking up in his mind other than our marriage.

  Why had my father brought his laptop to Greece? I hadn’t heard he was working on a project he couldn’t get away from.

  I placed the duffle near the front door, quietly heading down the hall. I didn’t need to get close to the door before I was able to hear the one side of the conversation.

  “I know that, Havros, but she’s the only chance we have of finding the fuck. She’ll make an excellent ploy. The best thing is that she listens to me. Like a good girl should.”

  His statement struck me hard, more so than if he’d made the comment days before. Here I’d thought we were partners, sharing in discovering who was behind the terrible crime. Sadly, I’d experienced far too much disappointment in my life. He was using me and nothing more.

  To say I was spitting angry was an understatement. But I was also sad, so much so tears formed in my eyes. I’d been such a fool to think the time we’d spent together had been about anything more than buttering me up. How could I have been so damn stupid? How?

  I backed down the hallway, still chastising myself. Still as quiet as a church mouse, I grabbed my bag and headed outside to wait. What a shame the beautiful time we’d spent together had been ruined by his arrogance.

  His desperate need to find anyone with information regarding his brother’s murder.

  He didn’t care who he had to use or the method in doing so.

  I dropped the bag by the car, still fighting an ugly level of emotions. My thoughts were all over the place, more so than days before. Was it because I’d placed some trust in the handsome Greek? I sat down near the fountain, struggling to make sense of anything. That’s what people experiencing serious grief did. Right? They processed. They second guessed. They hated themselves.

  I definitely hated me.

  As I stared into the water, I wished I had a penny so I could make a wish. Or was it a quarter now? A half dollar? The stupid thing was no wish I made would come true.

  I closed my eyes, wishing anyway. What the heck. It couldn’t hurt.

  A plopping noise caught my attention and I jerked toward the front of the house. My senses were usually electrified every time Dimitrios was close, but not this time. Maybe my fury and hatred were responsible for masking his arrival. I stared down at the water, realizing a Greek coin now lay at the bottom.

  “Ta óneira tha gínontai pánta pragmatikótita an to epithymeís arketá.”

  “I have no clue,” I told him. Nor did I really want to know. I was certain it was his notion of the truth.

  “I said if you always wish hard enough dreams will come true.”

  “Bullshit. Wishes and dreams are nothing more than fantasies, sick and twisted every time.” I jerked up, doing my best to avoid both the man and his usual heated gaze.

  He caught my arm as he’d done a dozen times. “What’s wrong, little dove? You’re still concerned.”

  “Nothing. Why should anything be wrong? Now that you’ve gotten your jollies, you can spend the rest of your time concentrating on hunting. I wonder if you’ll paint me with blood, so the animal is more attracted.”

  I was surprised he didn’t challenge me, but he did shut down just as he’d done several times before. He said nothing as I stormed toward the car, jumping inside and slamming the door. But as he turned around to face the Solstice, I couldn’t help myself. I glanced at his face.

  Hard. Cold.

  Calculated.

  Just like I thought.

  CHAPTER 21

  Willow

  Another flight.

  Another scare.

  Another tight fit with a man I couldn’t… hate.

  The reality of how I felt about him kept me on edge. Hate. Love. They were just two sides of the same coin. Right?

  “You’re not as nervous,” he said once we were in the air.

  “I figured I’m going to die at some point.”

  His laugh sounded full of confusion. “We all will, but not today.”

  “You’re so certain of that.”

  “Yes, because I’m good at what I do.”

  “Your confidence is infuriating.”

  “Then I’m doing another part of my job.”

  He could turn me upside down and inside out with his voice alone, let alone his riddled answers. “Can I ask you a question?” I was hiding my nervousness well, but my stomach was doing flipflops. The wind was slightly stronger. I was able to feel that in the vibrations of the plane.

  “You can ask me anything.”

  “I thought we were partners. Then I find out I’m nothing but a ploy. If you’re planning on killing me after we finish this game you have going, please just do it now. I don’t have much to live for anyway.”

  I could tell by the way he squeezed his hand around the controls how angry I’d made him. His clenched jaw alone told me that.

  “Is that what you think?” he asked, his tone even.

  “That’s what I heard. You told your brother I’m an excellent ploy.” I also put my foot into my mouth when I was nervous and around him, butterflies had taken full possession of my stomach.

  He didn’t show any additional signs of being furious with me.

  “You took the entire call out of context, Willow. Listening in on half of a one-sided conversation will never provide any real truths.”

  “I’ll repeat. I thought we were partners. That’s the only reason I agreed to this… nightmare.”

  “Marrying me is a nightmare?” He glanced over. While his sunglasses prevented me from seeing his eyes, I was struck by an instant moment of disappointment.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” I laughed nervously.

  “When you do, let me know. It’s important to me.”

  The quiet and tension between us was so entirely different than the moments we’d shared for a couple of fabulous days. We’d laughed. Hell, he’d chased me on the beach. We’d had wine outside while we discussed music and where we’d both like to travel. The time spent together had been close to being perfect.

  Being shut down was more uncomfortable than before. “Why did you say that?”

  “Because it’s what my brothers need to hear. They are suffering, Willow. Like you are. Maybe like your brother is. You are my partner. I made a promise, not just a deal and I intend on keeping it. You don’t need to like me, but you will need to trust me or the murders will go unsolved. I know you don’t want that to happen.”

  “No, I don’t,” I told him. “And for some insane reason, I do trust you.”

  He glanced out the window then down to his instruments. “That’s good to hear, Willow. It’s important to me. To both of us. I’ll take us out a little further. It’s a beautiful day and there are some islands I think you’ll enjoy seeing.”

  For some reason, I got the creepy crawlies and tried to look behind us out the window. Seeing nothing, I told myself I was being silly, but as he made a sharp turn, my stomach lurching, I knew there had to be something wrong.

  He said nothing but constantly looked at his instruments, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the gauges.

  The stress of the moment hit me hard. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. Just make certain your seatbelt is fastened as tight as it will go.” His gravelly voice wasn’t helping. I’d heard the tone before. It was the one that said something was very, no, terribly wrong.

  “You’re scaring me.” Instead of checking to ensure the belt was clawing into my skin, I stretched it out and turned in my seat as much as the angle would allow. I couldn’t see a thing out the small windows, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some evil being trailing after us. Wait. Was that possible in a plane?

  “Seatbelt. Now!” Up to this point he hadn’t shouted at me, but he was as damn close as I wanted to hear.

  I did as he asked, shaking like a leaf the entire time. I glanced out the window and that didn’t help, the instant feeling of nausea almost forcing me to ask where he’d placed the airbags he’d mentioned. “Please tell me what’s going on, Dimitrios.”

  He shifted something on the console and adjusted the microphone on his headset, placing the small piece directly in front of his mouth. “I’ll just say it’s about to get real, princess.”

  As he started speaking in Greek through the microphone, I didn’t need to know the language to realize he was both angry and nervous, maybe more of the latter. He ended the communication by shouting at the man on the other end, huffing and issuing what had to be Greek curse words under his breath.

  “I’m making a dip toward the ocean, Willow. Hold on.”

  I didn’t have time to ask why or beg him not to do so something so crazy before he did. The hard dive wasn’t anything like what I’d expected and I was positive I’d left my stomach thousands of feet above the plane. The ocean seemed close. So close.

  Oh, my God, close.

  When he banked hard to the left, the seatbelt attaching itself to my body, I caught a glimpse of something out the side window. Not something. Another plane.

  And they were closer than the water. What the hell was going on?

  “What is…” My voice faded off altogether.

  Dimitrios banked to the right, dipping even lower. “Fuck. Get off my ass.”

  “Who is it?”

  “If I knew that, little dove, I’d have a handle on what to do with the assholes.” While there was land on one side, there was nothing but endless, open ocean on the other.

  I closed my eyes, shaking so badly my teeth were rattling.

  Seconds later, I heard two distinct sounds I would never forget as long as I was alive.

  Several popping noises that my gut told me were gunfire and hard pinging against the plane’s surface.

  “Someone is shooting at us.” I wasn’t asking a question. I knew it to be true.

  “Good guess, princess.”

  Another series of gunshots hit, the next set missing as he banked so hard to the left, I was thrown toward him. The thick belt slipped to under my chin, the momentary feeling of being suffocated causing me to wheeze.

  A slight rumble was followed by a jerk of the plane.

  And a sputter of the engine.

  “Did we just lose the engine?”

  He said nothing, checking his instruments and continuing to bark into the microphone.

  Something was wrong.

  Terribly wrong.

  As he looked over at me, every part of his face pinched, all I could do was suck in my breath.

  “You need to trust me completely, Willow. Hold tight. We’re going down.”

  “A crash landing.”

  “This baby isn’t an amphibian, but I’ll do my best. I’m throttling down. Don’t worry. I will save us both.”

  The water was closer. Closer. The engine was screaming, or was that me losing all sense of control?

  I’d always wondered what happened when you had the sense of all time stopping as you faced death. Would you really witness aspects of your life? Would you pray for more time? Would you promise to be a good person for the rest of your life?

  Or would you just accept the inevitable?

  In the last seconds before the plane took a dive into the water, he squeezed my leg.

  Maybe we’d be alright.

  Maybe we’d survive.

  And maybe…

  Boom!

  CHAPTER 22

  Dimitrios

  Water.

  The rush of saltwater slamming into the cockpit meant a critical failure. I’d done my best to land softly, but a wave had appeared out of nowhere, turning what was left of the fuselage on its side.

  The plane would sink within minutes. I had to get us the hell out of here. I looked over and instantly I was driven into a series of emotions I rarely felt. I wasn’t the kind to panic. I’d been rammed from behind, plunging into a concrete wall. I’d been in a fire, barely managing to escape alive.

  But I’d had only me to give a shit about.

  And revenge.

  When I looked over at Willow, seeing blood on her face, her head tilted to the side and her body unmoving, panic almost settled in. “Willow. Can you hear me?” I was already fighting with my seatbelt. At least I’d managed to communicate our last coordinates before we went down. However, the plane that had shot us into oblivion was still flying in a circle around the wreckage.

  The bastards would continue to do so until they were certain we were dead.

  With the cockpit filling with water, I had seconds to get her out safely. Jerking the seatbelt away, I crawled over to her. Water was already up to her shoulders, rising rapidly. She’d be completely underwater soon.

  “Willow. Honey. Wake up.”

  As I fought with the thick canvas strap holding her down, I was rewarded with a single moan, her eyes fluttering open briefly. Goddamn, they were dilated. She must have hit her head. I would kill the motherfuckers who’d put us in this position.

  The plane lurched under just as I managed to yank her free. I gingerly eased her body into my arms, pulling her back with me. With one hard thrust of my boot, the window was kicked free. I placed her arm around my neck, praying she’d hear me. “We need to get out of here. If you can hear me, hold on as tightly as you can.”

  By some miracle of God, she tightened her grip on my neck, opening her eyes for a second time as I maneuvered a portion of my body out the window. The plane shifted again, the nose taking a solid dunk into the ocean water.

  Seconds meant everything right now. It the plane started doing a freefall, saving both our lives would become a dicey venture.

  I pulled her with me as water now came in through my window. Damn it. I was losing the battle. Like hell I was. Nothing was going to take her from me.

  Not now.

  After taking a deep breath, I held the latch and pulled us carefully from the window. Another lurch and we were dragged down. Everything was clear, but my eyes stung from leaking fuel. I wasn’t a praying kind of man, but that’s exactly what I did. Once she was free, I kicked hard against the fuselage, driving us away from the plane. With seconds to spare, I headed for the surface.

  If the fuckers were hovering, they’d need to come low to hit us with bullets, but right now, I wouldn’t put anything past their capabilities. Who the fuck had found us and how? The question would be answered immediately after I got us both to safety.

  The Harbor Corps had better help me on this. We were still a couple of miles out from shore and I wasn’t certain her body wouldn’t shut down by the time I was able to swim to safety. It was entirely possible she had internal injuries. I couldn’t be certain, which was why moving her rapidly was such a bad idea.

  Breaking the surface, I gasped for breath, but didn’t waste time before checking her. Willow’s face was ashen, her lips no longer rosy. Damn it. Her mouth was open. She’d possibly swallowed water into her lungs. I turned her over, being as gentle as possible and patted her back. Being in the water made it awkward. When she didn’t respond, I rolled her onto her back, doing my best to give her mouth to mouth.

  Seconds passed, maybe a full minute. I pulled back, catching my breath. “Come on, baby. Come back to me.” I repeated the action for as long as possible before breaking free again.

  Still nothing. When I started to repeat the effort, her body lurched and she suddenly coughed, spitting out several inches of saltwater.

  I pulled her to me just as the plane rolled over our heads. The odds they’d seen us were too damn good. Taking her back under now could mean she’d drown within seconds.