“If you don’t mind the intrusion,” Drake answered.
Of course she minded, Mairi thought unhappily, but she couldn’t really say that. The tension in the room was all because of how weak she was. It was not Drake’s fault she had been weak.
Damen loathed the fact that the tension had mostly to do with Mairi…and Morrison. He had an insane urge to hide Mairi from the other man’s gaze completely. He strove to remain calm, knowing if he allowed himself to think of the fact that this was the man who had been able to see Mairi naked – the one other man who had touched her body – Damen would lose it. Completely. When that happened, one of them would come out dead. It was that simple.
“You may say anything in front of my wife,” Damen said coolly.
Drake cocked his head to the side. “As you will. But before that...” He took out the USB in his pocket and handed it to Mairi.
Mairi was very careful not to touch any part of Drake as she took the USB.
The care with which Mairi took pained Drake. He said harshly, “I know I have a long way to go before I can make it up to you, Mairi—”
Damen gritted his teeth, loathing even the sound of Mairi’s name on the other man’s lips.
“But I hope you at least experience a measure of relief from what I have uncovered. I know that you have always been puzzled about the change…of Leventis’ attitude towards you in the past. I had my men investigate the matter, and I believe what I’ve found out will be confirmed by Leventis.”
Mairi found herself taking a seat on the cushion. She had a feeling if she didn’t, whatever Drake had to say might knock her off her feet. “What did you find out?”
“A woman who attended the same school you did—”
Instincts had Mairi guessing exactly who Drake was talking about. She said dully, “Farah.”
Damen made himself nod even as his gaze remained on his wife. She looked like she was about to drop any second. “She told me that you have always been after a Greek billionaire.”
Mairi’s teeth sank into her lower lip.
Damen wanted to smash something. He knew what Mairi was too nice to say. A random woman had come to him spouting stuff about her – the woman he supposedly loved – and like a man “in love”, he had believed the other woman over Mairi right away.
“She had overwhelming evidence to present,” Drake told Mairi. “I thought you would appreciate seeing all of it so that you would understand why Leventis may have acted the way he did.”
Clutching the flash drive tightly, she whispered, “Thank you.” She wished she could think of something else to say, but just thinking about that day Damen had thrown her out of their – his – house and having her arrested was more than enough to have her near to breaking down.
Go back to Manolis. He can have my leftovers.
I know that you’re a fucking psychotic bitch who’s always wanted to marry a Greek billionaire—
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU FUCKING GOLD-DIGGING BITCH!
Mairi got to her feet. Without looking at anyone, she muttered, “I’ll leave you two to talk.” She had to get away. She had a feeling she would break down under the weight of her memories, and she did not want anyone to see her so pathetically weak again.
Be strong, Mairi.
Be strong for Damen.
Be strong for those who love you.
****
Seeing the distress on Mairi’s face, Damen was tempted to leave their unwanted guest and go after his wife. Only the knowledge that he was likely also the reason for it kept him from moving. Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Mairi’s departing back, Damen waited for the sound of her footsteps to fade before saying curtly, “If you could accompany me to the study?”
Drake nodded.
Closing the door to his study once Drake was inside, Damen said tightly, “You’ve picked a hell of a good time to drop that kind of bomb on us.”
Drake raised a brow. “That information is meant, unfortunately, to exonerate you—”
“I don’t give a damn what it does if it’s going to upset my wife.”
The words were a surprise to Drake, but a good one. He had profiled Leventis extensively before accepting Vilma Tanner’s assignment. The report had painted the other man as a ruthless, selfish bastard, but Mairi appeared to have drastically changed him.
But would it last? Had Leventis finally learned to properly treasure the gift he had been given – the same kind of gift Drake would have killed for if it had been up to him? Again, the vision of a dark-haired blue-eyed girl intruded in his mind, reminding him of what he had lost and what Mairi could end up being if he did not make things right.
The thought had him looking at Damen, his tone abrupt as he said, “I didn’t mean to upset her. I apologize for that.”
Damen didn’t answer right away, taking his time to observe the other man.
Like Damen, Drake remained on his feet, the two of them eyeing each other like warriors waiting for the other to make the first move. There was something different about the elusive ex-sniper, but because he didn’t understand what those changes were, Damen was reluctant to trust that it no longer made Drake Morrison a rival.
Then again, a part of Damen would always see the other man as a rival, a part of him that would never trust Mairi to spend more than a few seconds alone in Morrison’s company. If he had his way, he would be a lot happier if he could ensure that Drake Morrison didn’t exist at all. Just imagining Mairi thinking about Morrison in a platonic way already had him seething.
Seeing that Damen appeared disinclined to talk, Drake decided to proceed and discuss his main intention for visiting. “Tomorrow, you’ll be receiving a package of sensitive data about the Kokinos clan.”
Damen frowned. “What do you have to do with them?”
“Consider it as my way of atoning for the trouble I have caused you and Mairi. The data was obtained illegally, and I of course won’t force you to use it. But if you do, you can be assured that it will significantly level the playing field between you and your enemies.”
Damen drawled, “Let me guess. You had your goons beat the information out of your target.” The words were a jab at how Drake had enlisted law enforcers to physically restrain Damen from getting near Mairi and Drake’s own use of force against Damen.
Drake only responded to the barb with a smile. “I only do that for special cases. After all, when a man hurts the woman who selflessly loves him repeatedly – to the extent of having the woman arrested in front of their own servants – such a person deserves that kind of treatment, don’t you think?”
Curtly, Damen said, “It will never happen again.”
“If you say so—”
“I know so.” Damen looked at Drake straight in the eye. “I love her with every breath of my life. I’d lie for her if I have to. I’d kill for her. I’d go down on my knees if it’s what would keep her at my side.”
Drake knew those last words were costly for someone with such great pride as the ex-billionaire. But he was unimpressed. He had seen a lot of horrors in his life at the battlefield, and one of the greatest horrors was the fact that some people could never change.
Damen Leventis might have convinced himself that he loved Mairi now, but what could a son of someone who had been raised by a cold-hearted bitch like Esther Leventis truly know about love?
“For Mairi’s sake, I hope you do mean it. Because if I find out that you’ve hurt her one last time – if Mairi asks for my help to leave you—” Drake’s face hardened. “You will never see her again.”
Having made his point, Drake saw no point in sticking around. Without another word, he made his way to the door, walked out, and stopped. “Mairi?”
Damen’s head jerked up. A second later, he was walking swiftly out of the study and coming to an abrupt stop next to the other man when he saw his wife standing in the hallway. The look on her face had his chest squeezing painfully hard.
He had seen Mairi this same fucking way once.
Devastation in eyes made glassy with tears, face too pale, and lips that wobbled in an effort to keep her emotions at bay.
He had seen her like this when Damen broke her heart for the first time.
It was the time Damen had told Mairi he only wanted her to be his mistress and not his wife.
She had left him after that.
Damen willed himself to breathe and keep his voice even as he asked, “What’s wrong, Mairi?” She was not going to leave him. She was not. Whatever the trouble was, he would fix it. She was not going to leave him. She was goddamn not.
Drake’s jaw clenched. What the fuck had happened now? What the hell had Damen done? He ignored the fact that Damen had been with him the whole time. Mairi was a strong woman, but she was, had been, and would always be weak where Damen was concerned. “What is it, Mairi?” His voice was harsh with concern.