‘Didn’t sign up for this. You could have picked a nice girl from the centre of Athens, boss,’ Takis muttered, his face scarlet as he found his balance. ‘But, no, you had to go for the pampered princess guarded by the dragon. Working for you is never boring.’
Pampered princess.
Stefan felt a stab of guilt. Hadn’t he made the same mistake?
Like everyone he’d been fooled by the image the tycoon had spun for the world. The adored wife. The much loved, overprotected daughter. The happy family.
He suspected the truth was much bleaker. Almost as bleak as this island.
Antaxos.
He stared at the narrow path that led up the cliffs to the grey, fortress-like building at the top.
As a child, he’d spent hours thinking about this place. Powerless, he’d conjured up images of the almost mythical island and imagined himself storming its rocky shores. Something had burned inside him and it burned still, confusing the past with the present.
He wasn’t powerless now. He’d made sure of it. From the day his father had brought him the sickening news, through choking tears he’d promised himself—promised her—that one day he was going to be a man of power. His quest for that had become the driving force in his life, and when he’d lost his father, too, his drive had simply increased.
A sound made him look up.
Four men dressed in black approached down the path. Bulky men, built like gorillas, whose sole purpose in life was to stop people getting close to their reclusive billionaire boss. If the rocks hadn’t killed you, these men probably would.
‘This is a private island. You are not allowed to land here.’
Stefan stood his ground, legs spread, using that power he’d sweated blood to gain. ‘You might want to rethink the warmth of your welcome.’
They drew closer. ‘There is nothing here for tourists. You need to leave right now.’
‘I’m not a tourist and I’ll leave when I’m ready.’ Timing it perfectly, Stefan removed his sunglasses and the man stepped back. Recognition was followed by alarm.
‘Mr Ziakas!’ Thrown, the gorilla exchanged a dubious glance with his two colleagues. ‘Mr Antaxos doesn’t receive visitors here.’ But the tone had changed. There was caution now. Respect for the reputation of the man facing them. Respect and just a touch of fear because there were so many rumours about the past life of Stefanos Ziakas. ‘You should leave.’
‘I’ll leave when I have the girl. Where is she?’
They exchanged nervous glances. ‘You can’t—’
Judging that they were too scared of their boss to be of use to him, Stefan strode past them towards the ugly stone building perched on the hill. His insides churned.
Images blurred in his head and he paused, reminding himself that this was about Selene and no one else.
There was a commotion behind him but he didn’t turn his head, knowing that Takis could handle all four of them with his eyes closed. Providing he didn’t slip on the rocks and fall in the water.
A faint smile on his mouth, Stefan swiftly climbed the steep path. He was just calculating the most likely place for an overprotective father to lock away his daughter when Selene came flying down a set of steps that led to the path. There was blood on her face, on her hands and streaked through that beautiful pale hair. She was running so fast she almost crashed into him and he closed his hands round her arms to catch her, using all his strength to stop her propelling both of them off the cliff and onto the rocks below.
Her eyes were dazed, almost blank, and he could see now that the blood came from a cut on her head.
Swearing under his breath, Stefan turned his head and ordered Takis to bring the first-aid kit from the speedboat. Then he turned back to her, touching that blonde hair with gentle fingers as he assessed the damage.
Her eyes finally focused on him. ‘What are you doing here?’
If he’d been expecting a warm welcome he was disappointed because she twisted in his grip, but he was so afraid she was going to go over the edge of the cliff he kept hold of her.
‘Keep still. You’ll fall.’
‘I know this path. I’ve lived here all my life.’
And he couldn’t bear to think of what that life had been like. ‘Did he do this?’ The anger roared like a beast but he kept his emotions hidden, not trusting his ability to contain what was inside him.