A Perfect Love: International Billionaires VI: The Greeks (20 page)

“Interesting.” The trembling turned into a shaking. Outwardly, he stood his ground. Inwardly, he felt as if he were falling apart. Because he knew.

Tamsin’s odd behavior during the last few weeks.

Tamsin’s use of her body to distract him.

Tamsin’s lies.

Savas coughed—a nervous, hoarse sound. “As soon as Ammon told me this name, I remembered another name you talked about recently.”

Rafe forced himself to stare coolly back at his colleague. “
Nai
.”

“Could there be any connection—”

“
Nai,
” he said once more. “There is a connection.”

A dark silence fell in the room. Manikas shuffled in place while a pained grimace crossed Savas’s face.

“There’s no need to spare me the details.” He felt as if his body was held up by mere mental force. “Proceed with what you have.”

“Our contact states that Drakos claimed an inside connection to our company,” Manikas continued.

“Go on.”

“Drakos apparently provided Tobba with information on the amount of our bid on the neuro-electronic device.”

“Keep going.”

“Tobba believed him. They based their bid on this information.”

“Could this be true, Rafe?” Savas interrupted. “Could this Drakos have knowledge of our bid?”

A flash of memory seared through him. Sitting watching Tamsin as she worked on his laptop. Then walking away to get a drink. Then telling her she could use the computer unmonitored by him. This was his fault. His company, his people, would be damaged because again, a Vounó had trusted a Drakos.

“We will likely lose the bid.” He leaned back on the glass window because he honestly didn’t think he’d be able to keep upright without the help.

Savas’s arms tightened around his chest. “You’re sure?”

“
Nai
. I’m sure.”

“This Tamsin has access to—”

“
Nai
.” He didn’t want to hear the words, hear the accusation. But he deserved them and his CFO had never failed in delivering what was needed.

A hush fell in the room.

Viper would survive; it had survived far worse. Still, the knowledge that he’d been as foolish as his father made Rafe feel as if he might not survive himself.

“Don’t blame yourself.” For once, Savas failed to deliver the blow. His friend dropped his hands in his lap, his face grim yet determined. “It happens to the best of us.”

“It happens?” His laugh filled the room, an ugly, tortured sound. He’d wanted the blow. He’d wanted the pain to come from someone else. Instead, he had to bludgeon himself with his guilt. “Because of my carelessness this company will lose hundreds of thousands—”

“She will be prosecuted.” Manikas looked steely-eyed. “Along with her relative. This is corporate espionage.”

“No.” The word came out before he could think it through.

His chair creaked as Savas moved, an uneasy shift. “You have feelings for the woman, but we must send a signal. To others. To Tobba.”

“No.” Pushing himself off the window, he staggered to his desk. He stared blankly at the computer screen, only seeing the image of Tamsin being dragged away by the police. “I’ll take care of this.”

“You are personally involved.” Savas stood, his tone resolute. “I have a duty to the company too. Both of them must be punished.”

“They will be.” A cold, hard shaft of resolve slit his heart in two and sealed his backbone in pure steel.

“Rafe—”

“This is personal.” He met his friend’s gaze with an unwavering one of his own. “This is old, my friend. Far older than Viper.”

“What?” Savas froze. Behind him, Manikas frowned in confusion.

“I told you. I’ve known Tamsin Drakos for years.”

The two men standing before him didn’t move. However, determination no longer covered their faces. Instead, there was wariness.

“I’ve known Haimon Drakos just as long.”

“Personal?” Savas shifted on his feet. “So you are saying these two plotted against you—?”

“As personal as it gets.” Rafe smiled and the steel inside him closed around his heart. He could almost hear the lock when it clicked. “Haimon Drakos killed my father.”

Savas’ mouth dropped open in a gasp.

“So, you see.” He broadened his smile. “No one is surer of delivering the proper revenge than me.”

I
’m on my way
.

The words sang in her heart all through cleaning the kitchen, nudging the boys to bed, and settling Titus in the office. The news tripped on her tongue, but she figured Aarōn and Isaák would get a bigger kick out of waking up to see their uncle at the breakfast table.

Rafe back at home. Rafe near enough to touch.

Rafe.

Her heart beat a dance inside her chest. She knew they had tons of things to discuss and maybe even argue about. She knew she had to explain many of her actions. Still, she also knew her heart was filled with hope.

Because he was coming home. Because he was on his way.

Tam smoothed her hand across the lace of her white dress. Putting on her best dress would send a signal. She wanted to give and be forgiven. He would see and understand. Wouldn’t he?

Well, if he didn’t catch on to the clue the dress gave him, then their bedroom would certainly do the trick. In a flurry, after the boys had drifted off to sleep, she’d changed the sheets, the fine weave of Egyptian cotton sliding through her trembling fingers. She’d lit a row of fat cream candles along the long, wide windowsill. There were plush towels waiting on the side of the bathtub accompanied by a bottle of ouzo and two delicate shot glasses.

Everything was ready. For him.

Where was he?

She walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway into the kitchen. The warmth of the light above the stove dulled the full moon’s rays splashing into the room.

No sound of a limo driving up the lane. No car lights signaling his return.

Restless, she paced into the office. He’d taken his laptop with him two weeks ago, but there was still the old desktop the boys used to check on their friends’ Facebook. The internet barely worked on the thing, yet it was better than pacing the floor getting more and more agitated. She could do some research on the university classes she planned on taking while waiting for Rafe to appear.

Plopping into his leather chair, she forced herself to go on the University of Athens website.

The grandfather clock ticked and tocked in the background as she scrolled through the classes. Her attention slowly centered on the research. The economics classes were the most interesting.

Technical writing

Accounting

Statistics

A different kind of excitement bubbled inside. She could do this. She’d run a business. She’d done the basics of accounting—the only thing she needed was some polish. A degree.

The possibilities rose inside her.

She had a future. A great future. The old dreams she’d stifled as a teenager swelled in her heart to swamp her in a welling tide of hope. Dreams of making a difference in a company that helped people. Dreams of being successful at her own enterprise, doing what she loved to do. Dreams she’d lost so long ago she’d forgotten they were even there.

Adding all these dreams back into her life would make her whole again. Matched with her hoped for life with Rafe and the boys, she couldn’t imagine being happier and more alive than she was at this moment. She’d figure out how to handle Rafe’s anger and she’d figure out how to make him believe in her confession once he got here.

The clock boomed.

Twelve times.

With a jerk, she stared at the face of the clock, noting with surprise both brass hands pointed north. The drive from Athens to Sparti should have taken a little over two hours. Yet he’d texted almost four hours ago. Had he changed his mind? Or perhaps he’d been delayed by some business crisis.

Then why hadn’t he texted her to explain?

At that moment, Titus lurched from his bed and rambled out of the room. Following the dog, she smiled in relief as she saw the headlights of the limo circle in front of the villa.

Rafe. Home.

A breathless flash of excitement, happiness, and anxiety rushed through her. Sucking in her breath and her emotions, she strode to the front door, wanting to welcome him before he even got out of the car.

Titus jumped up and down, his toenails clacking on the tile, his low woofs signaling he knew who to expect.

Her hand reached for the doorknob, but before she touched it the door swung open, almost hitting her in the face. Stumbling back, Tamsin managed a smile of greeting. “You’re home.”

Without acknowledging her, Rafe bent down to pet Titus into happy submission. He wore his customary steel-blue suit and his red tie was tight around his neck. Why was he so buttoned-up? She wanted to reach up to tug the tie off and smooth the coat down his arms, but something about his body language stopped her.

The taut line of his shoulders.

The way he didn’t meet her gaze.

The stiff bend of his back.

Sudden tension flooded inside her. “I was getting worried.”

“Were you?” He straightened and finally looked at her.

The tension clogged in a tight knot in her throat. He was still mad at her about the bracelet. She saw it in the white line around his mouth and the icy glint in his eyes. “We need to talk.”

“Talk.” He laughed, a short burst of harsh sound. “By all means, let’s talk.”

The door stood open, the limo running in place instead of driving off. She noticed several long dark cars behind the gate, their lights glowing in the darkness. “What’s going on?”

With a jerk, he turned and slammed the door shut. “First, Tamsin, as you requested, we will talk.”

The tension no longer resided in her throat. It had slithered into her stomach and her soul like a thick smog of sickness. “I can explain.”

“Can you?” Rafe’s mouth quirked, and the familiar motion should have given her hope. But it increased the dread inside her because there was no humor in his reaction.

There was threat.

“Yes.” She tried to pull herself together. What she said next needed to heal this breach because her heart wouldn’t stand for anything else.

“Not here.” He walked past, without touching her, almost as if she were contagious. “In my office.”

She followed him down the hushed hall. Titus ambled to his bed in the corner; the lamp shone brightly, and her glass of wine stood half-full on the desk. All the little details that spelled home and hearth and happiness. Yet nothing could stop the frozen cold of Rafe’s attitude from invading the surroundings.

She stepped into the office. Without touching her again, he shut the door behind her. Walking around the desk, he sat in his chair and stared at her from across the wide expanse of oak.

The scene froze inside her forever, like a photograph she’d carry with her into the future. A future of bleak and cold memories.

The quiet ticking of the clock.

The yawning expanse of the desk between them.

The black hate in her lover’s eyes.

“This isn’t about the bracelet, is it?” Her words landed in the silence like drips of toxic air.

“No,” Rafe answered, his voice loud compared to hers. “No, Tamsin, it’s not about your bracelet. Not now.”

He knew. Somehow he knew.

Everything froze inside. Her brain, her tongue. Everything warm and willing curled up in her heart and softly screamed itself away.

She saw it in his eyes. There was no hope.

No matter what words she said, no matter how much she’d given, no matter how much her heart was his—none of it mattered.

She saw it in his eyes.

A sudden surge of acute, painful rage stormed past her dying heart and roared into her blood. “Then just spit it out.”

His dark brows rose. “Do I have to? This is all so…predictable, isn’t it?”

“Say it. I dare you to say it.”

“Say what?” He eased back in his chair as if having a casual conversation. The entire time, his black eyes burned with hellfire. “Say I should have expected this from a Drakos? Say I was a fool for letting you near anything of mine again?”

Letting her near his home. His body. Maybe, oh maybe, even his heart. She wanted to weep but her rage overwhelmed her pain. Because if he had let her into his heart, he should know better. He should know her better. “That’s it. Keep going.”

Rafe’s mouth tightened. “You’re in no position to be flippant. I hold all the cards now.”

“Do you?” He was going to do this without even giving her a chance to explain. Evidently, he’d found out at least some of what she’d done and yet he wouldn’t even listen for a moment before handing down his decision.

She had done this to save the boys, damn him. To save their boys.

It was also clear he’d jumped to the conclusions best suited to his cynical views on the past. The past he knew nothing about.

“
Nai
, I do.” His careless, casual attitude was fake. She knew it in the way he held his body tight, the way his long fingers curled into a fist.

She supposed she should take heart that this was hard for him, that he was in pain. Instead, the memories of his contempt, his suspicions, his accusations poured over her building anger like kindling. Gas to a fire.

She’d had enough.

Enough of his arrogant decisions about who and what she was. No more Tamsin trying to make it work, trying to keep everyone happy. She’d held everything together for so long, and with a rush, she was done.

Done with Haimon.

Done with Rafe.

The rage inside combusted, burned, and scorched apart the last piece of her that wanted to heal this. The last piece of her that wanted to be loved. “You’ve never held all the cards.”

“Enough.” He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope. “You will sign this.”

Tam glared at him, shaking with the knowledge—this was over. Every one of her hopes and dreams torn to shreds. A repeat of ten years ago. “We’ll leave. If you want to think the worst, fine. We’ll leave.”

“We?” His head jerked up from contemplating the envelope and for the first time, a smile slid onto his face. An ugly, vicious smile. “There’s no
we
anymore.”

The words hit her like a stream of poison aimed straight for her heart. But she didn’t have a heart for this man. Not now. All she had was her rage. “I don’t need you—”

“I’m not talking about you and me.” The smile deepened. “That was merely passing some time while I was here.”

The air burned her throat when she forced herself to breathe.

“No, Tamsin. I’m speaking of you and the boys.”

“What?” A dull horror seeped into her anger.

Rafe slipped a wad of papers from the envelope. “You’re going to sign over your guardianship of the twins.”

“No. I would never—”

“Tonight.” He slapped the papers onto the table. The sound ricocheted around the room.

Now that she no longer had to deal with Haimon, now that she had lost Rafe forever, she had to have Aarōn and Isaák. If she didn’t have her brothers…She wavered on her feet. “Never.”

The ugly smile fell off his face. “I don’t want to spend any more time with you.”

She stood in front of him feeling as if she were facing a firing squad.

“So I’ll be quick.” His smile came back. “Just as you were so quick to get rid of me years ago.”

“That wasn’t—”

“I’ve come to appreciate your efficiency that day. So I’ll do you the same favor.”

Where had the anger gone? The rage had provided a shield to her heart as his ugly words were spoken, as the searing memories were exposed once more. Tam closed her eyes, blanking out Rafe’s white face, his coal-black eyes.

“I get the boys without going through months of fighting you in court.”

She squeezed her eyes tighter.

“You and your father escape prosecution and jail.”

“No.” The cry burst from her, hoarse, a frozen rejection. The rage inside turned to pure ice. She opened her eyes to stare down her enemy. “No.”

“You have no choice.”

Choice. Choice. Choice.

The one word echoed in her mind, and heart and past.

You have a choice, Tamsin. Walk away from him and I will make sure there is enough money left for his medical schooling.

At sixteen, she’d had to make a choice that had blunted her entire life. All her dreams and wishes had been lost to keep the ones she loved whole. The choice had saved her boys. That choice had saved this man and his family.

Tam opened her eyes and looked at him.

What would he say if she threw this knowledge at him now? That she was the one who’d given him the seed money for his company. That she was the one who’d made it possible to save his family’s home.

What would he say?

The heated rage swept back in, burning her frozen fear away.

“You don’t have to stand there thinking about it. Don’t be a fool.” His words spat from his mouth like knives. “You wouldn’t survive in a prison.”

No? She almost said the word, almost laughed in anguish at his absurd statement. She’d been living in a self-imposed prison for years. Yet the bars were falling in the face of her rage. The bars this man had built around her heart.

You had a choice, Tammy. You always have a choice. And you chose the wealthy man instead of loyalty to your family.

“I have a choice.” She curled her fingers into a fist, wanting to hit him, scar him. “I choose to tell you to go to hell.”

She whipped around. The door opened with a crash, her hand giving it an extra push for impact. She heard him swear behind her, but she didn’t catch the word. She didn’t care about his words anymore.

Racing to the back door, she flipped open the lock and rushed out into the cool night air. The full moon glowed, a golden orb looking down at her flight. Tam took off, letting the light guide her on the mountain trail.

She wanted to be up. Above.

She wanted to leave him behind. Far behind.

She wanted to be free. For the first time.

The spikes of her sandals caught in the weeds and the rocks of the path. Stopping for a moment, she yanked them off and threw them behind her, down the mountain.

She didn’t need sexy shoes anymore. She didn’t need to wear lacy dresses or brush her hair or try to be pretty for him. Or anyone.

She was free.

“Tamsin.”

His rough cry didn’t stop her. Nothing would stop her ever again because she was free from care. Free from love.