THE CHAMELEON (7 page)

CHAPTER 10

“This place is packed!”

Stephan nodded at Aisling’s comment. This was the busiest he had ever seen the Thinking Cup, a small coffee shop near Boston Common.

“It will be worth it,” he mumbled under his breath, hoping he was right, as the door struck him by another patron trying to enter. Not a fan of routines, this was the only indulgence he allowed himself every day. The Thinking Cup, in his opinion, made the best coffee, hands down.

“Damnit.” Stephan swore loudly as a person squeezing by knocked Aisling with her bag hard enough to cause her to wince. “Do people not even know about personal space? Are you okay?”

Even though her back was to him and the café was loud with all of the patrons, he could hear her laugh lightly. He pulled her against him; she leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder.

She looked up at him, liking the protective gesture on his part, but it didn’t help her raging hormones one bit to feel his lower half respond to the pressing of her buttocks against him. His cologne enveloped her like a soft blanket and she closed her eyes briefly, inhaling deeply.

“I am now. This is kind of nice, Stephan. Could be an awkward date, though, if I didn’t like you.” Taking his hand, she lifted it over her shoulder until it was in front of her. Aisling hoped she could wear him down before tonight or she was going to go out of her mind with sexual frustration.

Stephan no longer cared how busy the tiny store was. Holding Aisling more than made up for the crowd. He never allowed himself any type of intimate contact before, preferring to keep his distance from everyone. The women he had in the past were not the “bring home to Mom” type. Not that he disrespected any of them; in fact, he treated them all with chivalry, despite their line of work. Their business offered him a release without the obligation and he paid them well. Aisling felt good in his arms and it was with much reluctance he released her to place their order. Moments later, they made it outside, drinks in hand.

As busy as the Common was, Stephan was able to easily find an empty bench. He waited for Aisling to sit before he took a seat himself next to her.

Aisling wanted to move closer to him, to remove the space between the two, but she guessed that he was getting to his breaking point soon on the space issue. He was extremely quiet since being in his apartment, responding when he needed to, to her many questions, but not offering any of his own. She wondered what had changed.

“So, you said you work in security. Do you work for yourself?” Aisling inquired in attempt to break his silence.

Scanning the crowd, Stephan glanced at her quickly, before he gazed at the people walking again. “No, I work for Carras Enterprises, downtown.”

“Sakis Carras?!” Feigning surprise, she took a sip of her coffee, hating the lies that she knew were going to pile up.

Stephan glanced at her sharply. “You know Sakis? How?”

Laughing, she made a face. “Who hasn’t heard about the great and powerful Sakis Carras? He is one of the wealthiest men in New England, married to the beautiful Cassandra.” Punching him in the arm, she continued. “Come on, Stephan. They are in the paper every day. Here was a man, alleged to be on the wrong side of the law, and for love, rumor has it, gave it all up to have the hand of the one he couldn’t live without. It is a true fairy tale romance. How can the lowly public not know who he is?” He visibly relaxed as a smile crept on his face; she watched as he started to survey the crowd again. Feeling she said too much, she attempted to change the subject, bringing it back to him. “Certainly explains where you live.”

It was Stephan’s turn to laugh. “I suppose it might.”

“You must be very good at your job,” Aisling continued, pressing further.

Turning slightly on the bench, Stephan nodded. “Aisling, I am the best at what I do.”

“Is that why you always carry a gun with you?” Aisling regretted the question the moment it passed her lips. She couldn’t believe it even came from her mouth. Stephan didn’t seem to react at first. Too late, Aisling realized that he not only reacted, but it didn’t sit well with him as his hand snaked out and gripped her tightly behind the back of her neck. Her face paled and a twinge of fear lit deep in her stomach, but she kept her face impassive as he brought his head closer to hers to whisper in her ear. To the average passerby, it would look like two lovers deep in conversation and an embrace.

“For a medical coder, you seem to be pretty observant, Miss O’Byrne. Now, what would be your fascination with Sakis?”

Aisling didn’t respond to his question, choosing instead to stare him down. Instinct told her something was really off. She wondered how much he really knew about who she was. There was only one way she knew to find out.

His thumb rubbed along her mouth, and his face set even more. He was angry. Aisling could actually feel the energy radiating off him.

“I like you. But I cannot deal with deception. Tell me, Aisling…who are you? Really? Because what I do know for a fact is you are no medical coder.”

To Aisling, the question was tinged with a touch of melancholy. It was as if he was steeling himself for what he was about to hear next. Brushing her fingers lightly on his cheek as she crossed her legs so that she almost touched his legs, she ignored the pain shooting through her neck.
There would be bruising there later, for sure
, she thought. This was going to be a crucial moment in their relationship.

Stephan admired her courage but admiration only went so far in his world. He could just as easily snap her neck in two if he thought for even a minute that she was the enemy. Staring at her lips as they parted slightly, he prayed silently she wasn’t the enemy.

“On the inside of my right leg, above the shin bone.”

Pulling back slightly, he stared deep into her eyes before he placed his hand on her hip and slid it slowly down along her leg. Aisling’s face turned a bright pink when he turned his hand so his palm ran along the inside of her thigh the rest of the way down until he felt the bump just where she had said it would be. It was a small weapon, one more likely to scare than kill. Sliding his hand up and under the fabric, his fingers deftly unclasped the gun just as he heard the click of his own weapon. He had never felt her removing it. The woman definitely had skills.

“There is no need to remove what is very comfortable right where it is, Stephan.” Aisling’s tone had cooled tremendously.

Now they were getting somewhere. Sliding his hand back out, he grasped her hip tightly while still gripping her neck with the other hand. They were at an impasse. Aisling leaned forward to close the space between her mouth and his. Her kiss was soft but urgent. He opened his mouth to give her access, allowing her soft tongue to clash with his. He felt her slide his gun back into its holster and the latch was once again fastened. It was only then that he realized that he still held her neck tightly and his fingers loosened their grip.

Aisling didn’t attempt to move away; instead, she slid her hand through his hair and pulled him in even closer. She couldn’t seem to get enough. Her adrenaline, an aphrodisiac, wanted to push the limits with him. Finally, with a heavy sigh, she pulled away and stared at his lips, waiting for him to release her completely. When he did, she rose off the bench and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Come, let’s go back to your place where we can talk in private.”

CHAPTER 11

(Stephanous Petros: eight years old) “You are nothing but a scrawny chicken.” The heavyset man stared at the young boy in front of him with dark, beady eyes. “Why should I hire you?”

Stephanous’s gaze didn’t waver from the direct eye contact. “Because I am a good listener and hard worker. Give me a chance for one day. If you do not like my work, you will not have to pay me.”

Chewing on the end of the cigar, he contemplated what he was being told. “Arrogant little shit. I am going to take you up on your offer since I will have nothing to lose. This is not going to be as easy as you think.” Reaching high on the shelf above his desk, he handed Stephanous a small dagger. He admired the courage of the young boy. “Life and death only. Got it?”

Stephanous nodded and fingered the leather with shaky fingers, not trusting himself to remove the knife without cutting himself.

“And if anything happens, we never met.”

The apartment keys hit the silver tray hard, sliding across the surface and teetering on the edge before they stilled. Stephan stormed across the room to the bar. He was more furious with himself than her, for letting her get under his skin. He knew there was more to Aisling. He had said it to Alicia the day he looked into her. Everything was too perfect in her file. Here he was, head of one of the wealthiest companies in Boston and because of lust, or whatever you could call it, he let her slip in. Stephan wasn’t sure who she was, but he did know that she wasn’t what she said she was, which only led to even more questions. How did she have the capability of accessing information? Changing government files was no small feat, yet obviously she had. Or she knew enough people that she had someone do it for her.

Aisling had remained silent on the short walk back to his place; for that he was grateful. Watching as she settled on the sofa, she didn’t seem the least bit fazed at the turn of events.
God, she was beautiful.
Pouring them both a drink, he handed Aisling hers before he took a seat in the chair.

“Do you know you are the first woman I have brought back to my home?”

Aisling stared down at her drink. She hadn’t known that. She had never brought anyone back to her place either. The small detail that he shared was potent on her emotions and she hoped that she hadn’t screwed this up beyond repair already.

“When did you suspect something?” Aisling asked curiously.

“The moment I saw you in the store watching me at the café as I waited for you to arrive.”

“And yet you said nothing. You still wanted to spend time with me?” Now it was Aisling’s turn to wonder what game was being played and who was playing it now.

Stephan lit his cigarette before he responded. His eyes narrowed as the white wisps danced in front of his face. “We all have a history and a story, Aisling. I am intrigued enough with you that I was willing to test the waters. Your second mistake, and more important to me, by the way, was when you tried to check me for a weapon before heading to the Common.” He laughed harshly at her expression. “Come on, you are enough of a professional, and the little pat-down disguised by a hug confirmed to me that you knew what you were doing. Mix that with the questions. Who do you think I am?”

Sitting in stunned silence, Aisling didn’t know how to respond. There was no way that she would be able to reveal to him who she really was. It had taken her years to build up her reputation as the Chameleon in the man’s world that she worked in. She wasn’t stupid. Every single client thought that she was a male, and if they thought otherwise, she would not have had the caseload that she had. Staring into his eyes, she felt a wave of sadness: for the first time, she had met her match and they could be fabulous together, in whatever capacity, but the foundation would have to be based on lies. Aisling had to somehow mix the truth with the lies. She wasn’t quite ready to say good-bye to Stephan Petros.

“What are you thinking about?”

Aisling shrugged. Here she could be honest with him. “You are right. I am not a medical coder. When someone needs something done, I help them figure out how to make that happen for them.”

“Explain.”

“I get people in touch with other people. You want someone fired, I am your girl.” Pausing, she looked him directly in the eye. “And I am the best at what I do.”

Stephan stared hard at Aisling. She could be telling the truth. When he first started out working for Sakis, he was put in touch with someone who listened to his needs and eventually got him in touch with the Chameleon, so he knew that there were people out there. It was a dangerous underworld, though. The thought that she was neck-deep didn’t please him.

“Fired? Is that an euphemism for killed?”

Choosing to ignore the question, Aisling turned the tables on him. “What about you, Stephan? You say that you are head of security, but that isn’t the whole truth either, is it?”

Stamping out his cigarette, Stephan rose to his feet. “No, it is not. Like you, I am short on details, but I will share this with you: I have done a lot of things in my line of work. Nothing I have regretted though, Aisling.”

“Me neither,” she snapped back.

They were at another impasse, and they both knew it. For tonight, the right thing to do was to walk away and hope that he would contact her again once he was able to process their conversation. Picking up her bag, she gripped the handle with both hands and squeezed tightly. She would never beg a man for anything and unlike her mother, she was not going to wait around. Standing on her toes, she kissed him on the cheek. Stephan didn’t even move. Sighing, she turned and walked out, without a look back.

CHAPTER 12

A swift knock sounded on the office door. Stephan glanced at the clock on his desk as he instructed the person to enter, even though he already knew that the only person it could be was Alicia.

The disapproving glance she shot his way was enough for him to quickly rise to his feet to grab the tray of food from her hands before he placed it gently down on the table in the center of the room. Gripping her shoulders, he kissed her gently on each cheek, hoping to soften the reprimand that he knew was headed his way.

“Stephan, the whole point of you not going to Greece was for you to take a vacation. You have been in this office every day. Now, you either talk to me, or I am going to call Sakis.”

With a quick glance at the food, Stephan’s stomach growled as he tried to remember the last time he had eaten.

Alicia laughed. “You can eat while you talk, young man.”

He filled his plate. After several bites, he started to feel better than he had all day.

“Part of my time off was to do things I have been putting off, Alicia. This is personal.” Stephan felt uncomfortable, even with Alicia.

“Is this about the beautiful redhead?”

Stephan’s frown deepened at the reference to Aisling. He hadn’t heard from her since she left his apartment so abruptly three days ago, but he also hadn’t made any attempt to contact her.

“No! It certainly does not,” Stephan stated.

“My, my, that didn’t last long.”

He shrugged and took several more bites. “We both have a lot of baggage. Too much so, in my eyes, and a relationship with Aisling would never work.”

“And you know this after one date?” Alicia stared, wide-eyed.

“Suffice to say, I was right: she was not a medical coder, and never was.”

Gripping his arm to prevent him from taking another bite, Alicia leaned in. “Listen to me. You cannot judge a person on first appearance. What, she has someone else in her life and it is complicated? My God, how bad can it be?”

Pulling away, Stephan dabbed the corners of his mouth. “She was not being truthful and when she did finally talk, I wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth. What kind of relationship would that be, if I was always wondering what was fact from fiction?”

Her fingers tapped the gleaming table. Alicia contemplated his words before she shook a finger at him. She wasn’t going to mince words with him. This was the first time that she had ever seen him excited about getting to know someone.

“That is bullshit and you know it, Stephanous. Don’t be so arrogant that you place a yardstick against her, unless you are going to take the same stick and measure yourself. Just out of curiosity, how much did you share of who you are and the life you have led?”

“Not fair….” Stephan was shocked by how angry his friend had become. This was not an employee berating him, but a mother figure and her claws came out in full force.

“Oh, so you can prejudge her, but you’re ignoring your own skeletons that are pounding on the door to get out. It is so unlike you to play double standard, Stephan. I am extremely disappointed in you right now.”

“Fuck, Alicia, you are not really using the ‘I’m disappointed’ card right now.” Stephan stared at her, aghast.

Alicia tried to hide the smile, but couldn’t stop herself as she smiled back sheepishly.

He contemplated what she was saying to him. “Maybe you are right. I will call her later.” Even as he picked up his fork, he could feel her eyes on him.

“That was too easy but I will let it go for now. So, you still didn’t answer my original question. What are you doing here? Is everything okay with Cassie and Sakis?”

Nodding his head, Stephan thought of his friends. “I spoke to him, as a matter of fact not even thirty minutes ago. They are having a wonderful time, and said to send their love. Cassie has them all gearing up to be tourists for the next several days. Sakis didn’t seem too excited.”

Alicia laughed; she could only imagine what Sakis had said on the phone. “He will be fine. And Rose?”

“Getting spoiled by the second from his family. Sakis said that she has everyone wrapped around her tiny little finger. Rightly so, I might add.”

Stephanous’s body relaxed completely with the line of questioning. Sakis sounded so pleased with the trip so far that whatever worry Stephan had at them traveling without him had completely faded. Granted, it had only been less than a week, but definitely a good start. Stephan chose not to tell Alicia that they had also spoken regarding Nadir. Sakis had been unaware of his assistants’ relationship with Odalis and was just as shocked, if not more than Stephan had been. They both had agreed to limit her interaction with the job. Sakis had also mentioned that before he left for Greece she had also wanted to take some time off. Stephan thought that she should take the time soon.

“Great, so we sorted out the redhead, and it isn’t the family…” Alicia’s eyebrows rose in Stephan’s direction.

He sighed. He knew he had to tell her, because it was more than obvious that she wasn’t going to let up. “I have been trying to find my parents as you know, and there is nothing.”

Whatever Alicia had expected, this was not it.

“Are you sure you really want to do this?” Worry was now etched in her face.

“More than sure. So much, in fact, I have contacted the Chameleon for his assistance because I have gotten as far as I am going to get on my own and I have been searching for a while now.”

“Why the sudden interest, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He lit a cigarette and ran his hand through his hair. “This has been brewing for longer than I can even say. Maybe since the orphanage? I have no interest in contacting anyone; I just want to know.”

“Were you able to find out anything at all?”

He shook his head and glanced at his watch. “Not on my end. I should be receiving an email in the next hour or so from the Chameleon with an update.”

Rising to her feet, Alicia placed her hand gently on Stephan’s shoulder. “Let me know if I can do anything, even if it is just that you need to unload. Mysteries are challenging, and sometimes, the answers are not what we expect.”

He placed his hand over hers. “I will definitely come to you with any news.” He waited until she had almost reached the office door before he spoke. “Thank you, Alicia—you know I love you, right?”

Shocked, Alicia turned her head to stare at him; her eyes welled with tears. Never had he said the words, even though she felt his love and caring every day. “I do, and I love you also.”