Chapter Five #2
‘I don’t care what you think, Andreas. I have a message for Nelios—and, yes, I know you’re with him right now.
Tell him I thought him many things, but a coward wasn’t one of them.
Or maybe all that tough posturing was just an act.
Tell me, do you feed off each other’s trauma to justify the way you treat others, or it is just him? ’
He inhaled sharply. ‘What did you just say?’
‘He really should’ve got me to sign one of those NDA thingies.
But, since he didn’t, and he’s made damn sure I’m blacklisted anyway, I’m thinking of going on a revenge tour.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll bring his mother with me and hang out all his dirty laundry for the world to see.
’ She grimaced, her fingers tightening around the phone as she cringed inside. Was she taking this too far?
‘What the hell do you want?’
For him to acknowledge his son! Thankfully, she kept that wish unspoken. She’d tried for Angelos’s sake until she’d drawn the line at placing her precious son in the line of fire for rejection.
‘I want him to meet with his mother for one hour. Tomorrow.’
Thick, furious silence greeted her demand. Then the line went dead.
Her breath whooshed out and, as she wilted into the sofa, Vayle had the disturbing inkling that she might’ve done the very thing she’d accused Nelios of—Hulk-smashing when a delicate touch was needed.
Should she call back—apologise? Maybe…
She jumped when a text pinged. Eyes wide, she read the message.
5pm tomorrow. Nelios VIII London. NXL Suite.
For the second time in as many minutes, her breath exploded out of her lungs. She’d poked the beast. And it had finally responded.
Whether it would end up devouring them both was another matter.
She tossed her phone away, rose and for the next hour busied herself so she wouldn’t dwell on what the following twenty-four hours would entail.
Hell, Nelios hadn’t even stated whether he wanted her there or if he wanted to see just his mother.
Why would he want you? He’s already got your lookalike.
The reminder sent shards of glass through her belly, robbing her of breath and calmness. Because this level of distress made her feel suspiciously as if she cared.
And she absolutely did not…
The sound of the doorbell brought both relief and mild exasperation, the freedom from her unwanted thoughts warring with not wanting Angelos to be woken up just yet.
Rushing to the door, she opened it. And froze at the sight of the man poised in the doorway, conjured up from recklessness into real life, looking from head to toe like the Greek statue of his homeland.
‘Nelios! W-what are you doing here? You said tomorrow!’
Dark-brown eyes fixed on her for an age without responding, then conducted a searing head-to-toe scrutiny, reminding her that she hadn’t brushed her hair since morning. That she, in her jeans and simple top, was no match for the designer-gowned woman clinging to his arm in that photo.
Vayle watched him contain every expression that threatened to escape until his face was a rigid mask. After what felt like an aeon later, after every atom in her body was singing a frenzied aria and his eyes were near molten, he glanced into the flat.
‘Where is she?’
‘She’s resting. And you didn’t answer me. What are you doing here?’
‘Did you not summon me, or were your threats as empty as the lies you’re still being spoon-fed?’
‘I…yes, okay, I may have laid it on a little thick to Andreas, but I wanted to get your attention.’
His head tilted. ‘Well, now you have it,’ he said smoothly, low and deadly. ‘Do you not know what to do with me now you have me, Vayle?’
She licked her lips, the connotations making her thighs clench, her nipples hard. Crossing her arms to hide his visceral effect on her, she shrugged. ‘This isn’t about me. It’s about your mother. And, if I knew you could be summoned so easily, I would’ve done it ages ago.’
His gaze swung to her then, almost taken aback by her forced, glib tone. She would’ve smiled but, far from hoping she would be spared this time from the effect of the electric forcefield Nelios carried with him wherever he went, Vayle discovered she was very much caught in the sizzling static.
‘For someone treading on dangerous ground, you don’t seem too worried,’ he rasped, his eyes still boring daggers into her.
She shrugged. ‘I know what it’s like to be caught in an emotional wind tunnel, when all around you is a force-five tornado, so no, I’m not worried.
I am perfectly fine right now. Happy, even, despite these circumstances,’ she tossed out because far be it for him to think she was still fixated on the humiliation of the morning after their night before.
‘So, yes, I can be sceptical as to whether anyone on earth has the power to summon you anywhere without a little…incentive.’
‘Believe me, you have no idea what I’m feeling right now.’
‘Okay, feel free to share it, then,’ she invited softly.
He opened his mouth, then seemed to change his mind. He looked around, as if to remind himself of why he’d come. A detached kind of bleakness descended over his face and this time the expression wasn’t quickly dispatched.
‘You could’ve waited till tomorrow. Why the rush?
’ Her heart thumped, hoping. She knew what she wanted, at least where he and Agnes were concerned.
Beyond that…no, she wasn’t going to think about her son who slept out of sight in his portable cot.
It was a waste of time. Nelios hadn’t come here for him.
‘Because if you’ve come not to talk to Agnes, but to cause further injury to her, then—’
‘Cause injury—?’ He cut himself off in near wonder. ‘What about the injury she caused me?’ he seethed. But again, it wasn’t just fury rolling across his face. It was deep, ingrained anguish, like a wound, buried deep and newly ripped wide open.
‘If it’s retribution you’re looking for, isn’t what you’ve already done enough?
You took away your own mother’s purpose by blacklisting her.
And I won’t even start on how you stabbed me in the back as well.
What did I ever do to you, Nelios?’ Her breath hitched a tiny bit and she hated herself, and him, for it.
His eyes raked her face, once, twice. And, heaven help her hopelessness, but she thought she saw him lose a shade of colour, maybe even experience a flash of remorse, before his expression froze into neutrality again.
‘Where is my… Where is she?’ he repeated through barely moving lips.
‘I told you, she’s resting. If you’d bothered to tell me you’d changed the time…’
A shadow crossed his face. ‘Andreas responded without my input. I prefer to face some threats head-on, even empty ones.’
Her mouth twisted in a mockery of a smile that seemed to have a direct link to the vice around her heart. ‘Some?’ she echoed, hating herself for thinking about how he’d left her sleeping in his bed without even the courtesy of a goodbye.
Was it her imagination or had he winced just then?
She hoped he had. That he had other emotions over and above the vengeance locked in his heart for the mother who’d brought him into the world.
Over and above the wild desire he’d let loose that night in Buenos Aires, followed by the sheer cruelty he’d displayed the morning after.
‘Don’t test me,’ he warned far too coolly.
‘Or what? Haven’t you already done your worst to me, Nelios?’
He stiffened. And just like that every last emotion was stripped from his face, leaving a cold mask with glinting eyes. ‘Don’t presume you know what I’m fully capable of, glikia mou—’
‘Don’t call me that,’ she snapped before she could stop herself. ‘I’m not your sweet anything.’
His nostrils flared but his expression didn’t change. ‘Ne, you’re right. You’re not.’ His dismissive gaze landed on the two doors down the short hallway. ‘This is the only time I can spare. Or I walk out the door and any more of her incessant attempts to hound me will be treated as harassment.’
Her mouth gaped. ‘Agnes is still reaching out to you?’ Vayle had believed she’d stopped after Nelios’s stony silence.
His eyes turned flint-hard. ‘I see she’s still keeping things from you.’
She snapped her mouth shut. ‘Don’t start. Or I’ll…’
One eyebrow arched. ‘Or you’ll what?’
She pursed her lips, knowing there were no further threats to make.
‘A word of advice, Vayle. Get your head out of the sand before it’s too late. Or you will–’
The small cry interrupted his unwelcome advice. His gaze darted around the room, surprise dousing his face. The cry came again, and his sharp eyes captured hers. ‘What is that?’
Her heart leapt into her throat, but she fought the apprehension wrapping around her whole being. ‘That is exactly what it sounds like.’
At some point in the future, Vayle would wonder what would’ve happened if Angelos hadn’t chosen then to wake up.
If he’d continued sleeping, blissfully unaware of the tumult unfolding just feet away.
But he hadn’t. And, now he’d decided it was time to remind the world—and his father—that he existed, nothing was going to stop him.
The cry hitched to a stop for a handful of seconds, no doubt to give his mother the chance to do the right thing and shower his presence with endless adoration.
She went into the bedroom she shared with him, just as he decided her time was up. His impatient cry filled the room, quickening her last few steps. She was intensely aware that Nelios had followed close behind her. That she hadn’t answered his question and he meant to pry a response from her.
‘It’s okay, darling. I’m here. Shhh, no need to make such a ruckus,’ she crooned lovingly.