Chapter Four
Chapter
Four
Dani
Dani wished she could say she was happy to see Theo.
Then again, as she was being ushered by a couple of men who looked straight out of an Indiana Jones movie onto a small white speedboat to God knows where, she wished a lot of things.
Such as that she’d gone on Cosmo’s scam-scursion instead of to the museum.
Or that she’d minded her own business at Knossos.
Or that she’d stayed home and never come to Greece in the first place. Home was safe. Predictable. Boring. And maybe she needed to appreciate that a little bit more.
Dani glanced around the marina, wishing she could get someone’s attention, but their boat was docked at the end far away from anyone else, and, really, they probably just looked like a group of people going out on a boat ride.
Why? Why hadn’t she walked away when she’d had the chance?
Oh right, because she was a stubborn brat who wanted an explanation instead of trusting Theo like he’d asked.
But she couldn’t help it that after a year of not seeing him she didn’t want to let him out of her sight again. She’d found him. She couldn’t let him go now.
Plus, she needed answers, dammit!
Dani and Theo, not having spoken a word to each other since these two goons found them, were directed to the white leather bench at the back of the speedboat.
Based on Theo’s body language and what she could translate only as distress in his voice, whatever shit Theo had gotten himself into wasn’t good.
And now Dani was in it, too.
The tall guy started the boat and quickly sped away from the marina.
Dani spent enough time doing water activities to know that speeding was probably against marina rules even in Greece, but chastising a criminal for not following boating laws probably wasn’t such a good idea.
Not after the tall one flashed a knife in his waistband.
Her heart pounded. Was this it? Was this how she was going to die?
Dani started picking at the skin around her nails—the nervous habit that her abuela had always reprimanded her for that had only been exacerbated by her chronic dryness working at the library—when Theo took her hand and squeezed it.
For a few moments, all her fears quieted in her mind. She was with Theo. He’d keep her safe. He’d always kept her safe.
Dani glanced at him, and he mouthed, I’m sorry. The boat was too loud for them to have any sort of real conversation, not without the goons hearing them.
Who are they? she mouthed back.
Bad.
A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t already tell these guys were bad news, but confirmation wasn’t helping.
Theo looked away and then tipped his head to the side as if something caught his eye.
The goons were standing at the controls, steering the boat, not paying them any attention.
Slowly, Theo let go of her hand and stood up, though still crouching low as he inched his way toward the men.
But Dani snatched his arm back. He glanced at her, and she shook her head, telling him no.
Whatever he was planning to do, she wasn’t in support.
But he squeezed her hand again and pumped his hand downward, motioning for her to relax.
How a simple hand squeeze could reassure her that everything would be okay was a mystery, but it worked.
She settled back into the bench, watching as he crept closer to the goons, then he reached for the letter sticking out of the tall guy’s back pocket and snatched it right as the other man noticed Theo.
The stocky guy lunged toward Theo, but Theo ducked away and quickly tore the envelope in half, tossing it over the side of the boat right as the man tackled him. The tall guy slowed down the boat, but it was too late. The letter was gone.
Stocky held Theo down by the collar as the other approached and pointed his finger in Theo’s face. “Try something like that again, and I’ll toss you overboard.”
“Go ahead,” Theo spat back. “You’d be doing me a favor. At least I can swim.”
The man glowered at him. “You think tearing that piece of paper up is going to save you?” the man asked. “Just because we can’t see what you wrote doesn’t mean we don’t already know that you were going to rat us out.”
He pushed hard at Theo’s chest then returned to the ship controls.
“Think we should go back for it?” the other man asked. “What if he put our names in there?”
The driver glanced over his shoulder at Theo, then looked at the water. “So what? He doesn’t know who we really are,” he said.
The stocky man scrunched his face. “Well, what if he snitches on Pierre?”
Theo’s body tensed, and he sucked in a breath. Theo clearly recognized the name Pierre. And it didn’t seem like he was too excited to meet him.
The boat sped through the waters of the Mediterranean, weaving through the dozens of islands dotting the way.
Some large. Some small. Some inhabited. Others looked to be no larger than a football field.
Theo stared out to the sea, looking away almost as if avoiding her.
He’d left home without a single word, though, so what difference did it make?
So instead of getting those answers she so desperately wanted, she gazed out at the blue waters in the opposite direction.
Nervous. Scared of what was awaiting them at their destination.
Finally, after traveling for what seemed like an hour, Tall Guy eased up on the throttle as they approached a luscious island of greens and blues.
The terrain varied with rocks and gardens leading up from the beach to a glass-walled building sitting atop a hill.
It looked like something straight out of a James Bond movie—the evil villain’s lair.
Stocky hopped out of the boat, taking a rope to tie the vessel up to a pylon driven into the beach.
Dani looked over at Theo, who was taking off his boots and rolling up the hems of his pants.
Realizing they were docked in a solid two feet of water, Dani took off her shoes as well.
No words were spoken between them and the men, but none were needed.
The four of them had an understanding. And really, what were Dani and Theo going to do?
Run off down the beach on this remote island in the middle of the sea?
Dani highly doubted there’d be an emergency phone or spare boat to save them.
So one by one, they jumped out of the boat and into the clear water, wading through the warm shallows before heading toward the house along a stone trail lined with all sorts of exotic plants.
They came to the modern white building with straight lines, walls of windows, and minimal furniture. Once over the threshold, they made their way through the structure toward the outside yet again, out to an infinity pool that rivaled a five-star resort.
Hmm…maybe this was a resort?
Dani scoffed at herself. Yes, because that’s what happens when you get kidnapped. You get taken to a resort for an all-inclusive vacation.
She froze at the thought. Kidnapped. Oh God. That’s what was happening, wasn’t it? Acknowledging it made it feel more real.
And more terrifying.
“Wait here,” Tall Guy said, walking away and leaving them with Stocky.
Now was her chance to ask some questions.
“Theo, what is going on?”
He glanced over at Stocky standing roughly ten feet away, and then turned to her. “Not now.”
She looked at Theo. Seriously? He wasn’t going to tell her why they’d been kidnapped because this pendejo was here?
“Do you know these people? Are you working with them?” she asked, ignoring his desire not to talk.
“Not exactly,” another voice said from behind them.
Both Theo and Dani spun around to face a man in all-white linen sporting a matching white beard. His accent was French, but based on the tan he was sporting, he’d clearly been spending a significant amount of time out in the Grecian sun.
“Come, join me,” he said, motioning toward the outdoor seating area near the pool. He moseyed over there, and they followed. What other choice did they have, really?
“Would you like anything to drink? Sparkling water? Wine? Ouzo, perhaps? Or maybe you’re a raki man?” the man asked.
“What is this? Cocktail hour?” Theo said, sarcastically.
The man snickered. “Call it whatever you like. Maurice,” he said, motioning with his hand overhead for the taller man to come over. “Can you please get us a bottle of the Dom Pérignon from the cellar?”
Dani didn’t know much about wine—she was more of a michelada sort of chica, herself—but she knew enough to know Dom Pérignon wasn’t something that would be sitting next to the Monarch vodka on the bottom shelf at the gas station.
“Yes, boss,” Maurice said with a teensy bow before walking away.
“Are you hungry?” Frenchie then asked.
She was, actually. But what if he tried to poison them? When neither she nor Theo answered, Frenchie called over to Stocky. “And, Louis, bring us something to eat.”
Once both Maurice and Louis were away, Frenchie settled into his chair and took in a deep breath, as if he was savoring a delightful moment.
“Who are you?” Dani finally asked.
“Do you really not know? Not even a guess?” the man responded.
Dani certainly had no clue, but Theo took him in, scanning his face and surroundings before saying, “You’re Jean-Luc Monfils. Or should I say, Pierre Vautour?”
“Voilà!” he said with a flourish of his hand.
Well, that was easy.
“Um,” Dani said, interrupting their moment and raising her hand. “I’m sorry, but should I know who you are?”
“He’s a notorious artifact smuggler,” Theo answered, not taking his eyes off Pierre.
“I prefer antiquities enthusiast,” Pierre responded, looking smarmy and smug.
“Yeah, an enthusiast who tricks people into working for him and then steals the artifacts they uncover so he can sell them in the illicit trades,” Theo said very matter-of-factly.
Pierre waved his hand in front of him and rolled his eyes. “I’m no different from the British Museum.”