Chapter 3
THREE
Hades
The warm summer night filled the air with an unpleasant heaviness, only adding to my agitated demeanor. I struggled to put Capri out of my mind, but the more I tried, the more she ended up front and center.
I should have been at the club tonight, but I was too distracted to focus. I wasn’t in the mood to take selfies with desperate women who hoped to share a drink, and then my bed with me.
Why had Capri sought me out? What did she want?
Her presence stirred old memories that I had buried long ago.
When I fled New York, I had expectations of one day making Leo pay for the betrayal he rained upon me.
Seeing Capri rekindled those aspirations, which was why I had to let her walk away from me.
Using her to seek revenge would be easy, but looking into those trusting eyes as I did it, wouldn’t be.
The darkness in my soul never disappeared, but through the years, I’d learned to shove it far enough down so it wouldn’t consume me. Could I leave the past behind me?
“Here’s the file you requested.” Atticus set the folder on the table by the pool. “Everything Capri said seems to match what I found.”
“She was studying abroad?”
“It was a four-week program focusing on the hospitality industry.” He waved his hand over the file. “Leo recently bought a five-star hotel in the Hamptons. Some speculate he’s giving it to Capri as a graduation present.”
“He’s setting her up to succeed.”
“After the program ended, she checked into the hotel where I dropped her last night. She told me she’s here for a few more days.”
“Security?”
“It doesn’t appear she has any. I dropped her off, and then I stayed and observed the villa she’s in. The hotel is pretty secure, but she doesn’t have a guard on her.”
“What could Leo be thinking? Leaving her unattended in a foreign country?”
“Maybe he underestimates his enemies?”
If she were mine, I would make sure she was protected. She’s not yours…
“Do you want me to keep digging?” Atticus asked.
I leaned back in the chair and gazed up at the stars. Let this go.
“No, I’ll take her word that she didn’t know who I was,” I said. “It wouldn't make sense for Leo to send her to find me after all this time. What would he gain from it?”
“If anything, you would think he would want her to stay far away from you.” Atticus’ phone dinged with a security alert. “Given your history with one another,” he added.
Taking the fall for a murder I didn’t commit, and then watching as my best friend made sure the most dangerous men in the city believed I was responsible was a hard pill to swallow.
“You would think,” I said. Why send his daughter here? He was the one who wronged me. He went on living his life. I had to go on the run and start over. There was no reason to fan the flames of our past.
“Except, it doesn’t look like Capri wants to leave you alone,” Atticus said.
“What do you mean?”
He turned his phone in my direction.
“What the fuck?” I shook my head as I viewed the live feed on my security camera.
Two of my guys had intercepted Capri by the front gates of the estate and were bringing her to the backyard. To me.
“Do you want me to handle it?” Atticus asked. “You can go inside and I’ll scare her away.”
“She did go through the effort of locating me and trespassing on the property. It would be rude for me not to see what she wants.”
She came for me. I couldn’t be blamed for how this ended.
“Is this necessary?” Capri tried to struggle out of the guard’s tight hold. “I’m a personal friend of Mr. Zikos.”
That's questionable.
Atticus snickered before broadening his chest and doing his best to appear threatening. It wasn’t Atticus that Capri needed to worry about. She should have read the signals when I tried to excavate her from my life last night.
“Bring her to me.” I stood. “I can’t wait to hear this explanation.”
“Sir, we found her scaling the gate on the front of the property,” one of my men said. “Pretty brave move.”
“Hmm.” I ran my fingers along my beard. “Or stupid.”
“I… Well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d say hello.” She wiggled out of the guard’s hold and inched toward me. “Night swimming.” She ran her gaze along my bare chest. “Cool.” She checked out the backyard. “That’s a beautiful pool.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Hello, Atticus.” She smiled. “Do you live here too?”
“Hello, Ms. Capri.” Atticus glanced at me. “Do you need anything else tonight?”
“I don’t think my intruder poses a threat.” I nodded at my team. “I’ll take care of my guest.”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Atticus said. He left, the other two men following him to the main house.
“Bye.” Capri waved as they hustled out of the yard. “Tough group.”
“They take my security seriously,” I said. “You’re lucky they didn’t shoot you on your way over the gate.”
“They exaggerated that a bit.” When she took a seat on a lounge chair by the pool, her short, white sundress drifted up her thighs. “I wasn’t actually climbing the gate.”
“I’m sure my security footage will disagree.”
“More ink.” She pointed at my chest. “You have a skilled tattoo artist.”
“Did you come here to discuss my tattoos?” Some of which were older than her. “Or was there another pressing matter?”
“Well, we said goodbye last night, but today is a new day.” She tossed her luscious hair over her shoulder. “So, I figured why not say hello.”
“How exactly did you find me?”
“Atticus.” She leaned against the chair and swung her legs over to stretch out and peer at the beach just beyond the pool.
“He would never have told you where I lived.”
“He didn’t, but when he left the club tonight, I followed him on a hunch, and he led me right to you.”
I had my very own stalker. I didn’t know if I should be flattered or annoyed.
“By the way, I shouldn’t have been able to follow your security guard right to your house.” She took off her flip-flops and dropped them onto the pavers. “That’s kind of dangerous.”
For you.
“Your investigative skills are quite impressive, but they could get you killed.” I sat on the edge of her chair. “Do you want to tell me why you’re really here?”
“I thought you might like a visit.”
Why did she make it so easy to fall for her charms?
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“But I am, so let’s make the most of it.”
She bit her bottom lip and treated me to the most seductive smile. I wasn’t sure if it was tempting because she was so forbidden, or if I wanted to ignore all the warning signs and take what she inadvertently offered.
“What is it that we’re making the most of?” I traced my finger over the little heart tattoo on the inside of her ankle. “Enlighten me since I don’t make a habit of entertaining trespassers.”
“Aren’t you past that yet?” She curled her dainty feet, and the thought of her running those pink, pedicured toes along the backs of my calves as I plowed her into my mattress dominated my thoughts.
Fuck, if I’m going to hell, I might as well add another offense to the list.
“Did you mention to your father that we met?” I asked.
“I got the vibe that I shouldn’t.”
“For such a smart girl, you do dumb things.”
“Was it dumb for me to come here?”
“It depends on why you came.” I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to run my hand along her silky legs. “Why do you like playing detective so much?”
“You know what they say about Italian girls.”
“Remind me.”
“When we want to find something out, we’re better than FBI agents.”
“I hadn’t heard that.”
“Do you get out much?”
“Enough.” I glanced at the pool. “I was about to take an evening swim before you interrupted. So, are you going to tell me what it is that was so important that you put yourself into danger by following Atticus to my home and then breaking onto my property?”
“I didn’t think I was in danger.” She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, giving me a peek of her pink panties. “You don’t want to hurt me, do you?”
“Hurt you? No.” I laughed. “Unless you want me to hurt you.”
“Why would I…” Her hearty laugh echoed over the waves. “You’re teasing me.” She pressed her toes against my thigh. “See, you’re not that scary.”
You have no idea.
“You went through a great deal of trouble to find me tonight,” I said.
“It wasn’t that hard.”
“You’re lucky I find you entertaining. But I am an impatient man, so please tell me why you're here.”
“Fine.” She huffed. “I want answers.”
“To specific questions or anything in general?”
No, silly.” She rested her feet in my lap. “I want to know who you were to my father.”
Now who is teasing who?
“Why is that so important to you?”
“I believe in parallels,” she said. “Nothing happens by accident. I was meant to see that video of you at your club. Something brought me to this island.”
“Your course work.”
“It’s more than that.” When she gazed up at the stars, her wide eyes drew me in. “I could have studied anywhere. London, Paris, Italy, but I chose Greece. Why?”
“Are you saying this is fate?” Such a naive girl.
“How else did our paths cross?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences.” I scooted her feet from my lap because her soft skin was far too distracting. “But I will admit that your presence here has caught my attention.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Flirting with me again? Doesn’t she know I don’t do romance?
“You’ll tell me what our connection is?” she asked.
I’m not so certain you really want to know. “I will.”
“Great!” She clapped her hands. “I have questions.”
“I’ll answer them for a price.”
Let’s see how important this information is to you.
“What kind of price?” She motioned around the backyard. “You clearly don’t need money. What could you want from me?”
All the things I shouldn’t desire but do. You came for me. Now it was time to suffer the consequences. I’d vowed not to seek revenge on Leo, but maybe Capri was right. Fate did have a way of intervening, and mine, however unexpected, was right in front of me and ripe for the taking.
Revenge was funny like that. It presented itself when you least anticipated it. When you thought you had no use for it.
“I want you to swim with me,” I said.
“I didn’t bring a bathing suit.” She tugged on the ends of her long, shiny hair. “But thanks for the offer.”
“You don’t need one.”
She pressed her full, pink lips together, coercing my gaze to them like a wolf to his prey. Would she let me pounce? Or would she run away and never look back?
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“I don’t believe you.” I caressed her inner thigh, luring her to stay with me. “It’s such a hot night and the water is so refreshing.”
Her legs twitched like they had at the bar last night.
She played the part of the bold Brooklyn girl, but I saw through that.
She bit off more than she could chew when she came looking for me.
Her lofty ideas about fate and being meant to cross paths were cute, but they didn’t apply when it came to me.
I wasn’t known for backing down. I could push much harder than she could, and I was way more relentless.
“You want answers?” I trailed my fingers higher, until I reached the point where her panties met her thigh.
She lifted her head and slowly nodded, but the uncertainty overwhelmed her gorgeous face.
You came to me. If it was a game she was after, I could outplay her, outmaneuver her, and end up with whatever I wanted.
“Take your clothes off.”