I should have finished this with Manos a long time ago, he thought and started walking faster to release his anger and frustration. He should have realized long ago what the old bastard was up to. But he was too involved in his own vengeance and misery. All he could think about was how much he hated this man for getting his mother pregnant and thrown out of her family home and fortune by her father, Andreas Demiris and her brother, Constantinos.
Emilia Demiris, Michael’s mother, was the little sister of Constantinos and Alexandros Demiris. She fell in love with Philip Manos, an enemy of the Demiris family ever since his father, Isaac Manos, sold his property to Andreas Demiris. Isaac Manos was a gambler and a drunk, and he owed Andreas Demiris a lot of money. So eventually, there was no way out, but to sell the property to Andreas for a fraction of its real value to repay his debt.
Michael was sure Manos never cared for his mother. He just used her to get back at Andreas. He probably thought if he got her pregnant, Andreas would give in and allow her to marry Manos, giving him access to the property. But things didn’t work out according to his plans. Andreas turned out to be a stubborn old fool, who threw his own daughter out of the house and cut her off from the Demiris fortune. And her brother stood by his father’s decision and isolated his sister from everything which was rightfully hers.
Michael cursed, thinking of the hell his mother must have gone through, trying to survive on her own with a baby on the way. She was raised as a princess and had never worked a day in her life. And then she was thrown out in the streets with no place to go and no money to make a fresh start. And Manos turned his back on her too. He had no use for her, if she had no access to the Demiris fortune.
Emilia was lucky to find shelter in Loula’s—Alexandra’s mother, who was a niece of Emilia, but only five years younger than her—house in Athens. She defied Andreas and Constantinos by opening her house and her heart to her aunt. And her good deed was paid back by the death of her only child, Michael thought and swallowed hard, feeling the blood pumping hard in his veins.
If it weren’t for Loula and his father, Dimitris Apostolou, who met his mother when Michael was only fourteen months old and fell in love with her right from the start, nobody knew where Emilia and Michael would be now. He whispered a thank you for his father, for being such a good and honest man. He took care of his mother and her little son, as if he were his own.
It was later that Constantinos tried to make up for his actions by becoming Michael’s godfather and best friend to Dimitris. Maybe it was the fact that Emilia married Dimitris Apostolou and Constantinos was relieved the old story with Philip Manos was over. Or maybe it was regret for the way he had treated his own sister. Michael wasn’t sure what it was, but the fact was Constantinos eventually became part of their lives.
The truth was that Michael liked Constantinos. He spent a lot of time with him at the old mansion, and he was too old when he found out about this family secret to change his feelings for Constantinos.
Of course, he was angry and had a big fight with his godfather, but afterwards things kind of smoothed out. His mother and father helped a lot with that. Emilia was the most wonderful person Michael ever knew. She was loving and kind and had forgiven her brother for being so mean to her. His father was also a kind man. Even though he was a very dynamic police detective, he was soft and kind with his family and very supportive to Michael’s mother. He knew his wife never stopped loving her brother, and he tried his best to patch up the relationship between them, and even encouraged Michael to get close to the Demiris family and get attached to Constantinos.
On the other hand, Michael never became close with his grandfather, Andreas. Even though his mother had forgiven him for what he did to her, the stubborn old man never came around. And when Constantinos started spending time with Michael and bringing him to the mansion, Andreas retreated to the other house the family owned, closer to the town of Corfu. Andreas kept his distance and his grudge until the end of his life.
Life plays strange games sometimes.
Michael heard a soft noise somewhere on his left and reached for his gun. He squatted behind the bushes, holding his breath and carefully scanning the surroundings. He didn’t want to get caught, before he reached the house. He knew he had no chance of reasoning with Manos; his only chance would be to try to get Jackie out of there and away from Manos, before Michael went back for him.
Chapter Ten
By the time Eric’s helicopter landed on the property, Eric’s men, seven out of the ten that were there with Manos, had taken care of Roussos and then went to the house and took care of Philip as well. These people were sick and tired of Philip Manos and his foul temper. They would rather work for Eric, who might be more ruthless, but paid better and didn’t release his temper on his employees.
Eric walked to the house with Alex and entered the study to find his father and Roussos tied up. Without a second thought, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and walking behind Roussos, he cut his throat.
He felt utter satisfaction to watch the shocked look on his father’s face. He was sure his father didn’t expect anything like this from him. He always considered him stupid and weak. But now, Eric was the one in control. And that was exactly what he wanted to prove by killing Roussos right in front of his father and the others.
Furthermore, Roussos was too dangerous to keep around. Christine had informed him of Philip’s plan to have Roussos pretend he was working for Eric. Roussos was merely following Philip’s instructions and he was spying on Eric to report his every move back to Philip.
After killing Roussos, Eric asked everybody to leave the room, except Alex and had a nice little chat with his father.
Eric smiled with satisfaction, thinking of the bad shape his father was in when he finally left the room. He had let out all his fury and had taken revenge for all the years his father had scorned and bullied him. But he didn’t want to kill him yet. He wanted his father to witness his triumph.
Now, it was Jackie’s turn. He had found out from his father that Jackie was held in the basement. He knew she had come to the island, snooping around. He needed to find out what she knew about this case.
He had some information from Catherine about the Corfu deal, but he was sure there was more to it. Maybe Jackie could shed some light on this arrangement, since his father hadn’t been so cooperative. He wanted to make sure he knew all the aspects of the situation, before he got his father out of the way. He hated surprises and with Philip Manos and the men he was dealing with, Eric had to be very careful.
And what about Michael Apostolou? What was really going on with him?
***
Jackie’s heart rate accelerated, as she heard the click of the door lock turning. It had been so long since Manos left that she had lost track of time. She felt exhausted and dizzy and her entire body hurt. Desperately, she tried the ropes one more time, all the time keeping her eyes on the door.
The door opened and a tall, young man appeared at the entrance. Even though he was kind of attractive, there was something eerie about him and the way he was looking at her.
Jackie looked at him suspiciously. “Who are you?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Is he the one? she wondered. Was he the man who was going to torture her to get Manos the information that he wanted? What am I going to do? I don’t want to tell them about Michael being the heir of the Demiris fortune. I don’t want them to go after him.
“My name is Eric,” the man replied in a polite tone, but his voice sounded cold and Jackie felt a shiver racing up her spine. “Eric Manos,” the man added and watched her face turning even more pale than before.
***
She’s scared, Eric thought. Of course, she’s scared. Who wouldn’t be in her position? But this was all right with him. It fit his plans perfectly.
“And what do you want from me, Eric Manos?” Jackie asked, raising her chin stubbornly.
Eric took a better look at the gir
l. Even though she looked exhausted, her clothes were a mess, and she had a deep cut on her forehead, she was a pretty thing all right. He gazed at the beautiful eyes and the sensuous lips and then his eyes rested on her breasts, which were partly exposed by the torn blouse. He immediately felt himself harden and gave an appreciating look at the long legs, left bared by her skirt ripped on one side, compliments of the rough behavior of his father’s men, no doubt.
“A lot of things,” he replied to her question, after a long moment of silence. “But first I’m here to help you,” he added after posing for a moment. He watched her shift uncomfortably. He could tell she had seen his hungry look and was sure she doubted his intentions.
“Where is the other guy?” Jackie asked.
Eric smiled broadly. “You mean my father?” he asked. “He’s kind of tied up at the moment,” he added, thinking of the look on Philip’s face, when Eric walked into the study to find that his men had taken care of him and Roussos. They were both beaten pretty badly and strapped to chairs with their hands tied behind their backs.
“Philip Manos is your father?” Jackie asked.
Eric smiled, realizing that she was probably just trying to buy some time and maybe explore his intentions. She already knew who Philip Manos was and who he was. She had to know. She was just as involved as anyone of them. Otherwise, why come to Corfu and snoop around at the mansion.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Eric admitted and the irony in his voice was more than obvious.
“Why are you keeping me here?”
“I’m not keeping you,” he corrected her. “My father was. I’m here to help you,” he repeated and tried to sound reassuring.
Eric moved closer to let Jackie see what he was holding. As his right hand with the knife dripping blood from the blade appeared from behind his back, he saw the shocked look on her face. He smiled satisfied. Watching her intently, he came and stood unbearably close. This feeling of being in control was intoxicating. He enjoyed every minute of this cat and mouse game—especially, since this mouse had such a beautiful face and such a hard-to-resist, sexy body.
***
Jackie took a deep breath, as she saw the dangerous look in his eyes. Wild waves of fear jolted throughout her body and she felt herself stiffen, as he swiftly moved behind her. He’s going to kill me! Her heartbeat accelerated and the blood in her veins turned to ice. Feeling the coldness of the knife on her wrists, she held her breath.
Suddenly, she felt her hands freed. Not being able to comprehend what had just happened, she brought her palms in front of her. She rubbed them together trying to relieve the tingling and pain, while she was terrifyingly aware of him standing right behind her.
Turning her head, she kept a close eye on Eric, as he came around and knelt in front of her.
He fumbled with the ropes, which tied her ankles to the chair’s legs. Feeling his hands cold and damp on her skin, Jackie took a deep breath, realizing he was taking his time with the ropes, caressing her legs and looking up her skirt.
She instinctively tried to close her legs that were tied apart, but the ropes prevented her from moving too much. She felt violated and exposed and desperately tried again to shift her position. With hands still numb from the pain, she awkwardly tried to pull the material left from her skirt to cover her thighs. The hungry look in his eyes made her skin crawl and her mouth go dry.
Smiling ironically and still holding the knife, Eric placed his cold hands on her knees and pressed her legs even further apart. Immobilized by fear, Jackie watched him as he took his time, devouring the exposed parts of her body with his hungry look. She watched him looking up her thighs and then saw his gaze resting on her breasts. She felt his hands moving from her knees up inside her thighs and without a second thought she furiously shoved them away, giving him an angry look, “Stop!”
She never saw his hand raising and was taken aback by the fury of the blow, as he slapped her hard across the face.
Jackie was shocked and stood still holding her breath, as she felt the excruciating burning on her cheek. Swallowing hard, she shrunk in her chair, seeing the murderous look in his eyes. It was obvious he was trying hard to control his temper, while his knuckles on the hand squeezing the knife turned white. Jackie felt dizzy by the intensity of the moment.
This is it! She closed her eyes, breathlessly waiting.
She could hear him breathing heavily. This could be the very last moments of her life. The fury and madness she had seen in his eyes didn’t leave any room for doubts.
It was an eternity—or at least if felt that long—before she felt him cutting the ropes tied around her ankles. She opened her eyes and was bewildered to see him standing up and taking a step back.
Jackie was relieved to be finally free. She had been tied up for so long that her legs were numb and she could hardly move. Trying to stand up, she almost fell and grabbed hold of the back of the chair, while instinctively rejecting his hand trying to support her.
As he moved even closer, she stubbornly raised her chin to face him. He was absolutely obnoxious, she realized, staring down her torn blouse.
Jackie took a shaky step back and tried to put some distance between them.
“This is no way to show your gratitude, Jackie Alexander,” he said in a low, threatening voice. “I saved your life and you look at me as if I were your worst enemy.” He took a step closer.
“I’m sorry,” Jackie whispered, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “It’s just that I’ve been through so much,” she added, trying to buy some time and not get him mad again. She needed to play it smart, if she wanted to get out of there. And so far, he was her only way out.
She even tried to smile at him and he seemed satisfied by her reaction.
“Now, that’s better,” he said and grabbed her by the arm. He led her out of the basement and up the stairs to a sunny hallway.
The bright sunlight streaming through the windows blinded Jackie, who had spent so much time down in the dark basement. She raised her hands to protect her eyes and let him lead her to a living room with a huge marble fireplace.
Jackie looked around her and realized this place was just as magnificent as the Demiris mansion. The house was big and the furniture beautifully kept antiques.
Jackie collapsed on a sofa and turned to look at Eric.
“I have a few things to attend to,” he said, “but my assistant will come and take care of you.” He left the room.
A few minutes later, another man came in and introduced himself as Alex. He took Jackie upstairs to one of the bedrooms to freshen up, as he said, since she was Eric’s guest. But he locked the door behind him, which left Jackie no room for misunderstandings. She was still a prisoner and she had to find a way out before it was too late.
But how? She walked over to the huge windows overlooking the gardens, which stretched all the way to a magnificent beach. The woods started on the other side and there was no sight of any other house or any living soul in the surroundings. Even if she managed to escape, she had no idea where she was, Jackie realized. She had no choice but to play along for a while.
She used the bathroom adjoining the bedroom and splashed some water on her face. Oh, how she wished she could take a shower and get out of these smelly, ripped clothes. But then what? She had nothing to wear.
She walked back in the bedroom and looked around. She noticed a third door besides the one that led to the hallway and the bathroom door and walked over there to try it. Maybe this was another way out of the bedroom.
She opened the door and was surprised to find a huge walk-in closet full of clothes and rows of shoes. Women’s clothes, she realized, and suddenly a thought crossed her mind. She looked through the clothes and found a dress that looked about her size and without a second thought she walked back to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She took off her clothes and got in the shower, letting the hot water run over her for a long time, soothing her aching muscles. She felt the tension leaving her body
and closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of the water all over her.
Jackie had no idea of how long she stayed in the bathroom, when she realized that someone might come looking for her. She got out, wrapped her body in a towel that she found in the cabinet next to the shower, and wrapped another one around her hair.
She walked over to the mirror and looked at her face. The tension seemed a little less, and the gash on her forehead, which had been exposed after the bandages were ripped away, didn’t look that bad. She was astonished, though, to see a nasty bruise spread all over her cheek. She touched it lightly to find that it was still very sore.
A few minutes later, she walked back into the bedroom, got dressed in a hurry and combed her hair. She felt kind of uncomfortable, wearing no underwear, but at least the material of the dress was heavy, and it hid a lot more than her ruined clothes.
***
Eric was standing next to the fireplace, smoking a cigar, when he heard Alex coming downstairs with Jackie. He had taken some time going over his father’s paperwork and had explained to his father his plan for taking over everything and staging an accident for the old man, in order to get his hefty life insurance as well.
He turned and took a deep breath, seeing Jackie in a beautiful light blue dress, which fitted her perfectly and exposed her wonderful curves.
Noticing the lascivious look on Alex’s gaze, Eric abruptly asked him to leave. This one was his and no one would take her from him. He wet his lips, as he realized his plans for Jackie had changed. He was planning on using her to blackmail Michael, but now he wanted more. He was craving this beautiful girl with the womanly curves that could seduce even a saint. And Eric was no saint.