Chapter 36

Dimitri leaned back in his chair. The ONSF speedboat was almost at the main marina, and there were no signs of it being followed, according to Cyril. The Smithson yacht was almost to the southern tip of Greece at this point, with no indication of putting in at port anytime soon. They hadn’t confirmed that Henry was aboard his yacht, however, which didn’t sit well with him. There were literally dozens of privately owned yachts in the area, and Smithson could easily have commandeered any one of them, while his yacht sailed merrily along to some other port of call.

But that wasn’t going to be an issue. The speedboat was heavily armed and boldly marked with the ONSF letters. If it was delayed or attacked in any way, Smithson would have a battle on his hands.

“Where’s Lauren?” It wasn’t Cyril on the line, but Stefan. “We’ve been monitoring unusual call activity into her phone.”

“Calls?” Dimitri frowned, his gaze skating to the back of the restaurant, registering how long Lauren had been gone. “Her phone hasn’t rung since we arrived here. She spoke with Nicki and Emmaline, texted her sister, but that was yesterday.” He stood, throwing money down on the table. “What kind of calls?”

A few quick strides took him to the back of the restaurant, where the bathroom door stood slightly ajar—the room empty inside.

“The number has been scrambled, that’s why the concern. You say she’s had text communication with her sister?”

Dimitri opened his mouth to reply, but a different voice sounded on the other end of the phone. The no-nonsense snap of Nicki Clark. “I’m sure she has. What’s wrong?”

“That was well handled.”

“Focus on your own American,” Stefan said coolly. “Can you access the phone?”

Dimitri stepped outside and swept the courtyard with his gaze. Shit. “I can’t access the woman right now.” He turned back into the restaurant as a familiar rumble caught his attention. His attention sprang to the cobblestoned alley that led to the street. Shit!

“She’s on the move.” He bolted through the courtyard and into the alley, but he knew it was too late. He scanned the street, identifying two dozen people he knew. “What was in those texts? Her sister texted her?”

“We’re confirming that now. Secure Ms. Grant.”

“Working on it. Call me when you can say something useful.”

Dimitri stowed the phone and stalked up to the first table he could spot, men and women he’d known since birth. Not a minute later, he was racing toward their rover. He tossed his phone on the seat and reached in his pocket for another device, a cell phone not unlike Lauren’s but keyed to the same feed as his sat phone. It had only one function.

A small screen flared to life, a green dot in its center, moving fast. Based on her trajectory, there could be only one place Lauren was heading. But what was she doing going to the fisherman’s pier?

The phone beside him buzzed three minutes later. By this point, he’d cleared the town limits, and he had Lauren’s rover in his sight. He also had a pistol and knife on his body, but no other weapons. There was a locked gun case in Lauren’s rover, but it held only the one weapon, and he didn’t have time to stop at his house.

He picked up the phone. “Report.”

Stefan launched in. “No texts from the sister. She’s on the phone with Nicki, said the last she heard from Lauren was yesterday. No communication since then. Nicki confirms Lauren’s assertion that Maddie’s phone number was private, used by her and the sister alone, but it’s not unreasonable that Smithson discovered and cloned it at some point, as close as he positioned himself to the family. Once Lauren pinged that number, tracking it back to her on Miranos would have been simple enough.”

“Son of a bitch.” Dimitri squinted toward the water, following the lights of the beach rovers. Only one was moving at speed, but there were enough machines on the beach that he might not be immediately noticed. He wasn’t sure how well versed Lauren was in evading pursuit, but he didn’t get the impression she cared so much right now. She was moving too quickly, with too much focus. She was meeting someone who was already in place.

“Where’s Smithson?”

“Still no sighting.

“Lauren’s heading somewhere fast, I think to meet him. How far away is the ONSF boat?”

“Not far. Redivert to where she’s heading?”

Dimitri considered it. “Where would the bastard be if he’s not aboard his own boat? How many likely options?”

It took Stefan only a minute to respond. “Three options, one of which hasn’t radioed in the last twenty-four hours. Pleasure cruiser now anchored close enough to Miranos to be a possibility, if they have a speedboat. Getting the data.”

“Nationality?”

“Turkish.”

Dimitri blew out a breath. Better if it was O?rois, but the Turks didn’t take appropriation of their nationals’ property lightly. If Smithson had boarded the boat without the owners’ permission.... “Can you get a man on that boat, make him look like he’s not official ONSF? If Smithson is still there, I don’t want to startle him into doing something stupid if we can help it.”

“Of course. How much time?”

“Sooner the better.” Dimitri cut the wheel and headed out onto the sand. He’d let Lauren get far enough ahead now that he knew where he was going. Hopefully, she’d slow down as well, maybe lose her nerve.

He remembered her talking about her sister. Not likely she’d lose her nerve. “I need those texts.”

“Working on it.”

“Ready the speedboat, but don’t move it. Again, I don’t want Smithson spooked, if that’s who’s behind Lauren’s flight, which it almost has to be.”

Stefan paused. “He could be picking up Ms. Grant as a point of mutual concession. She could want to go with him for some reason.”

Dimitri grimaced. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

He cut the line and roared ahead, cursing Lauren and her stupidity. For once, she’d overthought the problem from all the angles but one. She should have trusted him to at least go with her. Smithson was dangerous, probably even crazy. But setting aside his natural dominance as a demigod, Dimitri was a trained professional, used to risking his life for his country.

And he was more than willing to risk it for her.

He ditched the rover when he was an eighth of a mile out, and continued on foot to the dock. The place was quiet now, save for a few diehards at the bar. Easy for a boat to sneak into one of the unoccupied slips, especially if they weren’t staying long. Miranos was too small a concern, especially in this secondary port, to be sticklers about short-termers. Sooner or later, everyone needed a place to land.

But as soon as Dimitri reached the port, he realized his mistake. He saw the rover, but Lauren wasn’t standing on the dock, and she wasn’t in the lighted area of the bar either. More importantly, there weren’t any boats with Turkish lettering that he could see nosing up to the dock. The dock itself was more deserted than usual, and the boats looked as if they belonged there, all of them fishing craft. Probably anyone out to sea had stayed out, weathering the storm and putting in elsewhere now that the sun had set.

Still, where had Lauren gone? The small cove they’d visited earlier today was too tricky for any large boat to enter, though a dinghy could certainly navigate the shallow waters. But why take the extra chance? What had Lauren offered that had made it worth Smithson’s while to play the game...unless it was the game itself that had attracted him? She knew the man better than probably anyone did. What was she thinking?

Then his eyes returned to his rover. There was that spare gun locked beneath the seat—had she taken it?

He moved swiftly over to the side of the rover, leaning into the back of it. The box was there, apparently locked, but when he lifted it, he frowned—it was heavy. The gun remained inside. As he flipped the box on its side, though, he noticed the paper fluttering in the breeze.

Using his phone as a flashlight, he pointed it at the paper. Lauren’s script handwriting showed in the dim glow, stark and sure.

Please don’t worry about me. I’ve got this.

There was only one place she could’ve gone on foot. He headed for the cove at a dead run.