Chapter 49

Nicki stared in wonder as they pulled into port. The yacht was greeted by a small army of workers who marched out of a bright-white boathouse and trotted down an equally white boardwalk to greet their ship. The entire mini marina appeared freshly scrubbed, and as Stefan handed her off the boat, she squinted at him.

"No one lives on this island but the royal family and their guests? It's literally a private island? And they own it? Like…they own it, own it?"

Stefan glanced at her, his face looking a little bemused. "Technically, the country of O?ros owns it, but it's in the royal family's name, yes. For use as they see fit, whether for guests or extended members of the family." His lips quirked. "If you stay in O?ros for any length of time, however, you'll find the family extends…quite a long way."

"But all of these people?—"

Stefan cut off her confusion. "The island isn't all that isolated. We are actually not too distant from a larger island with a robust fishing village—Miranos, home of Dimitri Korba's family. The staff for Asteri draws heavily from Miranos—and supplies are shipped over weekly when guests are in residence."

"But they don't live here." Nicki shook her head. The island was everything she could imagine in a tropical paradise—lush vegetation peeking from high cliffs that surrounded impossibly tranquil turquoise waters. Beyond the boathouse, a manicured road wound off into a thick overhang of trees. "No one lives here permanently."

"They could if they wanted," Stefan shrugged, as if deciding whether or not to live on a remote Greek isle was an everyday occurrence. "Most of them prefer the community of Miranos. There is a staff who stay onsite, primarily when there are?—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. When there are guests on the island."

More voices sounded behind them, and they turned to see Ari emerge on the deck. Stefan had wanted them already off the boat when Ari saw the dock for the first time, and he observed the prince keenly as Tamas escorted him to the gangplank. Ari appeared happy, animated, and not at all familiar with the location.

Beside her, Stefan tilted his head. "I don't know anything about memory loss or the effect of a concussion on the brain. He doesn't appear to be damaged otherwise, but…it's impossible to tell."

"He doesn't recognize anything, but he's not upset about that," Nicki said. "That has to help, right?"

"One would hope. We've arranged for three different specialists to examine him, once we have the island equipped with the proper scanning devices."

Nicki blinked. "You're shipping a cat scan machine here? To the family's pleasure island?"

"There's a fully outfitted medical facility here. For the immediate future, the family would prefer not to let Ari's condition be revealed to anyone. O?ros is a small country, but our media is persistent. Especially when it comes to the royal family. In the end, the cost of shipping equipment and personnel is far less onerous than enduring a twenty-four-seven newsreel on the health of the crown prince."

"Fair enough." Nicki let her smile broaden when Ari joined them on the dock. He stared around in appreciation, then grinned at Stefan.

"You have friends in high places, Stefan," he said, speaking flawless English. Nicki hadn't let drop that she could speak O?rois yet. She wanted to keep that her little secret for the discernible future. "But I'm not about to believe I do. What is this place?"

"A private island—Asteri," Stefan said, watching Ari with deceptive ease. "How much do you remember of the Aegean?"

"Standing here right now? Not a damned thing." Ari shook his head ruefully. "I know my name, that I was flying on a job—but not for who. I think I know how to pilot a plane, but I wouldn't want to get behind the controls unassisted anytime soon."

Nicki laughed. "Well, then at least your sense of personal safety isn't impaired."

They turned toward the main drive as a car cruised to a stop and Stefan started walking. Ari and Nicki followed behind him, and Nicki had to force herself not to catalog Ari's every move. It's not as if she knew what she was looking for. Ari could start quacking like a duck and she wouldn't know if that even meant anything.

"Who will we be meeting?" Ari asked, a note of apprehension creeping into his voice. "I assume—my family?"

"Not at first," Stefan said, and Nicki didn't miss the flash of relief on Ari's face. "I'm afraid you'll have to go through a battery of medical tests before anything else."

"Here?" Ari asked doubtfully. "This looks like a resort island."

Nicki snorted. "Once again, nothing wrong with your powers of observation. But yeah, here. As it turns out, really good doctors don't seem to have an issue with house calls to islands. I can't say I blame them."

They piled into the SUV and Nicki peered at the driver, disappointed it wasn't Dimitri Korba. But then, she supposed that made sense. Dimitri was Ari's best friend. Chances were good that seeing him would trigger some sort of memory event, and until they understood where Ari was in the recovery process, it made sense to go slow.

Conversation continued as the SUV wound its way through the lush forest, definitely heading uphill. "I have a feeling we're going to have one hell of a view when we're done, aren't we," Nicki put in, and Stefan's glance was amused.

"It's a favorable one," he said.

"And beaches too, I suspect? But a long way down." Ari peered out at the heavy forest but showed no sign of familiarity with the place.

"There is a beach below the main house, but it's a fair distance—there's an access road to it and I believe a zip line now."

Nicki turned to stare at Stefan. "A…zip line?"

He smiled back at her, lifting his brows, but just then, the trees gave way and they rolled into the bright sunshine once more. The lawn spread before them and Nicki's eyes bugged out as she took in the royal family's compound—a large white villa with several tiers, and multiple additional villas and buildings scattered over the grass. From her viewpoint, the Mediterranean sun reflected off no fewer than three pools, and fountains lined the crisp white stone walkways.

"Wow," Nicki breathed, but when Ari didn't respond beside her, she turned to glance at him. Stefan had turned as well from the passenger seat.

"Ryker?" Stefan asked. "Everything okay?"

"What? Oh—yes. Yes, of course." Still, Ari sat forward as they approached the building compound. "I remember seeing this place—I'm sure of it. Not from the ground, though." He frowned, glancing upward. "I must have flown over this section of the island at some point. That's possible, isn't it?"

"Eminently possible," Stefan said crisply. "I'd be surprised if you hadn't, really. It's not on the commercial airlines flight path, but for smaller craft it's completely reasonable." He turned back forward as the vehicle rolled to a stop. "We'll be staying in the main house, if that's acceptable." Without waiting for a response, he continued. "We'll have a medical team here as quickly as possible. By tomorrow morning, I expect."

Ari swung out of the car, then eyed Stefan with the first hint of doubt. "I really don't want to put you to all this trouble. I—if I have work, a life, I should be getting back to it."

"It's a precaution for everyone." Stefan lifted a hand. "Nicki and I are also getting full medical workups tomorrow, so we're stuck here, anyway. You, of course, are not obligated to be examined. But if you wanted to rule out any physiological reasons for your amnesia, it would be best."

Ari's smile was wry. "As in, perhaps my skull got cracked in the wreck? Probably not a bad idea." He shook his head. "I don't remember a hell of a lot from the time before they picked me up in the nature preserve. And what little I once thought I knew—it's gone now. That happened a few months back, the memories of the time immediately after the crash fading away into the same blank soup as the rest of my history."

Stefan froze, but he kept his voice calm enough. "You've lost other memories?"

"No—I don't think so. Only that period between the wreck and the park. I…I don't know. I could have been drunk, hurt worse than I thought—high on something, I don't know. I picked up food and a boat but otherwise…it's simply sort of faded."

Stefan looked like he wanted to say something more, but he gestured them all into the house instead. A group of smiling men and women greeted them, all dressed in casual uniforms—shifts or pants sets for the women, khakis and polos for the men. Stefan waved Ari along. "We'll serve a late dinner on the veranda, if you'll join us?"

Ari snorted. "I'll check my schedule." He gave them a jaunty salute, then ambled off down the hallway. The rest of the house remained as still as a tomb.

Stefan turned toward her. "Brace yourself," he murmured. "The family is waiting for us in the sitting room. We've been monitored since we boarded the SUV."