“On your knees.”
Damen did not say a word, did not hesitate even for a millisecond. He simply got up from his chair and went down on his knees, uncaring of the scores of eyes that swung to him incredulously at his action.
Even when he had his billions at his disposal, Damen had not been able to uncover a single clue about Mairi’s whereabouts, and he knew the chances of finding Mairi had become slimmer the moment he lost access to his own wealth.
If begging was the only way to have a chance to see Mairi, then so be it.
Vilma also slowly came to her feet.
And then she took the glass of water from the table and threw it at Damen. “That’s for making my niece suffer and for not protecting her from almost being raped.”
~ Nine ~
Alina Kokinos felt suffocated by how crowded Miami’s airport was. It was her first time to find herself in such a situation. In the past, her family’s wealth had kept her from this. When their plane landed, there would always be a chauffeured car waiting on the grounds to whisk her off to wherever she wanted, with her passport and all travel documents processed while she remained in the comfort of the Kokinos jet.
But life was different now.
She was no longer an heiress, wasn’t even sure she had the right to use her family’s name now that she had been disinherited.
Craning her neck, she tried to search the crowd for a familiar face, but there was none. Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she re-read the anonymously sent message for the nth time.
If you would like to be the one to tell Damen Leventis where Mairi Tanner is, book a flight to Miami at this date and time. You will know then.
When Alina had received the message, she hadn’t paused to think. She had gambled the last of her money on the flight and left Greece – her first time to do so alone.
Now here she was, feeling like she had been the victim of a prank.
After all, it really did not make any sense. She really did not have anything to do with the rollercoaster affair between Damen Leventis and Mairi Tanner. She was simply a bystander, one who had won her freedom when they fell in love but found her heart enslaved when the two had parted and she saw a side to Damen Leventis that she thought she would never find in a Greek male.
Ten more minutes and then she was out of here, Alina told herself before moving to another section of the airport, closer to where passengers would come out once they got past immigration. Hundreds of people walked past her every minute, but she didn’t let it ruin her concentration, her forehead furrowed as she tried to look for—
Mairi Tanner.
She couldn’t be mistaken, could she?
Alina didn’t realize she had been walking towards the figure until she was just a few inches away. Alina whitened when a tall, good-looking man spoke to the girl. When the girl looked up, Alina inhaled sharply.
It really was her.
When the man left, Alina heard herself say, “You’re really here.”
****
From a short distance, Drake Morrison watched the drama unfold between the two women, events that he had orchestrated with skills he used as a tactician of war. In order to win, one had to be ready to suffer casualties, and in this case Drake had long known that it would be Mairi who had to suffer another blow. It was the only way for her to be truly free of Damen Leventis – to regain her self-respect.
Taking out his phone from his pocket, he took a snapshot of Mairi, making sure that enough of their surroundings were clear in the photo so that their location would be identified without difficulty. Drake emailed the photo to a popular Hollywood blogger.
Without taking his gaze from the two, he made another call, instructing some of his men to take care of his luggage and Mairi’s.
Afterwards, he strode back to Mairi and her new companion, intent on following through with his plan.
****
Mairi couldn’t believe her eyes. It was truly Alina Kokinos. The younger girl was as pretty and polished as she had always seemed, dressed in a plain but elegant short-sleeved cotton dress and flats. Alina looked innocent, Mairi thought with shame, in a way that Mairi no longer had a right to think of herself as.
Before either of them could speak again, Drake was back at her side, his arm curving around her waist. And then he was bending down, his mouth covering hers, every movement of his lips speaking of his desire for her.
There was no time for Mairi to react. She was so stunned by his actions that by the time she recovered from her shock, the kiss was over. Drake had straightened, but he remained at her side, quietly possessive and authoritative.
Alina was trembling in shock and anger. She couldn’t believe it. She just couldn’t believe it. Surely – surely Mairi knew what Damen was going through right now? Surely she was aware of how Damen was slowly going insane in his efforts to find her and yet here she was, clearly in the throes of a romantic tryst with another man?
“You are Alina Kokinos, aren’t you?”
Alina answered coldly, “Yes.”
Drake’s voice, however, was bland as he said, “If you have something to say to Mairi, I suggest we do this privately. We have a car waiting outside. You may speak with freedom there, while here…”
As the man’s voice trailed off, Alina belatedly became aware that they were attracting curious eyes. She didn’t think people recognized her yet, but it was only a matter of time. She nodded stiffly, her gaze carefully averted from Damen’s former fiancée. She was not normally this emotional, but she might just lose it if she looked at Mairi.
Drake stayed in the middle of the two women as they walked out of the airport. He immediately spotted Raymond, a short but stocky man who served with Drake in Afghanistan, leaning against a black Benz.
At the sight of Drake, Raymond moved fast, murmuring a polite greeting as he opened car doors. Alina and Mairi were ushered inside the backseat while Drake took the passenger seat next to Raymond.
The moment the door was slammed shut, Alina burst out fiercely, “How could you?”
Mairi reluctantly met the accusing gaze of the younger girl. The sensible part of her told Mairi she had nothing to be guilty for. But the other part of her, the one that was still numb with pain and love for a man who would never really trust her, that part of Mairi welcomed the anger from Alina. She felt like the accusation, the disgust and contempt in the other girl’s gaze was completely justified. Allowing Drake into her bed might not have been considered a gross mistake, but it had not been her best decision either.
And so to Alina, she said nothing.
How, Alina thought with furious tears rushing to her eyes, could Mairi Tanner make it feel like she was the one in the wrong for attacking when it was the other girl who had been playing around while Damen Leventis was practically existing only to seek her forgiveness?