Admiral Prokopios had just let Nikos know—in the kindest way, of course—that though his military service was over, the family business was waiting to embrace him again. Of course, the older man knew nothing about Nikos’s history with his father, or he would never have said what he did.
Until after Nikos was born and turned out to be a Vassalos, after all, his father hadn’t believed he was his son, all because of a rumor that turned out to have no substance. The experience had turned him into a bitter, intransigent man. The damage inflicted on the Vassalos marriage carried over to the children, and had blighted Nikos’s life.
The navy turned out to be his escape from an impossible situation. But ten years later it was back in triplicate.
He was thirty-two years of age, and everything was over.
Sorrow weighed him down at the loss of Kon Gregerov. Nikos’s best friend from childhood, who’d come from a wonderful family on nearby Oinoussa Island, had joined the navy with him. The man had been like a brother, and had helped keep Nikos sane and grounded during those tumultuous years while he fought against his father’s domination, among other things.
He and Kon had plans to go into their own business together once they’d retired from the military, but his friend had been blown up in the explosion that almost killed Nikos.
It should have been me.
“I’m sorry you were forced to leave Providenciales unexpectedly to perform your last covert operation. So when you’re ready, we’ll send you back there for more rest and relaxation.”
Nikos’s stomach muscles clenched at the mere mention of Providenciales. That experience had been like a fantastic dream, one he’d relived over and over on those nights in the hospital when he wasn’t suffering flashbacks. To go back there again without her would kill him. After what had happened to him, there could be no Stephanie Walsh in his life. He was going in another direction entirely.
“Nikos?” the vice admiral prodded.
“Thank you for the kind offer, but I’d rather recuperate at home.”
“If that’s your wish.”
“It is.”
“Then I’ll say goodbye for now. Be assured I’m mighty proud of you. Good luck.”
They saluted before he left the room. Moments later one of the hospital staff entered with a wheelchair. As Nikos sat down, his parents swept into the room. They’d been constant visitors, but they hovered until he felt he would choke.
“Darling!” his mother exclaimed, and hugged him before carrying his crutches for him. “You look wonderful despite your weight loss. Once we get you home, we’ll fatten you up in no time. Your grandparents are elated and your sister and Timon have already arrived with the children to welcome you back.”
“This is a great day, son.” His exultant father embraced him before reaching for his luggage. “Leon’s eager to talk business with you.”
Nikos had no intention of working in the family business like his elder brother, and his father knew it. But his dad never let up about anything, and it had driven a wedge between them that couldn’t be breached. However, now wasn’t the time to get into it. The three of them moved out of the room and down the corridor.
“How did it go with Eugenio?”
As if his father didn’t know. “Fine.”
They emerged from the main doors of the hospital under a blue sky. Once they were settled inside the limousine, his father said, “We’ve been waiting for this day. So has Natasa. She and her parents will be joining us tomorrow evening for a small party.”
Nikos’s anger flared. “Then uninvite them. You might as well know that after tonight, I’ll be living on the Diomedes while I get my strength back.” He was sick of visitors and hospital staff. He needed to be completely alone and didn’t want anyone to know his activities. His boat would be his refuge from now on.
“You can’t do that to us or to her!” his father thundered. “You’ve put this situation with Natasa on hold for long enough. A marriage between the two of you has been understood for years. She’s expecting it now that you’re home for good. Your mother and I want you to give us grandchildren. We’ve waited long enough.”
Their families had been best friends for years. His sister, Gia, and Natasa Lander had always been close. It had been an impossible situation he’d been happy to get out of when he’d joined the military.
“Then that’s a pity, because I never made love to her or asked her to marry me. She should have moved on years ago.” She was attractive enough and would have made a good wife and mother, but he’d never been on fire for her. Thank heaven he hadn’t made the mistake of sleeping with her. After meeting Stephanie, the thought of Natasa or any another woman was anathema to him. “Now that I’m out of the hospital, I need to go my own way.”
“But that’s absurd! She’s in love with you.”
“It’s a moot point, since I’m not in love with her and never have been. Any hope you had for me marrying her is out of the question. I’m deadly serious about this.”
His father’s cheeks grew ruddy with emotion. “You don’t know what you’re saying!”
“But I do. Natasa is a lovely person, but not the one for me.” Unless she had an agenda of her own, there was something wrong with her for waiting around for him this long. “At this point I’m afraid a marriage between the two of us is only a figment of your and her parents’ imagination.”
“How dare you say that!” his father muttered furiously.
“How dare you?” Nikos retorted back. “You’ll be doing her a favor if you tell her and her family that I’m not well enough to see anyone now. Hopefully, they’ll finally get the point! Don’t turn this into a nightmare for me or you’ll wish you hadn’t!”
Nikos had suffered too many of them since the fishing vessel with all the surveillance equipment, along with Kon, had been blown out of the water by the enemy. If Nikos hadn’t happened to be over the side, checking the hull for damage because of a run earlier in the day, he wouldn’t still be alive.
As it was, he’d been found unconscious in the water. The doctors at the hospital hadn’t given him a chance of walking again due to the damage to his lower spine, but they’d been proved wrong. He’d come out of it with deep bruising and reduced mobility. No one could say how much he would heal with time.
“We can discuss this later,” his mother said, always anxious to mollify his father. For as long as Nikos could remember, she’d tried to keep peace between them. Though he loved her for it, the ugly history with his father had dictated that certain things would never change....
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
His military career was over. Life as he’d known it was over. Nikos was living for the moment when he could be away from everyone. Both his parents crowded him until he felt stifled, but he knew he had to endure this until tomorrow morning.
He’d already made arrangements with Yannis, who would come to the house and drive him to the marina in Nikos’s car. Once on board the Diomedes, he intended to stay put. Drinking himself to death sounded better and better.
Silence invaded the vehicle until they reached the small airport in Athens. Nikos took a fortifying breath as he stepped out and reached for his crutches to board his father’s private jet. The steward knew him well and nodded to him. “Welcome home, Nikos.”
“Thank you, Jeno.”
“Are you hungry?”
“No.”
“Some tea?”
“How about a beer?”
The other man smiled. “Coming right up.”
Nikos