swore or answered back. And she sure as hell never made threats. What had happened to his sister?
Again a reprise echoed in his head—of his own headstrong argument with his father, his own defiance that had led to such destruction. Recklessness and impulsive action like this led to chaos and calamity. The last thing he wanted was for her to suffer a lifetime of guilt and regret. He knew too well how heavy that burden was.
‘It doesn’t matter who it was,’ she followed up firmly. ‘He didn’t seduce me. I was a fully willing participant. I made the mistake, Giorgos. And I need to fix it. Tell Prince Xander I’m sick. Tell him I ran away. Tell him anything you like. But I’m not marrying him. I’m not coming back. Not yet. Not till I’ve sorted it out.’
Shock at her rebellion almost made him stagger. ‘Are you with him now?’
‘I’m not marrying him either,’ Eleni said.
Giorgos muttered a series of swearwords through gritted teeth. She was so damn naive.
‘This child is mine. Pure Nicolaides,’ she said. But then her tone softened to include the gentle plea he’d rarely been able to resist. ‘And please don’t blame Tony for losing track of me. It wasn’t his fault.’
‘Your protection officer has no idea where you’ve gone. He’s clearly incompetent. He has been dismissed.’
‘But it’s not his fault.’ Eleni’s voice rose, returning to that uncharacteristic tone of opposition. ‘I told him—’
‘Lies,’ Giorgos snapped. ‘But it is his fault that he lost track of you. His employment is not your concern.’
‘But—’
‘You should have thought through the consequences of your actions, Eleni. There are ramifications for all the people of Palisades.’
He closed his eyes again. This hurt so much. He needed to make her see sense and stop this foolishness before even more damage was done.
‘How do I stop a scandal here, Eleni?’ he asked as gently as he was able, making himself focus on her and not his own tortured past.
The past he could not change. But the future? That he could help to forge. He would care for his sister however he could. He owed her that, given it was his fault she had no father.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said dully. ‘I take full responsibility. I’ll be in touch when I can.’
Giorgos kept his back to the man in the room long after she’d ended the call, realising how close he was to losing her. That simply was not an option. His sister was all that remained of his family and he’d vowed to protect her—and their family name.
‘His name is Damon Gale...’ his head of security ventured quietly.
Giorgos drew in a deep breath before turning to take on the battle.
‘Everything,’ he said firmly. ‘I need to know every last thing about him. I want all records of him entering and exiting the country. I want to know who he is and what he does—down to what he has for breakfast and what detergent he uses. I want everything. Nothing is too small or too trivial to know.’
‘We’re already putting together a dossier.’
‘I want it in less than an hour.’ He wanted it now.
‘Yes, sir.’
Alone once more, Giorgos paced the room as he waited for the vital information to arrive. How had this man got to Eleni? When had he had the chance to seduce her? He’d arranged a perfectly suitable engagement. She would be going from this palace to another nearby. And she’d been pleased—hadn’t she? She’d always understood the expectations of her.
He turned as his security chief finally re-entered the room fifteen minutes later.
‘We’ve been running all palace footage through facial recognition software,’ he started.
‘And?’ Giorgos prompted him curtly.
‘It seems Mr Gale was a guest at last month’s hospital ball.’
‘The hospital ball?’
Giorgos was so surprised he dumbly repeated the man’s statement. But then he looked at the open laptop the man had carried in. There, frozen on the screen, was proof that this Damon Gale had breached the gates of Giorgos’s own damn palace.
A series of four images had been captured from the security footage. The ball—a masquerade—was an annual fundraiser for the hospital, and yet Damon Gale hadn’t bothered with a mask even then. He’d walked in with one woman, but had then been caught on camera promenading in the ballroom with another. A tall, slender woman in blue—and even with the mask and the wig she wore Giorgos knew it was his sister.
So the arrogant jerk had seduced Eleni in her own home, under Giorgos’s very nose. He’d had the gall to ditch his date while he went princess-hunting.
Giorgos looked back at the first image and could hardly focus for the fury rising through him at the sight of Damon’s date. She too wore no mask, and she was stunning. There was pretty and then there was beautiful, and Giorgos had met plenty of both—models, actresses, heiresses—enough to be jaded...spoilt, even. But this was a woman in another league altogether.
Both serene and haughty, while subtly flaunting her sexy curves, her brunette hair was long and thick and hung in a seductive swathe to the narrow waist that was the cinch between her bountiful breasts and curvaceous hips. But even though she had the ultimate hourglass figure, it was her face that was utterly arresting—the pure symmetrical beauty of her wide eyes, upturned nose and pillowy pouting lips.
She was indisputably, classically perfect. Every inch of her spoke of femininity and sensuality. Her undeniably exquisite features meant she’d be a woman who understood her power and her worth. The dress she’d chosen emphasised that fact—it covered, yet clung, and he knew she’d deliberately chosen it to emphasise every killer curve.
A hot rage brewed deep in Giorgos’s belly—he was familiar with beautiful women who toyed with men. Who betrayed them. But why had Damon Gale left her side to target Eleni?
‘Get me a print-out of this picture,’ he snapped.
‘Of Mr Gale?’
‘Of them both. Who is she?’
Why had this man gone to seduce Giorgos’s innocent younger sister when he’d walked in with this woman? What part did this...this vixen...have to play in it?
‘Her name is Kassiani Marron. She’s known as Kassie and she works at the hospital.’
‘My hospital?’ Giorgos tensed as his fury burned hotter. ‘So she brought him to the palace?’
‘Actually, Mr Gale held the invitation. She accompanied him.’
Giorgos drew in a sharp breath. She was Damon Gale’s date—he’d asked her to attend with him yet set his sights on Eleni? Giorgos was stunned. This woman held such sexual allure...
‘Ms Marron is Mr Gale’s half-sister,’ the officer added. ‘She is the illegitimate daughter of John Gale, Damon’s father, an American diplomat.’
So she was Damon’s half-sister—family. Of course. It made sense. She was the feminine feline equivalent of her predatory brother. Scalding hot satisfaction rushed through Giorgos’s system, flooding his rage and turning into another emotion altogether. An emotion he had no inclination—and no time—to define.
He narrowed his gaze on her image and tried to process the revelation rationally. The vixen would have information. The vixen would have answers. The vixen would pay. Adrenalin charged his system like a lightning bolt of electricity, empowering his drive and focus.
He whipped his head up to glare at the