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“Help is coming.” Mick put a hand on Pat’s shoulder.
The next hour was a blur of police and first responders, locals alerted to trouble by the lights, and media coverage. Raegan and Paige arrived in the middle of it, with Hank and his wife showing up a few minutes later. Huddled behind one of the police cars, their group was silent, watching the rescue effort turn into more of a recovery effort since there was no sign of Loren anywhere on the cliff. Even with a helicopter shining a spotlight, he’d simply vanished, ostensibly into the sea.
By the time statements were taken and personal information collected, Loren’s body was found on the shore, his neck broken from the fall. Apollo graciously offered to go with Mick and Pat to identify the body, so he could translate as necessary, and it was nearly dawn before Pat returned to his hotel and Mick and Apollo got back to the villa. They fell into a deep, exhausted sleep and Mick didn’t move again until Lena’s warm body pressed against his.
“How did you get here?” he murmured, pulling her close.
“Airplane,” she whispered, nestling into him. “It’s only eleven. You can go back to sleep.”
“No.” His eyes opened and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You got here quick.”
“I was on the 7:00 a.m. flight and Raegan picked me up.”
“Mihalis with your parents?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry I have to drag you into this nightmare of my life.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’ll always be here for you.”
“I’m flying to San Francisco as soon as the police say I can leave,” he said quietly. “My father and I have to talk.”
She met his gaze. “Do you want me to come?”
“It probably won’t be comfortable, but I’d feel better having you at my side.”
“And Mihalis?”
He hesitated. “Can you legally take him out of the country?”
“Things happened in Athens yesterday too,” she smiled. “My father met with Giorgios and his parents. They agreed to sign over custody for fifty thousand Euros.”
“I can wire the money straight to his account.”
“It’ll take a while for the adoption to go through but since he’s still the guardian, I think Giorgios can sign something giving me permission to take Mihalis to the U.S.”
“I want to get this over with as soon as possible—is that okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I love you, Lena.”
“I love you too.”
Preparing for the trip to San Francisco took nearly a week, but a week after Loren’s death Mick, Lena and Mihalis stepped out of a rental car in front of Mick’s family’s sprawling estate just outside of San Francisco. They’d arrived in town last night, gotten a good night’s sleep at a hotel and had come to the Laughlin home first thing this morning.
“Meyalo!” Mihalis breathed in awe. Big.
“It’s very big,” Lena responded in Greek. “Do you remember what I taught you to say in English?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Is very… nice… to met you?”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” she corrected slowly.
He said it right the second time and she kissed his cheek.
“Ready?” Mick asked, scooping Mihalis into his arms.
