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I smirked. “Good for you,” I muttered to myself. “Go and fuck your little brains out.”
The afternoon was growing late, the sun still high, but tilting toward the horizon. With a twinge of regret, I rolled up my towel and closed the umbrella before trudging back to the beach house Drake and I had shared for the last two weeks. The seemingly never-ending money with which Drake had financed our flight from America to Europe still boggled my mind. After living paycheck to three days before paycheck for my entire adult life, it was strange to go globe hopping, eating at fancy restaurants, and simply grabbing what I wanted at the store without bargaining with myself on what to leave behind. Do I get a can of tuna, or toilet paper? With Drake that problem was gone, along with so many others. One more reason that he’d become my true white knight hero, even if he was soaked in blood while saving me.
Despite knowing it had been the beach guy checking me out earlier, I still scanned the beach as I walked back to the house. Every person could be a suspect. I saw no eyes directed toward me. My worries put aside for once, I walked down the stone walkway that led to the house.
The building rose up from the dunes, whitewashed walls that shone so bright that it hurt my eyes to look at in direct sunlight. I’d never seen a house so white. The roof was covered in dark azure blue tiles; the whole place resembled the colors of the Greek flag. It was the nicest place I’d ever stayed in my life. A whirlpool hot tub sat right behind the nearest dune, under the porch, a spot Drake and I had frequented quite a bit the last few days.
No time for hot tub fun today. I was ready for a long hot shower, and dinner. After a long day of doing absolutely nothing, it was surprising how damned hungry I was. What I found inside sent thoughts of food flying from my mind.
Drake stood inside, waiting for me, a grin on his face. That smile sent shivers down my back.
“What?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“I have a surprise for you. Something I’ve been working on,” he answered, the grin turning to a full smile.
“Do I get to know this surprise now, or do I have to wait?”
“Go get dressed. You have to wait. I want to see your face.”
“This isn’t good enough?” I asked, gesturing to the bikini I wore.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll need something that’s a little sturdier.”
Interesting. Doing as he asked, I hurried to our room and put on a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. Drake waited for me at the front door, ready to lead me to the car he’d picked up when we arrived in Greece. A Porsche SUV that he’d bought with cash an hour after landing. I’d been too terrified of Interpol agents or maybe even CIA operatives jumping us to think about anything that first day in France. We’d taken the car through half of Europe the last few months, and honestly I still had a hard time believing this thing belonged to us.
Drake helped me into the car before climbing into the driver’s seat. “Ready?” he asked.
“I guess. This better be good. I was looking forward to some seafood and a roll in the hay.”
“Oh, it is,” he said, pulling the car out onto the road. “And don’t worry. I think we can take care of”—he glanced at me—”all your needs tonight.”
I had to pull in a steadying breath. There was something about Drake that always made my knees weak. Being away from the dangers in the playhouse had only increased that feeling. Without worrying about surviving day in and day out, it made it easier to see exactly what it was about him I enjoyed being around. The cocky confidence, the dark brooding and calm nature, and the way he seemed to always know what to do. He was everything I’d ever fantasized about when thinking of my perfect guy. It was part of what had made it easy for me to look past what went down in the playhouse.
The ritzy beachfront neighborhood gave way to a more commercial district. Boutique shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs. After that we cruised through a more tourist-oriented area. Resorts, more chain style restaurants, shops selling plastic Parthenon models. Drake continued to drive, though, bypassing all of this. At one point as he took an exit that angled even further away from the normal areas, I glanced over and found him grinning to himself.
“This must be really good. You look awfully proud of yourself,” I said.
“I am,” he admitted. “I took care of all the, um, details while you were down at the beach all day. It should be perfect.”
After twenty minutes of driving, Drake had taken us to what looked like an industrial park of some sort. A concrete service, delivery truck hubs, and other gray buildings passed. About the time I was going to ask again where we were going, he turned the car into what looked like an abandoned warehouse district. Most of the large metal buildings sat coated in rust, in various states of disrepair. He pulled up in front of one that looked particularly rough. Still intact, but ancient. The thing gave me a sudden sense of déjà vu. Nostalgia flooded me as I leaned forward to take the whole thing in. It looked a lot like the warehouse that had contained the playhouse. Though about a fifth the size of that massive monstrosity.
Finally, I looked at Drake. “What the fuck are we doing?”
He winked at me and grinned. “Let’s go. You’ll see soon.”
Chapter 2
Dahlia
My answer to what Drake had planned came soon after stepping into the warehouse. The front door was latched with a chain and padlock. Though, these two items looked far less aged than the rest of the building. In fact, they looked shiny and new, as if they’d been put on only a few hours before.
Drake unlocked the padlock, swung the chain aside, and opened the door. Inside, the building was shrouded in shadows and swirling moats of dust. The roof had a few holes rusted through it, and the last rays of the afternoon sunshine filtered through them as the only source of light.
The door clunked shut behind me as Drake closed it, unable to lock it again, he slid a crowbar through the handle and wedged it against the frame to keep it from opening again.
“If I didn’t know better,” I said, “I’d think you’d brought me here to do unspeakable things to me and leave my body in a ditch.”
“Very funny,” Drake said.
