Dani nodded, her throat tightening. “And Carlos?”
Maria hesitated. Then, quietly, “He’s one of Stuart’s men too. Been working security on and off for him for years.”
A bitter laugh slipped from Dani’s lips, jagged and empty. She turned away, staring out at the boats bobbing in the marina. Sunlight danced across the rippling water—mockingly cheerful.
“Does he know where I am?” she asked, her voice slightly uneven. “Alexandros?”
Maria didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.
Dani looked down at the paper bag again, the sandwich now a symbol of everything she couldn’t avoid. Her hands trembled as she held it out to Maria.
“Here. You eat it.”
“Dani…”
“I’m not angry,” she murmured. “Just… tired. Tired of pretending everything’s fine. Tired of holding myself together with duct tape and lies…
Maria’s eyes searched hers, worry creasing her brow. “Where are you going?”
Dani collected her tools, picked up her tool bag, and slung it over her shoulder with practiced ease. Her body was on autopilot, but her heart had already made the choice.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like you to hang out here for a while. If-if Alexandros shows up, tell him I’ll meet him where we started.”
Maria’s brows drew together. “Where you started?”
Dani nodded. “Trust me—he’ll know.”
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked down the workshop aisle, boots echoing against the concrete like the slow beat of a war drum.
The sun hit her face as she stepped outside. Salt air filled her lungs, clearing her head.
She spotted Yiorgos, the old fisherman who always let her borrow his boat when he didn’t need it.
“Need a lift,koukla?” he asked, eyeing her bag.
She smiled faintly. “Yeah. If you don’t mind.
He nodded toward his boat. “Hop in. It is a beautiful day to be on the water. Add in a beautiful woman, and my life is complete!”
Dani laughed and climbed into the boat, her heart pounding louder than the engine as it rumbled to life.
She dropped her tool bag onto the deck and sat down on the bench seat in front of the center console as Yiorgos chatted and idled the boat into the channel. In the distance, Dani could see where the yacht—his yacht—was anchored. Waiting.
She didn’t know what she would say when she saw him again. She didn’t know what he would do.
But she knew one thing.
She was done hiding.
Even if it broke her.
She was going to face the man she loved and all her demons.
And the best place to do it was where they began.
The salty wind hit Alexandros the moment he stepped out of the SUV, his eyes narrowing against the glare bouncing off the Aegean. The marina bustled with the usual hum of fishermen and tourists, but Alexandros moved through it like a force of nature—focused, sharp, barely leashed.
Nikos, Theo’s steely-eyed man, was already waiting at the edge of the dock. Luca, one of Demetrius’s guys, stood just behind him, arms folded, face unreadable. Both straightened the moment they saw him.
