Ari swallowed. She should protest. She’d be even more indebted to him if she allowed him to pay off her mother’s debts, but… It would buy some time. She could figure this out with a reprieve.
The man who wasn’t armed reached out to snatch the envelope of cash, but Zervou must have held fast, creating what would have looked like some kind of foolish tug of war if Zervou were anyone else.
Instead, he looked down at the man with cold, direct eyes, power emanating from him like a visible entity. “You will not come back here.”
The man tugged on the envelope again, but it didn’t come free. “If there are no more debts—”
“You misunderstand me. Do not extend credit to people who cannot pay, and there will be no more debts. You will not come back here. If you do, the Sakkos family will have a very formidable enemy. I don’t think either of us wants that.”
The man with the gun snorted. “Listen—”
“Oh no, my friend. It is you who will listen. And I suggest you run it by your bosses before you decide to make an enemy out of Zervou Kritikos.”
The name seemed to shock both men. They exchanged a look. One cleared his throat. The other spoke. Deferentially at that.
“Understood, Mr. Kritikos.”
Zervou finally let go of the envelope, and the two men skittered off like Zervou had invoked some kind of potential curse upon them.
Should she be concerned that his name spoken to the toughs of Corfu could be invoked like a curse?Yes. Obviously.
He stood there like something as threatening as a curse. His expression vaguely amused as he studied her there, leaning against her door.
She could only stare at him as her heart rate slowly returned to normal. As the adrenaline that had rushed through her started to fade. Suddenly she was just tired. Bone-deep weary.
“Do you always carry a wad of cash around?” she asked. “I wouldn’t recommend it in this neighborhood, even with your fancy security detail.”
He said nothing to this, and everything inside of her deflated. No, he didn’t carry cash around. Of course not. His arrival wasn’t happenstance or him coming to talk more about his proposition. It was a plan.
He’d known. “You knew.”
He said nothing still, but it was clear. He’d somehow known these men had come to shake her down. And he’d come with the money because that would mean she would owe him. She would have to take his deal, whether she wanted to or not.
She should have known it was all an act. This idea she had choice. “I suppose I’m indebted to you now.”
“It appears that way.” He moved closer, his eyes on her face, narrowed. Studying her with such an intensity she found herself holding her breath with every step closer he took. His mouth curved down into a frown. “You have a split lip.” His thumb brushed gently just under where her lip throbbed, causing a new kind of throb to begin low in her stomach.
It took her a moment to breathe through the bolt of heat, this strange vibrating inside of her. She had to be made of tougher stuff than melting at a man’s unwanted touch.
Is unwanted the word you’re looking for here?
“It wasn’t from them,” she said, ignoring her traitorous thoughts. “Bumps and bruises are part of my job.”
He made a considering sound, while his thumb lingered there at the corner of her mouth. Gentle.
Erotic.
She tried to focus on the pain from her practice rather than the unraveling pleasure in him standing this close, looking at her that intently, touching her no matter how innocently.
Innocent? Zervou?
Yeah, definitely not the right word. But she was a fighter. She wouldn’t take these blows without some of her own.
“I have demands.” She lifted her chin. She knew how to fight even when she lacked every advantage. She knew how to pretend there was anything left in the tank, even when there wasn’t. Because right now, what she really wanted to do was curl up in her bed and cry.
Too bad.
He held her gaze. She could read nothing in his expression. But when he spoke, there was a strange softness in his tone that she could not categorize.
