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Five
Aria lookedat the column of light cast by the moon on the water and tightened the blanket around her shoulders. It wasn’t exactly warm — the sand was cool enough for the cold to seep through her jeans — but compared to New York it wasbearable.
And worth braving to sit on thebeach.
They’d spent the afternoon getting settled at Locke’s. The house was a marvel of wood and glass balanced on the edge of a cliff. It reminded her of Capri, although there the water had crashed against the rocky cliff face. In La Jolla, the waves rolled onto the sandy beach of the private cove. It was gentle, minus the violence of the sea off the island where she’d been taken from Damian before Christmas. She remembered it now as anomen.
She should have known they’d find troublethere.
She set the memory aside, not because she couldn’t bear to think about Capri or her imprisonment in Greece, but because she’d made her peace with it to whatever degreepossible.
The life growing inside her demanded that she focus only on the present and the future — and that meant getting StefanoAnastos.
And thenMalcolm.
She'd been surprised and grateful to discover that Locke had a firing range on the property not unlike the one Damian had built in the basement of the Westchester house. An hour firing into the targets while Damian made plans with Locke and Cole had gone a long way to quieting her mind and preparing her for their trip toGreece.
And she was going to Greece. She didn’t know if Damian would try to talk her out of it or not, but it didn’tmatter.
She wasgoing.
“There youare.”
The voice came out of the darkness by the stairs and she looked up to find Damian stroll toward her across thesand.
“Here I am,” shesaid.
“Did I startle you?” he asked, resting a hand on the top of her head before lowering himself next toher.
She shook her head. Nothing startled heranymore.
“Good.” He looked at the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Is there room for me inthere?”
“Always.” She unwrapped one side of theblanket.
He opened his legs and patted the space between them. “I can offer you extra warmth if you’reinterested.”
She grinned. “Always.”
He lifted the blanket from her shoulders and she moved between his legs, leaning back against the solidity of his chest. He wrapped the blanket around his back, tucking the edges tight around her so she was cocooned in the warmth of the wool, his body like a fire against herback.
“It’s nice here,” hesaid.
“Itis.”
“It was the right move, coming toLocke.”
“You think so?” sheasked.
He nodded. “He’s got some ideas for flushing out Anastos inGreece.”
“That’s good,” she said. “Hopefully it won’t take long and we can move ontoMalcolm.”
Anastos was business — for both ofthem.
Malcolm waspersonal.
They watched the waves rolling onto the beach, receding back into the ocean with a frothysigh.
