Dark Avenger

‘I don’t know.’ She saw the gleam of anger in his eyes and she went on hurriedly, ‘Look, he was the only man I’ve ever slept with so I wouldn’t know whether he was any good or not. I mean, I wasn’t keeping score or awarding points like the Eurovision Song Contest, was I?’

‘Well, did you enjoy having sex with him?’ he persisted.

She bridled. Perhaps he was one of those peculiar people who got their kicks from talking about intimate things like that. The retort that sprang to her lips died as she remembered her promise and his threat.

‘Not particularly,’ she said in quiet embarrassment.

‘Then he must have been a bad lover.’ He smiled at her with condescension. ‘It couldn’t have been your fault. Beneath your cold exterior there are raging fires of passion awaiting liberation. I felt the heat for myself this afternoon.’

Once again she flushed as she recalled the way her body had responded to his deliberate provocation. Even in bed Victor had never made her heart race out of control like that. Nikos went on with his relentless questioning, ‘Is that why you left him? Because he was…unsatisfactory?’

‘No,’ she replied bitterly. ‘It turned out that I was only his Saturday-night girl.’

He gave a puzzled frown. ‘Saturday-night girl?’

‘Yes. I found out that he had one for Monday night and another for Thursday.’

He nodded in understanding. ‘He was being unfaithful?’

‘You could put it like that,’ she said, chancing a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Reaching for the bottle, he refilled her glass. ‘And there have been no other men since then?’

She looked at the glass. ‘Are you trying to get me drunk?’

‘Answer my question,’ he snapped.

Simmering quietly, she replied with dignity. ‘No. There haven’t been any other men.’ She paused then added, ‘You know the old saying: once bitten, twice shy.’

The fingers of his right hand drummed a slow tattoo on the table while he thought her answer over. They were strong, very competent-looking fingers, she noted. Perfectly manicured, the halfmoons translucent in light contrast to his darker skin. Finally he gave a decisive nod. ‘I have the feeling that you’re telling the truth, Carrie. You strike me as being open and honest.’

He’d be giving her a gold star and telling her to go to the top of the class in a minute, she thought. ‘Look,’ she began with a forced politeness, ‘would you mind telling me why you’re asking all these questions? I don’t see that my previous life has anything to do with you. I mean.. .why should it make any difference to you what kind of sex-life I’ve had?’

‘It matters considerably, Carrie.’ His eyes measured her dispassionately. ‘I wish to hurt your brother, make him suffer the same disgrace he has brought down on the heads of my family. If you were a person of loose moral behaviour, as he seems to be, he might simply shrug off your pregnancy as being of little consequence. Certainly nothing to feel disgraced about.’

The sheer cold-bloodedness of his reasoning was almost unbelievable. Recovering her breath, she looked at him with barely disguised contempt. ‘I suppose it’s your only regret that I’m not a virgin? That would really have made your day, wouldn’t it?’

He gave a dry, philosophic shrug. ‘A man can’t have everything. However, I want you to know that I have nothing against you personally, Carrie. In fact, I think I’m beginning to like you. You’re extremely attractive and, as I pointed out before, my mission here will be a pleasure instead of mere duty.’ He spread his hands in a gesture of mock-appeal. ‘Believe me when I say that I sympathise with your position but it isn’t my fault that you’re unfortunate enough to have a brother who doesn’t share your high moral scruples.’

The rumours she’d heard about him were true, then. If this was the way he treated people whom he liked then God help his enemies.

A sudden, suspicious thought crossed her mind. At first she dismissed it as highly improbable then she decided that any chance was better than none at all. There could be no harm in calling his bluff, if that was all it was.

‘I want to talk to my brother,’ she said calmly.

He gave a dark frown of displeasure. ‘That isn’t possible.’

‘Why?’ she demanded. ‘You said that he is being held by your cousins at some estate. I presume they have telephones there?’

He nodded. ‘Of course. But talking to him will do neither of you any good. Besides, at the moment he’s in an agony of suspense wondering what my plans are for you. For the moment I’d rather keep it that way.’

Once more she wondered how anyone could be so studiedly callous and in a cold voice she said, ‘Well, it’s like this, Mr Spirakis. You may be convinced of my honesty but I’m not entirely convinced about yours.’

His mouth tightened into a savage line of anger then he growled at her, ‘You doubt the word of a Spirakis? You’re treading on dangerous ground, Miss Stevens. I’d advise you to watch your step.’

‘You doubted my word,’ she retorted, ‘then you subjected me to a humiliating cross-examination. All I’m asking you to do is allow me to speak to my brother. If you refuse then how do I know that you’re telling me the truth about him—or anything else, for that matter? For all I know this whole thing could be a hoax—an elaborate scheme to put me out of business.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ He sounded bored. ‘What makes you think I’d be remotely interested in an insignificant operation like yours?’

She ignored the disparaging comment and stood her ground. ‘Then let me talk to Jimmy. If you really do have him then I at least have to know that he…that he’s still in good health. Perhaps you’ve already taken your revenge on him and I’m just the sweet after the main course. All I’ve heard from you so far are accusations and threats. I want to hear the truth from his own lips.’

Again he regarded her in thoughtful silence then he shrugged. ‘Very well. I’ll let you talk to him briefly. If that’s the only way to make you come to terms with the reality of your situation then so be it.’ He signalled to the waiter.

They both sat in tense silence until the waiter returned with a phone and a long extension cord which he plugged into a socket on the nearest wall.

Lifting the handset from the cradle, Nikos pushed the numbers, waited a moment then said quietly, ‘Andros? Fetch the Stevens boy. His sister wants to talk to him.’

He passed the handset across the table and she snatched at it eagerly. The instrument crackled in her ear for a few moments then she heard the breathless voice of her brother. ‘Sis? Is that you?’

‘Yes, Jimmy.’ She paused, afraid to trust her voice, then she took a deep breath. ‘Jimmy…are you all right?’

He sounded angry. ‘Sure. I’m fine. But what about you? Is Helen’s brother with you?’

She closed her eyes in relief that up to now he was unharmed.

‘Sis? You still there?’

‘Yes, Jimmy. And yes—her brother is here.’

‘Listen, you tell him from me that if he lays one finger on you I’ll…I’ll—’

She cut him short. ‘Don’t worry about me. I can look after myself.’ She hoped her voice sounded convincing enough.

There was an awkward pause then he said quietly, ‘Look…I was going to tell you about Helen. You’ve got to believe that, Sis. As soon as I found out about her condition I was coming back to the Miranda to tell you but these goons just bundled me into the back of a car.’

Her heart felt heavy as lead. ‘Then it’s true about you and her? She’s really going to have your child?’

‘Yes, it’s true. I’m going to be a father.’ There was another embarrassed silence then he tried to make light of it. ‘I guess it isn’t the time to be passing around the cigars, though. Now let me talk to that brother of hers.’

A steel band seemed to be tightening around her chest and she handed the phone back to Nikos. ‘He…he wants to talk to you.’

Nikos held the phone for a moment between finger and thumb then he dropped it carelessly back into the cradle, cutting the connection.

‘You might at least have listened to what he was going to say,’ she flared.

‘Listen to excuses…pleas for mercy? It’s too late for that now.’ He signalled to the waiter, who came over and removed the phone.

She held her tongue as Stavros, the hotel owner, came over and grinned at Nikos. ‘The accommodation you asked for is ready and the clothes you ordered have arrived.’