Page 58 of The Boss

“No one is allowed to touch you but me.”

He wanted me to take that at face value. I had no idea what to make of it.

“Just remember he works for you. He has your back.”

His look of anger remained. “Yes, he does. If I had to remind him again, he won’t any longer.”

“You’re so uptight.”

“I have reason to be.” He took a deep breath, closing and rubbing his eyes briefly. “I had Eleni pack some of your things.”

“Why?” My muscles were instantly tense.

“Because we’re going on a short trip.”

“With every one of your men?”

“No. Just us. We need to spend time in private. We leave in five minutes.”

Private. With him. He wasn’t interested in telling me how dangerous the situation truly was. While I needed to know, a part of me was fearful of what I’d learn.

As he walked away, I remained right where I was. How many times had I told myself I couldn’t care about him under any circumstances? Enough I’d almost begun to believe it, but the thought of spending time alone with him excited every single part of the woman inside.

For all the things I’d been terrified of, that frightened me more than all of them.

“Oh, hell, no,” I told him, jerking out of his grip. He was leading me toward a small plane. He’d mentioned we would be flying, but I didn’t think he meant inside a tin can no bigger than my father’s SUV.

He stopped short, openly laughing.

At me.

“You’re afraid of flying?” he asked.

“I’m afraid of dying and I’m pretty certain that’s what will happen if I get inside that little… thing. One person couldn’t fit inside that piece of steel and plastic.”

“This thing is a Cessna 172 Skyhawk four-person seat aircraft.”

“So what about the pilot?”

“Just trust me,” he insisted.

“I’ll throw up.”

“There are bags if you do.”

“Can it fly that distance? Wait a minute. Where the hell are we going anyway?”

Dimitrios lifted his sunglasses, squinting from the bright sun. “We’re going to the island. Corfu Island?”

“Your other home.” A trickle of excitement countered the anxiety. But only briefly.

“Yes, now come on.” He grabbed me by the hand, intertwining our fingers. He had our two suitcases in one hand as he led me toward the plane.

The mobile stairs were already in position and they looked about as rickety as the plane itself. As we got closer, I truly did think I would lose what little was in my stomach. When we were directly by the stairs, he cocked his head.

“There’s nothing to be scared about. Go ahead. Climb inside. We have a beautiful day for a flight.”

“You are crazier than I thought,” I told him and the man just grinned. I was terrified and he just grinned like some loon? As horrified as I was of the prospect, I did as I was told, my legs shaking the entire time.

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