“Stavros? Thank you for letting me search for Darren with you. I appreciate everything you’ve done, not only for me, but for him. You’re a remarkable man.” He was a lot more than that. She needed to turn off her feelings for him. They were spinning out of control.
“Don’t give me any credit,” he said. “I have just as much at stake here as you. And how long it’s taking to find him is convincing me he’s more clever than I realized.” His hand went to his watch. “I’m setting my alarm so we’ll have time to grab some breakfast at one of the cafés first thing in the morning.” Andrea watched him pull out his phone. “I’m going to leave a message for the lieutenant about our plans for tomorrow. Then it’s lights out.”
She turned off her flashlight while she listened. In a minute, he shut the big light off and stretched out on his back with only one blanket pulled over him. He put his hands behind his dark head. “You’re a very trusting woman to be out in the forest with me.”
“I know the important things,” she came back readily. “I did my research and learned that the Konstantinos Corporation enjoys an excellent reputation far and wide for the quality of their products and their fair dealings. The fact that you cared enough to look for Darren on your own time when you didn’t have to says a lot about your character.”
His compassion and understanding of her loss had really been the things that told her he could be trusted. But she refrained from sharing that with him.
“I’d rather talk about your character, Andrea. No one would expect you to have joined in the search. I’m touched that you would tell me about your harrowing experience waiting to hear news of your fiancé.”
She stirred restlessly. “I couldn’t just stand by this time. You’d be surprised how many searches I’ve gone on in the past.”
“What do you mean?”
“Living in some of the third-world areas meant helping out in a crisis at a moment’s notice. In some ways, it was easier to find someone’s lost son or daughter from a remote village than to track down a teen like Darren who wants to be lost in a country as modern and sophisticated as Greece. With money he could be anywhere doing anything. His poor parents must be frantic.”
Stavros turned on his side. “Has this happened before on one of the tours?”
“There’ve been a few serious health issues, but no one ever left in the middle of a tour before. Georgios has been with PanHellenic fifteen years and said he’s never had someone disappear on him.”
“It’s a bizarre situation, one we can’t solve tonight.”
“You’re right. Good night, Stavros.” She rolled onto her side away from him.
“Kalinychta, despinis.”
His silky voice permeated her body, as if it had found a home. The sensation shocked her before oblivion took over.
* * *
The alarm awakened Stavros at six thirty. He hadn’t wanted the night to end and was surprised he’d slept. Probably knowing he’d be with her first thing in the morning was the reason he’d fallen off fast. For the first time since he could remember, a woman had come into his life who excited him in inexplicable ways.
Andrea was still asleep, her shiny blond hair splayed around her. He could still feel her wrapped in his arms in the cave. Between that memory and the intensity of those blue eyes fastened on him last night, it was all he could do not to move closer and draw her into his body. But until the boy was found, he needed to focus on matters that could have an adverse impact on everyone involved.
He packed up and started putting everything in the Jeep. When he went back for the hamper, he discovered Andrea had awakened and was rolling up the bedroll.
“Good morning, Stavros.” Her smile filled his body with warmth. “How long have you been up?”
“A few minutes.”
“Don’t tell me if I snore. Some things are better not to know.”
She looked so beautiful with her hair in attractive disarray it took all his self-control not to kiss her voluptuous mouth. “You were quiet as a mouse.”
“So were you. I think.” Despite the seriousness of their situation, she didn’t take herself seriously, a trait that appealed to him. They both chuckled.
He took the bedroll from her and put it in the back of the Jeep. She joined him a few minutes later. He noticed she’d brushed her hair and put on a frosted pink lipstick he’d love to taste before he started on her.
Stavros was thunderstruck by his strong physical attraction to her. But right now he needed to concentrate. “Let’s go find Darren.”
Once they got in the Jeep, he drove back out to the road that led into Panagia. He stopped in front of a cafeteria, where they went in for rolls and coffee. The proprietress recognized him and hurried over to their table.
He questioned her about Darren and showed her his picture from the cell phone. She said she hadn’t seen the American teenager in her café, but she’d call the police if he came in.
For the next half hour, they made the rounds of the bike shops. No one had seen the missing teen. When they went back to the Jeep, Andrea turned to him. “I think we should drive to Thassos and watch for him at the marina. He may have stolen someone’s bike in order to get there.”
“Or maybe he hitched a ride with some local.”
“Let’s check out all the bars and tavernas at the docks. He could be hanging out near the ferry landing stage.”
“The police will be searching everywhere, but we’ll add our eyes.”
For the next two hours, they covered the waterfront, but didn’t see anyone who resembled Darren. “Stavros? Let’s go on board the ferry that’s loading and take a look inside the vehicles. I know the police will have already done that, but maybe they missed something. What do you think?”
He saw the pleading in her eyes. It tugged at him. Neither of them wanted to give up the search, even if the police had already looked here.
“You’re reading my mind again.”
This was the first ferry of the day leaving for Keramoti. If Darren wanted to get off the island as fast as possible, this would be the one to take.
After parking the Jeep, he paid the fee and they walked on board, following the line of passengers. Since it was a Saturday of full-on summer, crowds of tourists slowed the lines down. He saw two police officers working the line.
Those people with cars had parked them end to end along the sides of the open air hold.
While everyone else went up on the deck to watch their departure, Stavros and Andrea inspected the interiors of each vehicle. All were empty. There were several small trucks. They eyed each other before he looked in the back of the first one. It was filled with lawn mower equipment.
Andrea moved forward to look inside the back of the next truck parked farther down. Stavros knew she’d found something when she came running toward him. “Quick,” she whispered. “There’s a tarp covering something. I thought I saw movement and I don’t dare lift it off without you.”
He grasped her upper arms. Their mouths were only centimeters apart. It was a miracle he restrained himself from kissing her senseless. “You stay here.”
Her breathing sounded shallow. “I won’t let you do this alone.”
Stavros inhaled sharply. “Then stay behind me.” After letting her go with reluctance, he walked to the pickup truck in question and took a look for himself. In the next instant, he climbed over the tailgate. Reaching down, he removed the tarp. Sure enough, a body dressed in jeans and