Tessa soothed Casey while pulling a cell phone from her inside pocket. "Malakas," she said angrily as she dialed 100 and spoke rapidly in Greek. She placed two more calls in rapid succession, and Casey knew the last was to her father. She could hear Andreas Meridio's shouts through the phone. Casey allowed herself to be held in Tessa's protective embrace. When the final phone call ended, Tessa squeezed Casey's shoulder affectionately.

Casey looked down at Tessa's hand and noticed that blood soaked through her shirt at the wrist. The crimson stain turned larger and fell in tiny drops onto Tessa's slacks.

"Tessa, you're hurt!" Casey cried out.

Tessa looked down and gave Casey a lopsided smile. "Just a scratch." Then she winked.

Casey turned an incredulous look on the woman, but then she saw the wink. Casey couldn't help it; she laughed nervously and wiped the tears from her face. She grabbed her shawl from the seat where she'd left it before they entered the cathedral and held Tessa's hand in her lap as she wrapped the shawl around the woman's bleeding arm.

Driving at breakneck speed, they were at the estate in minutes. Small white police cars with blue lights flashing on their roofs surrounded the estate. Andreas Meridio waited on the front steps when the car pulled up. Tessa leapt from the car and gave directions to a group of young men in black suits. In a matter of *moments, it was as if Tessa's presence and direction restored the chaos the household had been thrown into.

Andreas hugged Casey closely and called for a doctor before she interrupted him.

"Pappa, the blood isn't mine. I'm all right. Tessa is hurt, though."

By the time the estate settled down, it was evening. For the men who lingered, Olympia unveiled a large selection of mezedes, or appetizers, that she made earlier in the day. Plate after plate of food was set out for the men to snack on during the night, along with ouzo and gentilini, a white wine from Crete.

Tessa sat in one of the open-air sitting rooms with her shirt off, wearing only a white tank top. The giatro had just cleaned the wound on her arm and was preparing to sew closed the gash caused by a deeply embedded piece of gla.s.s, not a bullet as Casey thought earlier.

Tessa noticed Casey holding a plate loaded with food, eating, and watching the doctor treat her wound. She sat alone and still looked sh.e.l.l-shocked by the morning's events.

"I'm amazed that you can eat like that and still remain so tiny," Tessa said, calling Casey over to her.

Casey sat on a chair closer to the table where Tessa and the giatro sat. She blushed at Tessa's words.

"I eat when I'm nervous," Casey said.

"I'm just the opposite...Ow." She shot a look full of daggers at the giatro who sewed the wound closed. "I can't eat a thing when I'm nervous. Not that I'm ever nervous." She finished the statement with the tiniest of grins.

Casey was astonished at their conversation given the fact that this was the most cordial Tessa had ever been to her and it was while she was getting her arm sewn up without an anesthetic.

"Hey, how about sharing?" Tessa opened her mouth widely.

Casey laughed. "Which do you fancy? I have a little bit of everything."

"Uhm, the tsirosalata." Tessa indicated the thin strips of smoked fish.

*Casey speared a piece of fish with a fork, gave it a squeeze of lemon juice, then dipped it in olive oil. She fed the mezes to Tessa until it was gone.

"Sorry I ate it all, but that was the first food I've had today. I was starving," Tessa said.

"A Greek only eating once in a day? Sacrilege," Casey said in a tone of mock disbelief.

Tessa looked up at the figure who stood behind Casey. Andreas Meridio kissed the top of Casey's head.

"How are you, Mahtia Mou?" Meridio asked, his large hands resting on Casey's shoulders.

"I'm al right." Casey raised her head to smile tiredly at the man.

The giatro finished the fine line of sutures and placed a dry bandage over the wound. He tied a sling around Tessa's neck.

"Keep your arm elevated for a few days, like this." He indicated the position in which he wanted Tessa's arm to remain.

"Yeah, yeah." Tessa growled.

"Tessa, when you're through here, we need to have a few words," Meridio said.

"Ready now, Mr. Meridio." Tessa stood to follow him.

"You," Meridio leaned down to kiss the top of Casey's head, "get some rest."

"I'm too wired to sleep," she complained, but by that time, he had already walked away.

"You," Tessa pointed a finger as she made her way to follow Andreas Meridio, "no late-night swimming."

Casey giggled as Tessa turned and walked away.

My G.o.d, tell me I didn't just giggle like a schoolgirl. She's being so nice, what's up with that? Okay, maybe she feels sorry for you. Maybe you look like you've had the s.h.i.t scared out of you today. Maybe, maybe, maybe. All right tall, dark, and wonderful...

how do I find out about the real you?

"My daughter!" Meridio screamed. "In front of the holy church!"

Everyone in the room hung his or her head with the exception of Tessa. Tessa stood in her customary pose, facing the window, *seemingly lost in her thoughts. It was as if she were split in two.

There was a part of her that couldn't erase the fear that clutched at her heart when she thought of losing Casey, the way Casey felt in her arms, and the gentle way in which Casey wrapped her shawl around her injured arm. The feelings went beyond mere desire, and Tessa knew it. She realized there was something more happening between them, something that ran deep. Hadn't she felt the bond begin all those years ago?

Then there was the anger. The darkness pushed its way up and nearly threatened to take control of her very being. In the past, when she was younger and more reckless, the darkness drove her. It brought her to the position and wealth she now held, the older she grew, the more she learned how to control the blackness that would overtake her. She had obviously grown complacent with her newfound position. Ten years ago, no one on the streets surrounding the Piraeus would have dared to shoot at her. She controlled the money they made and the way they spent it. If a man took exception to her back then, he kept it to himself or he was liable to show up in an Athens hospital without his arkhedhias.

That was Tessa's trademark in the old days. The old boys, if you crossed them, were likely to cut off your p.e.n.i.s and stuff it down your throat after you were dead. Tessa knew the only way to command absolute loyalty was through fear. When her dark side ruled her judgment, she had a man held down, and she sliced off his b.a.l.l.s, stuffed a towel between his legs and dropped him off at the closest emergency room. No man wanted to live that way, so the punishment became the perfect motivator. She tried without much success to push the feelings of rage back down.

"Tessa," Meridio said to her back. "I want the man responsible for this. I want his arkhedhias in a sack on my desk."

Tessa turned around slowly. There wasn't a man in the room who didn't feel a tightening in his groin at the feral smile that pulled back the woman's lips, displaying her perfect white teeth.

"It will be my pleasure, Mr. Meridio."

Meridio handed a gla.s.s of sournada to Tessa, who sat in the chair across from his desk.

*"Veeva, " they said in unison, taking a long sip of the almond cordial.

Andreas Meridio slid open the top drawer of his desk, pulling his checkbook from within. He flipped open to the precise spot and wrote. He folded the check in half and held it out to Tessa.

The brilliant blue eyes darkened in confusion.

"This is for you. You saved my daughter's life today."

The corners of her mouth curled upward, halfway between a sneer and a smile, at the man's gesture. "You already pay me for what I do. I don't want to put a price on something like this."

"I'm not asking you to take it. This is payment for a hahre."

Tessa looked into the man's eyes and listened as he placed the emphasis on the word's first syllable. He was making payment on a favor or a debt, and the money could not be refused. She shrugged and accepted the note, casually slipping it into her pocket without bothering to look at the amount. If this truly were hahre, it would be rude to question the sum.

"Go buy a new boat or something," he said with a laugh. "Go on, go rest that arm. And, Tessa?" he asked as she stood to leave.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Meridio."

Tessa walked across the lawn and stood under the olive trees by the guesthouse where she made her home. She unfolded the check and swallowed hard. It was made out for a little over three million drachmas.

In essence, Tessa told Meridio that she couldn't put a price tag on Ca.s.sandra's life. According to him, she was worth roughly the equivalent of one hundred thousand American dollars.

Tessa's arm throbbed painfully, but she didn't feel like getting up to take anything. She knew a tea concoction or a few hits of ouzo would do the trick, but she suddenly felt bone tired. She came in earlier and undressed, leaving her clothes in a heap by the door. After changing into an old pair of worn jeans and a white tank top, she collapsed on the sofa.

A knock at the door brought her, groaning, to her feet.

"The island better be on fire" was Tessa's customary growl as *she swung open the door. "Oh" was all she could say when she saw Casey's stunned face.

"Well, you have an interesting way of keeping the solicitors at bay," Casey said. "Hey, weren't you supposed to keep that sling on your arm?" she said sharply.

Tessa leaned her good arm high up on the doorjamb and let an eyebrow disappear under her ebony bangs.

"Did you come over to my house just to yell at me, Mom?"

Tessa asked with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Excuse me? Your house?"

Suddenly, Tessa lost her expression of mock superiority and displayed a sheepish grin. "Touche." She pushed the door wider, inviting Casey in.

Tessa scooped her clothes from the floor and tossed them in a chair while Casey's back was turned. Then Tessa allowed herself the luxury of taking in Casey's tanned legs, which were displayed admirably by the crisp white shorts she wore.

"I figured you might be hurting. I had a couple Percodan left and thought..."

Tessa plucked the bottle from Casey's fingers and tossed it in the nearest wastebasket, much the same as she had with the aspirin.

"Hey! You know if you keep throwing my drugs away-"

"You'll live longer," Tessa finished. "What else have you got under there?" Tessa asked, indicating the large plate covered by a cloth napkin.

"I'm not sure I feel like sharing now," Casey said with one hand placed on a slim hip.

Tessa could smell the sweet aroma coming from the plate, and her mouth watered at the thought of fresh figs, her favorite. She tried to muster up a look that would induce Casey to have pity on her. "Oh, wait...is that actually a pout? Let me get a camera,"

Casey teased.

"Well," Tessa began, rubbing her injured arm gingerly. "I did practically save your life, but I guess I don't want that to influence you.""Oh, don't even go there." Casey laughed.

*"I could whine a little if that would help," Tessa joked.

"I don't think my heart could take it." Casey wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Here."

Casey pulled the napkin from the top of the plate and presented the platter to Tessa. Most of the plate was filled with fresh figs, sliced in half. The other portion of the plate held mizthra, a cheese made from feta whey.

"Ahh, nostimo!" Tessa slipped into her native tongue to exclaim the word delicious. "How did you know that ska me tyri is my favorite mezes?" She motioned Casey into a seat in the living area.

"Pure deduction, my dear Watson. It just so happens that it's my favorite appetizer, too. Besides, Olympia told me." She put on a sheepish grin upon admission of her informant.

Tessa opened a bottle of Gentilini, and the women sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, enjoying their white wine and late-night snack.

"Tessa, do you mind if I ask where you learned English?"

"No, I don't mind. I went to school in England when I was eleven, then I went to the University at Oxford before I came home to live. You see, we have a lot in common. I used to come home for the summers also."

"Your parents must have missed you terribly, being away all those months during the year," Casey said.

Tessa suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable, and Casey realized she must have landed on sensitive ground as Tessa jumped up and walked over to the stereo.

"Do you like opera?" Tessa asked.

"Absolutely. What have you got?"

"How about Puccini?"

"Madame b.u.t.terfly?" Casey's eyes lit up.

"Let me guess... Un bel di?" Tessa said with a wry smile.

"How did you guess? I love that scene."

Laughter rumbled seductively from Tessa's chest. "I had a feeling. You seem like the hopeless romantic type."

"It's an incredibly beautiful scene. It has such impact." Casey looked slightly wounded.

0.

*"The whole thing is depressing," Tessa countered. "She should have blown them all off and gone back home with her maid."

"Oh, you." Casey slapped Tessa on her good arm once she had started the music and returned to her seat on the floor.

Casey listened to the rest of the aria, eyes half-mast, and a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Tessa couldn't resist watching Casey seated across from her. Her heart lifted at Casey's obvious enjoyment from something as simple as music. It was at that moment that Tessa felt her dark side to be a million miles away.

She could scarcely believe that she was sitting here enjoying food, music, and even a limited amount of conversation with this woman, with anyone. It was as if she were someone else. Tessa Nikolaidis didn't make friends, and she certainly never courted a woman. Yet, here was the Meridio Kare, and she was actually enjoying herself. No one would believe it, she was sure of that.

Her reputation among her peers and other acquaintances was well known and well deserved. Tessa realized that no one but Casey would ever see her this way. It was Casey with a heart as bright and warm as sunshine that brought out this goodness in her. When she stood next to Casey, she felt like she could be redeemed.

When the final note of the aria ended, the soft expression on Tessa's face was more from watching Casey than from the tempest of the music. Casey thought otherwise.