Page 12 of Love Among the Ruins
A rough hand cupped her breast, the shock of the violation causing her to drop her tray. It landed with a resounding crash on the floor. “Get off me!” Panic made her lash out wildly. She elbowed behind her as hard as she could.
The man yelped, making a feral noise, a mixture of a grunt and a growl. “You little b—”
“Leave her, Ioannis.” The man in front of her moved away, waving his hand as if to say he’d given up, but the second man, the one behind her, spun her around, his hands hard and rough on her shoulders.
“Who do you think you are, eh?” He reached down and gripped her wrist even harder. She tried desperately to free herself, but he was too strong for her. Then he grabbed her other wrist.
“Get off me!” she screamed, fighting to free her wrists and failing.
“Hey! Ioannis, get the fuck off her.” Another voice, American again, but this time somehow familiar bellowed behind her. Confusion rioted with fear, a mental coup seeding chaos in her mind.
“What the fuck are you doing?” The American yelled.
It was too much. Three men. Uncertainty. Panic. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, and she kicked out, hitting the man between his legs. He doubled over in pain, clutching his body as he squealed like a pig.
Eleni staggered back and turned to find herself staring into the eyes of the man who’d caught her stealing the food.
He knew the guy who’d assaulted her? The taste of bile in her throat made her retch. They were all the same, rich, sick and disgusting.
She managed to rush away; her body charged with a sudden burst of energy.
* * *
DOMINIC
Ioannis. The man was a fucking idiot.
Dominic hadn’t intended to follow Eleni. He’d sensed she was uneasy, and he figured he’d killed enough time that he could now leave and get back to his hotel room, but he’d heard a scream. It was only when he’d walked in that he’d seen Ioannis with his back to him, and then the waitress had kicked him.
“What the fuck were you doing?” he asked Ioannis, calmly watching as the man writhed in pain. He’d deserved it.
“She looked as good as those appetizers,” Ioannis replied, between pants. Dominic held his tongue. He would have gladly punched this man in the face, but he had to be careful because this man was a good friend of Galatis’ and Dominic couldn’t afford to make enemies.
It sucked.
His fists steeled by his sides. He hated that he had to restrain himself as he talked to this motherfucker. Some men should never be allowed near women.
Ioannis straightened up slowly. “She’s full of fire, that one.” His eyes shone wildly, something dangerous shimmering in them. “Wait till I get my hands on her.”
Dominic flexed his fingers, practicing a restraint he didn’t feel. “You can’t do that.” He jabbed the man in the chest, hard. “Always think of your reputation. Hector Galatis wouldn’t want any blowback, would he?”
That seemed to catch Ioannis attention, but before the man could reply, Dominic walked away, feeling compelled to go into the kitchen to check in on the waitress. This wasn’t like him, and he couldn’t explain why. He should have walked away, gone back to his room. Dealt with paperwork.
But he did not.
The waitress was coming out of another door and when she saw him, she rushed back in from where she had come. Dominic reached the door just in time to push it open; his concern for this woman overriding how this might look. He walked in and shut the door behind him, and only then did he realize that he was in a washroom with her.
She slunk back, her eyes large with fear, afraid of him. The idea made him sick to the stomach. “Are you okay?”
“What are you doing in here?”
“I wanted to see if you were okay.”
“I am. Why do you keep following me?” She hadn’t cried, which made him feel some sense of relief.
“To see that you’re okay.”
Mistrustful eyes stared at him. “Why? What do you care? Did he beg you to make sure I didn’t say anything?”
