Page 83 of Dagger in the Sea

“Yes, makes me want to devour all this amazing food. And you.”

She only laughed. We ate, we drank. We ordered more—mussels steamed in a garlic ouzo broth, boiled wild greens in a lemon and olive oil dressing. Perfectly fried calamari—not crusty and thick like the ones I was accustomed to in the Italian American restaurants I’d frequented, but crispy on the outside and delicate, tender, sweet on the inside. The small dishes of delights kept coming.

She ripped a sesame-seeded crust of bread apart, dipped it in the creamy remains of the Greek salad and offered it to me. “Go on, you must, consider this a rite of passage.”

I bit into the bread from her hands and closed my eyes enjoying the chew of the freshly baked bread bathed in oregano and the caper-perfumed lushness of the oil. The rich cheese.

“That’s not feta cheese, is it?”

“No, it’s a local cheese that’s made only on the island.”

“It reminds me of French goat cheese but milder.”

“Yes, you’re right,” she said.

“Our lunch yesterday on theAllegrawas good, very good, but this food has soul. It’s a rich experience we’re moving through. We’re not just consuming a fine meal.”

Letting out a small laugh, she leaned over the table and clinked my ouzo glass with hers. “You really are a foodie, aren’t you, Turo?”

“I am,” I admitted. “My mother raised me with a finer palate than most.”

“More hidden talents.” She raised her ouzo glass, and a prick of disappointment hit me that sunglasses hid her expressive eyes.

“What more is there to be discovered?” she murmured.

“You’ll have to find out for yourself.”

“Hmm.”

We talked more, we drank another bottle of spring water. I hailed the waiter for the bill. She reached across the table and touched my arm. “This is my treat, Turo. Please. Your first meal on the island, and I’ll bet your best yet in Greece. Let it be my treat for you.”

My chest filled with heat.

It had been perfect. But it was something more than good food.

This meal had been a sort of ritual ceremony. A colorful washing away of the gray and black of the past couple of days and nights. Of the hundred prickly tensions and strains from every direction. This had been both a cleansing and a celebration we’d shared.

Having her all to myself the past few hours had been a balm and a treat. Exciting and relaxing. This getaway of ours was suddenly precious and vital to me. Her gift of this bite of paradise to kick it all off was pleasing in a way that I couldn’t quite figure out. But I knew that I wanted to swallow the experience—whatever happened between us and for however long it lasted.

Swallow it whole.

She took off her sunglasses and those eyes glimmered at me, her lips swept up in a confident smile. A pact, a deal, a grabbing of hands and jumping off the cliff. She wanted this, just like I did.

Fate sealed.

“Your treat, Lovely.”

Her smile deepened and she sat up straighter. I surrendered to her pleasure. I surrendered to her smile, I surrendered to her simple joy in a simple gesture of generosity. I took an easy breath right there in her genuine smile, in the affability of her tone as she asked for the bill. She’d created this moment for us and she’d truly enjoyed giving it to me. She’d enjoyed my appreciation. Something curled inside me, wanting more moments like this. Needing them.

A new craving had taken hold of me.

She took care of the bill, and as we rose from the table, I took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” she said quietly, sliding her arm through mine as we strode along the harbor toward the jeep.

Just another couple on a vacation. But this couple had two of the most powerful crime families trying to figure out where they were right about now. Would they try to find us? An ache raced over my skull, the hard glare of the sun pricking my eyes even though I was wearing my sunglasses, and I raked a hand through my hair, my scalp tingling.

“Roman emperors used to banish people to Andros and other islands as punishment,” she said. “I imagine it must have been devastating to be banished back then, separated from everything and everyone you knew.”

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