Vengeance (COMPLETED)

Part 33

We stroll through the streets, exploring all the sights of the city — from the beach to a local park, and then an old castle. It's beautiful. The whole city is filled with character, but I can't let myself enjoy it. I keep a scowl on my face all day. I walk alongside Atticus, barely saying a word unless it's to complain. He'll try to chat every now and then but I won't give him anything. The other men still chat amongst themselves. It's awkward and tense between us, but it has to be. It's exactly what we're trying to portray. Every time Atticus reaches for me, I push him away. When he tries to take my hand, he's signalling that Vassilis' men are in the area so I'll follow his eyes to find them. There are a few different men around, but there are two in particular that happen to show up everywhere we go. They'll be who I look for tomorrow when it's time for Stage 3 of our plan.

"Can you stop doing that?" I pause in my step, yanking my hand free from his grasp. "I don't want to hold your hand, so you can stop trying now."

"I'm just trying to be nice to you," he turns to me, his eyes filled with desperation. There's nothing I'd like to do more than end this conversation right here and give him a hug and a kiss. But I can't. I have to carry on. I can kiss him later. I bring myself back to when he first brought me to the island, channelling the fury I felt back then.

"Well, it's not nice. It's just annoying."

"Come on, Erin," he groans. "Why won't you just give us a chance?"

"I have! We tried for weeks and it didn't fucking work!"

"You barely tried!"

"I tried enough!" I push. "I told you from the start I didn't think it would work."

"Then why did you even bother trying? I thought you were into me!"

"How could I be? After everything your dad did?"

"Then why did you even try?!"

"I don't know, maybe because I thought you would kill me if I didn't?"

"Of course," he snickers. "You still think I'm exactly like Vassilis."

"Well, you haven't done anything to show me otherwise," my stomach churns. His eyes fill with hurt. I'm not sure how much of it is real.

"You're unbelievable! Maybe I should just take you back home. I'll show you what my father is really like!"

"God, you're such an asshole!" I spit. "You promised you would let me go! You swore I could leave if I gave this a go. Well, I gave it a go and it didn't fucking work. You agreed! You took me all the way out here to put me on a plane and you're still resisting. This whole day is just you trying to convince me to stay, and it's just not going to happen. It's never going to happen. If you want a wife, you're going to have to find her elsewhere."

I storm away from him, marching down the street ignoring all the stares from the people around us. Atticus doesn't follow me, but I can hear him yelling at his men in Greek. A few of them hurry after me. I force myself to keep walking forward. I can't turn back and apologize. I have to keep going. It feels awful, to yell at him like that — to compare him to his father again... that's cruel. I know this was our plan and he agreed to this, but it still must hurt to hear me say that. I just have to wait until later to make it up to him. Right now, it's time for Stage 2 of our plan.

I keep walking until I find the bar we agreed I'd head to — right at the edge of the water. It's busy, and that's exactly what we need. Loud music shakes the walls, the room filled with people. It's mostly businessmen, winding down after work. I take a seat at the bar and order the only drink I know how to pronounce. Atticus' men stand beside me, keeping their eyes peeled for danger.

"And?" I look up at one of them. He nods his head, confirming we're still being watched. Great.

I sit at the bar for a while, downing another drink as well as a bowl of nuts. I don't want to have dinner yet, when I can have dinner with Atticus later on. After about an hour, I start to take my pick. I scan the bar for the right guy — someone who'd be interested enough in me to take me home, but also someone who deserves to get punched. There's a guy by the pool table who seems to be about my age. He's pretty attractive, and there's no ring on his finger. I eye him for a while, waiting to see if he does something he'd deserve to get punched for. I can't make out what he's saying, but nothing stands out to me. He seems like a nice guy. Let me find someone else.

One of the guards nudges my foot, bringing my attention over to a guy on his side of the bar. He's hot. Too hot for me, and he's young, too. Another woman is yelling at him. I can't make out what she's saying, but I don't need to. She storms off, leaving the man to laugh along with his friends, holding his hands to his chest to imitate breasts. He definitely made some type of pervy comment. Perfect. I head over to him, standing beside him at the other end of the bar. I tap him on the shoulder. He turns my way.

"Sorry, do you speak English?" I ask him. He smells like alcohol.

"A little," he speaks in a strong accent.

"Would you mind ordering me a drink? The bartender doesn't speak English." That's a lie.

"What would you like?"

"Just a glass of red wine, please."

"No worries." He calls over the bartender and orders the drink for me. I use the card Atticus gave me to pay.

"Thank you for that," I take my first sip. "It's hard ordering in another country, you know? I should have practised my Greek before I flew over here."

"How long have you been here?" he turns away from his friends, focussing on me.

"Just a week! I've only got one week left now."

"A short stay in Kalamata?"

"Uhm-hmm," I nod my head. I hold my hand out for him to shake. "I'm Erin. What's your name?"

"Lukas," he tells me.

"Hey, that's a name I can pronounce," I joke. "Do you live around here?"

"Yes, I've lived here my whole life."

"Wow! You must know the city pretty well then. You might just be the best person to show me around."

"You're wanting a tour of the city?"

"I would love one. I've barely seen anything yet!"

"I can give you a tour. What would you like to see?"

"Everything fun and exciting."

"Fun and exciting?" he leans against the bar.

"Uh-hmm," I put my hand on his arm. "Anything you'd recommend?"

"My apartment," he smirks.

"Oh," I grin. "I like the sound of that."

"Are you here alone?"

"My friends ditched me for some art show," I complain. "But I don't think I'll have to entertain myself much longer."

"I'm more than happy to entertain a sexy little thing like you," he eyes me up and down. I hide my discomfort, instead moving closer to him.