The cold, circular press of the gun barrel against the back of Eleni's neck was a sensation she would never forget. It was freezing, clinical, and final. Outside, the Athenian sunset turned the sea into a pool of spilled blood, but all Eleni could see was the reflection of her own terrified eyes in the rearview mirror.
"Don't scream. Don't look back. And for the love of God, Eleni, don't stall the engine," a voice whispered from the darkness of the van's cargo area.
Eleni's breath hitched. She knew that voice. It was smooth, arrogant, and currently very annoyed.
"Ben?" she gasped, her hands trembling so violently on the steering wheel that the van shook. "You... you nearly gave me a heart attack! Why are you in the back of my van? And why do you have a gun to my head?"
The metallic click of the safety being engaged echoed in the small space. Ben leaned forward, his face emerging from the shadows. He looked pale, but the playful spark in his eyes was back, even if it was tinged with exhaustion.
"First of all, it's not a gun. It's a very expensive, very cold flashlight," Ben said, tossing the object onto the passenger seat. "And second, I'm here because I don't trust 'The Accountant' as much as I trust my own shadows. Now, drive. Slowly."
Eleni stared at the flashlight on her seat, then at him through the mirror. "You terrified me! I thought I was being kidnapped by your enemies! I thought you had abandoned me!"
"Abandon you? And miss out on your excellent coffee?" Ben smirked, though he winced as he shifted his position. "I had to cut the earpiece signal. They have scanners at the Villa. If I had stayed on the line, they would have traced it back to your shop in seconds. I was protecting you, Eleni. In my own, slightly traumatic way."
"Slightly traumatic?" Eleni hissed, pulling the van back onto the road. "I am a florist, Ben! I arrange roses. I don't smuggle gold and get held at 'flashlight-point' by men hiding in my trunk!"
"Technically, it's a cargo area," Ben corrected, leaning his head back against a crate of leftover carnations. "And you did well back there. The way you handled the checkpoint? Pure genius. You have a natural talent for lying to authority figures. It's almost attractive."
"Stop it," Eleni snapped, though her heart gave a strange, unwanted flutter. "What now? I delivered your gold. The debt is dead. That's what the note said. Can I go back to Mia now?"
Ben's expression went dark. The humor vanished from his face like mist in the sun. "That's the problem, Eleni. The debt is dead, but the people I owe it to... they aren't. That note wasn't a receipt. It was a warning."
Eleni's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"
"The Accountant didn't just take the gold. He took the signature. He knows I'm alive, and he knows I found a hideout. He'll start looking for the girl with the flower van soon."
"No," Eleni whispered, her grip tightening on the wheel. "You promised. You said Mia and Leo would be safe."
"And they will be," Ben said, his voice dropping into that low, commanding tone that brooked no argument. "But we can't go back to the shop tonight. They'll be watching it. We need to go to the safe house in Piraeus."
"I am not going to a 'safe house' with a criminal!" Eleni yelled. "I have a daughter! I need to pick her up from Mrs. Papadakis!"
"I already sent Leo to get her," Ben said calmly.
Eleni slammed on the brakes, the van screeching to a halt on the deserted coastal road. She turned around, her eyes blazing with fury. "You did what? You involved my brother in this? Without asking me?"
Ben didn't flinch. He looked her straight in the eye, his gaze steady and ice-cold. "I saved them, Eleni. Two minutes after you left the Villa, a black sedan pulled up to your shop. If Leo and Mia had been there, we wouldn't be having this conversation. They are in a secure car right now, on their way to the harbor. If you want to see them, you drive."
Eleni felt like the world was spinning out of control. Her simple life of flowers and bills had been replaced by a nightmare of gold and safe houses. She wanted to scream, to hit him, to run away. But she looked at Ben—really looked at him—and saw the tension in his jaw, the way he was guarding her even while he was bleeding.
"I hate you," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I hate that you brought this into my house."
"I know," Ben said softly. "But I'm the only one who can get it out. Now, drive, Eleni. Before the moon comes up."
She put the van in gear and drove. For thirty minutes, the only sound was the hum of the engine and the distant roar of the sea.
"So," Ben said, breaking the silence with his usual annoying bravado. "Since we're going to be roommates for a while, I should tell you: the safe house has a proper espresso machine. No more of that dirt-water you call coffee."
"If you mention the coffee one more time, I'm driving this van into the Aegean," Eleni threatened.
"Magnificent," Ben chuckled. "She has teeth. I knew I liked you for a reason."
"You don't like me. sen sadece benim yollarımı kullanıyorsun," Eleni said, slipping into her native tongue for a moment in her frustration.
"I speak three languages, Eleni. And 'using' isn't the word I'd choose," Ben murmured, looking out at the passing lights of the harbor. "I'd call it... an unexpected partnership."
As they approached the docks of Piraeus, the massive hulls of cargo ships loomed over them like sleeping giants. Ben pointed to a nondescript warehouse at the end of a dark pier.
"There. Park behind the blue containers."
Eleni did as she was told. As soon as the engine died, the back door of a silver Mercedes parked nearby opened. Leo stepped out, holding a sleeping Mia in his arms.
Eleni practically flew out of the van, throwing her arms around them. "Are you okay? Is she okay?"
"We're fine, Eleni," Leo said, his voice shaking. "But some men... they came to the shop. They had guns. A man in a suit picked us up just in time. He said he worked for 'The British Cousin'."
Eleni looked back at Ben, who was struggling out of the van, leaning against the cold metal. He looked exhausted, his strength finally failing him.
"You kept your word," she admitted, her voice thick with emotion.
Ben looked at the small girl in Leo's arms, then back at Eleni. For the first time, there was no smirk, no joke, no mask. "I always keep my word, Eleni. Even when I'm being a 'professional headache'."
He stumbled, and Eleni caught him, his heavy frame leaning into her. The scent of sandalwood and blood filled her senses again.
"Inside," Ben rasped. "We have twenty-four hours to disappear. Or twenty-four hours to fight back."
Eleni looked at her family, then at the man who had ruined her life and saved it in the same breath. She knew the game wasn't over. It was just getting bigger.