Diona looked at him with shock, her eyes wide with disbelief. “You can’t do that!”, she cried out. He smiled back, his eyebrow lifting. “I think you will find I already have”, he replied, his voice soft, enjoying seeing the confusion on her lovely face, before her expression became harder and more determined. “There is a law against kidnapping Mr Dranias…even for people like you” He continued to smile at her. “I don’t know why you would think you were being kidnapped… you are free to leave anytime you like” Diona looked at him suspiciously. “Well I think I would like to leave right now”, she said with determination, lifting her bag and turning to go. With a note of complete triumph he spoke so softly behind her. “And how do you propose to get off this island Miss Brown?” Turning back quickly, she looked at him with horror on her face as the full enormity of her situation dawned on her.
“The boat isn’t coming back is it?”, she said slowly, a contained anger in her voice, as he shook his head. “Nope, I gave them instructions not to come back for another week.” Her eyes narrowed on seeing how his laughed at her. “Isn’t that when you need to be heading back to the UK?”, he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Diona looked around the room; spotting the telephone she moved over to it to call for help. Lifting the receiver she heard nothing, not even a dial tone. Nikias sauntered over to a nearby table, his tall frame so relaxed, as he calmly poured himself a whisky, putting ice cubes into it and lifting it to his lips. Diona however could feel the panic rising within her, holding her body stiff as her eyes moved around the room looking for some other way out.
“Every phone in the whole building has been disconnected for the week. The only phone which works is mine… and I am afraid that you won’t get access to that because it is in my room… not a room you will be visiting”, he added looking down at her with no attempt to conceal the disdain on his handsome face.
Diona threw the phone back onto its cradle, as he saw the look of panic cross her eyes before she closed them. He watched as she willed her whole body to become more calm, and when she reopened those wonderful blue eyes, the colour of a summer’s day, he could see in them only grim determination, along with a hint of anger, the sudden change in her surprising him.
“While I find that thought very comforting Mr Dranias”, she said, biting out his name contemptuously, “it doesn’t take away from the fact that you can’t do this…I have evidence… the letter” Nikias smiled again. “And what exactly does that say? I believe that you were invited to come here, very nicely if I say so myself, and it was completely your choice …just as it was your choice to get into the car and boat.”With another triumphant look he added, “So before you start screaming foul play, Miss Brown, remember you chose to come here, every step of the way” Diona looked at him with complete disbelief. “You set me up”, she said, her voice hardly audible. “Yes, now can I get you a drink Miss Brown?”, he asked, pouring her a glass of red wine and moving forward to offer it to her.
Diona fought the overpowering temptation to scream at him and knock the drink from his oh-so-calm fingers as she moved away, ignoring the glass which he placed on the table beside where she stood. Stopping, she placed her hands on her hips lifting her head to look skywards before with a soft sigh she lifted her hands and gently clapped.
“Bravo, Mr Dranias”, she said, a small laugh rising to her lips, her eyes lowering to meet his, causing him to frown slightly. “Perfectly planned and executed”, she smiled, “Except for one little thing…you got the wrong sister”
He looked at her with confusion. “What are you talking about?”, he asked, his brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of what she was now telling him. “My name is Diona Brown…not Daryle Brown”, she said, a mocking look coming into her eyes. “You got the wrong sister”
Diona’s look of victory was short-lived however, as he started to laugh. “I have to give you marks for originality Diona. D Brown – that was the only information I had to go on…that plus where he was planning on meeting you today. It’s a very interesting little story, however, I think you are forgetting this afternoon, when you didn’t deny being my brother’s mistress”, a cold glint in his eyes. “Possibly because you didn’t give me a chance”, she retorted quickly, “You sat down and started threatening me before I could even explain who I was” Nikias Dranias smiled, an irritating self-assured smile as he sat down on one of the leather couches, crossing one long leg over the other, watching her with amused interest.
Suddenly realising what he had actually said she looked coldly at him, her eyes narrowing with anger. “And my sister is not your brother’s mistress… According to her they are in love and plan on getting married” He looked back at her evenly. “Now we seem to have come back full circle Miss Brown… and like I said before there is no way that you are marrying my brother” With a look of irritation she lifted the wine taking a large drink, before sitting down on one of the couches opposite him. “I came here to stop the wedding”, she said as patiently as possible. “But now thanks to you…the two of them are out there with nobody to make them see sense”
Sitting back, she clenched her hands in anger seeing how he sat silently watching her, his eyes not believing a word she was saying. His whole countenance was calm and controlled as his eyes watched her with mild interest while she felt her whole insides churning with so many different emotions. Sheer exhaustion was causing her to start to feel disembodied, lending the situation a surreal quality.
“You are the most arrogant, insufferable man I have ever met”, she bit out glaring at him, as he laughed back at her. “I’ll take that as a compliment”, he responded, his voice full of mockery as he took another mouthful of the golden liquid as the ice clinked in his hand.
Diona pushed herself back in her seat angrily, before putting her hand up to her brow, as her head began to pound. “This is crazy. My name is Diona Brown. I am a nurse from the UK and the only reason I am in this country at all is to stop my sister from making the biggest mistake of her life” Looking over at the man who still sat watching her with a mocking look in his eyes she sighed in surrender. “And you don’t believe a word I am saying”, she added with another sigh, as every limb felt so heavy from the tiredness which pervaded her whole body, as he smiled, shaking his head. “Finally something we can agree on Miss Brown”
Lifting her drink in her hands she looked over at him. “So how does this work Mr Dranias?”, she asked with resignation. With a small smile he looked over at her. “I am a civilized man Miss Brown, and hope that you will make full use of the many resources on the island… I hope that you enjoy your holiday… just not perhaps as rewarding a one as you were hoping for” “Fine”, Diona sighed, “Let’s just the two of us sit back on this beautiful island of yours and let our siblings destroy their lives”