at the back of my throat.
“Where do I come in?”
“I thought maybe you might tell me.”
On two wheels he turned the corner onto the main road out of the east end of Pafos.
I peeked over the seat. The Maruti got caught behind a car at the red light we had
just run.
He checked the rear view mirror. “We may have lost them.”
We were out onto the open road, passing everything in our path.
“Don’t you think speeding might attract the police?”
“On Cyprus? You have to be joking. No one was ever pulled over for speeding on this
island.”
I eased back onto the passenger seat and checked behind. “I don’t see them. You may
have lost them.”
“Maybe, but I don’t intend to let up the pace. When I take the turn off for the Troodos
Mountains on the west side of Limasol, I want to make sure that they aren’t behind
to see where we turned. We need to make it into the mountains without our rear guard.”
“Do you think the guys following us are terrorists?”
“Don’t know.”
We rode in silence, the tension in the air hovering between us like an angry thunderstorm.
I was overwhelmed with the inference in his questions. Did he think I was part of
the smuggling ring? By association with my aunt?
Ridiculous.
Zach broke the awkward silence. “Feel like sharing any information with me?”
“Like what?”
“Like who you’re working for?”
“Me? I work for myself, I told you I own and manage a mutual fund in Boston along
with my partner, Lena.”
“Are you sure that’s all you do?”
“You’re kidding right? What was all the stuff about helping me?”
“I’ll be glad to help you, especially if you can lead me to the leaders of the smuggling
ring on Cyprus.”
“Don’t you hear well? That’s who I’m trying to find. You offered to help me.”
“You and your aunt work together. Am I right?”
The blood drained from my face, out through my fingers, and stained the clear blue
Cyprus sky. Somewhere I had made a big mistake. What had Lonnie been saying about
instinct going haywire?
Zach pulled off the road onto one of the scenic overlooks, one perched on a cliff
with no guard rails. The sea sparkled and danced far below.
He studied the road behind us. “You see anyone?”
I checked again but I had just checked an instant before. “No one.” I wished I did
see another vehicle, a truck, a police car, anyone, anything. But nothing. How could
such a busy road be so deserted?
He got out of the Land Rover, pulled a pair of binoculars from the door pocket and
scanned back over the road we had just traveled. The spot he had picked to stop afforded
a clear view of the road and the cliffs from whence we’d come.
“They seem to have given up. The turn I want is just up ahead. I’m going to take it.
Keep watching our back.”
It was an order, not a request. I nodded but I wasn’t looking at Zach. I was watching
the sea, the way the sun glistened off the clear, turquoise blue water. Small waves
capped in the distance. The sun shone hot, bright, dazzling on the sea. My beloved
Cyprus had become a nightmare.
I tried to think of my life back in Boston, but it seemed light years away. Life right
now boiled down to this spot, a Land Rover and a man I didn’t know but thought I did,
if only a little, if only by instinct. His come on had been a ruse. Nice acting job.
The nightmare was closing in, and I couldn’t escape. Was he kidnapping me? It felt
that way.
Zach started the engine, and I hopped back on the seat which was hot from the sun
beating on it. I didn’t have much choice. How could I get away? Who could I trust?
I had not told Yannis where I was heading for fear the police would force his hand.
I didn’t want to implicate him more than I had already. He could get sucked in by
knowing me. So much of the nightmare was by implication.
“You can’t be cold,” Zach said, as I rubbed my upper arms. He took his eyes off the
“Where do I come in?”
“I thought maybe you might tell me.”
On two wheels he turned the corner onto the main road out of the east end of Pafos.
I peeked over the seat. The Maruti got caught behind a car at the red light we had
just run.
He checked the rear view mirror. “We may have lost them.”
We were out onto the open road, passing everything in our path.
“Don’t you think speeding might attract the police?”
“On Cyprus? You have to be joking. No one was ever pulled over for speeding on this
island.”
I eased back onto the passenger seat and checked behind. “I don’t see them. You may
have lost them.”
“Maybe, but I don’t intend to let up the pace. When I take the turn off for the Troodos
Mountains on the west side of Limasol, I want to make sure that they aren’t behind
to see where we turned. We need to make it into the mountains without our rear guard.”
“Do you think the guys following us are terrorists?”
“Don’t know.”
We rode in silence, the tension in the air hovering between us like an angry thunderstorm.
I was overwhelmed with the inference in his questions. Did he think I was part of
the smuggling ring? By association with my aunt?
Ridiculous.
Zach broke the awkward silence. “Feel like sharing any information with me?”
“Like what?”
“Like who you’re working for?”
“Me? I work for myself, I told you I own and manage a mutual fund in Boston along
with my partner, Lena.”
“Are you sure that’s all you do?”
“You’re kidding right? What was all the stuff about helping me?”
“I’ll be glad to help you, especially if you can lead me to the leaders of the smuggling
ring on Cyprus.”
“Don’t you hear well? That’s who I’m trying to find. You offered to help me.”
“You and your aunt work together. Am I right?”
The blood drained from my face, out through my fingers, and stained the clear blue
Cyprus sky. Somewhere I had made a big mistake. What had Lonnie been saying about
instinct going haywire?
Zach pulled off the road onto one of the scenic overlooks, one perched on a cliff
with no guard rails. The sea sparkled and danced far below.
He studied the road behind us. “You see anyone?”
I checked again but I had just checked an instant before. “No one.” I wished I did
see another vehicle, a truck, a police car, anyone, anything. But nothing. How could
such a busy road be so deserted?
He got out of the Land Rover, pulled a pair of binoculars from the door pocket and
scanned back over the road we had just traveled. The spot he had picked to stop afforded
a clear view of the road and the cliffs from whence we’d come.
“They seem to have given up. The turn I want is just up ahead. I’m going to take it.
Keep watching our back.”
It was an order, not a request. I nodded but I wasn’t looking at Zach. I was watching
the sea, the way the sun glistened off the clear, turquoise blue water. Small waves
capped in the distance. The sun shone hot, bright, dazzling on the sea. My beloved
Cyprus had become a nightmare.
I tried to think of my life back in Boston, but it seemed light years away. Life right
now boiled down to this spot, a Land Rover and a man I didn’t know but thought I did,
if only a little, if only by instinct. His come on had been a ruse. Nice acting job.
The nightmare was closing in, and I couldn’t escape. Was he kidnapping me? It felt
that way.
Zach started the engine, and I hopped back on the seat which was hot from the sun
beating on it. I didn’t have much choice. How could I get away? Who could I trust?
I had not told Yannis where I was heading for fear the police would force his hand.
I didn’t want to implicate him more than I had already. He could get sucked in by
knowing me. So much of the nightmare was by implication.
“You can’t be cold,” Zach said, as I rubbed my upper arms. He took his eyes off the