A riveting tale of deceit, murder, and love at first sight

Regain balance and harmony in your life Mysteries and Deadly Secrets spiced w...

A riveting tale of deceit, murder, and love at first sight

“Sefer spins a riveting tale of deceit, murder, and love at firstsight.” – Readers’ Favorite

Spellbound in His Arms
Chapter One
Jackie stopped dead in her tracks. Whatwas that? A muffled noise from the back of the old mansion turned her bloodto ice.She turned the flashlight off and stood still, holding her breath. Her mouthwent dry. What if there was someone in the house? How would she explain who shewas and what she was doing there in the middle of the night? Then again, wouldher explanations make any difference to whomever—or even worse whatever—was out there? The Demiris mansionwas pitch black, far away from any living soul, and the owner was dead. So, who could it be?

Jackieinstinctively flattened herself against the wall, trying to peer through thedarkness and track the source of the noise. The back of her neck prickled, andher heartbeat drummed in her ears. Couldit be true? She silently cursed herself for laughing at Stephanos’warnings. What if her uncle was right? What if something supernatural wasresponsible for the mysterious deaths in thefamily of Greek tycoon Andreas Demiris?

No,she argued inwardly. Stephanos iswrong in thinking that the Demiris family is cursed. Jackie believed thatthe assassin was either one of the heirs or an enemy of the family. And she hadcome to the Greek island of Corfu to find the killer and prevent anothermurder.

Butnow, trapped here and feeling something lurking in the dark, she wished she’dthought better before flying six thousand miles from Atlanta, Georgia, toGreece on this eerie assignment. Stephanos used to say that her intuition,determination, and courage were assets for her carrier as an investigativereporter. But he’d also warned her against rushing headfirst into every newchallenge. She should have known her impulsiveness would get her into troubleone day.

Fightingher rising panic, Jackie waited in the dark for what seemed like an eternity. Thedim moonlight behind the threatening clouds couldn’t penetrate the stained-glasswindows of the hallway. So, the mansion’s interior was as pitch black and spookyas the dense forest surrounding it.

Shedesperately tried to pick up the slightest noise. But there was nothing—onlydead silence.

Jackie knew she was being foolish. There is nobody here, shereassured herself. The place had been desertedfor months. All she needed to do was to find what she had come for and get outas soon as possible.

Blindin the thick darkness, she took a couple of steps to her right. She kept herhand against the wall while clutching the flashlight with her other hand, readyto use it as a weapon. All her senses workedovertime to detect the slightest noise or movement. She couldn’t see orhear anything, but the warning bells in her head were impossible to ignore.

Suddenly,Jackie stiffened. Something was moving closer to her…a lot closer. She froze inplace and held her breath.

A strong hand grabbed her by the throat and shoved herviolently against the wall. A second later, ablinding light shone on her face.

Jackieinstinctively closed her eyes and struggled to breathe. But the grip tightenedaround her throat. Fear paralyzed her. On the cusp of fainting, she heard adeep, husky voice commanding in Greek, “Who are you?”

Shegasped for air and flailed at her assailant with her flashlight. He blocked her move with impossible speed andeffortlessly knocked the flashlight out of her hand. Frantically, Jackieraised her arms and tried to free her throat from the deadly grasp. But hishand was strong as steel.

Asecond later, the question was repeated, more insistent this time. The grasploosened a little bit, allowing some air into her lungs and giving her a chanceto answer.

“Please…”she managed to whisper in English.

Thanksto Stephanos, Jackie was fluent in Greek. But the intensity of the moment hadoverwhelmed her, and it was difficult to gather her thoughts. Her T-shirt wasclinging to her back, her forehead was moist with sweat, and tension causedevery muscle in her body to ache.

“Whoare you?” the stranger commanded in perfect English, slightly tinged with aGreek accent.

Who is he, and what ishe doing here? Jackie wondered anxiously. Whatcould she possibly say? She couldn’t tell him the truth. But would he settlefor anything less?

“Youdo speak English, don’t you?” he asked, shifting impatiently.

“Yes…but I can hardly breathe,” she whispered truthfully as hishand remained wrapped around her throat.

“Who are you?” he insisted, without loosening his gripany further.

“Jackie...Jackie Alexander,” she muttered.

“And what are you doing here, Jackie Alexander?” he demanded.

Now,that was the hard part. She had rehearsed some plausible answers in case there were questions raised about her visit to the island. But she hadn’t anticipated findingsomeone there in the middle of the night.

“I’ma relative of the owners,” Jackie said. Well, not exactly, she thought,as she was a relative of Stephanos Demiris’ wife. But there was no reason toclarify that.

Theman hesitated for a moment.

“I’ma relative of Andreas Demiris,” she insisted.

Hishand released her throat, and she sucked in a ragged breath. However, the stranger remained unbearably close,blocking every possible escape route.

Suddenly,Jackie heard a distinctive click, and the bright light of a chandelier filledthe hallway. She looked around, bewildered. And then, her eyes rested on the man holding her captive. He was tall—atleast six inches taller than she. And, at five feet eight inches, Jackie was no shrimp. He had jet black hair, and his blackT-shirt and jeans stretched over enticing muscles that any athlete would envy.His face was handsome, with a strong jaw and amazing blue eyes that werenow watching her intensely.

Jackie shifted uneasily under his piercinggaze. It was as if he could read her like an open book.

They stared into each other’s eyes, and Jackie felt herheart suspended in her chest…but not from fear this time. Even though he looked tough, she had to admit he wasmouthwatering like a Greek God—aseductive stranger as Aphrodite, herromantic teenage cousin, wouldcall him.

Thethought of sweet, innocent Aphrodite jolted her back to reality. During thelast few months, the heirs of Andreas Demiris had died—one after the other—undermysterious circumstances. Due to a lack of evidence indicating otherwise, the policedeclared their deaths accidents and closed the case files. But Jackiesuspected foul play.

Stephanosand Aphrodite were among the few Demiris family members still alive, and Jackiefeared for their lives. She was desperate to find out who was responsible forall those deaths. And coming to the Demiris mansion on the island of Corfu wasthe right place to start her search.

“Thatstill doesn’t explain what you’re doing here in the middle of the night.” He placedhis flashlight on the entry table while watching her like a hawk.

Jackiecould tell he was on guard, ready to prevent any attempt of hers to escape. Hewas obviously stronger and faster but didn’t seem aggressive. So, she began torelax. Now that the initial shock was over, Jackie needed to regain control ofthe situation.

“Andwho exactly are you?” she demanded.

Asmile appeared on the handsome stranger’s face, and he gave her an appreciative look. “You’re a tough cookie,aren’t you?”

Ashis gaze roamed over her, Jackie shifted uneasily. The desire that flickered inhis captivating eyes—as blue as the Ionian Sea surrounding the island—set herpulse racing. Oh my, I can get lost in those eyes.

“MichaelApostolou,” he said suddenly, catching her off guard. “Police Captain Michael Apostolou,” he added.

Oh no! Thatwas the worst thing that could have happened to her right then. She had onlybeen on the island for a few hours, and there she was, caught by the policebreaking and entering. How would she get out of that? Why hadn’t she waiteduntil the following day to talk to Nancy Felini—the Demiris family attorney—as Stephanoshad instructed her? But no, she wanted to check out the contents of the safewithout anyone looking over her shoulder.

Havingno idea who was responsible for the deaths in the Demiris family, Jackie had hopedto find something in that safe to shed some light on this mystery. She intendedto read through every document to discoverwho would benefit from those deaths.

Alogical assumption would be that the assassin was one of the heirs. But Jackieknew that neither Stephanos nor Aphrodite were killers. And Stephanos seriouslydoubted that any of the few Demiris family members still alive was a killer. So,who was left? An enemy of the family?

Knowingthat the captain was watching her closely, Jackieremained as calm as she could.

“Andnow, Miss Alexander, would you mind explaining why you broke into this mansionin the middle of the night?” There was a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

“ButI didn’t break in,” Jackie protested.

He inched closer and leaned over her, his eyes shootingdaggers. “And what would you call breaking a window and climbinginto a house that doesn’t belong to you?” The sarcasm was even more apparentnow.

Jackieraised her chin and looked at him, puzzled. “But I didn’t break any window.” This whole thing was gettingout of hand. She needed a way out of there and as far away from him as possible.

“Oh,really?” he asked, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her toward an archleading to what turned out to be the living room.

Jackiegasped. A window hung wide open, and pieces of broken glass peppered thecarpet. She hadn’t done that. But glancing at him, she was sure she would havea hard time convincing him of that. Those mesmerizing blue eyes were looking ather accusingly.

Allof a sudden, she realized that someone else had broken the window. Herbreathing quickened, and she glanced around anxiously.

Thecaptain followed her look but didn’t release her arm. “Well?” he asked. “What doyou have to say about this?”

“Ididn’t do it,” she insisted, looking straight at him. “I came in through thefront door.”

“Oh,is that so?” His lips pressed into a thin line.

Jackiecould tell he was losing his patience. However, she was not lying. Coming out there, she was prepared to pick the lock but had found the front door unlocked.It had seemed strange, but Jackie wanted to get in and out as fast as possible anddidn’t give it a second thought. Being miles away from any living soul,especially in the middle of the night, gave herthe creeps.

“Iswear I didn’t break that window.” She tried to free her arm from his grip.

“Now,you listen to me—”

Aloud noise—like something falling on the second floor—interrupted him. Heimmediately released her arm and grabbed a gun from the holster attached to hisbelt.

“Don’tmove!” he ordered and took off toward the foyer.

Herheart hammered in her chest as Jackie watched him climb the steps with thegrace of an athlete and the swift moves of a panther. She hadn’t noticed thegun before. Of course, he has a gun. He said he’s a policeman. But what if he’s lying about that? How can Ibe sure about who he is? Dread twisted in her gut. What if he’s the murderer?

Despitethe torrent of questions swirling in her mind, she was entirely lucid about onekey point. I’m in grave danger!

Frantically,she scanned her surroundings for a way out. Going out the front door was out ofthe question. She couldn’t risk going back to the hallway and running into thecaptain again. Her glance turned to the window. Piecesof broken glass were still hanging from the frame. Better hurt than dead!

Approachingthe window, she kicked some of the larger pieces of glass and climbed outside.A moan escaped her lips as she scratched her arms and legs. Her knees buckled,and she landed hard on the marble tiles of the veranda. The fall knocked thewind out of her, paralyzing her for a moment.

Getup! Jackie sucked in a ragged breath, andwith as much strength as she could muster, she rose to her feet and took a fewstaggering steps. Pain shot through her body, but there was no time to waste.She needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

Suddenly,a gunshot blast pierced the air and sent a surge of adrenaline through her veins.

Run! RUN NOW! Avoice in her mind screamed out, and Jackie bolted toward the forest.

* * *

Firmlyclenching the cold piece of steel in his hand, Michael climbed the steps—two ata time. Reaching the second floor, he scanned the corridor… Dead silence.

Knowing the mansion like the back of his hand, hemobilized his Special Forces training and proceeded down the dark hallway. Withoutmaking a sound and moving swiftly like a panther, he searched one room afterthe other. There was no sign of anyone.

Reachingthe last room, Michael carefully opened thedoor. Stepping inside, a breeze of fresh air struck him in the face. Heflattened himself against the wall, holding his gun in front of him with bothhands, and stood still.

Aftermaking sure he was alone in the room, Michael approached the window. But themoment he leaned forward to peek outside, a gunshot thundered through the air.Instincts took over, and Michael dropped to the ground, dodging the bullet.

Amoment later, he eased his head up and caught a glimpse of a tall, slim mandressed in black disappearing into the woods.

“Damn!”he cursed, realizing that the intruder was way out of range.

Hewas ready to run back downstairs when he saw Jackie bolting toward the woods inthe same direction the shooter had taken. His heart thudded in his chest as Michaelstormed downstairs and out the front door. Damnthat girl! She’s going to get herself killed!

* * *

Jackiesprinted toward the forest and plunged into the thick shrubbery, focused on onething—surviving!

Sweatingand breathing heavily, she made her way to the dirt road where she’d left herrental car—an old Honda Civic. Suddenly, dread overwhelmed her. Where’s the key?

Herfear spiked as she searched her pockets in vain. Think, Jackie commandedherself. She rummaged through her belt pouch with clammy hands. The moment shefelt the cold metal in her hand, Jackie let out a breath she hadn’t realizedshe’d been holding. Finding the car key was a huge relief, but…inserting it intothe lock was another story. Damn! Ishould have picked the Honda HR-V that the rental place had available. The SUVhad remotely controlled electronic door locks. Not to mention that it wouldhave been better for these dirt roads.

Gatheringall the strength she could muster to suppress her trembling, Jackie finallyunlocked the door on the third try. Casting a look around, she jumped insideand locked the door behind her. Breathing heavily, she leaned back against theheadrest and closed her eyes, enjoying a fragile moment of safety.

There’s no time towaste! A voice echoed in her mind. Her eyesflew open, and she bolted upright in her seat. As soon as she turned the key inthe ignition, the old engine came to life. But within seconds, it sputtered andstopped.

“Jackie!”The captain’s voice boomed in the darkness.

Oh, no! Holdingher breath, Jackie scanned her surroundings. She couldn’t see him, but thepoliceman had to be nearby.

“Jackie,wait!” he commanded, but she wasn’t about to stick around. She’d had enoughflirting with danger for one night.

Shegrabbed the steering wheel with one hand and tried the engine one more time. Assoon as it started, Jackie put the car in gear, stomped the gas pedal to thefloor, and abruptly let go of the clutch. The vehicle jerked forward and…diedagain.

Herheart leaped into her throat. Damn! Thatserves me right for not wanting to spend the extra money on the automatic HR-V.But not picking the SUV wasn’t only about money. Jackie was trying to keepa low profile, and a fancy car like that might draw unwanted attention.

Calm down, sheurged herself and gave the engine another try. As it roared to life, Jackie letout a huge breath. This time, even though she was shaking, she pressed downgently on the gas pedal while easing her foot off the clutch. Huffing andpuffing, the car moved forward excruciatingly slow. Great, she thought, on the verge of tears. I’m about to die, and instead of hauling ass out of here, I’m drivingMiss Daisy!

SpottingMichael in her rearview mirror, a torrent of adrenaline flooded her veins. Shefloored the gas pedal, and the Civic went flying down the dirt road, bouncingall over the place. While speeding around a curve, a man dashed out of thewoods and into her path. She screamed and violently wrenched the wheel to theright. The car fishtailed, skidded off the road, and veered out of control towardthe edge of a cliff.

Jackieshoved against the door with all her strength. It wouldn’t budge. Her heartlurched, and dread washed over her. Oh,God! I’m going to die!

Desperatelyclutching the steering wheel, she gritted her teeth. A scream escaped her lipsas the car plunged over the edge. The vast blue of the sea filled her vision.Fear paralyzed her, and a sharp pain shot through her head. Time seemed to stop,and everything went blank…