WAS AN animal suffering in the darkness. Stephanie kept looking for it, but couldn’t find it. The whimpering turned into moans, torturing her. If only she could do something to help it. When it let out a piercing cry, the sound brought her awake.
All this time she’d been dreaming!
Trembling, she shot out of bed, incredulous that her mind had conjured anything so terrible. Something she’d eaten at the restaurant must not have agreed with her. Maybe a drink of water would help. She hurried to the bathroom. When she reached for a cup, her watch said 3:30.
After draining it, she went back to bed, but before she could fall asleep again she heard another bloodcurdling cry. This time she wasn’t dreaming. Without hesitation she threw on her robe and ran down the hall to Nikos’s room. Though she knocked several times, he didn’t respond. That was odd.
She knocked again before turning the door handle, hoping he wouldn’t mind the intrusion. One glance inside the room told her he hadn’t been to bed. It was still made. Had he gone to town?
Again she heard a moan, louder this time. It was coming from the deck. An animal had to be trapped there. Maybe a cat or a dog, but she hadn’t heard the security alarm go off. Needing something to protect her, she grabbed a fluffy bath towel from the bathroom and gingerly went up the stairs.
Once she was on deck the cry sounded like human sobbing. It was coming from the area of the transom. She walked toward it, then stopped dead in her tracks. There, crouching on the floor, was a man in a pair of sweats and nothing else. A crumpled blanket and sun bed lay nearby. He was on his knees with his head in his hands. As she got closer, she put a palm over her mouth.
Nikos!
Except it wasn’t the man she knew. This version of him wasn’t cognizant of the world right now. In a deep sleep, he was heaving great sobs, and fell over on his side. In the moonlight his tortured features glistened with moisture. Greek words broke from his lips. She couldn’t make out anything except Kon’s name, which he cried over and over again.
He’d been reliving the explosion. She knew about PTSD, but she’d never been with someone who was in the middle of a flashback. Without conscious thought she sank down on the sunbed next to him and put her arms around him.
“Nikos, wake up! This is just a bad dream.” She rocked him for a few minutes, but he was too immersed. At one point he grasped her arm and let out a scream that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“It’s all right, Nikos. It’s over. Go back to sleep.”
He twisted and turned, but held on while he sobbed on and off for another half hour. His fingers bit into her skin through the thin material of her robe, with such force she knew she’d have bruises. As terrifying as it was to see him like this, she felt a new closeness to him. His cries let her into his psyche, where he suffered. He’d seen the horrors of war, but the explosion that blew up his friend had traumatized him dramatically, and she was a vicarious witness.
Her gaze flew to Kon’s ring. The reminder of their friendship must have set him off during his sleep. While she kissed Nikos’s face, she put her leg over his to help quiet him, and murmured endearments.
Nothing seemed to help. Not at first. Then slowly, his fingers slid away and he fell quiet. Yannis would know all about this. Tomorrow Stephanie would get him alone and find out the name of Nikos’s doctor. He needed help getting through his nightmares.
She held on to him. He’d said this yacht was home to him now. Had he decided to sleep up here? If so, how often did he do that? A few days ago, when she’d explored the lower deck, she’d noticed his unmade bed. The poor darling had probably suffered these incidents since being hospitalized.
Did he have more than one episode a night? She’d read that a flashback could be triggered by something and come on at any time. While he stayed on this yacht, he could be away from people.
It made perfect sense that he didn’t want to be with family. But what if he hurt himself while up here on deck? What if he walked in his sleep and fell overboard? She’d heard the military wouldn’t take sleepwalkers because they could be a danger to themselves and others.
After a few more minutes she eased away from him and got to her feet. In his trauma, he’d flung his arm around and his elbow had caught the corner of her jaw. Both it and her arm felt sore, but it didn’t matter. She covered him with the blanket, then reached for the towel and sat down in the lounger to watch over him. It was quarter to six. Who knew how long he’d sleep?
Since her arrival, he’d been watching her like a hawk because of the baby. What an irony, since it was his welfare she would be worrying about, along with her own, from here on out! He could injure himself without realizing it. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.
Before this new day was over, she planned to talk to his doctor. Nikos needed watching. One thing was certain: Stephanie wouldn’t let him go to bed without her. Wherever he chose to sleep, that’s where she’d be.
She’d sat there for another half hour when she saw Yannis come on board. The second their gazes met, she got up without making a sound and padded across the deck toward him.
“So you know,” he whispered with a grave expression.
“Yes. I heard him during the night and came up to investigate. He’s resting now, but I need to talk to his doctor.”
He nodded. “The one he sees now is at the main clinic here on the island.” The same place her new OB practiced. “His name is Dr. Ganis.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re back. I don’t want him to know I heard anything until I’ve talked to the doctor.”
“I think that would be best.”
“Does he have flashbacks often?”
“Since he got out of the hospital, he had one the first night on the yacht, and last night.”
“The wedding must have triggered thoughts of Kon. I’d better go below so he doesn’t know I was up here.”
“That’s a good idea. He’ll notice the red mark along your jaw.”
Yannis didn’t miss much. “I’ll cover it with makeup.” She patted his arm before hurrying toward the stairs.
The first thing she did on entering her room was get the card for her appointment out of her purse. Once she found it, she phoned the off-hours service at the clinic and left word for Dr. Ganis to call her back ASAP. As soon as she mentioned it was Mrs. Nikos Vassalos calling about her husband, the receptionist said she’d get in touch with the doctor right away.
For the next hour Stephanie got ready for the day. First her pills, then she took a shower and washed her hair. By the time she’d finished blow drying it, marks had come out on her left arm. She’d been afraid of that.
An application of makeup to the small blotch near her chin helped, plus a coating of mango frost lipstick. Then she headed for the closet. Stephanie thanked providence she’d had the foresight to buy a long-sleeved blouse. It was an all-over print in a gauzy fabric that hung just below the waist. She put it on and matched it with a pair of white pleated pants that accommodated her thickening figure.
Stephanie had just put on some lotion when the phone rang. She grabbed for it and clicked
