natural, which he’d known she would be, even though her lips were so pale and frozen he wondered if she’d ever smile again.
It wasn’t in her to take out her feelings on a child, though. The first time he’d seen her, a blond German boy’s pale hand clutched in hers, he’d recognized her strong maternal instinct and liked her for it. Today she soothed Androu as she carried him outside where the change of scenery calmed him.
Evie remained stiff in his arms, inconsolable. They slid into the limo like bank robbers after a heist and the driver pulled away.
“You might have told me so I could have had proper car seats installed. This is dangerous, Theo.”
Damn. His name sounded better than he remembered and made him hunger to hear it against his ear.
“So?” she prompted. “Who are they?”
“Can he be trusted?” he asked in a murmur, nodding at the driver. “Because I couldn’t risk a phone call that might have been heard over the radio. I was texting one-handed—” He was interrupted by Jaya’s sudden query to Evie.
“Pyaari beti, do you have to use the potty?”
Evie’s distressed face nodded vigorously.
For the second time today, Theo’s mind blanked with panic. She was on his knee!
“Oscar—” Jaya turned to say, but the driver was ahead of her, already slowing outside the terminal building.
“Wait—” Theo said as Jaya plunked Androu onto the cushion beside her and scooped up Evie.
“There’s no waiting at her age. What is she, two?” She was out the door as the limo halted, the little girl wrapped onto her hip like a monkey.
Theo clenched his teeth and did the math on discoverability. He didn’t dare let himself calculate the odds on Jaya stealing the toddler. He made himself believe he knew her better, even though he didn’t. Not really. Not when he’d treated her the way he had.
Sleeping with Jaya had been wrong.
He wasn’t a man who got anything wrong. Mistakes were a luxury he had never been able to afford.
Something about Jaya eroded his discipline, however. Two years ago, he’d started allowing himself to fantasize about an employee. Then he’d begun finding reasons to stay an extra day in Bali, to review reports he could generate himself. He’d rationalized a one-night affair and taken her to bed knowing it was not just unwise and bordering on unethical, it was downright stupid. She was sweet and generous, not the worldly, here-for-a-good-time kind of woman who would forget him as quickly as he forgot her.
God, he wished he could forget her.
The best he’d managed was not to return her tentative few calls. It had been a cruel-to-be-kind favor in her best interest. Not that he expected her to see it that way, but he had warned her they had no future. Surely she wouldn’t hold a grudge when he’d been honest about that much?
Skipping his gaze between Androu, who was turning himself and scooting backward off the opposite seat, and the terminal doors that remained closed and reflected the black windows of the limo, he evaluated how much of a chance he was taking letting Jaya whisk Evie into public.
This airstrip catered to private aircraft belonging to celebrities and Europe’s high society, which meant most people would have very little interest in anyone but themselves. It was a tempting place for paparazzi to hang around looking for the shot of their career, though. Evie’s parents were scrupulous about keeping her out of the limelight. Dressed in her hotel uniform, Jaya would be dismissed as a flight attendant or a nanny. Since Evie’s almond eyes and black pigtails didn’t match either her adoptive father’s blond hair or her mother’s green eyes, the chances of anyone recognizing her were narrow.
It was still an interminable wait as Androu rocked his still learning feet across the short expanse to clutch at Theo’s knee. “Mama,” he said.
Oh, hell. Theo stared into innocent eyes that could have belonged to his little brother, Demitri, at that age. “I know, buddy,” he said, even though he didn’t know a damned thing except that Adara had done this surrogate parenting at a far younger age than he was, so he had to man up and make this work.
Adara had had Jaya’s instincts, though. Somehow she’d hung on to them through the war ground that was their childhood and look what she’d made: Androu was a happy little cub who’d eaten fistfuls of his first birthday cake a few months ago.
“Papa,” Androu said, making his request in that polite yet firm way his father had.
“Not here, either, sport.” Theo eyed the driver who was circumspectly keeping his eyes forward. Discreet, he’d said in his text to Jaya. Emergency. I need discreet transport and accommodation. He’d told her where and when to pick him up and she’d come through for him. Surely that meant she’d bring back his niece.
Androu picked at the seam on Theo’s jeans, absorbed, allowing Theo to train his X-ray vision on the terminal doors, willing them to open.
What in hell was taking so long? A tiny thing like Evie couldn’t have much liquid in her, especially when she’d cried most of it out. Thank goodness he’d had the sense to call Jaya. Putting a little girl on a potty was not something he would think to do, let alone know how to make happen. He was completely unprepared for this situation, like he’d been dropped on a deserted island with two little gremlins.
And Jaya.
God, she looked more incredible than ever. He still dreamed of that mouth, wide and full and feminine. Her body was better than ever. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was holding onto a few more pounds, filling out her slender figure to voluptuous perfection. Her breast would probably overflow his hand when—
If.
Hell, never.
It couldn’t happen. Best to cut those thoughts short now.
Seriously, what was she doing?
He couldn’t go after her, no matter how much he was tempted. He wasn’t a movie star, but the Makricosta siblings had been featured in upscale magazines recently, promoting the cruise ship currently being taken over by pirates. Was it targeted? Were high seas criminals after a hefty ransom by kidnapping some of the richest people in the world? The inaugural cruise had drawn a very elite crowd.
One thing at a time, he ordered himself. Gideon would protect Adara at all costs and he, Theo, had removed the only distraction Gideon might have had. Once the tots were safely stationed, he’d check in with Gideon and the authorities Gideon had raced off to advise.
A sharp pain in his thigh had him jerking his knee from the source, jostling the boy who’d bent to taste denim with his newly cut teeth. Startled by his near fall, the corners of Androu’s mouth went down and his eyes filled again.
“Wait. It’s fine. Go ahead and use me as a chew toy. You just startled me.”
Outside, the terminal doors slid open and Jaya appeared with Evie still on her hip. She clutched an overstuffed bag in her free hand and wore a harried look.
Theo moved faster than the driver, pushing open the door as she reached the car.
