MADDISON stared at her younger brother in abject horror.
âWhat do you mean you sank his yacht?â
A petulant scowl took up residence on Kyle Jonesâs nineteen-year-old face.
âHe deserved it.â
âOh, my God.â She put her head in her hands as she struggled to gain control of her sky-rocketing emotions.
âI thought youâd be happy,â Kyle said with a hint of pique. âAfter all, heâs the one who ruined Dad. I thought youâd be pleased I made a stand at long last.â
âKyle.â She lifted her tortured gaze to his. âDo you have any idea of what youâve done?â
He set his shoulders defiantly. âI donât care. He had it coming to him.â
Maddison shut her eyes. âI canât believe Iâm hearing this.â
âItâs all right,â he reassured her. âHe has no idea who did it.â
She opened her eyes to face him. âHow can you possibly know that for sure? People like Demetrius Papasakis always know who their enemies are.â She got to her feet in agitation and paced the room. âYou do realise what this means, donât you?â She turned to face him once more, her expression pale with worry.
Her brother gave a dismissive shrug. âWhat are you so worried about? Heâs never going to know it was me.â
âOf course heâll know it was you! Youâve already got a police record! Itâs not going to take him long to put two and two together and come up with your name, and once he does you can be certain of one thingâheâll make sure you end up in prison.â
âIâm not going to prison,â he said emphatically.
âNo, youâre not. At least not if I can help it.â She gnawed her bottom lip as she hunted her brain for a solution.
âIâm glad I did it, no matter what you think.â An element of proud defiance had entered Kyleâs voice. âAnyway, itâs not as if he canât afford another yacht; heâs positively loaded.â
âThatâs the whole trouble, donât you see?â Desperation was creeping into her tone but there was nothing she could do to stop it. âUnlike us, he can afford the very best legal advice. You wonât have a leg to stand on, especially after that last car you stole.â
âI didnât steal it,â he protested. âI borrowed it.â
âDonât split hairs, Kyle. You know you stole it and you were incredibly lucky to get out on bail, which I might remind you at this point I have yet to pay back to the bank.â
âIâll pay you back when I get a job,â he promised.
Maddison sighed with frustration. âAnd when is that going to be? Youâve already had three jobs, none of them lasting more than a week. I canât keep covering up for you; at some point youâre going to have to take responsibility for your own life. Youâre nineteen years old, more than old enough to drive and vote. Itâs about time you stopped blaming everyone else for whatâs gone wrong in your life and make something good happen instead.â
âDemetrius Papasakis wrecked our lives,â Kyle said bitterly. âHow can you simply sit back and let him get away with it?â
âThere are better ways than sinking million dollar boats,â she pointed out wryly. âWe could have gone to him and stated our case, perhaps fought for compensation.â
âOh yeah, right.â His voice was scathing. âHeâd laugh in our face; he couldnât give a fig for what happened to Dad when he lost his job. And besides, look at the way he treats the latest women in his life; that man doesnât have a conscience.â
Maddison couldnât agree more, but didnât want to encourage her brotherâs fiery temper. Hardly a day went past without one of the Sydney papers revealing the latest antics of the billionaire playboy, a six-foot-three Greek god of a man with too much money and not enough scruples.
Their father had worked for Demetrius Papasakis as an assistant accountant in the Papasakis hotel chain for years, only to be dismissed without a fair hearing when a question had been raised about the supposed misappropriation of funds. The mud thrown had stuck, and within weeks their father had collapsed with a fatal heart attack, which Maddison knew had been due to the intolerable strain he had faced at the time.
âPeople like Demetrius Papasakis usually get their comeuppance in the end,â she said instead. âThe trick is to hang around long enough to witness it.â
âMaybe youâre right.â The edge of her brotherâs mouth lifted in a small smile. âAccording to yesterdayâs paper, Papasakis is currently in the middle of yet another relationship scandal, a rich divorcee this time, the ex-wife of one of his business rivals.â
âAt the moment Iâm not too concerned about the trouble Demetrius Papasakis may or may not be in,â she said. âThe thing Iâm concerned with right here and now is how weâre going to get you out of the firing line until the dust settles over this boat episode.â