"Stavros, listen to me!"
I’m trying to scream over the noise of the crowd, but his hand is clamped firmly on the small of my back, propelling me toward the exit. The gala is ending. The senator is waving. My father is already flanked by guards near the door.
"Not now, Alina," Stavros says, scanning the perimeter, his body a coiled spring of tension. "We move. We talk in the car."
"But I saw—"
"Move."
He shoves me through the double doors and into the cool Athenian night. The air should be refreshing, but it tastes of exhaust and ozone. We are on the steps of the Zappeion. The valet is pulling the lead SUV around the circular drive.
I look back at the doors, desperate to see if the man in the gray suit is following. Desperate to see Elena.
"Get in the car," Nikos barks from the sidew
