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love for her father, she realised in that moment the futility of landing the blameat his door. Leo Parnassus would just laugh in her face. She’d quite literally been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and could blame no one but herself.
    She watched as he paced back and forth, his hands on his hips. The fingers were long and lean, and a sprinkling of dark hair dusted the backs of his hands. Suddenly an image of him hauling himself out of the pool that evening in one sleek movement caused heat to explode low in her pelvis.
    In a moment of blind panic, feeling intensely vulnerable, Angel sprang up again and stood behind the high-backed chair. As if that could offer protection! Leo stopped and turned around to face her, surveying her coolly.
    Angel asked huskily, ‘What…what are you going to do? Are you going to call the police?’
    He ignored her question and walked over to a sideboard, where he poured himself a measure of whisky. He downed the drink in one swallow, the strong bronzed column of his throat working, making Angel feel even more weak and trembly.
    Leo’s eyes snared hers again, and she saw something flame in the dark depths, revealing golden lights.
    â€˜Did your father send you here that night? Was it a recce for tonight? Or is this your own ingenuity?’
    Angel’s hands clenched on the back of the chair; she could feel her ponytail coming loose. ‘I told you. The night of the party I had no idea where we were going. I worked for that catering company, they didn’t tell us until we were on the way for security reasons.’
    He all but laughed out loud. ‘And once you and your father knew that Georgios was away, you took advantage of the opportunity. The only thing you didn’t factor in was my return.’
    â€˜Th…there was nothing in the press.’
    Leo glowered, and Angel quailed even more. Now she’d made it sound even worse. No way could she reveal that she’d been helplessly drawn to scanning the papers every day to read about his movements.
    â€˜I came a week early, hoping to surprise a few people. We’re very aware—’ his mouth tightened ‘—more so now we’re in transition of power, that people will believe we’re an easy target to take over.’
    Angel had a nauseating realisation. ‘You saw me arrive. The security guard checked with you …’
    Leo indicated to Angel’s right-hand side, and she looked over to see an ante-room off the study, the door through which he had appeared. In it, she could clearly make out a glowing wall of cameras, showing flickering black and white images. CCTV cameras. One of which looked directly over the main gate. He’d watched nearly every step of her progress. She felt sick when she thought of how she’d crept through the house. Her naivety mocked her. Of course she’d never have got near this place if he hadn’t been here. She looked back.
    Leo’s face was so harsh that Angel felt a jolt of pure fear go through her. This man was a million miles from the seductive stranger she’d met that night.
    â€˜Your audacity is truly astonishing. Clearly you have the confidence born of your position in society, even if you don’t hold that position any longer.’
    Angel could have laughed if she’d had the wherewithal. Tito might have been wealthy once, but he was a despot and had controlled all their lives with a tight fist. It hadn’t been audacity that had led her to that gate; it had been sheer fear and a desire to right a wrong.
    â€˜I wasn’t coming to steal anything, I swear.’
    Leo gestured back to the will sitting on the table and completely ignored her statement. ‘What were you hoping to glean from it?’ He laughed harshly. ‘That’s a stupid question. No doubt your father was hoping to use inside information on my father’s estate to undermine him in some way. Or were you going to use the