Chapter 9

As soon as Jeff had the girls tucked safely away in their rooms, he went on deck to see what could have gotten Demetrius so excited. When he stepped outside, he saw a Coast Guard cutter anchored to their boat.

"Hi, is there something I can help you with?" Jeff asked as he stepped up to the closest man. The man looked like he had been overworked, the fatigue showing on his ruddy face. He could have been 30, but he looked to be closer to 40.

"We were told you were smuggling women on here," the uniformed man informed him.

"Ah, I see. Where is the officer in charge?" Jeff asked as he looked over the personnel from the cutter. When the man wearily pointed to his commander onboard the cutter, Jeff quickly stepped toward the craft. When two of the Coasties attempted to stop him, Jeff merely implanted a command to move them out of his way. Walking up to the captain, Jeff considered just using his abilities to get him to let them go, but that wouldn't tell him who was determined to stop him from reaching Greece.

"I hope you have a good reason to stop us this way," he told him.

"Now see here..." the officer began. Jeff quickly delved into the man's mind to prevent what was sure to be a confrontation. Seeing that he would be more agreeable now, Jeff decided now would be a good time to get the answers he was seeking.

"Who told you we were smuggling women? Why pick now to stop us?" Jeff asked him.

"An old man told us you had kidnapped some women in Nashville and were smuggling them to Greece. We stopped you now before you reached international waters. Otherwise you would have been out of our jurisdiction," he answered.

"An old man? What did this old man look like?" Jeff asked.

"He was wearing a brown robe, and he smiled all the time," the captain answered. When Jeff heard this he felt a chill run down his spine. He instinctively knew he was talking about the same old man that had told him how to find the boat in the first place. Jeff decided to worry about that later, as he once again entered the officer's mind and directed him to tell his men to let them be on their way. As soon as he had done this, Jeff decided it was time to go back to his own boat to make sure all the women were safe. When he stepped back on board their yacht, Jeff stepped over to Demetrius and stood beside him. The men still on board their yacht had not yet searched the rooms, but just as they were beginning to open the door, the captain on board the cutter called them back.

"Get back on board, these people are clean," he told them. "That old man didn't know what he was talking about." Jeff watched the men heading back to the cutter, knowing they were safe for now. He knew they would need to keep their eyes open for any more surprises. Demetrius was confused at the sudden turn of events, but knew enough not to question Jeff until the Coast Guard was gone. Jeff waited until the cutter had disappeared from sight before he opened the door to beckon the women out. Michelle and Holly ran up to Jeff, throwing their arms around him and knocking him to the ground in their exuberance. With a sheepish grin, Jeff looked up, to see Sara watching them with tears in her eyes. Quickly getting to his feet, Jeff took Sara into his arms, wanting to comfort her.

"What's wrong? Why are you so sad?" he asked her as he stroked her hair.

"I'm not sad, I'm happy. I thought we were all going to be arrested. I..." she told him, before she turned and ran back to her room. Jeff followed her, confused at her outburst. When he reached her room, the door was closed. Jeff was about to knock on the door when he heard the sound of crying inside. Jeff decided to question Demetrius to see if he might know why the beautiful blonde would be crying, so he headed back to join the others on deck. Jeff glanced around, looking for the burly Greek. When he spotted him talking to Patty, Jeff walked over and asked her if he could speak with Demetrius privately for a few moments. Patty went to talk to Holly and Michelle while Jeff talked to Demetrius.

"Ah, young Jeff, I was wanting to talk to you as well, I'm glad you came to see me. I wanted to ask the man of the household's permission to date your mother," he told him. Upon hearing these words, Jeff gaped at the older man, unsure of what was expected of him. When the meaning finally dawned on him, Jeff began to smile; happy to know his mother had finally found a man that would treat her as she deserved to be treated.

"Sure. I admit to being surprised, but I can see my mother thinks a lot of you," he told the older man. With a formal bow Jeff told him, "It would be an honor to have a man like you in our family." Jeff tried hard to keep the smile off his face, and then he could control himself no longer as he burst into laughter. Seeing anger beginning to cloud the other man's face, Jeff quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, I was just so happy I couldn't resist," he told him. Mollified, Demetrius smiled at the son of the woman he was falling in love with. Demetrius was about to go to Patty to tell her the good news when he remembered Jeff had wanted to talk to him about something.

"Was there something else? What can I help you with?" he asked. Jeff had completely forgotten what he had wanted to ask Demetrius until then.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you why Sara is so upset. Since she is your niece I thought you would be the man I should talk to," he told him. Demetrius looked into the younger man's eyes. Satisfied with what he saw there, he considered what he should tell him. He wouldn't betray Sara's trust, but Jeff was Patty's son.

"I'm sorry. That is Sara's information to give you. I will tell her that I believe you can be trusted with it, though. I can do no more. I am sorry my young friend," he finally said. Jeff knew Demetrius knew more than he was telling him, but he didn't want to probe the man's mind to find out what he was hiding. He felt he owed him respect, especially since he was now dating Jeff's mother.

"I have one other question to ask you. I would like your permission to date Sara, if it is ok with her," he said, making sure to look him in the eyes. Demetrius had suspected Jeff was enamored with his niece and had already prepared for this.

"Yes, you have my permission, providing of course that Sara is agreeable. However, know this. If you hurt my niece, there is nothing on this earth that can save you. I do think you will treat her well, so you have my blessing. I do, however, have one question. I have seen the two girls around you most of the time. What is their connection to you? Remember I don't want my niece to be hurt," he told him.

"Holly is my sister, and Michelle is a girl I have taken into my protection. I know you want to make sure Sara is happy, that is why I will tell you anything you would like to know," Jeff told him. He could understand why Demetrius would worry about that, but Jeff knew he and Holly would never be able to marry, and he didn't really love Michelle. Jeff now knew that he was falling for Sara and he could see the two of them building a life together if he was able to get through this game. Jeff put Sara out of his mind as soon as he remembered what he had facing him. He knew he was going to have to keep his mind on the battle, or he wouldn't be able to build any kind of life at all. Jeff suddenly remembered something he wanted to discuss with Diana, so he began looking for her, knowing he would find her with Leandra. Demetrius stared after the young man, thinking Jeff must really love Sara if he became distracted so easily, not realizing the other things Jeff faced. Jeff continued looking for Diana, finally looking in the room she shared with Leandra. The women were getting dressed as he came in, causing Jeff to momentarily stumble as he came into the room. Although he had seen Leandra naked before, this was the first time Jeff had actually seen Diana undressed. He knew Amazons cut off their right breasts to allow them to use a bow and arrow better, but this was the first time he had ever seen the effect it had on their bodies. Diana continued getting dressed, aware of the scrutiny from Jeff, but she knew he respected her enough to not make any attempts to seduce her. When she had completed dressing she turned to him.

"Did you need something, or were you just wanting to watch us dress?" Diana asked as she smiled at him to take the sting out of the words. Jeff blushed slightly at the words, knowing Diana was just teasing him.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you what I learned earlier from the captain of that Coast Guard cutter. It sounds to me like the same old man that told me how to find this boat also turned us in. Do you know anything about him?" he asked. Diana considered telling him what she knew, but she knew that was against the rules. Jeff had to figure it out on his own. From what she had noticed, Jeff had a quick mind. He picked up things more quickly than she thought he would

"I'm sorry Jeff, I'm not allowed to tell you anything other than you have to figure that out on your own," she told him. Jeff already figured this was what she would tell him, but he didn't think it hurt anything to ask anyway. He didn't even consider using his abilities on her; he knew he needed to find other ways to deal with his problems, and he might not even be able to use them on her anyway. Jeff turned to Leandra, knowing he would probably get the same answer, but he also knew that she and Diana both knew what was going on.

"Can you tell me anything Leandra?" he asked.

"No, I'm forbidden to tell you anything, but I can confirm any guesses you might have," she replied. Jeff thought about this, knowing she had given him something to work with. Jeff knew he wouldn't find his answers here, so he decided to hunt for Sara to see if she felt any better. Leandra could see Jeff's feelings for Sara, but she knew that even Jeff didn't realize exactly what he was feeling for the beautiful blonde. Jeff went to Sara's room, hoping she wasn't still crying, but he could still hear the soft sobbing behind the closed door.

"Sara?" he softly said as he knocked. Jeff heard her moving in her room, but figured she wasn't going to answer the door. Jeff turned to leave when the door suddenly opened. Sara had tried to clear the traces of her crying from her face, but the red eyes and nose gave her away. She tried to keep up a brave front, but when Jeff took her into his arms, she collapsed against him. When Jeff felt her sobbing against his chest, he tilted her head up so he could see her face. He gently began kissing the tears away, hoping to take away her pain. Sara melted into his arms as she intercepted his mouth and began kissing him deeply. She had been hurting badly when she saw the girls tackling him. She didn't know how to deal with her growing feelings for Jeff. When he gently pushed her away from him, she began to cry again until he spoke.