Bad Blood

Part One

Just to let you know, this story is incomplete on this site now, as it is published on Amazon. If you enjoy this starter, then I hope you'll continue it there. The links are in the story description. Thanks for reading, MZxx

Chapter One

Nancy stood dockside, her suitcases at her feet and waited for her taxi to arrive.

Rome.

She was allowing herself three days in the city before deciding what to do with her life. Arguing with her boss when she was in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea wasn't her greatest decision. But then becoming a singer on a cruise ship at thirty two wasn't her greatest move either.

And now, here she was, no job, no plans, dumped back in the middle of Europe, the closest she'd been to her British home in almost fifteen years. Had that been her plan all along?

Her divorce had come through six months earlier, and with it, came the realisation that she couldn't stay in Australia any more. Even though it had been her home for most of the preceding decade. She had never become a citizen, after the split, her husband, or rather EX husband had gone home to New Zealand, their friends were all caught in the middle. And her life had spiralled out of control.

Paul Greenwood was a name synonymous with Marketing in most of the Southern Hemisphere, and as his nephew, Luke, her husband, shit - EX husband, was equally revered. She couldn't say whether he'd deliberately black listed her, or if the story of their split had done its own damage. But after six years at a marketing firm in the centre of Sydney, she was 'released' in a down sizing operation. Cut adrift, left to float. Literally. Coincidence? She didn't think so.

She had money, she'd worked hard, and Luke had settled a large amount when they finally divorced, but for the first time since her teens she had no direction, no idea what she was going to do. Other than leave Australia. Suddenly she had no good memories of the place. A bitter split would do that, but when her ex's family was so well known, it became more than just the animosity between the two of them.

Taking a cruise ship job out of Malaysia was so out of the blue, but then maybe that was why she took it. A chance to be anonymous, untraceable for a while. It was her MO after all. Burying her head in the sand, as far away from her issues as possible. And she loved singing, she'd hidden that love for along time, and as soon as she stood on the stage for her audition, she felt relaxed, for the first time in a long time. She couldn't think it was a bad move, but it had been an easy way out. Out of contact with the rest of the world for large parts of the week, and away from anyone she knew. It had worked on so many levels.

Until now.

That made her gulp in anxiety, at the same time a car horn caused her to jump, her heart racing as a taxi stopped in front of her.

"Do you speak English?" She asked as the driver wound the window down. When he shrugged, she sighed, "I need a cheap hotel."

Grunting he popped the lock on the boot, and she moved to toss her bags in the back. No offer of assistance from the driver.

The journey from the coast to the outskirts of Athens took about twenty minutes. The traffic was horrendous and there was no air conditioning in the car, which meant for large parts of the journey, the vehicle was static in hot, humid equally unmoving air. But it did mean that Nancy had a lot of time to dwell on all that had gone wrong. And there had been a lot.