“What about Michael and Tadd?” My head is spinning.
“They are the threat,” Aris says as he opens the side door to the building. Something isn’t right here.
“Aris, wait!” I shout, but he doesn’t listen. I reach for my phone and realize it’s still in my purse…in the bathroom. Shit! “Aris, I want to speak to Kostas,” I demand, but he ignores me. When I dig my feet into the grass, refusing to walk, he turns around and whips a gun out.
“Get in the fucking car, Talia,” he says.
Instantly, my hands go to my stomach, fearful not only for myself, but for my baby. “Okay,” I tell him. “Okay, just please don’t shoot me.”
The entire drive, my only thoughts are that there’s a good chance I’ll never see or speak to Kostas again. My last words to him were said in anger. He texted me to tell me he misses me, but I never texted him back. He’ll never know how much I love him, and that I’m pregnant.
Kostas
The entire three-hour flight from Heraklion to Thessaloniki was difficult. Being trapped in my private plane with nothing but a stocked bar and a building rage, I was about to explode. I wanted to drown out my thoughts, but something keeps niggling at me—something I need to keep a clear head for. Like the answer is right in front of me, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it.
Aris.
I want to say Aris has something to do with it, but he’s afraid of me. Deep down, I know he is. Where he might willingly sleep with my wife just to show he could, he’d never kill her. And hide her away for a year, that’s just bullshit Aris couldn’t keep from me. I see him every day, all day. If he was hiding something huge about Talia, I’d know.
Wouldn’t I?
When she was taken, I was blinded by determination to find her. Then, anger that I hadn’t. Now, drowning in grief also known as fucking alcohol. Alcohol that Aris has no qualms about offering me anytime he’s around.
Which is exactly why I need to keep a clear head. For the first time since she’s been gone, I feel alert and aware. I didn’t get to where I am today for being a blind fool.
I’m brooding on my thoughts while we hit the tarmac. The staff on the plane is accommodating, but I’m distracted by Talia. Always Talia. Once I step out of the plane, I’m irritated to see Phoenix leaned against a door-less Jeep. He’s dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt showcasing all his tattoos and looking like a fucking escaped convict. I hate how much he looks like Talia. It’s a painful reminder of my loss of her.
“Where’s my car?” I grumble.
Phoenix shrugs and hops inside. I follow suit and climb into his metal death wish. I’m sure I look out of place in my Armani suit.
“Where are your men?” he asks, nodding at the plane.
“Where are yours?” I challenge back.
“I don’t need them,” he sneers, side-eyeing me like I’m a minnow he can easily scare away.
“Same,” I bite back like the shark I am.
He smirks as he throws the Jeep into drive. We haul ass down the road into the city. It’s been a while since I’ve come to meet him about the taxes. In the beginning I did, right after he took over for Niles, but then, when I was losing my ever-loving mind over Talia, Aris took care of business.
“Where are we going?” I demand upon realizing we’re not headed toward the city where his office is.
“We can do business anywhere with our phones,” he grunts out. “I’m hungry and I figured you are too.”
It’s noon and I didn’t touch the refreshments on the flight. He’s right, but I won’t tell him that. He takes us to a small restaurant outside of the city. It has horrible curbside appeal, but the moment we exit the Jeep and I get a whiff of the savory garlic scents in the air, I know looks will be deceiving.
He greets the man up front and then ushers us to a dark corner booth. When he orders ouzo for the both of us, I change my order to water, which gets a lifted brow of surprise from him.
“Got a problem?”
His nostrils flare. “Nope.”
As soon as the waiter runs off to fetch our drinks, Phoenix crosses his arms over his bulky chest and glowers at me.
“What?” I demand.
“Nothing,” he sneers. “Just finally looking at the man who let my sister get taken. The same man who can’t find her.” He’s pissed and his jaw muscle keeps flexing. If I had any thought that he’d taken her, it’s squashed in this moment.
“You’re looking at the man who will cut your throat for fucking disrespecting him,” I growl, cracking my neck. “Watch your tongue, Nikolaides. Seems you forgot who you were talking to.”
He grinds his teeth but relaxes his posture. “I just don’t see how after all this time you haven’t found her.” His eyes narrow. “Unless you don’t want her to be found.”
“Me?” I snap. “If I wanted to get rid of her, I would have, and I’d gladly fucking tell you. I don’t play little girl games.”
“Then where the fuck is she?” he bellows, leaning forward, fire gleaming in his eyes. “Where the fuck is my sister?”
“Maybe she’s with your father,” I bite out. “Since you can’t find him and all. Maybe they’re in the same magical hidden realm of the earth.”
“What are you, a fuckin’ fairy?” He shakes his head in frustration. “Dad is quiet, but if he had her, I’d know about it. For one, she’d drive him insane. He’d make me deal with her. Dad and Talia haven’t gotten along in some time. I’m the peacemaker between the two.”
The waiter brings our drinks and we order from the menu.
“What about those men who were supposed to be guarding her?” he asks bitterly. “Could they be in on it?”
I crack my knuckles before picking up my water and chugging it down. With a slam of the glass on the table, I level him with a hard glare. “We can’t exactly ask them because I skinned them alive.”
His brows furrow, but his eyes flash in appreciation. “Mom keeps yapping at me about the Galanis. You two chat an awful lot.”
Fucking Melody.
“I want answers,” I grit out.
“And Mom has them?” he challenges.
“Fuck no, she doesn’t have them.”
“Then why do you call her?”
Because she reminds me that Talia was a good woman who wouldn’t just leave me.
“I check every lead.” I lift my chin and meet his glare. “Can I say the same for you? What about the traffickers your dad was letting come through?”
“That shit ended when I took over. And I look for her every damn day, Kostas. I think that’s the only fucking thing we have in common. Well, that and the inability to find her.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “We’ll find her.”
I hate that we have a common goal. Nikolaides and Demetrious working together. It’s a shitshow, clearly.
“I’ll find her,” I amend, my fierce stare begging him to argue.
“Glad you put the bottle down, man. I was tired of dealing with your arrogant brother. At least with you, I know what the fuck you intend to do. With him…” He frowns. “With him, I don’t know what to think.”