Chapter 12

Stavros

“Fuck,” I hissed, shoving the laptop back on my desk and standing, doing what I’d done countless times since returning to Philly.

I paced the floor.

If the surface was a rug instead of hardwood, it would be threadbare by now.

What the hell was going on and why was everything so quiet?

After pulling my fist to my forehead, I headed out of my office.

Day two after returning had dawned with no answers, the concerns mounting. Our businesses were secure, our ports the same but both Phoenix and I had a strong feeling that additional violence would erupt when we least expected it. From what he’d told me, there were no outward signs of the Death Squad being involved, although the business card using the Canadian Prime Minister did seem to everyone like something the organization would do.

But to what fucking end?

We’d suspended weapons sales indefinitely, which would cause a rift with our clients, but we couldn’t risk the fuckers involved contacting the DEA to entrap us.

I rounded the corner, finally heading into the kitchen for coffee, stopping short the moment I noticed Jenna standing with a mug in her hand staring out at the picturesque view. As always, her presence caught me off guard.

She slowly turned after catching my reflection, her look of disdain more intense than two days before when I’d… spanked and fucked her like the primal beast I was.

The stare down was real.

Brutal.

More so than I’d experienced when facing off with an enemy.

I’d unlocked her bedroom door early that morning, retreating to my office. Maybe I’d hoped her mood would change if I offered a small sense of freedom. Now, as I walked into the kitchen, her icy glare and stiff demeanor proved me wrong. She’d been right. She was my prisoner.

At least she’d ventured into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee, which is what I had intentions of doing. As it had been from minute one, I couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of her beauty.

And the filthy thoughts regarding the sinful taste of her had yet to vanish.

She’d refused to have dinner with me on either night.

She’d refused to have a conversation with me, although I’d tried, even demanding she do so.

She’d flinched the single time I’d reached out and touched her.

And she’d acted horrified when I’d entered the bedroom.

I’d stopped trying personally, sending my housekeeper to her room with food, most of which had gone uneaten.

I’d wanted to punish her, locking her inside her room like the bad girl I’d called her. Why, for the first time in fucking years, did I feel any sense of remorse?

I wasn’t entirely certain why I was accepting her behavior in truth. If she were anyone else, I’d just tell her how it was going to be. Maybe I felt something as unusual as the furrowing desire I felt for her.

Remorse for fucking up her life.

I wasn’t certain how that was possible but as she stood in the rays of early morning light, glaring at me as she’d done for two solid days, I couldn’t help but find her incredibly attractive.

“Good morning,” I said first as I headed toward the Keurig machine, grabbing another mug from the cabinet.

“Fuck you. Oh, is that being too rude?”

I shook my head, trying to control my answer.

“I think we need to start over, Jenna. This doesn’t need to be a painful situation for you. However, we need to start communicating.”

“Communicating? You are obviously out of your mind.”

The tension between us was to be expected. The way I reacted with my cock twitching wasn’t. Maybe I adored a challenge more than I’d realized.

“Did you sleep well the past two nights?” I asked, shocked at how formal my voice sounded. One thing I knew for certain was that she needed to understand right now that she had no choice in accepting the current situation.

“As well as can be expected given I’m your prisoner. You made certain of that by keeping me locked inside.”

“Well, you did try and run away.”

She looked away, taking another sip of coffee. Her anger was as electrifying as her personality. “God, I hate you.”

Wasn’t it true that love and hate had very fine lines between them?

“It doesn’t need to be this way, Jenna. I’ve granted you free rein within the confines of the house and grounds. With certain rules applied of course.”

“Oh, of course. Not without one of your goons following me. It’s funny. I looked outside my window yesterday afternoon and the gruff bouncer guy in your employ was like glue standing beside the trellis. Do you teach them how to stare without blinking in their onsite training for the job?”

How could I not chuckle from her continued rebellious attitude? “My men are expertly trained and good at what they do. Besides, you used the trellis to make your escape. You can’t blame me for wanting to keep you safe. Even if you do, that won’t matter. I’m doing what needs to be done.” I popped in the coffee pod, pressing the button before rounding the corner of the island.

She glanced out the window briefly. “Right. I can’t blame you? You must be kidding me. I don’t know what you want from me, Stavros. I’m not a doll you can keep on the shelf. I can’t stay inside your house locked in a room for the rest of my life. Yes, it’s a beautiful prison, but you can’t honestly think you’re going to keep me locked away until I’m old and gray. I will find a way out of your clutches. I have to. I’m not done living yet.”

Her statements were true enough and in two days of thinking and trying to plan, I’d come up with no real solutions for her or anything else. She did deserve much better than the hand that had been dealt to her.

I walked closer, crowding her space and she immediately stiffened. When I dared reach out, raking my finger from one side of her jaw to the other, she flinched, jerking her head away. She had the ability to irritate the hell out of me while also driving me to the point of longing to rip off her clothes.

Very slowly I fisted my hand, dropping my arm but I refused to back away. “You’re getting a reprieve today.”

“How so?” At least I’d perked her interest.

“My sister is taking you shopping. I’m certain she’ll insist on lunch as well.”

“Oh, my goodness. You’ll allow your sister to venture out into the big bad world? Is she a blackbelt or a Ninja in disguise?”

I lifted a single eyebrow. “Neither, however, Elena can take care of herself.”

“And I can’t? What is she, Superwoman?”

“No, but she’s lived this life from the day she was born. She knows what’s at stake, and she had no issue keeping guards with her. Plus, she’s a trained marksman.”

“So am I.”

“I didn’t know that,” I told her, more impressed than before.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Let me go over the highlights with you. I speak three languages. I’m a damn good cook and not just making pizza. While I can’t afford much in the way of expensive wines, I know them very well. I ride horses, can wrestle steers to the ground in eight point nine seconds, and once considered a career in the rodeo. Would you like to know my favorite movies and music selections? I’ll give you a hint, I’m not a girlie girl. I don’t like chick flicks or rom-coms. How about you?”

Even her sultry voice was enough to draw out the beast in me all over again. “Are all those being truthful?”

“I’m not in a habit of lying, Stavros. Not only did I grow up with an Irish dad determined to treat his two daughters like sons, but I had an uncle who lived in Texas. He owned a ranch that I loved visiting. He taught me about horses and took me to rodeos every summer when I was there. I was a regular tomboy, which is one reason I can take care of myself given the opportunity.”

“You impress me very much and I’ll keep that in mind. However, until I get a handle on what we’re dealing with, I can’t risk your life any more than I already have.”

“Share with me who you think your latest, greatest enemy is.”

Walking away wasn’t easy but I felt it necessary. Not only did she need space but so did I. Around her, I could find myself losing all control.

I grabbed the mug of coffee, even though I had a feeling everything would leave a bitter taste in my mouth. “I honestly wish I knew, Jenna. But I don’t.” Sighing, I grabbed cream from the refrigerator, pouring some into my mug. When Jenna was in a room, there was a breath of fresh air.

“Russians? The asshole who attacked me was definitely Russian. His accent was pronounced.”

“No, I don’t think so. The man who hunted and found you was simply hired to do a job. There are factions all over the world intent on coming into a territory instead of respecting it as most syndicates do. There are rules in our world like in any corporate environment.” I took a sip of coffee, the same thoughts tumbling through my mind as I’d had for two days.

“Huh. That’s fascinating. Who knew criminals had any regulations.”

“You might be surprised. The shit you’ve heard or read about crime syndicates is horribly outdated. Now, when you’re with Elena, I hope you can enjoy yourself, but you will be required to remember the rules at all times. She’ll grill you because that’s what my sister does. There are no secrets in our family so feel free to express your utter hatred of me. I have thick skin. However, my beautiful enchanted one, do not try and escape. Even Elena won’t stand for it. Neither will her guards. I hope that I can place my trust in you as one day I hope you can in me. But if you fail me now, it will be a very long time until your privileges are restored. If ever.”

“I’ll keep that in the back of my mind. Anything else?”

I walked closer to her, wanting to spend the morning with her doing nothing more than breaking down her barriers. She’d been in my house for three days and it felt as if there was more life in the once cold and lonely place.

“No. Try and relax if you can. Elena will show you a good time. But you need to return prior to dark.”

“Oh, Daddy. I have a curfew.”

“Goddamn it, Jenna. I’m not fucking around with this. Do you hear me? That burly Russian was going to kill you. How many times do I need to say the same thing before you get it through your head? How many?”

She was obviously surprised I’d raised my voice. “Okay. Before dark.”

“Good. Do not fuck with me on this. I don’t want to treat you like a child, but I will if necessary.” My God, how the woman could get under my skin.

“Hmmm…” She sidestepped me, leaving her barely touched cup of coffee on the island, immediately heading toward the door.

“I want you safe,” I told her.

“And I want my life back.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t do that.”

“Then there’s nothing for us to talk about.”

When she was gone, there was nothing but emptiness.

Alone.

I’d never felt alone in my life. How could I with such a huge family hanging around me? Almost all of us now lived in the same city, my sister Alexandra the exception. She’d taken a position at a Baltimore Hospital, which meant we only saw her during the holidays. Internship was brutal on emerging doctors.

Even Elena only lived in Philly part time, returning to Washington State every few weeks to tend to her beloved winery. I was glad my sisters had found happiness doing what they loved. Meanwhile, the three sons had never been given a choice in what we were to accomplish in our lives.

I wasn’t certain why I was thinking about that at this point other than I’d spent two days talking with my brothers, and our most trusted outside sources from all over the world, without coming to any concrete sources for the two incidents in New York.

However, we had come to the conclusion they weren’t related.

I’d sent Christos and Atlas to continue cruising our businesses, ensuring the threats our customers had received wouldn’t come to fruition. The entire situation was akin to a game of Russian roulette. However, that’s the game I’d be playing when I managed to track down the asshole behind this. I was more than itching to do so.

I heard footsteps, and for a few seconds, I was hopeful that my lovely guest had returned for round two. I’d spent the better of two days keeping my distance from Jenna. Part of it had been the cold shoulder she’d given me after our primal incident in the forest. The other had been I’d had reports of certain issues within our new casinos as well as several of our high stakes power games. It seemed someone had put the fear of God into some of our more lucrative clients.

No one knew who was behind the not-so-subtle threats they’d each received through anonymous texts, but that had meant our secure computer system had been hacked. That didn’t sit well with me since we’d hired some of the best computer security personnel in the business. In addition, we’d also hired eager young geeks, some considered wanted criminals for their hacking abilities. Even their brilliance had been foiled.

The messages had all arrived at the exact same time, three-thirty in the morning Eastern Standard Time. The wording had also been the same.

Continue working with the Diamondis family and you and your entire family will die.

No signature, no ability to retrace the steps of the text. It was as if whoever had sent it didn’t exist. Of course that was possible given this day and age of super hackers and computer geniuses. But in a world where pontificating had become an art form, a solid majority of those in crime syndicates enjoying taking credit for whatever dirty deed and bloodshed they’d ordered, the airwaves were decidedly quiet as far as anyone gleefully owning up to it.

The chattering voices were something else. There were conspiracy theories from New York to Miami. Phoenix and I agreed that the organization responsible was enjoying the brief chaos. Including with our businesses. I’d had little sleep and no interest in food. The only longing I’d felt had been to taste Jenna all over again.

Why did I have a feeling someone knew me better than I believed, realizing it was only a matter of time before my yearning for the forbidden caused my armor to fall?