Chapter 13

“Most distracting of all, though, was not the threat of danger but the allure of beauty.”

—Michel Faber

Stavros

Jenna was as beautiful as the situation was dangerous, but there was no doubt in my mind she’d fallen into the middle of a trap, much like I had.

The shitstorm the threats had created had meant serious damage control, or as I liked to call it, chasing our own fucking tails. Which was ridiculous. Not only had Phoenix insisted on another meeting this morning but he’d also directed me to attend a meeting of the Brotherhood with him.

At least that might mean the group of powerful men had finally learned something. I hoped like hell they had. I felt like a caged lion and that didn’t bode well for my personality.

In addition, I’d received a threat as well, although not at the same time, and I had a feeling it wasn’t computer generated. Whoever had sent me laughing emojis followed by the symbol for explosions and the few words had likely been laughing his ass off.

Those who partake in sin shall face the wrath of the demon.

Catchy but ridiculous, although I’d heard something of this nature had been used by members of the Death Squad with another member of the Brotherhood. It was just a matter of time before we were able to identify them. Or so we hoped.

I took another sip of coffee, the anger from someone managing to derail my life keeping me on edge. Another set of footsteps caught my attention. That’s when I realized how quiet the house had been as of late. I often didn’t turn on the television or play any music. It seemed funny since I’d grown up with music a constant in my house, including everything from country to Broadway, my mother’s favorite.

Why in God’s name was I headed down memory lane? Because of what Jenna had told me about her accomplishments? Perhaps so.

While my brothers were due at any time, I’d also asked Elena to drop by, taking Jenna shopping. After three days of remaining in the same clothes, something had to give. I’d done a woeful job of stopping by a local clothing store, finding some things that my guest had glared at. I’d placed the bags in her room on day one, and they had promptly been tossed against the wall, my housekeeper telling me all about the condition she’d found them in.

Jenna was as hardheaded as they came.

She’d remained in her escape clothes even now, although they clearly needed to be washed.

I’d kept the lingerie I’d purchased, asking one of my men to return the rest of the items, although I wasn’t certain why I’d bothered keeping anything. Maybe because I’d been itching to come to her room, to enjoy her company and it was getting stronger with every passing minute. But if I didn’t get control of my emotions prior to figuring out what our family was dealing with then every moment of her life would be more dangerous than the one before.

What had prompted the out of the blue Brotherhood meeting where every single member had agreed to fly into Philly instead of a Zoom call was that other hacks and various threats had been made up and down the Eastern seaboard. There was even chatter on the dark web about an organization coming in. In my mind, I was almost settled on the idea that the Death Squad had set their sights on the Diamondis family and our weapons contacts, but at this point, it remained to be seen. The truth was I was eager to meet with the alliance, allowing our combined sources of information to aid in our hunt for the assholes threatening us.

Elena swept into the kitchen seconds later, already lifting her eyebrows as if annoyed with me. Whether or not she was a younger sister didn’t matter. She’d taken after our mother. Both sisters had. Maybe Nico, Phoenix, and I were lucky the two girls weren’t the fourth and fifth brothers or we’d be in serious trouble.

“You have a woman you’re keeping a prisoner? For days now?”

“And hello to you too, sister of mine. Who have you been talking to?”

“Our dear brother Nico shared the news with me since you neglected to say a damn thing when you called frantically except that you needed my expertise. What is going on?”

I laughed as she planted her hand on her hip. Our entire family had a flair for the dramatic. I’d thought I’d been immune to the practice until what I’d allowed to happen in the forest.

“It was necessary to keep her safe.”

“Was it the girl I passed in bright pink scrubs that stink to high heaven and are covered in splotches of blood?”

“The very one. Her name is Jenna and she’s not happy to be here.”

“Well, duh. I guess not if you abducted her. From where? Some local hospital? Did you kill someone, which is why she’s covered in blood?”

“Try New York where she’s a veterinarian and to answer your crude question, yes, I killed a Russian thug to save her life.”

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at my coffee mug. “Wow. Let me get this straight. You took a woman from New York City, a veterinarian no less, and brought her here after killing some guy.”

“Correct.”

“Because you suddenly adopted a dog?”

I burst out laughing. “Not yet.” Although I had a feeling that might be on the short list. “She fixed me up after being shot by an Albanian soldier. However, someone thought she belonged to me.”

“This just gets better and better. You just happened to be in New York for a slice of pizza and some random mobster attacked you? So you ran into a veterinary clinic to get fixed up, killed another dude then abducted a woman. Just wow. What else do you do for fun?”

“I’m sure you’ll grill my lovely companion and get all the juicy details. Let’s just say she’s proven herself to be a runner. You’ll need to watch her and your back.”

“So, she’s not a player in our world for real.”

“No, she’s not.”

“Well, at least you and Phoenix have something more in common since you’ve chosen your women from the real world.”

I gave her a hard look and she laughed. “I haven’t chosen anyone, and I assure you that Jenna would tell you otherwise in blazing and very violent words.”

“I’ll be happy to give her all the dirt on you, brother of mine. She really tended to your wounds?”

“She did, pulling a bullet from my shoulder.” I moved my arm, noticing the ache was finally fading.

“Then she’s practically a member of the family.”

“Just go easy with her, sis. She’s a good girl handed a raw deal and I’ve actually already had to save her life twice.”

“Another save? Let me guess, a second assassination.”

Her sudden shift into a serious tone meant she knew this wasn’t all fun and games. “You are correct and that’s not something I would kid about, especially taking her away from a new business. Someone is enjoying toying with me and using her to do it.” I’d looked into the landlord she’d mentioned. The fucker was a real piece of work. If I’d managed to stay in New York, I would have enjoyed using a circular saw on his face.

Perhaps I’d need to intervene in the situation my way. I rubbed my jaw, a rather decadent and evil thought slicing through my brain.

“I hope you were right about her sizes. I brought some things she can borrow until we finish our fabulous day of maxing out your credit card, but if not, I will kill you myself.” She gave me another hard look as she held out her hand. I knew exactly what she was waiting for.

“You are a real troublemaker. Did you know that?” I pulled out my wallet, handing her my obsidian American Express.

“Any limits?”

“Would it matter?”

She grinned like the wild woman she was. “Not in the least, brother.” The way she snatched it from my hand kept the grin on my face. Maybe putting the two of them together was the best idea I’d had yet.

Although the thought of devouring Jenna again, tying her to the bed to subdue her before she went out with my brazen sister had crossed my mind.

“Just take care of her, Elena. I’m not fucking with this. I’m not a good man by any stretch of the means but I refuse to allow anything to happen to her. And don’t be late. She hates me, which is why I’m going to try and improve the situation.”

The sly look on her face made me grimace. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with sisterly concern and a dash of happiness.

“Stop worrying, big brother. This isn’t the first rodeo I’ve been on, nor will it be the last. I’ll make certain we go to some protected areas. She will be well taken care of and I assure you that if she tries to run, my two former bouncer guards will be able to handle her. However, I don’t like this, brother. She could easily become a casualty, and that’s not something you need on your conscience. But I have a feeling you need to remember that she didn’t ask for this.”

Elena was right about that. She’d been the first person I’d called after… the incident so many years before. She was also right about Jenna.

“I assure you that neither Phoenix nor I like it any more than you do. Just keep her safe. I’ll handle my guest my way.”

Elena walked closer, placing her hand on my arm. “Uh-huh. You already like her.”

I could never lie to my sister. “I do but right now, that’s the worst thing that can happen.”

“No, it’s not. You deserve to find someone special. Remember that. When all this fighting and territory takeover bullshit goes away, family is constant and what gives you the strength to go on.”

“Says the girl who refuses to date less than three men at a time.”

“It’s different for women. We’re born and bred to handle more. I’ll take care of her. Go solve the problems of the world with our brothers.” She turned around with the same flair as she’d had when walking in, just in time for Phoenix and Nico to stride into the room. “Speak of the devils.”

“Our little sister the comedian.” I issued the words in passing, noticing the odd look on Phoenix’s face.

He walked closer, the hard glare remaining. “Tell me about this threat you received. And why the fuck didn’t you call me the moment you did?”

I yanked out my phone, handing it to him. “It was nothing more than pushing me for a third time, trying to derail my typical handling of business. I’m not that stupid.”

Phoenix eyed me carefully before handing it to Nico to read.

“How poetic,” Nico snarled.

“We need to work very closely together. All of us. I have a bad feeling we’re in for a lot more and there will be follow-up actions to the threats made. And it won’t just be about our legitimate businesses either. You know that.”

“Does that mean there’s news out of Greece?” I asked.

“So far there’s nothing from the searches our uncle has completed, but the Brotherhood has some information on international syndicates experiencing the same shit you are. Why they started with you, I’m not certain but we will work together no matter what occurs. Understood, gentlemen?” Phoenix asked as he shifted his attention from Nico back to me.

Once he did, Nico winked. Our older brother did enjoy using his recently minted title in a heavy-handed authoritarian kind of way.

“Nico. You’re friendly with one of the local DEA agents. Go talk with the guy and find out if they’ve heard anything.”

Nico laughed. As the one considered the Consigliere of the organization, he hadn’t known how his law degree would come into play when he’d graduated top of his class at Harvard.

“Do you really think Ben is going to be up front about working some case?” Nico asked.

“The two of you are buddies. You went to college together.”

“That doesn’t mean he can provide classified details, bro,” I told our illustrious leader.

“He will if he knows what’s good for him.”

Nico coughed. “I’ll use a little more finesse than that, but he won’t provide details. I can promise you that.”

“Whatever you can glean from his perspective on the international scene will come in handy. Ask him if he’s aware of the Death Squad as well.” I threw out the idea. It couldn’t hurt at this point.

“Good. That could prove to be helpful. Whether he confirms or denies, you’ll know,” Phoenix threw in. “We’re headed to a meeting of the Brotherhood. After that, a meeting with our computer experts.”

“Then we’ll talk later,” Nico said. “And here I thought we’d have breakfast together.”

Snorting, I waved the man off. Nico had been encouraged to go to law school, not something he’d wanted to do, especially since he’d been a bit of a delinquent as a kid himself. But what our father had wanted, he’d gotten. At least with regard to his sons.

Phoenix seemed studious this morning. Although I wasn’t surprised, I had a feeling he had something on his mind he wanted to share.

“What is it other than the obvious?” I finally asked.

“You do like to get to the point. Plus, you have a way of knowing when something is off, just like you did with Jenna. It’s a gift that I wished Nico and I shared.”

“True. But I usually call it a curse. What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I wanted you to attend the meeting with me because the Brotherhood is going to continue expanding in membership. With the onslaught of new technology and the shadow of the Death Squad as well as all the other new, more dangerous syndicates and cartels popping up, we feel it’s prudent to continue our expansion efforts.”

I thought about what he was saying. “Let me guess. The entire Brotherhood has determined that going completely legit isn’t prudent during a time when dirty games are being played. Therefore, you want to develop a shadow operation, a group of your own assassins to handle the bloodier sides of our sordid industry while maintaining an entirely legitimate front.”

He grinned, the tension leaving him. “As I said, it’s a gift, not a curse.”

“So why are you telling me?”

“Because, brother of mine, I’ve made the suggestion that you lead that particular task force.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a skilled marksman. Because you have the patience of a saint. Because at the end of the day, you’re a damn good hacker yourself. And because you have excellent people skills and have made certain associates into trusted allies. In short, you’re dangerous because you don’t seem dangerous.”

“I’m not certain I take that as a compliment or not. I’m also not certain that’s something I want to do.”

“Lead an organization that you create from the ground up? That you determine the rules and how you’re going to get business done? You don’t need to participate in the actions required, Stavros. You just need to control the testosterone in the room.”

“You make that sound easy. What does the Brotherhood say?”

“Well, as with all things of this nature, they want to see how you perform on the international scene.”

“Which you all think is where this is going.” I shoved my hands into my pockets.

“Yes, unfortunately we do.”

I took a deep breath, thinking about the woman who’d entered my life. It was funny to be thinking more about a beautiful woman who’d captured my desire, awakening my dead soul instead of the opportunity that had been presented to me on a silver platter. “As you might imagine, I’ll also need to think about it.”

“Absolutely. We should get going to the meeting.” He started to head for the door then stopped. “And so you know. You can absolutely start a family if you decide to take this position. If that’s what you want.”

“Why is everyone in the family so certain I’ve found the right one?”

“Because a spark has returned to your eyes.”

Fuck me. Maybe he was right. That made the entire situation that much more dangerous.

Not for me.

For my enchanted one.