Chapter 26

Stavros

It is said time heals all wounds.

Bull. Fucking. Shit.

I’d left my two trusted men with the woman I couldn’t help but love, even though she’d locked herself in the bedroom after my display of distrust. I couldn’t blame her. I’d spent the night walking the floors, sitting on the patio, and staring at nothing. It had been an odd yet cathartic moment where I’d forced myself to answer a single question.

Did I love her?

The answer had come quickly and without reservation.

Fucking hell, yes.

That had added to the guilt that continued to ravage my system, the anger I felt for the various aspects of deceit difficult to sort through or ignore.

As I headed toward the front door of my uncle’s beautiful estate, I glanced over my shoulder at the bright blue shimmer of the sea. The draw was just like I’d experienced as a boy but for some unknown reason, today the sight of the rolling calm seas was also disturbing. This wasn’t just the calm before the storm. This was that life changing moment where the path in front of me was forked.

I didn’t need to knock given it was family, but I did, my aunt answering. She was a fascinating woman, able to read her family members as if she were psychic. She placed her age-spotted hands on either side of my face, pulling my head down and kissing my forehead. The gesture was lovely, but it was her words that would forever haunt me.

“Min afíseis ti gynaíka pou fótise tin psychí sou na xefygei. Giatí an to kánete, oi éllines theoí tha sas stoicheiónoun gia to ypóloipo tis zoís sas.”

Do not let the woman who enlightened your soul get away. For if you do, the Greek gods will haunt you for the remainder of your life.

The words were heartfelt and damning to my blackened soul. But she was right. I hated myself for how I’d handled the discussion the night before.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on it.” I kissed her on the forehead as she’d done with me, squeezing her arms.

I didn’t need her to tell me the Brotherhood members had arrived. At least they’d wanted my uncle to be involved for this meeting, obviously placing their trust in the entire Diamondis family.

I walked to the extensive patio, studying the various men before heading outside. Phoenix had an odd look of relief when I headed into the fray of powerful men, taking a deep breath before smiling.

Constantine had made the trip, Maxim and Sabatino as well. Even Brogan was there, his face highlighting the concern every member felt. My uncle had set up a computer outside so we could conduct business while enjoying the beautiful day. It seemed surreal to be enjoying spending any time in Santorini when it felt as if my entire world was about to implode.

My uncle was busy getting the Zoom meeting started, fussing as he usually did with every aspect of his business. I headed toward Phoenix, eyeing the feast of food and drink my aunt had prepared. While it was the Greek way with everything, my stomach continued to churn from anxiety and anger at myself.

“Did you talk with Jenna?” my brother asked.

“Yes, and I believe her when she said she isn’t aware of Madden’s activities. Her mother was taken from Ireland a long time before Jenna was born, the name forbidden in their household.”

“Good to hear, brother.”

“Yet I destroyed the trust we’d developed by asking. That infuriates me.”

“It had to be done.”

“Someday you’re going to need to explain the finer art of handling business while keeping a relationship alive. I fucked up the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

“If it’s true love,” Brogan interjected, obviously overhearing our conversation, “then you will find a way back to each other. I know that well.”

I wanted to be angry that my brother had mentioned my personal life and business, but I was beginning to embrace the importance of the Brotherhood and the work they’d done for almost ten years. Maybe I did want to be a small part of the organization but not until Madden was killed and the woman I loved was convinced I wasn’t a bad guy.

Right.

As if that could happen.

“There,” Uncle Dimitrios said, pleased he had conquered technology.

“Let’s get started,” Constantine said. “It would appear Madden is still secluded away in Ireland.”

“How do you know that for certain?” I asked, although it sounded more like a demand.

Constantine glanced at Maxim, as if telling him to address my concerns.

“He’s been sighted by some of our… friends,” Maxim said under his breath. “Show the footage.”

As Constantine took over the controls on the monitor, flipping through several screens, he first pulled up a picture of Madden taken for some magazine or news article. He waited as we all made note of what the man looked like before he switched to a recorded video of a man walking into a house.

“That was taken in his home in Dublin. He has several estates in various countries, but it would seem he’s hunkered down for the long haul.” Constantine’s voice held an air of certainty to it.

There was no doubt the man seen in the video was Madden Byrne.

“Then we go hunting in his world,” Brogan snarled.

“Agreed,” Sabatino added.

“If we do this, we go in full force,” Gabriel said. “There is no doubt he is behind the attacks and the situation in New York.”

“How can you be so certain?” I asked.

Gabriel grinned. “Correspondence secured by my hackers, conversations and threats Madden issued. And pictures of Sean and Madden seen together in a restaurant in New Jersey less than two months ago.”

“They were planning the operation,” Phoenix hissed.

“I checked with the people I know in Alaska,” Diego added. “Madden made two recent purchases of oil rigs, both strong-armed deals.”

“What about the Death Squad? How do they come into play?” I glanced from the men on the Zoom call back to Constantine.

Dante smiled, leaning forward into the camera. “While there is no direct connection at this point, there was a significant deposit made to a newly established offshore account secured by Madden’s corporation coming from an unknown source.”

“How much are we talking about?” my uncle asked.

“Ten million dollars,” Dante answered. “And Madden’s father, brother, and sister-in-law were killed in a similar manner as that of Viktor and his family. However, that could have occurred months ago.”

“Madden sacrificed his entire family because of a promise made and greed.” I was musing more than anything, still amazed at the lengths people would go to in order to gain power and wealth.

“Yes,” Daniel piped in.

“So you know, Stavros. There is no evidence that Jenna Kilborne’s mother or father made contact with Madden. However, it does appear Madden kept track of them over the years, including the whereabouts of their daughter. And he was the one who bought off Rocky, encouraging him to lease a portion of the building to Jenna. It’s interesting because what it took to coerce Rocky was paying off a significant medical bill for his daughter who has leukemia.”

I shook my head after hearing the news. “Good to know.”

Constantine allowed the information to be digested. “Thank you, Dimitrios, for providing intel of your own. It’s time we go hunting, gentlemen. The sooner the better.”

“We leave in the morning,” Phoenix offered.

The last thing I wanted was to leave the country, but Jenna wouldn’t be safe until this was over. “Fine, but I have some things to take care of before I leave.”

“Understood.” It was as if Constantine was acknowledging me as a recent addition to the Brotherhood. Not that I cared at this point.

I’d put business in front of my life for far too long. It was time to reverse course. And I needed to tell Jenna exactly how I felt. I wasn’t the kind of man who knew how to grovel, but I was ready to learn. I couldn’t lose her.

No, I refused to lose her.

I didn’t wait to hear anything else, retreating from the room, more than eager to return to the woman I loved.

As I hopped into the car, I thought about stopping to purchase flowers, but I had a feeling nothing would soothe the raging beast within her. Other than my heartfelt admittance I was wrong.

I was already halfway back to my father’s house when the phone rang. Christos. When I answered, I could instantly tell something was wrong. “What is it?”

“She’s gone,” he said, his voice exasperated. “There’s been a struggle.”

Thirty minutes before

Jenna

Iloathed heartache, the sick feeling pooling in your stomach when you’d cried so many tears your entire body ached. I’d slept little, longing to unlock the door and curl into Stavros’ arms. Of course that didn’t make any sense for about a dozen reasons, but here I was yearning for him to hold me. It was crazy to try to put him in another light or to act as if what we shared would change him in any way. It also wasn’t fair for me to try.

Yet I remained aching all over. I’d finally crawled out of bed when I’d heard voices, noticing Stavros had left for a meeting. I’d taken a shower and while putting on a fresh set of clothes, I’d grabbed my bracelet. I was fingering the charms on the dazzling sterling silver piece as I continued to think about all that Stavros and I had shared.

Dislike.

Uncertainty.

Lust.

Need.

Now…

Ugh. I wasn’t going to think the word. How could I love a man who couldn’t trust me? And why had my mother not told me how dangerous Madden Byrne truly was?

Because she’d divorced herself from her uncles and cousins at the request of my grandparents. Now I was beginning to understand why, even if I knew only a portion of the story.

And what the fuck had the idiot Rocky gotten himself into?

I finally opened the door to the bedroom, captured by the need for coffee and something to eat. My stomach was rumbling both from continued discontent and hunger. The combination was enough to make me sick.

As I walked downstairs, I listened for any sign of him, hoping and wishing he remained in the living room. I faced an empty house and no evidence that he’d had any of the food I’d prepared. However, he’d cleaned up the kitchen, putting everything away. I stood by the island, absently running my hand back and forth across the smooth granite.

I missed him. There was no denying how I felt.

After a full minute, I went to start the coffee, almost forgetting how to do so given the European design. When it was finally brewing, I heard a knock on the door and the butterflies returned in a swarm.

I half hopped toward the door, remembering to take a look through the old-fashioned peephole. It was Atlas, right on cue for his stint at watching me like a babysitter.

When I opened the door, he lifted a bag.

“What do you have?”

“Greek pastries.” His grin was infectious. “My mother reminded me of them when I talked to her last night.”

I snatched the bag from him. “You get the first cup of coffee for being so sweet. As long as you’ll share one with me.”

“Well, as long as you don’t tell Mr. Diamondis.”

“Don’t worry. I like keeping secrets.”

He closed the door behind him as I headed for the kitchen, inhaling the rich scent of the coffee as I pulled down a couple of plates. He laughed and moved behind the island, sitting down.

I glanced over my shoulder at him as I pulled out two coffee cups. “I assume Stavros had a meeting?”

“Yes, ma’am. He shouldn’t be too long. After we have breakfast, would you like to take a walk or a drive?”

“Maybe.” I poured the coffee first, pulling out cream. “Do you need sugar?”

“Oh, no, ma’am. I like it black.”

“You don’t need to call me ma’am. That makes me feel old.” We both laughed as I placed two of the most delicious-looking pastries on the plates, bringing the coffee to the island first.

He immediately grabbed his cup, inhaling deeply as I pulled out two napkins, finally placing our breakfast on the counter. “Respect is important in our world.”

“I understand but I’m just a girl from the big city hoping to make her mark in this world.”

“That’s right. I heard you were a veterinarian. You graduated with honors from Cornell. Didn’t you? I know you fell in love with New York even though you were mugged all those years ago.”

There was no reason for his comments to strike me as odd. I’d mentioned the various bits of information about my life to Stavros during our more intimate conversations. Still, it did surprise me that Stavros would say anything, even to his cousin let alone a basic soldier. He knew how private I was.

“Yes, and I have to say I miss the Big Apple, although being here is just gorgeous.” I took a bite of the pastry, the sweet flavor more intense than I’d anticipated.

“Have you ever been to Europe before?” he asked, sipping his coffee.

I chewed and had another bite as I shook my head. “No. I’ve been to the Caribbean a couple of times, but I haven’t had the pleasure of heading to Paris or Milan. What about you?”

“My parents are from Crete, but this is the first time I’ve been to Greece in a little while. I do love Ireland though.”

I took another huge bite before realizing what he’d said. Suddenly, there was a strange taste in my mouth that matched the sickening feeling in my stomach. That’s when I noticed he hadn’t consumed a single bite of the delicacy. A sudden wash of fear crept over me, including because of the way he was staring at me. I tried to act casual, taking a couple sips of coffee.

“I’ve heard it’s beautiful.” I fingered my bracelet again, trying to figure out what to do. “Is Christos at the meeting with Stavros?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Eat your pastry.” His voice was more commanding than I’d heard before.

“I’m not that hungry. Please eat.”

He grinned and pushed the plate away, fingering the rim of the coffee cup as he took a deep breath.

The sickening feeling continued to pool in my stomach, my head suddenly a tiny bit fuzzy. Was I just overreacting because of all the warnings Stavros had issued?

“You know. They say that everyone has a price for betraying the people they thought they cared about.”

His statement was affirmation that something was very wrong. Unfortunately, the design of the kitchen was such that I had no way around him other than walking right by. I glanced toward the knife block, realizing he was watching everything I was doing.

“I don’t know if I believe that,” I said in return, trying to keep a smile on my face when I was now woozy. I certainly knew enough about sedatives to realize there were several drops that could be used on food products that tasted sweet, easily disguised by something like a pastry.

“Well, there are always good reasons, often threats involved. I know that’s been hard for Stavros to understand.”

In the few days I’d spent around Atlas, I’d never once heard him call his boss by his first name.

“I don’t think most decent people could. I think I’m going to go and rest for a little while. I didn’t have much sleep last night.” As soon as I moved closer to the space leading out of the kitchen, he rose from his chair, blocking my exit.

“There is no such thing as a decent person in our world, Ms. Kilborne. Just ask your mother.”

As a fog shifted in front of my eyes, my body starting to sway, I knew I had one chance at getting away from the bastard. I willed all my strength and resolve to grab the knife. As soon as I wrapped my hand around the handle, he backhanded me, sending me flying across the kitchen, the sharp blade flying from my hand.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Jenna.”

I did what I could to scramble toward him before the drug took full effect, managing to kick him in the gut. He was pitched backward just enough to allow me to race toward the front door. Yet everything had fallen into slow motion, my mind and body shutting down slowly. I had the door open when I felt his approach, the bastard jerking his arm around my neck, squeezing as he lifted me off my feet.

Even though it was muffled, I let off a scream, trying my best to get away from the man but he was too strong, and I was getting weaker by the second.

“Someone wants to see you,” he said gruffly in my ear. “You’ve become a very valuable commodity.” He laughed before throwing open the door. The light was fading from my eyes but not before I noticed a flash and heard the same kind of growl I’d heard from Stavros but for entirely different reasons.

Suddenly I was pitched to the floor as a fight broke out.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Christos had arrived, trying to protect me. When the two men started to speak in Greek, pitching each other around the room, I managed to crawl out the open door. I did everything I could to find my voice, trying to scream louder as a cry for help.

Just as I let out a ragged yelp, another sound caught my attention.

A gunshot. Another wave of terror skittered through my system and even as I fought to get away, I was fading fast.

Suddenly, I heard the screech of tires, the sound of doors being opened and footsteps just seconds before I was scooped up off the sidewalk like some ragdoll. And in the last full minute before I faded into unconsciousness, I noticed two men in dark suits right before I was dumped into a trunk, the door slammed.

As the car roared to life, pulling away, tears began to fall.