Chapter 27

Stavros

Eight. Fucking. Hours.

My Jenna, the woman I adored had been taken from me eight hours before. I roared back into my uncle’s driveway, Phoenix exhaling as soon as I cut the engine. I was so enraged that I remembered very little of those hours, except for almost beating a man to death and would have had my brother not stopped me.

My blood was boiling, my mind spinning. The fact our cousin had almost bled out and was lucky to be alive added to the layer of rage. My Capo had said very few words, going in and out of consciousness, but had insisted he talk with me before being taken away in an ambulance.

Atlas. Two men. Dark sedan.

That had been enough. I would find the traitorous son of a bitch and when I did, there wasn’t a rock large enough or a hole deep enough for him to crawl into. I planned on ripping him apart inch by fucking inch.

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel before grasping my shirt over my heart. I couldn’t image what she was going through.

If she was still alive.

They’d taken her to get to me but who the fuck was it? Was she being transported to Ireland? I was ready to jump out of my skin.

“Don’t go off halfcocked inside,” he warned.

“And why is that? We’ve nearly torn apart this fucking city. There’s no sign of her and no one is willing to even open their doors to talk to us.”

“That’s because they’re frightened.”

“Of what and whom? Madden is in Ireland. There’s been no sign of his men suddenly making an invasion in Santorini.”

“Word gets around, bro.”

Snorting, I climbed out of the car, glancing around me. I could see people staring out their windows. Or maybe I was just imagining it.

“Uncle Dimitrios has soldiers at the airport, the train and bus stations, and the commercial and residential marinas and the soldiers on the streets are on the lookout for dark sedans,” he continued as he flanked my side.

“Yeah, well, they’re a dime a dozen around here. She’s gone. I feel it.”

“Don’t say that yet. We’re missing something.”

The Brotherhood members had returned before getting even a part of the way out of town to try to decipher the mystery. What I knew for certain was that the longer this went on, the likelier it became I wouldn’t see her again.

That wasn’t acceptable. I would find her, even if I needed to destroy the world in order to do so. I took long strides toward the house, walking inside and almost immediately heading for the bar. I’d yet to have a drink, but if I didn’t calm the fuck down, I’d never be able to think this shit through.

Constantine appeared in the kitchen, the look on his face telling me in no uncertain terms there was no new information. He’d sent ahead a brigade of soldiers to Dublin, but given they’d only left three or four hours before, it would be in the middle of the night before they arrived and there weren’t enough numbers to openly challenge Madden and his increasing number of soldiers.

Everything was stacked against us at this point, including time.

“Nothing new?” Phoenix asked with no inflection in his voice. He certainly didn’t want me to get my hopes up.

“Unfortunately, no. From what we can tell from the cameras placed near Madden’s house, he hasn’t left in almost a full day.”

“Fuck. Fuck,” I hissed, pouring what expensive bourbon I had to choose from, shooting it back in one shot.

“We’ll find her, Stavros,” Constantine added.

“How? With a flashlight and a spear gun?” I laughed bitterly, pouring another glass full.

“The most likely scenario is that she was taken by boat,” Constantine said quietly.

Phoenix exhaled. “He’s right. There are smaller islands less than an hour away by boat from here. You saw it yourself; several fishing boats took off earlier today.”

“Your uncle did contact both the Greek and Turkish Coast Guard, but there’s a lot of ocean to cover.”

I threw a look over my shoulder at the Brotherhood member. “These islands. We need to search them.”

“Also daunting, especially in the dark, Stav,” Phoenix said. “We’ll start in the morning. Uncle Dimitrios has a powerboat.”

“She doesn’t have until morning. I’m positive of it. I can feel it.” I fisted my left hand, bringing it to my forehead. What the fuck were we missing? I thought about every scrap of information and knew there was a clue somewhere. When I pushed away from the counter, heading out of the kitchen, I could see the look of concern on Constantine’s face.

“What are you doing?” Phoenix called from behind me.

“Looking at the surveillance tapes again.” As I walked by the family room, I heard crying. My aunt was still upset, my uncle trying to console her. Leander jerked up as soon as he noticed me.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Check the hospital on your brother’s condition. Make sure he has everything he needs.” I would spend anything to make certain Christos lived. The scene of the attack had been brutal and I still couldn’t figure out how it had all gone down.

Brogan walked out from my uncle’s small office, leaning against the hallway wall. “She was definitely drugged. That’s how they were able to keep her mostly quiet and take her away. If Christos hadn’t shown up, no one would have known anything had happened other than she’d disappeared.”

I rubbed my eyes, nodding several times. “We need to check the tapes again. I want to know everything there is to know about Madden, his soldiers, his family, and anyone who’s come in contact with him. And I want the police who cracked the case with the oil riggers on the goddamn phone.” That was an order no one better ignore.

As soon as I walked into the office, I heard a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Constantine said. “I called a buddy of mine, an expert in tracking.”

Exhaling, I glanced at Phoenix before heading further into the room. Sabatino moved from the chair in front of the monitor, studying me intently.

“I might have found something, although I’m not positive,” he said.

“What?” I slipped into the chair, my patience waning. Yes, I was thankful for their help and their expertise, but it was beginning to look like the Death Squad was more powerful in every way.

“I’m no expert, but there’s something odd about Madden’s face,” Sabatino said as he leaned over my shoulder, punching in the picture from his house clearly identifying him.

The moment he pointed toward the screen, I realized what he was saying. “Prosthetics. My God. That’s why Frankie and Whitie were used.”

“That’s what I thought,” Brogan hissed.

“Oh, my God. He’s here. He took her.” My heart started to race. At that moment I heard a loud voice from behind me.

“Stavros. We have something.” Constantine took long strides into the room, handing me an open envelope.

“What is this?”

“You tell me,” he said, his face pinched.

As soon as I dumped the contents, a paper fluttered to the floor, which Phoenix grabbed while I stared at the bracelet that I’d given her on the last fateful day in the United States. A lock of hair fluttered out and I issued a roar. The bastard had touched her. He’d touched her. He was going to die. “Where the fuck did this come from?” My entire body was shaking.

“Does it belong to Jenna?” he asked.

“Where the fuck did this come from?” I repeated, jerking up and pushing my way through the men until I was a couple of inches from Constantine, ready to spit fire.

“A courier delivered it.”

I didn’t hesitate, flying into the kitchen and out the door, racing down the stairs and grabbing the guy who was about ready to climb into his delivery vehicle. “Where is she?” I yelled, almost at the top of my lungs.

He rattled off shit in Greek, half of which I didn’t understand given my level of anger. I started shaking him, the waning sunlight allowing me to see the horror in his eyes.

“Where?” When he didn’t answer me, I issued three brutal jabs to his face, ready to slam him into the driver’s door when hands grabbed me from behind, a number of voices trying to calm me down.

“Hey. Hey!” came screams from behind me.

“He’s not to blame,” Phoenix insisted. “Jesus. He’s a fucking courier.”

“Yeah, well, he has to know something. Someone paid to have it delivered.”

My uncle pushed through the crowd as the young man acted like he was going to fight back.

I fisted both hands, daring him to come toward me. Phoenix pushed me back, preventing me from moving anywhere.

“You need to calm the fuck down. This isn’t helping. That bracelet was sent for a reason.”

“He doesn’t know anything, Stavros. A man came in and paid cash to have it delivered. It wasn’t Madden but some young guy.”

I stared at Uncle Dimitrios, hissing under my breath as the young man gave me the finger, cursing me out in Greek before jumping into his car and speeding away.

“It’s an invitation,” Sabatino said quietly as he walked down the steps, the paper that had slipped out from the envelope in his hand.

I took a deep breath before taking long strides toward him, my hand shaking when I grabbed it. I read it twice before lifting my head.

And all I could see was blood in front of my eyes.

Jenna

Darkness.

It was all around me. I lifted my head, fighting the horrible ache behind my eyes, trying to focus. I couldn’t see anything. There was a distinct chill wherever I’d been brought to, the ache continuing throughout my entire body. I was shaking, unable to move and the terror was only increasing.

Moaning, I blinked several times as I fought to get my arms and legs to work. That’s when I realized I was in a cage of some kind. What the hell? The moment I’d lifted my head, I’d hit something. As soon as I reached up, I’d realized there were bars surrounding me.

Another whimper left my parched throat as I felt forward and backward. The cage was tiny, preventing me from moving almost completely. The anxiety and fear only increased as my memory started to kick in. Oh, God. The house. Atlas. The gunshot.

Christos!

I remembered seeing blood, so much blood. And… Where was I? Who had taken me? Madden?

I beat my hands against the bars, ridiculously screaming for help. There was no one coming to save me. No one knew where I was.

My heart was aching as much as my hands, but I continued to try to beat my way out, slipping my fingers through the bars as the tears continued to fall. Think. Think. I took a deep breath, sitting back on my butt and wrapping my arms around my folded knees. There was a gate. Maybe I could do something with the lock.

Yeah, right.

I had to do something. I took several gasping breaths, chilled to the bone but the fog started to lift enough that I slipped my hands through the bars until I found the latch and the lock. I knew within seconds there was no chance of unlocking it. None.

“Stavros. Stavros. Please…” I hung my head, allowing myself to weep. I was weak and thirsty, my throat threatening to close.

When I was cried out, I huddled against the back of the cage, doing what I could to keep warm. I was still in my clothes, my feet bare the way I’d been in the house. My thoughts drifted to Stavros, hating the fact we’d argued for our last few moments together. I hoped he wouldn’t remember me that way.

A horrible laugh bubbled to the surface. I’d already been offed, and they’d stuck my dead body into the ground. Or maybe the ocean. As soon as the thought slipped into my mind, I realized I’d come to at least once. I’d been on a boat. I could remember the feel of being rocked like a baby. Was I imagining it?

Another crazy laugh bubbled to the surface. “Stavros,” I screamed at the top of my lungs. My burst of energy and exclamation was met with the heavy sound of footsteps drawing closer.

Bristling, I remained as far away from the sound as possible, sucking in my breath when the door was opened. The light behind the unwanted visitor barely illuminated anything but his large body and the fact he was male.

He stood where he was, his chest rising and falling. When he started to laugh, the sound maniacal, I shrank back even more until the bars were shoved into my back.

“Hello, cousin.” His accent was heavily Irish, the tone far too melodic for a madman.

Cousin. What the hell was he talking about?

When he walked inside, flipping on the light, the recognition wasn’t avoidable. “Madden,” I hissed.

“Very good. I guess my first cousin didn’t drop me from her life completely.” He moved forward, still standing three feet away, cocking his head as he stared down at me. In his hand was a water bottle and I involuntarily licked my lips, which of course he noticed.

He crouched inches in front of the cage and I whimpered, jerking back with enough force my head hit the bars once again.

“Don’t hurt yourself, lovely Jenna. That’s for me to do later. Sadly, it seems as if you’ve been abandoned. Stavros isn’t coming to save you.”

“Yes, he is!” I spat out. “He’ll burn down the world to find me.”

“Don’t be a fool. I sent a personal invitation and still, he didn’t show up.”

“That’s because he’s not stupid. He wouldn’t believe you.”

He wagged his finger, the tsking sounds disgusting me. “Of course he believed me. I sent him that sexy bracelet of yours and a lock of hair.”

I gasped, immediately reaching for my wrist, horrified that it was missing. Then I reached for my hair, noticing he’d cut some off. “He’s no fool.”

“Well, I doubt he cares enough to come for you, but we’ll see. Now, in the interim, where might he be holing up in Santorini?”

“Why, so you can destroy the rest of his family like your father tried years ago?” I’d heard all about the horror his family had gone through, the ugliness that seemed to follow such a lovely group of people something that would trouble me for the rest of my life.

Madden seemed either amused or surprised before twisting his ugly face. “They had it coming.”

“Right. Whatever you say.”

“You and I are going to be very close, my dear. In fact, you’re going to become my wife.”

I wasn’t positive I’d heard him correctly. When I jerked my head up, he laughed from seeing the look of horror on my face. “I’d rather go to hell.”

“Not until we’re married, and you produce an heir. I’ll have more control than ever when you do.”

What the fuck did the man want from me? We were related. The thought was enough to churn my stomach. “Fuck you. Just fuck you. Trust me. Stavros will kill you.”

“I don’t think so, my dear. Now, tell me where they are and I’ll let you have the bottle of water. I might even allow you out of your cage.”

“Fuck you,” I spat out. No sooner had I done that than he squeezed his hand through the bars, wrapping his fingers around my throat.

As he squeezed, I could see complete madness in his eyes. I fought him, beating his arm with my fists, but the drug continued to make me weak. Within seconds, I was starting to black out.

Another set of footsteps echoed and I prayed it wasn’t in my mind. I wasn’t ready to die yet.

“Mr. Byrne. We have company.”

I snapped my eyes open, gasping for air as soon as the bastard let me go. I also recognized the voice. “You fucking… bastard. He will… kill you,” I screamed with everything I had at Atlas.

The asshole grinned. “Not if I kill him first.”

“I’ll be back for you, cousin. You damn well better hope I get what I want or you’re going to watch your lover die.”

As he stormed out, flicking off the light and slamming the door behind him, I let off another intense wail.

“Stavros!”