Chapter Seventeen

~ Janos ~

The phone number that came up on my cell when it rang wasn't one I recognized. I answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"Mr. Kostas, this is Eva Galeazzi," a woman said. "Have you spoken to my grandson today?"

"I have. He's at his apartment packing right now. I'm supposed to be going over there to pick him up just as soon as I am done with work." My stomach tensed. "Why?"

"I haven't been able to reach him."

I looked around for Lester, wanting to use his phone to call Gianni so I could stay on the line with Mrs. Galeazzi, but he wasn't in the conference room.

"Let me call you right back, Mrs. Galeazzi."

I hung up and dialed Gianni. I could hear the phone ring, but no one answered. When it started to go to voicemail, I hung up and called back. I got the same response.

Panic was not setting in yet.

Really.

"Meeting canceled," I told everyone as I got up and headed for the door. I dialed Gianni's grandmother as I hurried down the hallway toward the elevators. "Mrs. Galeazzi, Gianni isn't answering his phone. I'm headed over to his apartment right now."

"I'll send Francesco and Martino there as well. You might need the backup."

I swear to god, my heart stopped beating for a moment. "Why?"

"Someone has been keeping close tabs on you, Mr. Kostas. I don't have a name yet, but several of my contacts have been able to dig up information, and none of it is good. Whoever is after you may try and use my grandson to get what they want. I can't allow that to happen."

"I won't allow that to happen."

As soon the elevator reached me, I jumped in and hit the button for the parking garage. "Mrs. Galeazzi, I'm going to have to call you back. I need to call my head of security and get some guards to go with me."

"Call me as soon as you find my grandson."

The woman didn't slam the phone down, but she might as well have. The implication was there. Mrs. Galeazzi was pissed, but so was I. I wasn't positive anything had happened to Gianni, but I wasn't dismissing it either.

Someone had been threatening me and the quickest way to make me cave was to do something to Gianni or our baby. I'd give up my entire world for them.

I dialed the head of my security and ordered him to grab as many men as he could and have them meet me in the parking garage as soon as possible. I'd actually prefer that they were waiting for me, but I doubt that would happen.

Color me surprised when I did reach the parking garage and found my head of security and six bodyguards waiting for me.

"Let's go," I said as I headed right for my car. As soon as I climbed in I ordered my driver to take me to Gianni's apartment, and to get there as quickly as he could. I didn't care how many traffic laws he broke.

Bruce, the head of my security, jumped into the front seat just as we started to move. The rest of the bodyguards climbed into the vehicle behind us.

"What's going on, sir?"

"Something might have happened to my fiancé."

"Fiancé, sir? You're engaged?"

"I am, but it's a recent thing, which is why you don't know yet. Now that you do, you need to start interviewing bodyguards for my fiancé." I'd be damned if I went through this hell again.

"I'll get started as soon as we get back to the office."

I nodded before dialing Gianni's phone again. Maybe he had just left it in another room or something. It could be charging. He had lost one already. Maybe he lost this one, too.

There were a dozen reasons to explain why Gianni wasn't answering his phone and all of them were shit excuses. My gut was telling me that he was in danger.

By the time the car screeched to a stop in front of Gianni's apartment building, my nerves were frayed. I jumped out of the car and started for the building just as another car pulled up and two men jumped out.

I instantly recognized them and winced at my poor luck. Granted, the extra muscle was welcome, but not the anger I could see in frank and Martino's eyes.

As soon as they reached me, I knew from their expressions and the clenched fists hanging at their sides that they wanted to punch me.

I held up my hand. "Save Gianni first, punch me later."

"Deal," Frank said.

Martino snorted.

When we went into the apartment building and headed for the elevator, I directed my bodyguards to take the stairs to the fifth floor, giving them the apartment number.

I whipped out my cell phone and brought up a picture of Gianni, showing it to them. "This man is your only priority. He's my fiancé. Treat him with extreme caution. He's carrying my child."

I started to turn only to stumble back, cradling my jaw. I felt as if I had been hit with a sledgehammer instead of Frank's fist.

"You're the asshole that knocked up our baby brother?" Frank shouted.

"Gianni first, Frank." After we rescued him, they could do whatever they wanted to me.

Frank sent me a narrow-eyed glare and stormed into the elevator. Martino, Bruce, and I followed. I swear everyone and their dog decided they needed to use the elevator right there and then. I finally told Bruce to stand in the doorway in case it stopped. We didn't need anymore passengers.

When we reached the fifth floor and the doors slid open, we all filed out. I hurried down the hallway toward Gianni's apartment. My steps slowed the closer I got, especially when I heard pounding.

Someone grabbed me and pulled me to a stop. I turned, a snarl on my face. Bruce was standing behind me, a gun in his hand.

"Let me go first, sir. I'm trained for this."

Yeah, okay, but I was going to be right behind him.

As soon as Bruce stepped into the apartment, I lipped in behind him. We hadn't gone more than a couple of steps before we all heard a low painful sounding groan.

I glanced around until I spotted a body on the floor next to the bookshelf. I knew it wasn't Gianni simply because of the hair color. Gianni's hair was brown. This guy's hair was dark blond.

I gestured for a couple of my bodyguards to get him out of the apartment. I knew Gianni wouldn't want him in harm's way.

When Bruce started moving again, so did I. The pounding grew louder. As soon as we reached the corner of the hallway, Bruce motioned for us to stop and then peeked around the corner.

When he glanced at me, his eyes were as wide as they could be.

I frowned at him and mouthed, "What?"

" It's Lester, sir," Bruce mouthed back.

My frown deepened. "Lester?"

"Lester Douglas, your executive assistant."

No fucking way.

I darted around Bruce and into the hallway.

It was Lester.

"What in the hell are you doing?" It looked as if he was trying to rip the door to Gianni's apartment apart.

Lester spun around, a funny little smirk crossing his lips for a moment before his expression turned to worry. "Sir," he quickly stated. "I think something has happened to your fiancé. I heard a bunch of yelling and—"

I cocked my head. "Lester, I never told you who my fiancé was."

"You were dating him sir, so I assumed—"

I shook my head. "I never told anyone that I was dating Gianni."

"Sir, you pay me to know these things."

"No, actually, I don't." This guy was starting to piss me off, and not just because he stood between me and Gianni. "I pay you to help me run my business. I do not pay you to stick your nose in my personal life."

"Sir—"

"How did you know Gianni was pregnant? You knew even before I knew I'd slept with Gianni. How did you know?"

"Like I said, sir, you pay me to know these things."

"Man." I rubbed my hands over my face for a moment before dropping them to my hips. "You must have been thrilled when I assigned you to investigate this shit. Now it all makes sense why there were no leads. You erased them all."

I narrowed my eyes at Lester. "Did you erase the surveillance at the hotel, too?" I was in total disbelief. I had trusted Lester for years and he had stabbed me in the back. "You sent me those threatening letters demanding ten million dollars?"

"So what if I did," Lester shouted, finally losing his pretense of being innocent. "I deserve that money!"

"No, you don't," I retorted.

"I work for you day and night," Lester continued as if I hadn't spoken a word. "Every time you call I have to ask how high I'm supposed to jump. I gave up my nights for you, my weekends, my holidays, everything. That money is mine."

"And you get paid damn well for that work," I snapped. "You knew what the job was like when I hired you. If you didn't like it, you should have quit. Instead, you're going to jail where I hear the working conditions are worse than hell."

"You first!"

I barely had time to drop to the floor before I heard two gunshots. I covered my head with my arms, praying there wouldn't be more.

"You can get off the floor now."

Someone snorted. I think it was Frank.

"Actually, I think he should stay there."

Yeah, it was Frank.

I climbed to my feet and looked around. It didn't take more than a glance to see two of my bodyguards helping a bleeding Lester to his feet. It looked like he had been hit in the upper chest.

Good. I wanted him to live long enough to enjoy prison.

As soon as they escorted Lester past me, I darted for the bedroom. "Gianni!"

"Janos?"

"Baby, where are you?"

"I'm in my bedroom."

That's what I was afraid of.

When I reached the bedroom door, my eyebrows road up. The door was barely hanging on the hinges and it looked as if someone had tried to tear it apart with their bare hands.

I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Gianni?"

A moment later, he appeared in front of the door. I couldn't see all of him because there was part of a door and a dresser in front of him, but my eyes dropped to his stomach anyway.

"Are you okay?" I asked a near whisper. "Is the baby okay?"

"We're fine." Gianni gave me a weak smile. "We're both just a little freaked out. When Doug broke in, he—"

"His name is Lester. Lester Douglas. He's my executive assistant." Well, ex-executive assistant now."

Gianni frowned. "Tony said his name was Doug."

"Tony said?"

"Yeah, he's Tony's ex-boyfriend, the one that was sniffing around in my underwear drawer."

I was going to kill him...just as soon as Gianni and our baby was safe...and maybe after I recovered from the beat down I was going to receive from Frank and Martino.

"Come on, baby, let's get you out of there."

After Gianni pushed the dresser out of the way, I pushed the door open. The moment I was inside the room, I grabbed Gianni and pulled him into my arms.

"I want to go home."

"Just as soon as the police are done talking to us I'm taking you to the hospital for a check-up and then I am taking you back to the penthouse," I whispered into his hair as I pressed my face against his head. "I don't care if we're married or not, but you will live there with me until we decide to buy a house together. I refuse to go through something like this again."

I felt Gianni's arms tighten around me for just a moment before he whispered back, "Okay."

I refused to accept any other answer.