by Nikki Ash
“Trouble in paradise?” I ask as I rest my ankle on my knee and lean back.
Ignoring me, he stands and checks the clock. “Your meeting with Phoenix went quickly. Back before five? Was he even there?”
“We had lunch and took care of business. He’s not a cheating bastard like his weasel father.”
Aris is rigid as he pours two drinks. When he sets down the tumbler with amber liquid in it, I pick up my glass and inhale the familiar scent.
“What’s the special occasion?” I ask, swirling the alcohol around in the glass, eyeing him.
“Can’t a man enjoy a nice bourbon with his brother and not need an excuse?” He knocks back the drink and dips his head, indicating for me to do the same.
I set it down and push it across the desk to him. “You look like you need it more than me.”
His jaw clenches and he picks up the glass, slamming it back as well. “What do you want, Kostas?”
“My wife.”
He tenses. “What the fuck do you want me to do about it?”
I shrug. “You asked me what I wanted. I told you. No need to get defensive.”
“I’m not defensive,” he growls.
I grew up with you, motherfucker. Don’t play games with me. I taught them to you.
“Hmm,” is all I say. “How come you never invite me over for these wonderful dinners your blow-up doll wannabe wife is always making?”
“I’ve invited you more times than I can count over the past year,” he bites out. “Not my fault you chose to drink your dinner instead.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“I accept your dinner invitation.”
His gaze hardens. “You called my future fiancée a blow-up doll. Consider the invitation officially rescinded.”
I lean forward in my seat. “Are you hiding something from me, brother?”
“Fuck off,” he scoffs. “If you want to come to dinner, come to fucking dinner. Don’t say I didn’t warn you that Selene is a terrible goddamn cook and you’ll probably die of food poisoning. Just make sure you give me a proper warning so she can get to the store and buy what she needs.”
I stare at him for a long moment, watching him intently. Each facial tick. Every twitch of his lips. The slow reddening of his skin. Finally, once I’ve infuriated him to the point his carotid bounces along his neck, I stand.
“I’ll let you know.” I give him a wide grin that I know unnerves him. “Tell Selene I said hello.”
Walking out of his office, I wonder how exactly he and Selene have made it this long. What does she offer him that makes him stay? He doesn’t like her. At best, he barely tolerates her. Sure, she has tits and dick sucking lips, but you can find nicer women with those same physical attributes who don’t sound like a donkey in heat.
I’m going to find out.
I settle back in my own office. Back to scouring video surveillance footage from the time Talia was with me around the time she was taken.
Taken.
I know it deep in my gut.
She wouldn’t leave me.
Talia Demetriou may have been pissed as fuck, but she loved me. She may have never spoken the words, but I felt them. Now that my head is clearing, I remember that part of our relationship without a doubt. With each look, each caress, each kiss, I knew.
And whoever took her will pay so fucking dearly for every second I’ve lost with her.
“I’m out of here,” Aris says, peeking his head into my office. “Sorry about earlier. Selene is a bitch and she pisses me off.”
“She must give amazing head,” I say with a wicked smile.
He sneers. “I wish.”
With a wave, he bolts before I can taunt him anymore.
So, the blow-up doll doesn’t even suck cock well. Again, I wonder what the fuck sort of value she provides my brother with. He can get any fucking woman into his bed with his stupid smiles and charm. He certainly doesn’t hang onto any woman for very long, much less a bitch like Selene. It’s more than sex with my brother. It always is. I’ve seen him fuck the wife of a local gangster just to piss him off. I’ve seen him fuck around with the Minister of Police’s daughter just to anger our father. I’ve seen him flirt with my wife and grab her ass because he wants to irritate me.
But Selene?
What’s the end game?
Marriage, babies, white picket fence.
Yeah, fucking right.
I don’t buy it for a second.
Swiveling around in my chair, I decide to dig into Selene a little. I’ll find out what the blow-up doll has been up to. If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that I can be quite the resourceful stalker when I want to be. I will tear apart Selene’s past and present. I’ll learn every damn detail about her. Who her family is. Who she’s connected to. How she remains tethered to my brother.
And then I’ll invite myself to fucking dinner.
Talia
Today is the day. I’ve spent the last year learning everything I can about where I am and what it will take to get out. I can either keep waiting, or I can make my move. At this point, I don’t think there’s any more preparing I can do. If it weren’t for my precious cargo, I would’ve already tried to run, but with her in tow, I have to be twice as careful. I can’t risk anything happening to her.
I’m sitting on the lounge chair out by the pool like I always am. Zoe is sleeping on the chair next to me on her belly, under the umbrella, sucking on her pacifier. My little girl loves the pool and sun. I bet she’ll love the beach as well.
“I’m leaving for work,” Aris says. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“I can have Selene pick up anything I need.” I wave him off, knowing full well he won’t let that happen anymore.
“She’s not running any more errands for you,” he says, just like I knew he would. “I’d hate for you and Selene to get into it again, and I come home to a bloodbath, so whatever you need, I’ll pick it up.”
Exactly what I was hoping he would say.
“Zoe hasn’t been feeling well. Can you stop by the pharmacy to pick her up Tylenol?”
Aris’s gaze lands on Zoe.
“She’s teething,” I add.
Her body shifts, and her pacifier falls from her lips, landing on the ground. I lean over to grab it, but I can’t reach. “Can you hand me that, please?”
Aris picks it up off the floor and offers it back to me.
“It’s dirty now.” I shake my head. “Just throw it in the sink on your way out. I need to clean it before I give it back to her.”
He shoves it into his front pocket. “What the hell does teething mean?”
I roll my eyes at his lack of parental knowledge. “It means she has teeth coming in and it hurts. Tylenol will help the pain.”
“Fine, whatever. I’ll pick it up on my way home.”
“What time will that be?” When he glares, I add, “There are a lot of different kinds. I need you to take a picture of the different ones and send them to Selene so I can let you know which one.”
Aris groans. “All right, I’ll send her the pictures when I’m there. It probably won’t be until five or six o’clock. I have a late meeting.”
Perfect!
“Thank you,” I say, dismissing him.
I wait for him to acknowledge his daughter before he walks away, but as always he doesn’t. He never hugs or kisses or gives her any attention. Not that I’m complaining. I’d rather him stay the hell away from both of us. It’s just that I find it odd. I think back to when I told him I was pregnant. In life, we have choices to make, and a lot of times when making a choice, it isn’t about which choice is the right one, but which one will keep you alive…
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Selene screeches.
I lift my head from the inside of the toilet and glare at her. “Get out,” I demand.
When she doesn’t leave, I reach over and slam the door in her face, so I can finish throwing up in
peace.
A few minutes later, I hear yelling in the other room. Aris must be home and he and Selene must be arguing. They’re always arguing. Tiptoeing out to eavesdrop, I listen to what they’re saying.
“You never said you planned to keep her here forever!” Selene whisper-yells. She’s meaning to whisper, but her screeching voice carries.
“It’s not forever,” Aris explains. “It’s only until my brother completely loses his shit and I take over the business. It’s only been a month and my brother is already on a downward spiral.”
“Then what are you going to do with her?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Why don’t you just kill her?” Selene whines. When Aris doesn’t say anything, she says, “Aris…you don’t like, like her, do you?”
“No, I don’t like her, but I’m not going to kill her. Then I would be as much of a monster as my brother and father. Plus, she’s pregnant, and it’s either my baby or my brother’s.”
Oh my God! He knows! He knows I’m pregnant.
“She’s what?” Selene screeches.
“Are you that fucking stupid?” Aris accuses. “Haven’t you seen her throwing up since we brought her here?”
“And it could be yours?” Selene sounds like she’s crying.
“Yes, now stop asking fucking questions. I need to go check on her. When I come back, you need to be waiting for me in bed, with your legs spread and your mouth closed.”
Footsteps across the wood floor have me scrambling back to my room. I’ve just dropped onto my bed, when Aris enters the room.
“Did you hear all of that?” he asks. My eyes widen in shock. “Good, then I don’t have to repeat myself. You’re pregnant. You know it and I know it. The question is, who is the father?”
I have a choice to make…right here, right now. If I tell him the baby is his, he can take it from me after he or she’s born. If I say it’s Kostas’s, his hatred toward his brother can lead to him hurting it. Either way, I’m possibly screwed…
“It’s yours,” I admit.
“I call bullshit.”
“Call it whatever you want.” I shrug.
“If I find out you’re lying, you will pay,” he threatens.
“More than what I am now?” I challenge. “How long do you plan to keep this up, Aris? You know I heard you…you’re not going to kill me, so what are you going to do? Keep me prisoner forever?” I scoff. “It’s not like Kostas loves me. It was an arranged marriage.” But even as I say the words, I refuse to believe them myself.
Aris chuckles darkly. “If you believe that, you’re either dumb or blind. Until you, I didn’t think my dear brother was even capable of loving anyone besides our mother, but I was wrong, which is why I took you.”
“You took me because you think he loves me?” I don’t get it. There has to be more to it.
“I took you because my brother destroys everything he touches and he’s not going to get a chance to destroy you the way he destroyed our mother.”
“Aris…” I begin, but I don’t even know what to say. I hate him. He raped me. He hurt me. He stole me. But my heart still breaks for the man who lost his mother. He’s grieving and he’s broken. He’s not thinking clearly. My only hope is that he’ll eventually come to his senses and let me go. And hopefully before this baby is born.
That was a year ago. He was a monster the day he took me, but now, it’s as if he lives for destroying Kostas. He feeds off it. He’s never going to let me go, which means I have no option but to run.
Zoe’s tiny body stretches, telling me she’s waking up. Her fisted hands rise above her head, and her chunky little body rolls to the side. Her beautiful blue eyes open and she grants me the most beautiful smile.
“Mommy’s going to get us out of here, cara mia.”
After I feed her and give her a bath, I get dressed in a comfortable outfit. I don’t have any tennis shoes, so I make do with the pair of flip flops I have. I tie my hair back in a ponytail and then pull my bag out from under my bed.
When I tiptoe out of the room, I spot Selene on the couch watching TV. I need to be smart about this. Aris’s dumb ass gave her a fucking gun. If I play this right, that gun can become an asset to me, but if it goes the other way, it can be the very thing that kills me.
I spot the gun on the end table next to her. Laying my bag down behind the counter, near the garage door, I set Zoe in her high chair. “Be a good girl,” I whisper, placing a few cereal puffs on her tray.
“Hey, Selene,” I call out.
“What?”
“Aris is supposed to text you a picture of the different Tylenols for Zoe when he’s on his way home. Has he texted you yet?”
“No.” Good, that means he’s still at work. I have time.
Grabbing a frying pan from under the sink—yes, I’m about to be cliché as hell—I tiptoe up to Selene. I’m not sure if the pan will actually knock her out, but my intention is just to knock her off her game long enough to grab the gun. Once I have it, I can make a run for it and she won’t be able to stop me.
I spot her phone in her lap. I want to grab it as well, but the gun is more important. Raising the heavy item to the side, I swing it as hard as I can at the side of her head.
“Ahhh!” she screams, falling from the couch and onto the floor. Without looking back at her, I snatch the gun off the table, dart back to the dining room, grab my daughter and bag, and haul ass. I quickly type in the code to the garage and it works! Using the key in my hand, I hit the fob to unlock the doors. The SUV lights up and I throw Zoe into the seat next to me. I hate that I don’t have a car seat for her, but there’s nothing I can do. With a click of the garage door, it rises, and we’re free.
Kostas
“Basil?”
Adrian nods at my question as he pulls into the driveway of my father’s estate. Once we’re in park, he levels me with a hard glare. “Basil is loyal until the end.”
There was a time when I almost questioned Basil’s loyalties. When he did my brother’s bidding. But when I’d looked in his eyes, I’d seen he was simply doing his job. For me. At the time, it felt like betrayal, but he was only doing what I’d asked long before.
Keep the enemies close.
And since I’ve always seen Aris as an enemy who happens to share my blood, my two best men, Basil and Adrian, have always kept an extra close eye on him.
“Any news from Basil then?” I ask, climbing out of Adrian’s SUV.
He follows me and lets out a grunt. “Just normal comings and goings to and from the hotel. His house is pretty quiet during the day. On occasion, his slut leaves to grocery shop and shit.”
“Galani? Niles? Does anyone besides the skank go in and out?”
“Nope, just her.”
I don’t like it. Feels too easy.
“Call him and have him see if he can find anything out from the hotel staff. I want this quiet and discreet. He’ll need to do it in person.”
“I’ll text him and send him that way,” Adrian assures me. “You sure dropping in on your dad like this is okay? What if we’re interrupting his nap?”
I bite back a snort of laughter. Adrian, even though he’s one of my best men, has always been more like a brother to me than Aris ever was. He’s the only motherfucker I’ll allow to get away with making fun of my father.
“Good to keep the old man on his toes,” I say with a chuckle.
We walk through the massive estate looking for him. Things are strained with my father. He thinks I should run things differently than I do, but I do them the way I want and there’s nothing he can do about it. He is my father, though, so I don’t disrespect him by just ignoring him. I make sure he’s taken care of and check in on him from time to time like a good son does.
When I hear moans coming from down the hallway, I pause to shoot Adrian a confused look. I stalk down the hall to the source of the sound. At my father’s door, I hesitate for a fraction of a second before pushing into the room.
The sight before me has bile crawling up my throat.
Some young blond bitch is riding my father in my parents’ bed. He may not be able to walk, but his big hands dig into her pale ass as he urges her to fuck him. She moans and rocks her hips. All I can do is see fucking red. My mother has barely been dead a year and he’s fucking sluts in their bed.
“Father,” I boom. “What the fuck?”
The woman cries out in surprise and slides off him. Her big tits bounce as she scrambles to find her dress that’s been discarded on the floor. I stand there glaring at my father, who looks like a pathetic old man with his dick at half-mast.
“The money’s in the usual place, Lyssa,” he grumbles out, his eyes cutting to mine as he pulls the covers over himself. “Why the hell are you here unannounced?”
Money?
My father is fucking a goddamn prostitute?
I block the doorway when the blonde comes my way. She casts a glance over at Father, as if to ask him what she’s supposed to do.
“A whore, Father? Really?” I guess it’s better than him actually dating so soon after my mother. The fact it’s just sex seems to soften the blow a little. Still pisses me off. Feels like just yesterday my mother was buried.
“Lyssa is more than a whore,” Father bites out. “She’s a friend. We go way back.”
Pull the fucking brakes. “What?”
“What’d I miss?” Aris demands from behind me, finally gracing us with his presence. “Fucking gross. Do I smell pussy in Dad’s room?”
Father’s face burns red with fury when Aris scoots past me and into the room. My brother shakes his head.
“Why are you two here?” Father barks out.
“Kostas said we should meet with you,” Aris says, his gaze raking down Lyssa. “Who are you?”
“Father’s whore,” I hiss.
“Another one?” Aris asks.
I snap my head his way. “What do you mean another one?”
Aris sneers at me. “Why are you acting like this is the first one you knew about?”
Darting my eyes back to my father, I fist my hands. “So Mamá dies and you fuck as many whores as you can? I didn’t think your dick even worked anymore.”
