by SR Jones
“Yes, you should bring her; she needs to hear this.”
Shit is about to get real. I make two coffees for us, and some toast, the whole time my mind whirring. So much is changing, and it’s exciting, but it’s also scary. Alesso walks in as I’m about done.
“Stamatis wants to see us,” I tell him. Things have been strained between us. Not feeling quite right. I hate it.
He nods. “Okay. How is Maya?”
I turn to him and motion for him to sit. He does, and I take the seat opposite. I watch him and tap my fingers together as I think about how to word this.
“Just spit it out, for God’s sake,” he grumbles.
“Fine. You need to back off about me and Maya. I love her. I’ve told her so, and it took me a while to get my head around it, but I do. I don’t want anymore shit about it.” I don’t add that one of the reasons I don’t want to hear it is because I’m second guessing myself constantly.
He watches me for a moment, his blue eyes cooler than usual. I wonder if we’re going to have more of an issue when Stamatis announces he is making me king in waiting?
“Good,” he says, surprising the shit out of me.
“Excuse me?”
“Good. I’m glad, happy for you.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Really?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want you with her when you were fucking about and messing things up. Then I realized, probably before you did, that you loved her, and now you understand it too. Whole different ball game. I’m genuinely pleased.”
“Okay.”
I have no clue what else to say. His words make me feel better, though. He can see I love her, the damn therapist can. Andrius too. I’m the only one who thinks somehow in letting those feelings out, saying it, giving them life, I’m setting myself up to fail.
Alesso scrubs a hand over his face and sighs. “Look, you’re my best friend. I love you like a brother. Things might be strained a bit right now, but it’s been insane around here, and we’ve not had a moment to talk. I’m truly glad for you that you’ve come to your senses and can admit you love her. To be honest, I didn’t know if you had it in you.”
For a second I stare at him, itching to punch him in the face, but he goes on.
“I don’t think I have it in me. The capacity for love that is, or at least, romantic love. It’s not something I see for me, and I didn’t see it for you. Now, though, I can tell what you feel for Maya is real.” He smiles. “I think I saw it way before you acknowledged it. So, I am happy for you, and if it brings a ton of shit on our heads from Stamatis, then so be it. I just didn’t want to have to wade through that shit for nothing, you know? Love, though, that’s worth fighting for, right?”
He stands and claps me on the back.
As he heads out of the room guilt hits me hard. I would have told him I’d seen Stamatis’ email at any other time in our lives, but now I don’t. I know doing so will risk the position I’m about to be given, and me getting that position makes Maya safer. I keep my knowledge to myself, and for the first time in many years, I keep something important from my best friend.
***
The next day finds myself, Markos, Alesso, Maya, and for some reason, Andrius, waiting in the den at Stamatis’ house.
Stamatis enters the room and gestures to the drinks cabinet. There’s a chorus of ‘no thanks’, but I nod. I need a little something to settle the unfamiliar nerves in my gut. I know what’s coming. What I don’t know is how Alesso will take it, and whether we’ll remain brothers, or if this will put a divide between us.
Stamatis pours me a scotch, and one for himself. He hands it to me, and I take a sip, relishing the burn.
He sits opposite us. We’re all lined up on a large sectional sofa, like children awaiting the teacher, and he sits in an oversized armchair facing us. I think he’s changed the furniture in here, and I’m about to ask when I realize it’s inconsequential, and close my mouth.
“You’re all here today as I have some important news to share.” Stamatis fixes us with his gaze one by one.
“I don’t understand why I’m included in this,” Andrius says.
“You will.” Stamatis gives him an impatient glare. “I am … lifting my protection on my son, Costas. I know he’s hurt some of you directly.” He glances at me. “You are welcome to deal with him how you see fit.”
“I am going to kill him,” Andrius says, bold as brass.
Stamatis winces and the color of his face pales, but he doesn’t react, merely shrugs. “That is your right, if he did you wrong.”
“Yes, he did. He came after what’s mine, Stamatis. No one does that. No one.”
“I understand. And you are a professional… You can make things … quick? Clean?”
“He won’t suffer. He won’t know a thing,” Andrius says. “Which is more than he deserves after what he did to your daughter.”
Holy fuck, but Andrius is a fucking lunatic. He knows about Maya being Stamatis’, but not for one moment did I think the bastard would put it out there like that.
The room seems to hold its breath, along with all of us. The air is still, like the precise moment before a clap of thunder hits.
“You are right, of course.” Stamatis takes a sip of his drink. “Please understand something, though, Andrius. I know you’re an intimidating man with a deeply … specialized skill set, but you don’t get to talk to me in such a way. This is your only strike; do so again, and I will take you out. Understood?”
Andrius gives the tiniest incline of his head, but he doesn’t look remotely concerned.
“Tread carefully, Andrius, no one is bulletproof; not even you,” Stamatis says. “And we’re on the same side. Let’s not mess that up, okay?”
“Okay.” Andrius gives another deeper incline of his head, with more respect imbued in it this time.
“Maya.” Stamatis turns to her, and his eyes fill with sorrow. “I am so sorry. I failed you. I am your father; it’s no secret. Not any longer. I failed you trying to hold our families together, and I failed you by not realizing how lost my son is. I won’t fail you any longer. Last night, I told your aunt the truth, although she knew deep down, and also your older half-brother. I’m openly accepting you as my daughter.”
I glance at her and see her staring at Stamatis, her lips parted in shock, tears gathering in her beautiful eyes. I’m glad he’s done this. Given her this. It’s no less than she deserves.
“Which brings me to business.” Stamatis snaps back into boss mode, his features turning hard once more. “Costas would one day, I hoped, join me in this business. Now, he never will, and my elder son doesn’t wish to … not in any official capacity. This means I need someone to step up and be my next in line. This has been a difficult decision to make. If I went by who has been with me the longest, I would choose Alesso. If I went by who is now a part of my family, by marriage, I would choose Damen. I thought I had made that choice, but it didn’t sit right.”
Fuck. He’s changed his mind.
He’s going to give this to Alesso. I realize I care. I don’t want to be cut out of the decision making and the power. In fact, if he does this, I think I’ll take Maya, and we’ll start over again.
I also realize that this is how Alesso would feel. He wouldn’t want to work under me, not in this situation, not when he’s done so much for Stamatis. Either way, whoever Stamatis picks, there’s going to be trouble.
“I thought about this so long and hard, and however I chose, it didn’t sit right with me,” Stamatis says. “Alesso, Damen.” He looks from one of us to the other. “You’re like brothers, and if I made one of you my second, and not the other, it would tear at the fabric of that bond between you. You might not admit it now, but it would. So, I considered not making either of you my second. Bringing in someone new, or perhaps giving it to you, Markos.”
Markos shifts in his seat and frowns.
Stamatis laughs. “Don’t worry, my friend. I realized you’d hate that.”
“I had a decision to make, and no easy answer, and then I thought. Why have only one second? Damen and Alesso, you work well together. Always have. You make decisions better when you discuss them, and you balance one another out. I think you would both be excellent seconds, and so I’m giving the position to both of you.”
Something relaxes in me, and I know, instinct deep, this is the right thing.
“You’ll both work at my side building this organization to greater heights. And when the time comes for me to leave this Earth, you’ll inherit equal shares. Mikhalis, my eldest son, he will inherit this house, the land, and the legitimate businesses I’ve built. Maya, you my darling daughter, will get our home on Santorini, to do with as you please, and ten million Euros. Your aunt has agreed to this. Markos.”
Markos jerks in surprise at the mention of his name. I doubt he thought he’d be getting anything. “You get your inheritance early. I want to give you the casinos and the Central.” The Central is a hotel Stamatis owns here in Athens. “These businesses need someone with a forensic mind to go over them. The money side of it in particular. The casinos are a total dog at the moment, a drag on the rest of the business. They could be sold, and probably for a decent profit because they have potential, and if you throw in the Central, you’ll have plenty of buyers. Or … you could make changes, to operating procedures, staff, whatever you damn well please, and see if you can turn them around. The income from The Central will help you do so. It turns a decent profit, and could do even better. Whichever you decided to do, those businesses are yours now. Of course I will have still need you here, for certain … jobs.”
We don’t look at one another, but myself, Markos, and Alesso are well aware of what those jobs are. We’ll still be Stamatis’ ultimate weapon, despite our elevation in other ways.
“They have been signed over to you today on my end. You simply need to meet with my lawyer and sign. You can get all the information you require and do as you please. If you sell them, I take a certain share, and if you turn them around, I take a certain share, but you’ll do very well out of it. Anyway, you can look it all over, and if you need a lawyer, I can recommend a few who are very good and don’t work with me, so no conflict of interest.”
Andrius shifts in his seat and sighs impatiently. “This love-in is beautiful to witness, but why am I here?”
“You’re here to know I won’t come after you for whatever you do to my son, so long as he doesn’t suffer. You’re also here because Allyov and I need a business to wash some money through, and we’ve bought the Poseidon hotel on Corfu to do exactly that with. We want you to oversee it.”
Andrius gives a soft laugh. “I don’t think so. I’m out of this game, and I am not a hotel manager.”
“Come now, you’re not out of the game. You’re here, aren’t you? And it’s not dangerous. It’s not the dirty work you’re used to. We’ve put a manager in place. You simply show up once a week, put the fear of God into the employees and our manager, so they keep their mouths shut. Easy for someone like you, and we wash the money through it.”
Andrius stands, and walks to the chair Stamatis is in. He looks down at him and shakes his head. “No. I made a promise, and I won’t go back on it. I’m out.”
Stamatis doesn’t flinch at having a stone-cold killer like Andrius stare him down.
“Andrius, you know … one never gets out of this life. Not completely. Trust me when I say, Allyov wanted you way more involved. This is a favor from me. Trust me. I thought of this, and it is perfect. You only have to do minimal work with us. Allyov gets what he thinks he wants, which is you back, and we all get a nice cut of some freshly cleaned money. It’s a win-win, and one you’d be stupid to walk away from. I had to do a lot of persuading to get Allyov to accept this. He wants you back in the fold; you know how much. Give him this. It’s a small victory, makes him feel he’s still in control. Saves face with those who say you left him high and dry. It will cost you very little, and it’s not putting you back in the fray. It will have zero impact on your loved ones. Hell, what you’re doing here and now, helping out Damen and Alesso, has put a marker on them that this little gig never would. Take the damn job, Andrius.”
“I only go there once or twice a week?” Andrius asks, his jaw clenched.
“Yep. You go there, order a coffee, do the whole three-piece-suit, stone-cold-killer, terrifying-to-behold, thing you do, and make sure they stay in line.”
“This money, does it come from trafficking girls?”
“Christ no; it’s from trading in rare, and sometimes illegally gained, art and antiquities.”
“Okay then. I will do this, but you better make Allyov understand how much of a sacrifice this is for me, and how much of a win for him so he backs off on any other ideas, for his sake. If I ever find you’ve used me to clean up trafficking money, I will come for you, and I will come for Allyov.”
“Understood.” Stamatis stands and shakes Andrius’ hand as if he hasn’t just threatened to end his life.
“Do you need me for anything else?” Andrius asks.
Stamatis gives a shake of his head.
“Fine. I am leaving.”
He stalks out of the room and shuts the door calmly and quietly.
Jesus Christ, that man.
I look to Stamatis. “I can’t believe you’re okay with knowing he’s going to take out Costas. It’s got to hurt.”
“It does, but Costas … what he did, it cannot be forgiven. It’s also… He’s not well. His behavior is irrational and worsening. He risks bringing down every single thing I’ve worked for, ruining our family, our reputation. His mother doesn’t know any of what has passed in this room with regards to Costas and never will. She’ll think his death a tragedy, and she will never find out who did it, or that I let it happen. If I let him live, though, he’ll take her down too. They are close, and he’s been whispering poison to her about me, about Maya, even about Mikhalis. I found out he tried to harm Mikhalis too, derail the life he’s building for himself.” He pauses, rubs at the back of his neck, and takes a drink. “I can’t risk not knowing what else he’ll do any longer. It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I won’t let anyone destroy what I’ve worked for, not even my own son.”
There’s a warning there in his words to me and Alesso, and we will heed it. Don’t betray Stamatis, because not even being his closest flesh and blood will save you if you do.
“Now, you gentlemen, can all leave, please? I want a word with my daughter.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maya
Damen shoots me a concerned look as he files out of the room, but I nod at him to show I’m okay. I’m shaking inside from the shock of all I’ve learned, but I am okay. I know my uncle … father, won’t hurt me. And I want to have some time to talk with him alone.
I need to know if he loved my mother. I don’t know why, but it’s important to me, and I can’t ask in a room full of his men.
He sighs when the door closes, leans forward, and steeples his hands. “Maya…”
For the longest time he says nothing more. I’m getting a little nervous. Is he pissed at me?
“I let you down, and I’m sorry.” His words, when they come, shock me, despite him having already said as much, as there’s so much feeling behind them.
“It’s okay,” I say. It isn’t really, but I don’t want to get into this now, when it’s all still so raw. When Mother’s funeral is looming. “I want to know one thing, though, Uncle.”
He stops me, holding his hand up. “No. Don’t call me that. It’s Father. Call me Father.”
I shake my head. “It’s cruel, to Mikhalis. To my aunt. I don’t wish to h
urt them anymore than the truth itself will. There’s been enough hurt in our family, don’t you think?”
He watches me and smiles. “You’re an amazing young woman, Maya. These last few weeks I’ve been thinking long and hard about everything. You are strong. You know that?”
I shake my head, because I feel as if any moment I’ll fall apart.
“Well, you are. Stronger than Costas by a mile. Stronger than Mikhalis too. He wouldn’t survive all you have. I know you have real feelings for Damen, and him for you, and this makes me happy. He’ll protect you with his dying breath, and you’ll give him a reason to live that until now, I don’t think he’s really had. But, tell me, how do you feel about Damen becoming my second? About your husband becoming a king in waiting?”
I don’t need time to think about my answer. “A few weeks ago, I would have been dismayed. I’d have been determined to save him from himself somehow, if you want an honest answer.”
“And now?” He leans back and tilts his head to one side slightly.
“Now, I’m pleased. I’m sick of being a pawn in the games being played all around me. If my husband is going to be king, then that makes me a queen, doesn’t it? And a queen has a hell of a lot more power than a pawn.”
“You’re a queen anyway, Maya. Firstly, because you’re my flesh and blood, so you’re fucking royalty so far as our world goes. Secondly, you’re a queen because you’re the one who I believe in the most, and who I trust to have the damned balls to keep everything I’ve built going long after I’ve gone. In our world, there are few women at the helm, and to put you there would place you in grave danger. Most of the men in our world have a code. They don’t harm the wives or children of their enemies. There is a simple reason for this—they wish for the same courtesy for their own. What Costas did was a transgression of the highest order. But this is why I haven’t made you my second. Not because I don’t think you’d be capable of it, but because I want you to have a life, and you wouldn’t have one if you stepped up as head of this family.”