by SR Jones
“As if you’re not going to let one of your goons kill me anyway.” Costas laughs, and it’s bitter. “I heard, Father, because people talk, and I heard that the Russian piece of shit is going to come for me. Why wait? I thought the element of surprise would work in my favor. To be honest, I didn’t believe you’d bring weapons to a funeral. Seems I was wrong. So now where do we go? I think what we have here is a good old-fashioned Mexican stand-off.”
All of the men with Costas are facing forward, watching Damen, Alesso, Reece, and the Spetsnaz soldiers. Behind Costas, a couple more bikers are hiding behind trees. As if in choreographed tandem, those two men slump silently to the ground as I watch.
Liam steps out from one tree and gives a hand signal I don’t understand.
From behind the second tree, where now a biker lays motionless steps a ghost. Not a man.
No human moves that way. Stealthy. Silent. Sleek.
Fucking hell, it’s Andrius. He’s on Costas before my half-brother can react.
“I don’t think the right terminology for this is a Mexican stand-off.” Andrius taps the knife in his right hand against Costas’ throat. “I think the term you’re looking for is … you’re fucked. You came after what’s mine.”
“No, I didn’t,” Costas screams. “I sent one note to that lesbian bitch. I didn’t go for Violet. I’m not stupid.”
“Yes, you are.” Andrius presses the knife in further. “You’re going to come with me and my friend Reece over there. We have questions for you. If you want to live, you’ll call your men off and send them home.”
“You harm me, and they’ll come for each one of you, when you least expect it,” Costas warns Reece as he approaches.
Reece looks like a Viking with the afternoon sun glinting on his blond hair.
“We won’t hurt you, but tell them to back off and go home, right now, or he’ll slit your throat.” Reece points to Andrius, still standing behind Costas.
Costas doesn’t move.
“He’ll do it,” Reece says. And as if to prove the point, Andrius presses down hard enough to draw blood. It drips down Costas’ throat, red and sticky, and it brings awful memories flooding back.
The red is here again, threatening to spill over into my life and claim more people I love.
“They won’t harm you, son,” Stamatis says. I know he’s lying to his own child, and the hurt in his voice is clear, but either Costas doesn’t know his father at all, or in his desperation, he chooses to believe the lie. His shoulders slump in defeat.
“Guys, it’s fine. I’ll see you back at the compound.” Costas tries to keep his voice light as he addresses the bikers, but it’s shaking, and he has paled.
The men leave. Walking away, grumbling and muttering, weapons being shoved back behind jeans, or into concealed holsters. They look like angels of death with their flapping black waistcoats and dark long hair. Only one is different. He’s bigger than most of the others, and his hair is short, almost styled. He’s as intimidating as fuck, and I glance at Stella to see her watching him with pale, pursed lips. He is the one who beat her; I know it. I squeeze her hand, and she tears her gaze from him to look at me. We smile at one another, and I’m sure my own looks as strained as hers.
“Father?” Costas casts an imploring look to Stamatis. “Aren’t you going to do something more? This Russian piece of shit has a knife to my throat, and I think he’s forgotten his place.”
Stamatis shakes his head as Andrius, and Reece drags Costas toward one of the cars parked by the side of the cemetery.
“Father, you promised.” Costas turns to shout, his face red and blotchy. “Are you coming with us? You can’t trust this Russian fucker. He’s not one of your men. Father. Father!”
“Stamatis!” my aunt screams as sobs tear from her throat while she watches her son being dragged away.
Stamatis goes to her and pulls her to him. “There is nothing we can do for him. He’s gone too far. He endangers all of us, you included.”
“You let them harm him, and I’ll never forgive you,” she tells him, crying hard, pushing him away from her and hitting his chest. “He’s your son.”
“Yes, and he killed his aunt, had her raped. Tried to kill his half-sister. Tried to take out his brother, and tried to derail my whole empire.”
Tried to take out his brother? I didn’t know that. Stamatis had only said Costas had attempted to harm Mikhalis in some way. My God, Costas is like some Shakespearean villain, and he’s starring in his own tragedy.
I cannot bear the hurt on my father’s face as he tries to reason with Aunty. He never wanted her to know about Costas, and now she does. Costas’ last gift to his family was to force Stamatis’ hand in making the truth about her son known to my poor aunt.
“You don’t care about what he did or didn’t do to Mikhalis,” Aunty spits. “You only care that he hurt the bitch you screwed. My sister-in-law, and let us be honest, the woman you’ve always loved is all that matters to you, even in death. And now you’ve openly accepted her daughter as your spawn, tell me. What place is there for me any longer?”
Her eyes turn to me, blazing with rage and hatred. A heavy weight settles around my shoulders, and I hadn’t realized Damen had come to stand by me until I felt his arm around me.
“You and your bitch mother are the reason this family is now torn apart. Are you happy? You’ve got your thirty pieces of silver, haven’t you? I allowed it because I thought it would keep Costas safe, but no, you won’t rest until he’s wiped off this earth. Until only you remain. What are your plans for me, for Mikhalis, eh?”
I stare at her in total shock at the bile spewing from her.
“Aunty, I never wanted Costas hurt. I wouldn’t have ever wished him harm, but I can’t forgive what he did to my mother. Do you know what I had to endure?” I take a step toward her, shaking with fury and despair. “Do you? I listened as he let his men rape her. He then let them loose on me, and if Damen and the guys hadn’t turned up right when they did, I’d have been raped too. What kind of person does that to someone they grew up playing hide and seek with? What kind of monster does that? He’s not well. Somewhere where his heart should be is nothing but hatred, and your husband, my father, is right. He will take you all down if you let him live.”
The crack rings out as fire burns my left cheek where she hits me. Aunty collapses onto the grass, her body heaving with her sobs.
Stamatis picks her up, cradling her in his arms. He’s whispering something to her, soothing words. I watch with a heavy heart. How can their marriage survive this? He betrayed her. Slept with my mother and had a child with her. Then he went one step further and accepted me officially as his. But this? Letting their son be killed, while it might be the right thing to do, it isn’t something she’ll ever forgive him for.
I can’t forgive Costas, so I know what that kind of burning hate does to you. Before, I hated him, now I despise him with everything I have. He came here, to consecrated ground, where he desecrated my mother’s memory as surely as he let his men ruin her in life.
If my aunty hates me even half as much as I hate her son, she might become a danger to me.
I stare around me at the chaos and can’t believe this is my mother’s funeral. The injured bikers are being dragged by their fellow gang members out of the way, and I don’t know how they plan on getting them treatment. No one here will be calling the cops or the paramedics.
“Come, you need to get home,” Alesso snaps me out of my reverie as he speaks.
Stamatis and my aunt are far enough away they can’t hear, so I turn to Damen. “I don’t want to go home.”
I need to see the piece of shit who would do this leave this world.
“Okay, baby. Where to?”
“To wherever Andrius and Reece have Costas.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Alesso
I stare at Maya in shock. The girl has balls, that’s for sure.
“Not a good idea,” Damen says.
/> I agree with him completely. She doesn’t need to see this.
She straightens her spine. “He took everything from me, and I want to see him pay with my own eyes.”
“Maya… You don’t come back from seeing something like this.” I try to reason with her, backing Damen up.
She turns to me and narrows her eyes. “Oh, yeah, because you do come back from hearing your mother gang raped and seeing her kill herself, right?”
She has a point, and Damen sees it too, because I catch the moment he decides to give in. The way his shoulders tighten imperceptibly and his jaw twitches. He doesn’t like it, but he’ll do it, for her.
“I want to go too,” Stella says, and this time my jaw falls open.
“What? You? No, you’re … just no.” I can’t believe she thinks she belongs anywhere near what’s about to go down.
“You’re not part of this world.” Maya’s words startle me, because it means she finally understands that she is part of this world.
“No, I am not. But I was put in the middle of it when those men took me and terrorized me at Costas’ command, and I want to be there.”
I stare at her, totally shocked. “Stella, you want to be a doctor. To save lives. You’re a good person, and this isn’t something a good person wants to be part of. You’re going home.”
“I don’t think it’s safe,” she says. “And you don’t know me the way you think you do, Alesso. I don’t want to be a doctor, not anymore. Not that I ever did. That’s my parents’ dream for me. You can’t send me home when it is still dangerous. I feel safe here.” She casts her gaze down. “I’m scared to go back and not just because of those men, my old life…it doesn’t fit me. It makes me…I can’t breathe, I get anxious. I don’t want to be the upper-class lawyer, married to a judge, entertaining our upper crust friends weekly…it’s my idea of hell.”
She appears to believe every word she says. Does she truly think living here, staying here with, let’s be honest, a mafia gang, is going to be the way forward for her? As tempting as it is to say yes, and simply keep her. I shake my head.
“It will be completely safe. Costas will be gone in an hour or two, then there’s no one who will come after you. You’re not truly part of this, and you have a chance now to walk away. Take it.” I’m surprised at how much the words hurt me. I want her to go back to her nice, safe life, but I’ll also miss her.
She’s quiet and soothing to be around. When she’s not with Maya, gossiping, Stella doesn’t talk an awful lot. She reads, she writes things; I don’t know what. She seems to be a person who spends a lot of time thinking. She’s also gorgeous. The more time I’ve spent with her these past days, the more I’ve found myself wanting to be by her side. She’s like a balm to my soul, and I can’t stand the thought of her leaving, but I also can’t stand the thought of her staying and becoming tainted by all we are.
She turns to Maya. “Tell them, hon. You understand.”
Maya shakes her head and takes hold of Stella’s hand. “No, babe. This isn’t you. I don’t have a choice; I was born to this. It’s in my blood, in every way, and I need to see this through … for Mom. You don’t. I’ll make sure he knows part of what he has coming is for daring to take you too. I’ll make sure of it, honey; all of us will. We need to so the bikers don’t dare come anywhere near you, but you need to do what Alesso says, and go home to your parents.”
“I’m scared to. Here, with all of you, I feel safe. There, I won’t. I know you say Costas will be gone, but those bikers are still out there.”
“You said yourself, the guy who hit you took it easy on you, right?” Damen steps into the conversation.
Stella nods.
“He did what Costas told him to, but he didn’t enjoy it. Those guys, they keep to themselves, and they don’t want trouble with ordinary folk. You got caught up in this because of Costas, who used you to get to Maya. With Costas gone, there’s no one in this family who will be after you in any way, and those bikers won’t be bothering you again because it’s not their thing. They stick to themselves, and they are only in this fight because Costas dragged them into it. To be honest, they’re probably regretting it right now.”
I nod because everything he says is true. My hope is that once Costas is out of the picture the Nyx won’t be involved anymore. They’re a powerful gang, with connections to other gangs in places like Russia, but put them up against the sort of firepower Stamatis, and others like Allyov, could command, and they will come up the losers. With Costas dead, they have nothing to gain from carrying on the fight. Their only hope of monetary gain came with Costas taking over from Stamatis. With him gone they have nothing to fight for.
Damen’s words seem to convince Stella, thank God, as her shoulders sag, and the fight goes out of her.
“Go back to the house with Markos ,” I tell her, “and once this is over with Costas, I’ll come take you home myself. It’s time for you to go back to your life, Stella. To start planning your future.”
She gives me a sad smile and says something to take me by surprise. “You all seem to think you know who I am and what I want, but you don’t. The idea of becoming a doctor or worse, a lawyer, and spending decades in an office practicing corporate law makes my skin itch. I don’t want to be put in a box I can’t get out of.”
I let myself do something I shouldn’t. I raise my hand and brush my knuckles over the back of her soft cheek. Just one touch, I tell myself. One moment to feel her goodness against my roughness before I have to let her go. “Then take time to figure out what you do want, but don’t go throwing it away on getting caught up in this world. There’s nothing here for you.”
The words taste bitter as I force them out.
She takes me by surprise again when she sighs softly, lets her eyelids flutter closed, and leans into my touch. I jerk away as if stung. We can’t do this, and I need to put a stop to the idea that we can right now. I take my hand back and become all business as I tell her, “Go, stay at the house until I come for you. Okay?”
She nods and turns away to let herself be escorted to the waiting cars by the Spetsnaz guys.
Stamatis has left with his wife, and God knows how he’s going to save that burning pile of ash he calls a marriage now. I feel so fucking sorry for him, having to let his son be dealt the harshest form of justice, but what choice does he have? None.
Costas is a liability and a wildcard who is so gone in the head, he might do anything. In our world honor matters, and family matters, but loyalty takes precedent overall. If word got out that Stamatis let his son live, despite that son trying to decimate everything Stamatis’ built, any respect for Stamatis would blow away like pollen on a summer breeze.
“You sure about this?” Damen asks Maya.
She holds her chin high and says firmly, “Yes.”
I smile. Girl has come good. I worried about her, about the effect she’d have on Damen and her family, but she’s come through hell shining brighter than ever. Now, she’s not someone I worry will be a liability to Damen, but a strong woman who is shaping up to be one hell of an asset to him.
It makes me think perhaps one day, I can find a woman of my own. My thoughts flick to Stella, but I push her out of my mind. Unlike Maya, she’s born to better things than this life, and I don’t want her being part of it if she doesn’t have to be.
“Let’s go.” I indicate for us to leave, and Damen and Maya fall into step beside me.
It feels right, her being with us. I’m happy for my friend, and I hope they get their hard-won happiness once Costas is out of the picture.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Damen
We arrive at the warehouse where Andrius and Reece are keeping Costas. Liam is guarding the door when we pull up, and he tips his head at us as we head to the entrance.
“I hope we aren’t too late,” Maya says.
I turn to her and see fire in her green gaze. She wants this, more than me maybe. It makes sense when you think what the bastard
put her through, but it’s such a change from the naïve, ignored, but also kind of spoiled girl I first met only months ago now. It takes me aback.
“You’re starting to scare me, Bonnie,” I murmur into her ear.
She smiles one-sided and sexy as hell. “Just make sure you never betray me, and you’ll be fine.”
I don’t think she’s entirely joking.
We enter the wide-open space of the main room to see Costas tied to a chair. He isn’t blindfolded or gagged, and Reece is sitting opposite him, talking to him in a conversational manner.
“I’ve told you everything,” Costas says.
I take him in. His eyes are large, pupils expanded. He keeps licking his lips and swallowing. He’s nervous, but not terrified. He truly believes we’re going to let him live. He might think he’s going to get roughed up some, but he’s under the illusion he’ll be walking out of here alive.
“Okay. One last time, and then I think we’re done here.” Andrius steps out of the shadows. His eyes glacial in the stark strip lights. “You’re sure no one is after Violet or Justina. You sent the note, and you alone. The bikers have no interest in Stella, beyond what you told them to do?”
“Yes, yes, I’ve already gone over this.” Costas sighs and actually rolls his eyes. Jesus, he’s either still got something in his system making him high, or he’s insane, because not much scares me, but I wouldn’t roll my eyes at a truly angry Andrius if I were in his crosshairs.
Andrius, being the professional he is, ignores Costas’ dramatics and smoothly carries on.
“You’ve called off the bikers, but can you guarantee they’ll do as you say?”
“Yeah, they’re working with me and Yannis, but like I say, they take orders from me, not him.”
Yannis. That slimy shit. Should have known he’d be in this somehow. If it wouldn’t start a whole other front of this damn war we find ourselves in, I’d take the shit out. But that would most likely involve Lefteris, and it’s the last thing we need right now. Also, it’s not my decision to make.