Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
D imitrios
The last kiss had been the most difficult.
My thoughts were indicative of the various emotions I currently felt and had for days. I’d been born and bred on violence and bloodshed yet all I’d been able to think about during the ride to the marina was how soft Willow’s lips were. How incredible her body had felt writhing underneath mine the night before.
I could still hear her sensual mews before she’d nibbled on my earlobes. And the way her fingertips had scalded my skin had set my insides on fire. Now I was sounding like one of the damn romantic poems she’d written.
“You okay, boss?” Nico asked from the driver’s seat.
I chuckled as I rubbed my index finger back and forth under my nose. The scent of her perfume lingered. I’d fucked her for hours, refusing to let her go. My behavior had been more than just insatiable. I’d been like a wild beast claiming her.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
“I’m fine.” Even the best sex of my life couldn’t preoccupy my mind when what I was about to do would permanently carve a hole in my heart. Now that I knew I had one left.
Willow had certainly come through with her performance. I’d been uncertain enough of who I could trust that only those who’d needed to know why Willow had suddenly escaped had been told. That had allowed for a higher chance of success. Hell, I’d been on her friend’s tail as soon as the girl had driven out of the neighborhood. Allowing Willow out of my sight I’d decided wasn’t going to happen.
The worst part had been waiting to see if Shane showed up. I’d begun to think I’d been wrong in my assumptions and in planning something so out of the ordinary. Maybe the worst part had been seeing her anger, her near hatred of her own brother. I couldn’t imagine feeling that way.
I closed my eyes, returning to a more pleasant memory. This wasn’t any kind of ending that I’d wanted nor was it the end of the race for power.
Shane had been decent enough to heed my warning, providing all the information he’d acquired. There was one last piece still missing. That would be acquired very soon.
Nico drove in silence until the turnoff for the marina. “I’m sorry it worked out this way.”
“You learn in life, Nico, that no matter how much you plan, how much time and effort you put into a friendship and no matter if blood is involved, often you end up disappointed.”
“That doesn’t sound like you. I gynaíka sou édose mia kardiá .”
The woman has given you a heart.
I laughed. “You could be right, my friend. In fact, I know you are.”
He’d no sooner pulled into the parking spot than I was halfway out the door. I heard music coming from the smaller yacht my father owned. With it being anchored several hundred feet from shore, I could only imagine what the other guests at the marina thought.
“Your pops is cranking up Frank Sinatra again,” Nico said.
“Yeah, so I hear.” His favorite artist. I kept telling him he needed to get into the modern age, but the man had chided me on not appreciating decent music.
I laughed to myself as I thought about the thirty-footer. It hadn’t been nearly large enough for my parents to travel the world in. The superyacht was a mere one hundred and twenty feet. I wasn’t entirely certain what two people and a crew of twelve would do with that much boat.
I was certain I’d see in vivid color with the photographs my mother would send every single day.
Nico trailed behind me as we headed to the slip, taking a small powerboat out to where she was anchored. The smaller yacht was named after my mother, Corabelle. It was my second favorite spot in the world.
After today, I wondered if I’d feel the same.
As soon as Nico climbed in behind me, he started the engine. The day was bright and clear, the sun already beating down since it was midafternoon. If what I suspected regarding the people behind the Stalker’s hiring was true, my brothers and I could make a late afternoon visit to our crime syndicate buddies, taking out our anger on them and be home by dinnertime.
I raked my hand through my hair, remaining standing as Nico piloted the boat toward Corabelle . The others were already out on the aft deck, enjoying the calm seas and beautiful weather. As soon as we were on board, we’d set sail south, into the Mediterranean Sea. We wouldn’t need to go far, our communications equipment such that we’d know if there were other vessels or Harbor Corps in the vicinity.
We’d be returning one passenger lighter.
Nico slowed, making the final approach, finally pulling up alongside. “You sure you don’t want me to stay?”
I moved toward the ladder that had always been extended. “No need, Nico. We’ll be at least a couple of hours. I’ll text you when we’re close to shore after we’re finished.”
“Maybe I’ll make you swim to shore,” he told me. I knew he was trying to keep my mind off what I needed to do.
“And you know what I’ll do.”
He grinned, waiting until I was safely onto the deck before taking off.
I followed the music, shaking my head from how loud it was. Emotions were difficult at best. I should feel nothing but rage at this point, but all that remained was sadness and the need to move on with my life. I no longer had patience for anyone who dared stand in my way of getting what I wanted.
“You’re late,” my father told me. He looked and acted the part, even wearing a festive Hawaiian shirt. In his hand was a drink, a cigar in his mouth.
I lifted my sunglasses, staring at the Cuban. “Don’t tell your mother,” he said.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I’ll get the captain to set sail. Everyone else is here. We can get started.” His face clouded over briefly, but he’d come to terms with what had to be done. I’d given him the time to do so while we’d located our prey.
“I want this finished quickly.”
“So do I, son.” He started to walk away then stopped. “Do you want to know the worst part about this?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s not about losing trust or even feeling the strong desire for revenge. It’s about losing a lifelong friendship. For what? Money? Our wealth is tainted, my boy. Don’t allow your hunger for power outweigh your desire to enjoy your life. And the woman you love.”
Of all the words of wisdom my father had provided over the years, what he’d just said was most important.
“I know, Dad. I honestly know. I’ll grab a drink.” I could see Christos hanging over the top railing, peering down at us.
Pops nodded. The man didn’t deserve such egregious pain and sorrow. A moment of anger returned.
I moved to the salon where a bartender was waiting to fill my order. After ordering a tall gin and tonic, I took a few moments to reflect on every single thing Shane had told us. I had been able to confirm he was indeed working for Interpol. It had taken a favor to do so since the kid was working undercover as he’d told us. At least Willow’s brother hadn’t lied about that part of the story.
As far as the rest, I’d done my own research on the nine people killed. That had included a senator from New York, a prince from Saudi Arabia, a brutal narcissist Pakhan from Russia, and a diplomat from Spain. What they had in common was power and influence. Other than that, I hadn’t taken the time to fit all the pieces together. They just didn’t matter to me.
What did was justice for Leandro’s death.
With a drink in hand, I headed up the flight of stairs, finding the rest of this afternoon’s guests sipping on drinks and sucking on cigars. Our guest in question was even belting out the Sinatra tunes.
“There you are,” Havros chided. “Always late to the party. Great day for deep sea fishing, eh?” He grinned so only I could see. “The fish are biting. I feel it in my bones.”
My brother had a sick sense of humor.
“A perfect day,” our guest piped in. “You were lucky I hadn’t left town. It’s good to see your father in such excellent spirits.”
“Yeah, well, he is trying to follow the Orthodox belief that Leandro’s spirit is right here with us.” It was tougher than I thought not to lash out at the man. I could easily snap his neck without hesitation or thought.
The captain was already in the process of pulling the anchor. Soon, we would be off. I wasn’t certain how much time I could stomach the bullshit or lies. Maybe I wasn’t as resilient as I liked to believe.
Father returned a couple of minutes later. “Now, where were we?” I didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was just as enraged as I was. He’d been through as many emotions as I had, looking over the limited information Shane had provided a solid dozen times.
He hadn’t wanted to believe his good friend would betray him. It had been tough on all of us. But even as a young boy our father had confided in all four of us that the only solid trust you could have was with and about your family. He’d even added a caveat. Unless they were Russian or Italian pigs.
Today he was fighting to maintain his sense of humor.
For the next half hour, we shot the shit and nothing more. Pops had wanted to be far enough away from the marina our prey wouldn’t be able to return to shore and no one would hear his screams.
So we waited.
We witnessed dolphins.
We drank.
We studied the guest using his binoculars, the rest of us doing everything we could not to toss him overboard.
Finally, Pops gave the okay it was time. In my mind it was past time.
“I’m curious, Eros. How can you live with yourself?” I started the conversation given my father had a tough time doing so. I was almost instantly amused that my dad’s buddy immediately tensed. I’d never thought of Eros as a stupid man, yet crossing us, daring to believe he could get away with killing Apollo Nomikos’ son meant he’d fucking lost his mind. There were no excuses.
He had to die.
“What did you say?” Eros turned his head toward me, squinting from the sun. “I don’t understand.”
“ échei nóstimi géfsi i prodosía í eínai perissótero san aíma, pikrí allá kai glykiá? ”
I asked him does betrayal have a delicious taste or is it more like blood, bitter yet sweet.
He immediately lost his smile.
Poor boy.
He placed his drink on the table next to him as my two brothers and father remained right where they were. I was the one who took my time walking closer, pocketing my sunglasses before standing a couple of feet away. “I find it interesting that you’re the Stalker. Likely the most hunted man in Europe. Your kills were brilliantly done. But you made a fatal mistake. You pulled the trigger inside Sin and Shame.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
My patience and tolerance snapped at the same time. I had one hand wrapped around his throat, easily able to push him halfway over the railing. “Do you want to try that again, you fucking traitor? You killed my brother in cold blood. Why? Because he figured out what you were doing?”
I knew by the flash of surprise in his eyes I was right. No wonder Leandro had reached for his weapon.
“Don’t. Wait,” he spit out.
I squeezed until his face and neck turned bright red. While I was eager to end this, the man deserved to suffer.
“Let him up, son. We’re not done with him yet,” Pops told me. He’d allowed his voice to be filled with sadness. That pissed me off even more.
Exhaling, I did as he requested, tossing Eros aside like the piece of trash he was. “How much did the fuckers pay you to betray your friend?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“How much?” Havros snapped. “How much to betray our family?”
Eros looked out toward the ocean, puffing out his cheeks before blowing. “Enough.”
“So this was about money?” I demanded.
“Yes. I was made a very wealthy man while eliminating some scum that didn’t deserve to live.”
“And Leandro?” I stepped closer when he didn’t answer right away.
“His death was a test,” he answered.
A test? What the hell was he getting at? “Let me guess. The people who hired you no longer trusted you to carry through with the task they’d bought and paid for, killing me. So you chose Leandro to prove to them you could go through with utter betrayal.” Putting the pieces together made my skin crawl.
“Yes,” he answered, finally doing so truthfully.
“You were playing a game at the funeral.” This time, I made a statement. “You hired people to fire off weapons to throw us off your disgusting scent. You never intended for any of to be hurt.”
Eros wasn’t a bright man after all. He laughed. “Yes.”
I laughed with him. Why not? He had limited time left on this earth.
Christos moved closer. “Who the fuck hired you?”
Eros acted as if he wasn’t going to answer.
“Davit Ajernian,” Pops suggested. “Did you kill his father for him?”
I couldn’t believe Eros had the audacity to continue laughing. “That pigheaded kid couldn’t do a damn thing on his own. No, he did not order the hit on his own father.”
“Then who did?” Havros demanded.
Eros lifted his head, locking his goddamn eyes with mine.
Oh, my God. The fucking Italians. Luca Marciano had promised retaliation no matter how long it took. Delphina’s fiancé.
That’s when I knew the nagging thought had been correct. Only Eros didn’t completely understand killing the baby brother in the family hadn’t been about a test, but more of eye for an eye. I was made to suffer like Luca, the person who’d hired him had done sixteen years before.
My gut was screaming, all the ugly bloodied pieces coming together.
Willow was next.
My death would be left to the very end after I’d endured the same amount of suffering.
“Turn the goddamn boat around,” I snapped.
“What? We’re not done here,” Pops said.
My mind was reeling and I didn’t care if another boat was in close proximity. Willow was in danger. She was next on the list before Delphina’s former Italian fiancé finished his act of retaliation with my death.
I grabbed the harpoon, taking long strides back in the direction of the others. Without second guessing what I was about to do, I fired off a single spear, the harpoon hitting Eros directly in the chest.
As Eros clutched his chest, gasping for air, blood trickled from his mouth. He stumbled backward, hitting the railing. My father walked toward him. Eros reached out, grasping my father’s shirt.
“Please…” he wheezed.
“ Apoláfste ton ypno sas me ta psária ,” my father hissed before issuing one brutal punch.
As the four of us watched Eros tumbling over the railing, dropping into the sea, I wasn’t certain any of us took comfort in the man’s death.
Nothing would bring back our brother.
“Now, turn the goddamn boat around. I need to save the woman I love.”