Chapter 32 Calli
CALLI
"Okay, follow me," I say, leading them through my house.
I lead them down the hallway toward one of my guest rooms. The afternoon light filters across the hardwood floors. My bare feet are silent against the wood, but Declan's boots thud behind us.
In the corner is a small oak desk that I've converted into a makeshift office over the past few days. Some papers are scattered across its surface, notes scribbled in my handwriting. My laptop sits open, the screen black but waiting.
I settle into the desk chair, my fingers finding the trackpad to wake the computer. Keira moves to stand at my left shoulder, close enough that I can smell her citrus perfume. Declan positions himself to my right, his tall frame casting a shadow over the desk.
"So," I say, clicking a folder that has things I've been working on: maps, photos, notes. "Here's what I'm thinking."
"Shit, Calli, what's all this stuff?" Declan asks, leaning closer to the screen. "Am I going to see one of those boards in the closet with pins and red strings attached to pictures next?"
Keira slaps his shoulder. "Don't be an idiot."
"No, very funny, Declan." I turn in the chair to look up at him. "I just want to be thorough. I've never done anything like this, and with you two involved, I don't want to phone it in. It's your lives, mine, my brothers', on the line."
"Feel good now making a joke?" Keira asks. "When she's trying to protect all our asses?"
"Alright, alright," Declan says, raising his hands in surrender.
I turn back to the screen and click on a link. A detailed map of the Greek islands opens, zooming in on one particular location.
"The gala is on Spetses." I point to the small island on the screen. "About a ten to fifteen-minute water taxi from the town of Kosta. The event is spread over three mansions on the north side, connected by a large garden that stretches down to the water."
Keira leans in, looking at the image. "How many guests?"
"Around two hundred, maybe more. Mind you, I've had to find all this out while keeping Niko in the dark."
The guilt of that admission sits heavy in my chest. Niko thinks I'm just nervous about meeting his father officially. He has no idea I'm planning to murder the man.
"Makes sense," Declan says. "Wouldn't want your boyfriend to know you're planning to kill his father."
I glare at him but don't respond. He's not wrong. But still. Stavros killed my father and now threatens everyone I love.
"Security will be tight, but since this is invitation-only, and everything is vetted through Stavros, they'll be focused on external threats. Not internal ones."
I've thought about this constantly over the past few days. Stavros trusts his system. He believes his power and reputation are enough to keep him safe among his own guests.
"Meaning they won't expect an attack from a guest," Keira says, understanding immediately.
"Exactly." I pull up some photos showing the interior of the houses Stavros will be using from an architect magazine feature that ran two years ago.
The images show fancy rooms with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and priceless artwork.
"The layout is fairly straightforward," I continue.
"The biggest house is where the main event will be held.
Its ground floor was converted into a ballroom.
The house next door is where the kitchen is, and the third is mostly bedrooms and a private study.
This is where Niko and I will be staying. I'm assuming Stavros, too."
"Assuming?" Declan's eyebrow arches.
I shrug. "Well, I can't ask him. But Niko told me that every year, about halfway through the event, his father heads to a room to conduct meetings. It's the whole point of this stupid gala, and that's when we'd probably meet him."
The cursor hovers over a photograph of an elaborate study with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a massive mahogany desk. Persian rugs cover marble floors, and heavy curtains frame windows that overlook the sea.
"Okay, so where do you plan to do it?" Keira asks.
The question I've been dreading. Because the answer requires me to fully become someone I've never been before. Someone who can look a man in the eye and end his life.
"Here." I zoom in on the study on the second floor of the third mansion.
"This is the largest office of the three houses, and I bet this is where he'll be.
During the party, when everyone's distracted, and before I'm supposed to meet him with Niko.
I'll excuse myself, slip upstairs, and wait for him. "
"I mean, this sounds good-ish, but how exactly do you plan on doing this?" Declan's voice is carefully neutral. "Gun's loud, I guess you could get a silencer, but you'd have to conceal it which is tricky. A knife's too up close, personal."
"He's right, Cal. And you can't fight this guy," Keira adds.
"I agree. I need something quiet. Fast. Something I can do up close and walk away from like nothing happened."
Declan nods slowly. "You mean poison."
I turn to face him. "Exactly. And that's where you come in."
He laughs. "Ah, how lucky."
"Look, I know you move pharmaceuticals in Boston, and here a bit with my brothers. I try to stay out of all that, but I'm not stupid."
It's an open secret in our world that Declan handles the Killaney family's drug operations on the East Coast. He's clean and efficient. He's never been caught because he's careful and smart.
Declan doesn't confirm or deny it, just watches me with those eyes of his.
"I'm thinking cyanide," I say.
Declan immediately shakes his head. "No, stop with that spy thriller movie shit. That won't work."
"Why?" I ask.
"It smells so strongly of almonds. He'll notice it right away. Plus, it's not as reliable as people assume. Dosage is tricky."
Keira crosses her arms. "Okay, poison expert, then what?"
Declan thinks for a moment and I can almost see him running through possibilities in his head.
"Maybe aconitine."
Keira frowns. "Excuse me?"
Declan nods. "Wolfsbane. They used it in the 1800s or some shit to kill wolves. No scent, undetectable in most standard toxicology screens. Works fast. Cardiac arrest within minutes."
Perfect, I think. Because that's exactly what I'm going to use it for, killing a wolf.
"Okay," Keira says. "So we get this wolfsbane to Calli, and then what?" She looks at me. "You go with Niko to the island and do it?"
I turn in my chair to face them both, my fingers shaking slightly.
"Sort of. You'll be there, too. Both of you."
Keira blinks in surprise. "Are you going to put us on the guest list?"
"Well, not exactly."
Their eyes narrow simultaneously, a twin expression of suspicion that would be amusing under different circumstances.
"I got you guys jobs. Surprise." I wave my hands in the air like I'm congratulating them.
Declan stares at me like I've grown a second head. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah, so at first I thought about guests, but Niko said Stavros does all that, hence how I figured that out. So then I thought security, but Stavros has his own men, of course. So the next best thing was..."
"The staff?" Keira asks, her voice rising slightly.
I nod.
"Oh my god, woman, you need to stop watching heist movies," Declan says, laughing. "Next week you're going to tell me how you want to rob a casino."
That actually makes me laugh, all of us in fact. A genuine sound that feels strange given the circumstances. Still, it feels nice to laugh, even for a second.
"No, there is a company in Kosta that's handling the event, and they put out an ad for help. The dates are the exact weekend of the event, so I took care of it."
Keira nods and claps her hands. "Fuck it. I'll serve champagne for a few hours to get the fucker who killed your dad."
Declan clears his throat. "I mean, I don't really blend in well. I'm six-foot-four and…" he pauses, "you know what, why don't I just use my charm on some of the ladies there, move around, get close to this Stavros guy and do it myself?"
I refuse without hesitation. "No. He has to die by my hand."
I need to be the one to look into Stavros's eyes when he realizes what's happening. I need to be the last thing he sees. For my father. For Niko. For the future I'm trying to protect.
Declan studies my face for a long moment, then gives me a small nod.
"Can you get me what I need?" I ask him.
"Yes, but back in Boston."
My pulse quickens. "Can you get it in three days?"
Declan nods. "Yeah."
"Okay, good. Because we're going to Greece in four days. You need to arrive early for job training."
"How the hell do you work that one out?" Keira asks.
"I hacked into their applicant database."
They both look at me like, seriously? Come on.
"Okay, fine. I bribed someone. Still counts." I smile. "You can't be late for training."
The bribe cost me four thousand bucks, money I transferred from an account Ares doesn't monitor. A small price for the access I need.
"Jesus Christ, Cal, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't do this," Declan says.
"Agreed," Keira adds. "But it's her, and it's for her father."
The mention of my father sends a familiar ache through my chest. Vasilis Kastaris deserves justice. He deserves to have his death answered with blood.
Declan nods. "Okay, I need to get back to Boston then."
I stand from the desk chair, my legs slightly unsteady. The magnitude of what we're planning is starting to feel real, not just an abstract idea anymore, but something that's actually going to happen.
"He likes to thrown parties to celebrate his power. Let's make this one the last."