Chapter 18
Eighteen
E lias
“Everything is prepared as you requested,” one of my men informed me as we stood in this tasting warehouse for one of the wineries originally under the Vitalis umbrella but now a Xenos winery.
“Make sure to keep an eye on everyone. I don’t trust a single soul here, or Ozias.”
After that meeting with my father, we hadn’t spoken a word. All of our communications came by email or through our men. On the business side of things, all remained normal. However, Ozias had been visiting our territories in the south, where we held most of our weapons trade stock.
“Reports say he’s moved to the southern border line along the Evros River, near Turkey, and plans to meet with some contacts.”
I clenched my teeth. “Send word to the Italians. Inform them the deal is off if they meet with anyone but me.”
The lieutenant’s eyes widened. “But you’ve worked on this for nearly two years.”
“With Ozias in the mix, it will go down the shithole anyway. If I set the rules, they know I am the one with power and don’t like interference. Even from within our organization.”
He nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
He left, and I focused on the men sitting at the large gathering table in the center of the tasting room.
Cristo Caras, Morisi Bella, Pello Korba.
Fuckers had no idea what was in store for them. I’d let them enjoy my hospitality for now.
Cristo had been the first to reply to my invitation last week for an evening of dinner, wine, and discussions. Then, shortly after, Morisi and Pello agreed to join me. My father’s oldest friends loved a good gathering, and visiting one of the most profitable businesses the Xenos family ran was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.
Contrary to Avra's earlier assumptions, I maintained only social pleasantries with anyone connected to Ozias, held no friendships with them, and always exercised caution regarding the complexities of his private ventures. The Xenos enterprises I managed and the one Ozias believed he was in charge of were entirely separate entities.
It was crucial to tread carefully with the three at the table. I had grown up around them and understood the games they liked to play and the true extent of their loyalty.
Their loyalty only extended as far as the money that flowed in.
Including Ozias, they were all friends, confidants, and co-conspirators. Still, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw the other in front of a bullet if it meant they survived.
However, I did not doubt they had all cleared this gathering with Ozias.
My wife was their mutual enemy. And in this case, they would watch out for each other.
They’d behaved so far as it pertained to Avra. However, I expected it to last for only a little longer as they were three bottles into an award-winning bottling of Cabernet.
“Is your business seen to for the evening?” Pello asked.
I nodded as I strolled over to them. “For now. Keeping the Xenos world running isn’t something one puts away for an evening. I keep my eyes and ears on everything, day and night.”
I took my time reaching them and noticed Morisi and Pello exchange a look before gulping down the contents of their glasses. An attendant, without being asked, refilled the wine while another brought a platter of appetizers.
Morisi took a bite of some bread and then said, “You must have your hands full settling into married life.”
“It’s better than expected.” I took my seat and continued to watch the men.
“I’m sure you’re enjoying yourself,” Cristo joked, reaching for some olives. “Teaching that brat a lesson or two…”
Pello cut him off. “She’s got quite the mouth on her.”
“A mouth better stuffed with?—”
“Hey, now.” Cristo shoved Morisi’s shoulder playfully, mocking a stern reprimand. “That’s not right. The boy brought us here for dinner, not to hear you go on about his wife.”
I kept my face emotionless, but the fury bubbling up forced me to put the glass in my hand down before I cracked it.
They were playing a game, and I saw through it. They wouldn’t get a rise out of me, though. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
The enemy of my enemy was my friend. That person just happened to be my wife.
She hated Ozias and these bastards more than I ever could.
Tonight wasn’t about me.
I was here for Avra, I reminded myself, to set the scene to help her achieve her goals. And I would.
I tamped down the urge to beat the living shit out of Morisi, wring his neck, and piss on his corpse for even thinking about Avra like that.
It was my job to protect her, defend her.
And I fucking couldn’t do any of it at the moment.
This was about her plan, and I wouldn’t ruin it.
So, instead, I allowed my voice to go as cold as possible and take on the tone of the killer everyone knew I was as I asked with a raised brow, “Boy?”
Cristo and Morisi guffawed, cracking up with the alcohol they’d indulged in.
“No, you’re no boy anymore. I gotta say that much.” Pello huffed a lighter laugh, more cautious, not as loose-lipped as those two. “More like you’ll have a boy of your own soon.”
The thought of Avra rounded out with a child brought forth a fierce possessiveness ten times greater than I could have imagined. She would bear our children and create a future with me. She wouldn’t hesitate to protect them as she’d done with that little girl.
None of it could happen until her scheme for revenge ended. A lump formed in my gut. It might be too late.
I stared at the fuckers before me. Getting rid of them was the priority. They posed an immediate danger.
“And she’s young enough to give you a son,” Cristo added, raising his glass to me.
Of course, he’d want to celebrate a marriage to a young bride. He’d just remarried a wife twenty years his junior to try for an heir.
“Hey, it’s not the age.” Morisi smirked. “It’s how you handle them and fuck them.”
He continued with jokes about wives, and Cristo carried on with him.
I clenched my teeth, unable to hide my reaction this time. The two disgusted me .
Morisi’s reputation for how he treated his gentle wife was an open secret, a trait he’d shared with Ozias. Mama couldn’t produce more children, but Morisi’s wife of the last two and a half decades was abused and forced to produce child after child.
Pello remained quiet during this exchange, knowing anything he said would make him look like a hypocrite. A few months ago, his third wife died during a territorial battle along with his two children. Instead of showing respect and mourning, he was hunting for a young bride to bear him more children.
Once their laughter died down and Morisi and Christo ran out of lewd jokes, Pello shifted the conversation, having noticed my reaction to his friends’ behavior.
At this point, I wanted the fuckers to know they repulsed me, and I was the asshole who enjoyed torturing a shithead or two.
“I heard you are tight with a few of the families in northern Italy. I don’t recall seeing any of their representatives at your wedding,” Pello commented.
I arched my brow. “You didn’t?”
“Not the northern Italians,” Cristo added, nodding at his friend. “Your father mentioned you’d allied with them.”
Nosy, as always. They couldn’t get anything out of Ozias since he was clueless, so they wanted to pump me for information.
They wanted to know about the connections I’d built. That knowledge brought with it contacts for moving our products, something they had no access to.
“It’s true,” I stated. “We have an alliance as well as a business agreement. One has nothing to do with the other. We prefer to keep business apart from personal arrangements.”
“What did you do to gain their interest?” Morisi scowled and then downed another serving of wine, which a server refreshed. “Who approached whom? Ozias tried to meet with them for years. Even my connections gained no interest.”
“I can’t get a meeting with them no matter where and what I suggest,” Pello added.
I shook my head. Of course, you haven’t had luck. These idiots employed the same high-handed tactics Ozias used. They couldn’t understand that a new generation of power players had taken over, and their methods of one-upping and feather-fluffing worked against them. In an age of technology, facts showed power and the ability to prove one possessed the power they claimed to have.
“It’s all about how you approach them and what we can offer each other. It has to benefit both parties.”
“Well, no shit, Elias,” Cristo scoffed. “You think we don’t know that?”
I know you don’t. They were too selfish and greedy ever to compromise or come down and level in an alliance. This all worked in a give-and-take method. We were all power players in our territories, and as allies, we garnered more influence and strength.
The process wasn’t about swinging our dicks around to see whose was bigger.
“Don’t think you’re the head of the family, kid ,” Morisi taunted. “Marriage doesn’t change anything. Your father’s still in charge. You work for him, and the deals you make with those fuckers belong to him.”
I nodded, listening to the drunk bastard rant. His opinion, or those of the other two at the table, mattered little. They were all dead men walking.
As if I’d cued them, Avra and Laya stepped out from the shadows of a covered patio overlooking the vineyard. Calista had decided to stay behind. She understood the way of our world and trained like her sisters but also accepted she wasn’t built like them and preferred books to guns.
Avra’s and Laya’s expressions showed the calm and cool confidence of two women on a mission. Their steps were measured, not rushed, as if taking in the scene before they confronted their enemies. They moved without making a sound—not a click of heels, no rustle of the fabric from their clothes. Vik had done his duty by Juno and trained these sisters well.
Vitalis and Xenos soldiers trailed in after them. The men I selected to join them were loyal only to me and would die before betraying me to Ozias. They’d lived through both of our leaderships and preferred my way of running things. I treated them with respect and had garnered theirs in return.
My beautiful wife’s gaze locked with mine as she approached, and her expression changed for a moment, softening. She wore something I could only describe as form-fitting black and blue combat fatigues. They were fucking sexy as hell and hugged her in all the right places. Then add in the guns strapped to her waist, and all I wanted to do was screw her senseless .
As if reading my thoughts, she rolled her eyes before donning her mask of all-business again.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” Avra said as she approached, capturing their attention.
Immediately, the lewd jokes, laughter, and the easy air of camaraderie died. The men stared, speechless and confused.
Laya’s lips quirked at the corners as she lifted her arms parallel to the floor, guns in both hands.
“What the fuck is this?” Cristo scooted his chair back but remained seated, glowering at the sisters, and then turned to me. “What the hell are you about, Elias?”
“Are you out of your mind letting her come in here like this?” Morisi shouted.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Possibly.”
“Son of a bitch, Elias set up a fucking ambush.” Pello shot to his feet, which had the other two following.
Panic and anger wafted from them through their movements and expressions.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at their outrage and stumbling. They were starring in a comedy routine as three bumbling drunk idiots.
“I can’t believe you’d betray us this way,” Cristo yelled. “Where is your loyalty?”
“With my wife.” I moved backward and crossed my arms, ready to watch the show. “My future comes first.”
“And this is how you see it going? You want a Vitalis for the future?” Morisi shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.
“Absolutely. Vitalis blood will run through my children’s veins. Why wouldn’t I secure all the Vitalis land for them?” I tilted my head to the side, seeing the realization fully dawn in their eyes.
They knew.
They weren’t that stupid. They had plans of their own.
“Your true problem in this isn’t Ozias. Am I correct?” Avra’s voice grew hard. “It’s Elias. Our marriage and the child we will create.”
For a split second, I wasn’t sure what the hell she was talking about.
Then it dawned on me, and the surprise on their faces confirmed it.
Avra and I would need to discuss her keeping secrets, especially when someone took a hit out on me.
My entire life, no one outside my mother had ever wanted to protect or defend me. The rage emanating from Avra was almost palpable.
“Wait, or do it now?” Laya asked.
“Wait. I want these fools to know the Danoes declined the job opportunity they proposed.” Avra shifted, and our men moved with her. “Only idiots forget how vast our family is. We all have different last names. Don’t take a hit out on someone’s family.”
Sweat slid down Morisi’s face, and he knew his time was up.
“Your estates are now under Vitalis and Xenos control. Everything you own, not just Vitalis lands, now belongs to me and my sisters.”
“Elias, how can you stand there?” Cristo growled. “You want a future of letting this bitch call the shots? ”
My temper flared. Holding back as one of them disrespected my woman time and time again was over.
Maybe it was the look in my eyes or something else. Cristo reached for the gun at his waist. I ducked, and Laya redirected her aim, shooting off one bullet and hitting Cristo between the eyes.
My relief lasted barely a second before chaos erupted. Morisi and Pello jumped into action, pulling their guns alongside all our men.
Everyone’s soldiers, including the three fuckers’, were trained to stand by and wait for a signal, never to interfere with their bosses. Still, now, all bets were off the table. The Caras, Bella, and Korba men split up, attacking the Xenos and Vitalis forces.
I searched for Avra. I didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. I dodged a punch to the face and socked an asshole in the gut as I weaved my way around to the area where I had last seen Avra.
That’s when Morisi appeared and charged right at me.
“Let’s go, motherfucker.” I welcomed the chance to unleash my fury for all the barbs he had spilled against my Avra.
We were similar in build and the closest in age—he was in his late forties, and I was just turning forty. And the fact he trained similarly to me meant we were an even match, and I couldn’t let my guard down, no matter that he was drunk. Actually, I should keep it up more since there was no telling what he’d do .
Right as he reached me, I knocked him hard in the face, sending him a few steps back. “You deserve this and more.”
“You do all this for pussy.” He spit out blood, his face a play of outrage. “She’s a whore, everyone knows this. Ask anyone in Prague.”
We threw punches, bobbing and weaving, and the need to destroy him blinded my vision. The craving for violence-filled retribution fed my blood as it pumped through my veins.
I shook off the few hits that he landed, but eventually, I grabbed him by the hair and brought him onto his knees, pummeling his head.
“You don’t deserve the right to look at my wife. To think of her.” I jerked his head back and started my retribution on his face.
He scraped and clawed at my arm, trying to breathe.
“You didn’t listen when she told you she’d have the last laugh…” I shifted my hold, gripping his head differently. “She spoke the truth, and now you pay.”
I twisted my hands in opposing directions, and the snap and crackle of bones echoed out as I broke his neck. Throwing the fucker to the floor, I stared at my blood-soaked, swollen hands and blew out a deep breath.
He deserved everything he got. Technically, this was Avra’s kill, but I was in no mood to wait for her to take care of this.
I took inventory of the area around me. Bodies were scattered throughout the area, but there was no sign of Avra.
My heart hammered in my chest .
Where the fuck was she?
Yes, I knew she could hold her own. But this wasn’t the world she’d grown up in, no matter how well Vik had trained her.
She was my fucking future, and I’d protect her whether she liked it or not.
I homed in on Cristo’s slumped body.
Laya had taken care of that jackass.
With Cristo and Morisi out of the way, it was time to find Pello.
I heard her before I saw her. “I’m not letting you get away, you fucking coward.”
Running toward the voice, I found her chasing after Pello and being intercepted by one of his soldiers, who grabbed her by the waist.
Immediately, a red haze coated my sight, and I darted for them. Avra saw me and nodded, instinctively knowing what I had planned. I pulled the gun from my waist as she went limp in the soldier’s arms, and he lost his grip on her. I shot, hitting the dick in the face.
“Don’t you fucking do that again,” I ordered as I helped her up.
Her response was to tug me to her and kiss me.
She pushed me away at the screech of car tires and rushed toward the lawn leading to the parking area. “I won’t let him escape. I can’t.”
I chased after her, arriving in time to see Avra skid to a stop and raise her gun. She aimed it at Pello while he pointed his at her .
My heart stopped, and all the air in my lungs froze. I was too far away to reach, help her, or block her. I opened my mouth to shout, but I held it back, not wanting to distract her.
My life spun in slow motion, except my limbs remained stuck in place. Watching them square off, the idea of him killing her, the thought of losing her.
The twin blasts jarred me out of my paralysis of seconds earlier, and a manic rage engulfed me. If anything happened to her, the world would learn the true nature of the monster I was.
I tore across the path, then jerked to a stop, unable to comprehend what I saw.
Pello lay in a crumpled heap on the grassy field. Avra stood a short distance from him, stock-still as if in a daze. After a few moments, she staggered and ran in Pello’s direction.
I rushed to her, not trusting that Pello was indeed down. We reached him at the same time. I fought to catch my breath.
Avra remained stoic, unflinching, as I wrapped my arms around her.
Blood spilled from the single hole in the center of his forehead. He gasped for air, each inhale growing slower and slower.
A warm stickiness coated my fingers, and I glanced down to find the sleeve of Avra’s suit shredded and blood seeping from her arm.
“You’re hurt.” I lifted her arm to inspect the damage .
She twisted, trying to take a look. “It’s not so bad. He’s a lousy shot.”
“You’re fucking out of your mind. You could have died.”
She clenched her jaw. “He couldn’t go free.”
“I would have found him for you.” I jerked her to me, my irritation growing by the second. “Your life is my priority.”
“And your life is mine.” She poked me in the chest. “Got it? He is the one behind the hit.”
“Yes, the hit. When did you find out?”
“This morning.”
“And you didn’t think telling me before this meeting was important?”
“You protect me. I protect you. That’s the deal.”
I leaned in, narrowing my gaze. “The terms are very clear. You are mine. You belong to me. In exchange, I help you serve up your wrath.”
“Then help me serve it, husband. They targeted my family. This includes you.”