Chapter 21 – Markos #2
Iosif parked his sporty little tuner in front of his mother’s cottage. Evangelia stumbled from the passenger seat, laughing at whatever he’d said. For the first time in days, the siblings were smiling—Iosif was smiling.
I pushed off my jeep and stalked toward them. “Eva, we need to have a little chat.”
My cousin spun around with a squeak. “You scared me!” Looking around, her brows drew together slightly. “Where’s Serena?”
After dropping Serena off at my condo, I’d sped away. She needed space. Hell! I needed space.
“What does she know?” I demanded, marching right up to my little cousin.
Evangelia quaked. “What do you mean?” she stuttered. “I’ve told you everything I remember.”
“Think harder.” I stopped in front of her, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring down at her.
“Hey! Markos, what the hell, man?” Iosif demanded, hurrying to stand beside his sister.
I didn’t spare the lad a glance.
“I did exactly as you told me,” Evangelia insisted. “I’ve been trying to dig into her life, but she’s a closed book.”
“What does she know about us ?” I pressed, leaning down and getting right in the girl’s face.
There was a flicker in her grey eyes.
That’s it.
The confirmation I was on the right track. I just needed to press the point.
“Markos, back the fuck off,” Iosif snapped, pushing between his sister and me.
I shoved the lad away. “Does she know what we are?”
Evangelia’s lip wobbled. “I swear, Markos, I didn’t tell her!”
“órkhis,” I hissed. “How long, Eva? Hmm? How long has she known?”
Iosif slammed into my side right as his sister said, “She figured it out that first day. It was as if she knew what to look for.”
I pushed Iosif hard, but he came back to grapple me. My forearm slammed against Iosif’s chest as he lunged at me again. The boy had fire, I’d give him that, but I had centuries of experience compared to him. Whipping around, I grabbed his wrist and twisted, forcing him to his knees.
“Stop it!” Evangelia screamed. “Both of you!”
Iosif snarled, kicking out with surprising speed. His foot connected with my shin, and I loosened my grip just enough for him to wrench free. He sprang up, fists raised, eyes glinting with that telltale golden shimmer that betrayed his youth. He couldn’t control the shift when angered.
“She didn’t betray us,” my cousin spat, circling me. “And you have no right to come here threatening her.”
I dodged his first punch easily, but the second caught me in the ribs. The blow was enough to ignite my temper. I grabbed Iosif by his shirt, lifting him a foot off the ground before slamming him back down. The impact sent dust spiraling from the driveway.
“You know nothing,” I growled, my voice dropping an octave as the beast inside me stirred.
Just because I married her, this new development could easily destroy Serena.
It was one thing when she was just our guest. Now the stakes were raised.
The rest of the Twelve would use it as fuel to act against her—to move against me.
I might not be able to protect Serena from them.
And that fucking terrified me.
Iosif rolled and leapt to his feet with the agility of our kind, eyes now fully gold. “You’re a bully, Markos. A bully who’s forgotten what family means.”
He charged, feinting to the left before attempting to sweep my legs. I jumped, but his follow-through caught me across the jaw—a solid hit that tasted of copper. The boy had been training.
I wiped blood from my lip and launched into Iosif, taking him to the ground in one swift attack.
His groan of pain tore through the night air.
“Stop it!” Evangelia shrieked again, tears streaming down her face.
“Your sister has compromised us,” I snarled, pummeling a fist into the lad’s kidney.
The front door of the cottage slammed open.
“What is going on— Boys!” Dorothea yelled.
Iosif grabbed my face, fingers attempting to tear into my flesh.
A thick wooden stick smacked across my shoulder blades. “You two have been cousins since birth and friends since children. I won’t have you fighting!”
Another thwack broke across my skin. That one clipped Iosif’s arm. He jerked back.
“He threatened my sister!” Iosif protested.
“I don’t care!” his mother shouted. “Get off of each other—now!”
Maybe it was the matronly tone, maybe it was some spike of sympathy for my cousin’s plight. Iosif was a valiant fighter, but he was no match for me.
I peeled myself off him, crouching on the gravel and breathing hard.
I glared at both of my cousins. “The syndicate comes first. Any risk to the organization comes with strict penalties—you both know that. But, luckily for our little Evangelia, I married the outsider. So Serena’s actions with that knowledge are on me. ”
“Serena found out all by herself,” Evangelia pleaded. “It wasn’t me.”
“Then you should have told me,” I barked.
The poor girl flinched.
“But!” I held up my hand to silence her. “This stays between us. Do you understand?”
Both my cousins stared at me.
So I added more incentive. “If the rest find out, Eva will be in trouble. We’ll protect them both with our silence.”
I stuck out my hand.
Spitting on the ground, Iosif reached out and slapped his palm against mine. “You can count on my silence.”
The broomstick snapped across my forearm, and then just as quickly hit Iosif’s.
“And if I catch you two fighting like this again, you’ll both be sorry,” my aunt snarled.
A flicker of pride shimmered through the darker emotions. I had to hand it to my aunt, she was fearless, even if she was five-foot-two. My mother had been the same way. The women in our family always seemed capable of cutting the males down to size with just a look—or in this case, a broom.
Serena might not have been born Greek, but she had that same fire.
Which made her perfect to rule this dangerous kingdom at my side.
“I need to get back to Tampa,” I said, rolling my shoulder where the broomstick had connected.
“We’ll see you later,” Dorothea dismissed me. “Give Serena our love.”
With a nod, I rose and left, excited at the new aspect of my life.