Chapter 24 – Serena
“Black Tide, let’s go!” a male voice shouted.
I snatched my fingers away from the piano, coming back to reality with a sudden rush of self-consciousness.
I didn’t play for others. And right now, I was keenly aware of someone watching me.
From the way the hairs on the back of my neck tingled, I knew exactly who it was.
Rising from the piano bench, I turned and faced the monster.
Markos’s gaze was guarded, but his full focus was pinned on me.
I faltered for words. Was I not allowed in here? Was the instrument off limits? I shouldn’t have touched it, but the desire to play compelled me to the point where I needed to play more than I needed to breathe.
“Markos!” The man appeared behind Markos. “I said, let’s fucking go.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” he growled.
“Atlas says otherwise.” There was a cold glint in the stranger’s eyes. He wasn’t looking at me the way a man looked at a woman. No, there was something cruel and calculating in his gaze. It was exactly how my brother looked at everyone except his wife.
With another rumble of anger, Markos moved away.
Not wanting to be left alone with the stranger—or with any other Greek mobster—I scurried after the monster I knew.
In the great hall, I stopped short. They were all there.
The Twelve. Terrible and beautiful in a lethal combination.
Their power and strength vibrated through the room in a way that made my skin itch, and my muscles begged me to run.
“I’m taking my wife home,” Markos stated.
I stopped beside him, not wanting to seem cowardly by hiding alongside his massive frame but also wanting the small comfort of a familiar face.
Wait, why are there only eleven? I counted again just to be sure. They were missing one. I recognized a few faces, but it wasn’t until I looked at Iosif that it clicked. Oh, shit—his brother was one of them. My heart ached slightly. It wasn’t all for the man in a Minecraft tee.
I gave myself a small shake. My brothers knew I was safe. What they chose to do with that information was on them. Florida was my home now.
Distracted by the math and subsequent emotions, I missed part of their conversation.
“The fuck you will!” Markos snapped. “No one goes near her.”
“Then have one of the girls take her home,” the largest man in the group said, clearly annoyed at Markos’s obstinacy. I blinked. It was the same man whose office we’d broken into.
“We’re not here to do your errands,” one of the ladies scoffed. Iris—this one I remembered from the picnic in the village.
“Why the fuck do I have to go out fishing?” Markos countered. “I didn’t volunteer.”
“Because,” the large man grumbled. “You chose to wear that to the meeting.”
A quick glance showed how out of place Markos looked in his hoodie.
“There’s no dress code,” he shot back.
“No, and there’s no reason for you to sneak around the zoo. But here we are.” The large man crossed his arms over his chest.
Markos stilled. “How did you know?”
“Alexios called.”
The cracks and pops of Markos’s neck sounded like firecrackers on the Fourth. Sensing the impending explosion, I placed my hand gently over his. “You can call me a cab.”
“Out of the question,” he barked.
I winced, but before I could pull away, those strong, deadly fingers wrapped around mine.
“You know what, I will take your bride home,” the large man said, sweeping his hand through the air. “You and Zephyr go take care of the traitor, and you’ll be back before dawn.”
The finality in his tone should have been the last word on the subject. But I could feel the arguments tumbling in Markos’s mind. Hoping the giant of a businessman had forgiven me for the incident with the apple, I proposed a solution.
“Sure, let’s go,” I said quickly. “I’m Serena, by the way.”
“Oh, we know who you are,” the man snorted. “I’m Atlas, and we’re going to have a nice little chat.”
Merda. I doubt he’s the forgiving type. Gulping, I hurried forward—
Only to be tugged back against the solid mass of warmth.
A short litany of Greek fell from Markos’s lips. Looking up, I watched them move. A tingle spread through me at the thought of them against my body.
“I’ll see you for breakfast,” Markos promised, switching to English to speak to me.
Those last few words sent the tingle into a dark thrill.
He produced a key on a simple leather strap and placed it in my palm, curling my fingers over the object. I nodded, and he let me go.
Hurrying after Atlas, I left the turbulent throng. He was quiet as we slid into a sporty black car. It purred to life the same way Markos’s had, and then we shot into the night.
“What do you want to know?” I braced myself, meeting the elephant in the space head on.
Atlas snorted, his eyes briefly leaving the road to glance at me. “Direct. I like that.”
“I’ve found that pretending ignorance just delays the inevitable.” I clutched my hands in my lap, trying not to show how fast my heart was racing.
“Smart girl.” He navigated a tight curve with practiced ease. “So you understand this isn’t a normal marriage.”
“I gathered that when I was kidnapped and forced to wed a man I know next to nothing about.” I couldn’t keep the bite from my voice.
Atlas’s laugh was deep and unexpected. “You’ve got fire. Little wonder he’s so protective.” He sobered quickly. “But make no mistake—this isn’t a game. The Twelve don’t play games.”
“What are the Twelve exactly?” I asked, seizing the opportunity. Any chance to learn more about my captors, the better.
His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “Family. Business. Power.”
A typical mobster response.
“That doesn’t tell me anything,” I pointed out.
“It tells you everything you need to know.” Atlas took another turn, the car sliding smoothly through the darkness. “We are bound by something older than the modern world understands. Markos is one of us, whether he likes it or not.”
I studied Atlas’s profile in the dim light from the dashboard. Strong jaw, aristocratic nose, eyes that had seen too much. Like Markos, there was something ancient about him.
“So why me?” I asked quietly. “Did you force him to marry a nobody? That can’t be good for...business.”
Atlas’s laugh was short and humorless. “A nobody? Is that what you think you are?” He glanced at me, his eyes knowing. “Black Tide marked you. He wouldn’t do that if you were a nobody.”
Flooded with a rush of self-consciousness, I reached for my throat. He wouldn’t have marked me if I wasn’t someone to him? Was that some animalistic way of saying I was his prize?
Atlas continued, not waiting for an answer from me. “And you played Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor like you wrote it yourself. That’s not nothing.”
My blood ran cold. It was what he didn’t say that made me scared. There was an unspoken current running through our rather tame conversation. “You were watching me?”
“We all heard you, and we saw the way Markos was summoned by your siren call.” Atlas turned the car into the condo’s gated parking lot and pulled into a spot close to the door. “There’s more to you than you realize.”
Turning, I faced him. “Anything else you want to know before I go upstairs?”
Atlas’s shadowed gaze watched me. “Hurt Markos, and we’ll repay you in kind.”
My empty stomach flipped violently. “I wasn’t—”
“There’s nowhere you can run that we won’t find you,” he added, letting his cards fall between us.
“I understand,” I gulped.
Atlas nodded. He followed me from the car, waited with me in the elevator, but didn’t come inside the condo.
Once the door closed, I sagged against it. Threats were a part of life, but to have them directed at me.... I shivered again. No, hurting Markos physically wasn’t part of my plan to get back at him. I would find another way to get even with the mobster.
***
Something woke me from a fitful sleep. It wasn’t a sound so much as a feeling. I crept from the bed, rubbing my arms as the cold from the tile floor seeped into my bones. Padding to the cracked door, I peered into the silent condo.
A shadow moved noiselessly and disappeared into the opposite bedroom.
The pirate king was home.
From here, I could see the digital clock on the stove. It was barely after five in the morning. There was plenty of time for another nap so I wouldn’t waste the day snoozing in bed. But sleep was long gone.
Returning to my bed, I sat cross-legged and stared at the dark sea. I kept the blinds pulled back last night, the door to the balcony slightly ajar to hear the rush of waves. They weren’t as tender as they were back in the cottage, but their steady crash was soothing enough to lull me to sleep.
Now, they beckoned me.
No...not the waves.
I sighed and flopped back onto the mattress. There was another voice that urged me to move. Did I answer it? Giving in at this point wouldn’t help prove my case.
But the pulse between my legs screamed at me for ignoring it.
I slid my hand down my stomach, moving aside the satin sleeper set. My skin was hot. I was hot—and very bothered.
“What’s one little tryst?” I muttered.
The ache wasn’t something I was able to take care of, and not for lack of trying. I chewed on my lip, knowing that the relief I desperately wanted was just across the living room in the other bedroom.
A few steps and it could be mine.
“Ah, screw it,” I hissed, rolling off the bed.
My bare feet slapped against the tiles, making my intentions clear. I didn’t bother knocking but pushed the door to the master suite open.
Markos stood against the window, a drink clutched in his hand. Clothing bunched on the floor, he was a sight to behold framed against the night.
His naked back rippled with muscles as he turned, sensing my presence. Golden skin stretched over sinew, marred only by dark tattoos that slithered across his shoulders. The tight black briefs did little to conceal the shape of him.
“Serena.” My name was a gravel-rough whisper in the darkness.
I stepped inside the room, closing the door behind me. “I couldn’t sleep.”