Chapter 28 – Markos #2
No divine creature would prefer the company of a monster from the deep when there were princes on land. When she didn’t move, when she didn’t come to me, my chest ached.
“She’s not going anywhere until we come to an understanding,” Alexios menaced, dropping the polite charade. “So sit your ass down, Black Tide.”
A plea flashed in those brown eyes. That simple, unspoken request from my goddess had me ripping back the chair and falling into it.
“I don’t appreciate you sending your wife to do your dirty work, Markos,” Alexios spat, taking his wine and lifting it to his lips. The crimson liquid stained his mouth for a brief moment before he licked it off. “First my house, then my place of business.”
Serena let out a strangled groan of annoyance. “How the hell was I supposed to know you owned the freaking zoo?”
The information clicked into place. My anger at her was siphoned a fraction. I had to remember she wasn’t here of her own free will. She didn’t choose the pretty boy.
But she didn’t choose me, either.
It doesn’t matter, I chose her. And someday, if my prayers were answered, she would pick me in turn.
“What’s this going to cost me?” I demanded.
Alexios set down his glass. “See, here’s the thing. I like you, Markos. Unlike the rest of the Twelve—” he spat the name as if it were something dirty “—you’re someone I can negotiate with.”
I leaned forward, elbows on the table, and studied him. “You’ve never liked me, Skorpios. Let's not pretend otherwise.”
“Business is business,” he replied with a shrug. “And right now, you're sitting on something I want.”
My eyes flicked to Serena. Her jaw was clenched tight, a muscle twitching near her temple. The tell-tale sign of her fury that only I would recognize. She wasn't here willingly, but she wasn’t afraid either. My Serena never showed fear.
“The Pier District,” Alexios continued. “Your territory butts up against my newest acquisition. I want it.”
“Not for sale,” I said flatly. It wasn’t mine to give, either. And the bastard knew it. The bigger question was, why would he even try?
Alexios smiled, all teeth and no warmth. “I thought you might say that. Which is why I arranged this little...incentive.”
He placed a hand on Serena’s bare shoulder.
I lunged, a growl clawing up my throat.
“Now, now,” he tsked. “We’re in public.”
“Damn them,” I swore, rising and planting my fists on the table. “Get your fucking hand off my wife.”
“I’m going to, and what’s more, I’m letting you two leave.” Alexios nudged her shoulder.
Serena bolted.
But the bastard caught her wrist before I could reach her.
“On one condition,” he added.
“Just say whatever the fuck you want, and quit playing these masculine pissing games,” Serena snarled, rounding on him. “I won’t come to your zoo again!”
Alexios chuckled. “You’re welcome back anytime, sweet Maria .”
My fingers grasped a utensil, and with a powerful force, I stabbed the fork into the table. “Get your fucking hands off my wife!”
Around us, conversation stopped, the chink of dinnerware faltered, and all eyes turned in our direction.
Serena was at my side a moment later. I wrapped a protective—a possessive—hand around her waist. The relief when she leaned into my side was magnificent.
She was here. She was with me .
“I want a favor from you,” Alexios said softly. “You give me your word of honor, and you two may leave. I’ll even send you home with dessert to sweeten the deal.”
Turning on my heel, I began to leave. Fuck him. He had no power over me.
But a handful of bulky men rose from the next table over.
“Markos,” Serena insisted, tugging on my suit jacket. “We can’t just walk out of here. We’re trapped.”
I glared back at Alexios. “A favor?”
“Why don’t you fucking sit, and let’s get a few things straight,” the scorpion princeling snapped.
I pulled Serena to me and returned to the seat. A waiter appeared from thin air and brought another chair.
“You elite pricks,” Alexios sneered. “You don’t deserve negotiations, but here we are.”
“I can level your territory, Skorpios.”
Alexios’s eyes lit with a bright fire. “In this war, you’re on the losing side.”
“And when did we go to war?” I pushed. One admission from this bastard, and the Twelve would give their blessing to begin the bloodshed.
“Niko Stavros; Elena Papadopoulos; Dimitri Anastasios; Sophia Markakis; Alexios Kouris.” With each name, Alexios’s voice dropped to a scary, soft level.
I shrugged. “Those people mean nothing to me.”
“Then I see no choice but to take you downstairs, put a bullet in your skull, and take Serena home with me,” Alexios jabbed.
My gun was out a second later, level with the table, and pointed at his heart. “I’ll kill you first.”
Serena flattened her palms on the tabletop. “You said Markos was reasonable. That you could negotiate with him and not the others.”
“That was before he insulted our dead,” Alexios menaced.
“Our family has dead too,” Serena murmured, voice holding no tremor of fear. “Don’t downplay our suffering.”
Alexios’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. “We haven’t killed any of yours.”
In the space of a second, I saw it. The detail I would have otherwise missed in my killing rage. “And we haven’t killed any scorpions—not yet.”
In the silence that hung over the table like a thick, dark cloud, the realization settled between my enemy and me. But it was Serena who spoke the conclusion.
“Someone wants you to think otherwise,” she breathed. “You’re being set up.”
“It seems that way,” I muttered, thinking back to the conversation on the Shark’s Fin while we burned one of our own.
“I have your word you didn’t assassinate our people?” Alexios growled.
“I don’t kill women, and neither do my brothers- and sisters-in-arms,” I spat. What a disgusting thing to think. We had a code of honor.
“And I don’t steal wives, even if circumstances give me the opportunity.” Alexios flicked a glance at Serena. “Take her home, Black Tide. We’ll be in touch.”
I rose, but Serena leaned forward. “That favor. Is it still on the table?”
A cruel amusement flickered over the bastard’s face. “Naturally—unless you would like to pay for your sins, sweet Maria .”
Serena bristled. “It’s only fair.”
“No!” I barked. “You have my favor—”
“Markos!” Serena gasped.
“Call it in when you see fit,” I said with finality. Gripping her arm in a bruising hold, I hauled my wife to her feet. It was done. We were leaving.
Alexios’s cackle of victory followed us to the elevator, haunted the journey home, and nagged at my pitch-black soul.