Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
“ H e who commends the brutalities of the past sows the seed of future crimes.”
—Robert Green Ingersoll
Dimitrios
Perhaps knowledge was king to winning any war. But if so, knowing when and how to use acts of brutality was prince.
It was a phrase and a concept I’d coined a long time before. I’d heard stories about serious acts of violence from generations past, but over time, violence only solved a portion of whatever conflict you were in.
For me, intuition and following my instincts had been my two greatest attributes. My gut was telling me the planned deal needed to be pushed forward. With the funeral being in the morning, additional groundwork would be laid for an afternoon announcement.
Waiting any longer to make contact with Shane could be disastrous.
Another knock on my door forced a wave of irritation. I needed time to think through what Davit had said prior to making any other judgments. Unfortunately, my instincts appeared off regarding the man and his intentions.
This time, I walked to the door myself. I was tired of visitors. I needed and wanted to spend time with Willow. She was still healing, but had an important role to play in every step we took from here on out.
Yet as I opened the door, my fury fell away.
“Gregory.”
He took a deep breath. He’d never been good at hiding his emotions. He did no better after all these years. He’d suffered from the loss of his family members, still furious with me.
“Dimitrios.” His voice held no inflection whatsoever.
“Come in. I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I wasn’t certain I was either.”
I closed the door behind him. We both had some difficult things to say to each other.
“Would you like a drink?” I asked.
“Maybe later. I came to attend Leandro’s funeral and to see my niece. I want to ensure she’s being taken care of.” As expected, the tension was high.
“She’s in the house, Greg. I told you I’d protect her.”
“But something happened. Didn’t it?” he commented. For all the closeness we’d shared, the beer and tequila consumed, and the conversations over whatever was on our minds we’d had, I could easily tell the trust had been irrevocably broken.
Sighing, I looked away initially, but there was no chance I could avoid telling him. “She’s fine, Greg. We had an incident.”
“What incident?”
I grabbed my drink from the desk, taking a sip as I looked at him. “Our plane was shot at and went down. She had a mild concussion, bumps and bruises and is resting, but she’s fine.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? That’s my niece. What the hell was she doing in a plane?”
“She was with me.” At this point I wanted him to let it go.
He studied me for a few seconds. “But she’s really okay?”
“She’s just fine. She’s strong. You can go see her when we’re finished with our conversation.”
Greg had never been the kind of guy at a loss for words. But he stood stoically, staring at me as if he no longer recognized who I was.
“Maybe I will have that drink,” he finally said.
“Gin?”
“Scotch if you have it.”
“Of course.” He drank scotch only when he was in a full ride of despair as he called it. I made him the drink, realizing how distraught he was when I handed it to him. His face was pinched and he looked more gaunt than I’d seen him.
“Are you going back to the position with the state department?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? I’ll be headed for Greece for at least a one-year assignment in two weeks. I need to find a place to live.”
“I can help you with that,” I told him.
“Sure. Whatever.”
I sensed he didn’t want my help with anything. “Look, Greg. I’m sorry about your brother and his wife. About Willow being here.”
He nodded several times. “I know you are, Dimitrios, but that doesn’t make things any easier. Any information on my nephew?”
How the hell was I supposed to tell him that his own niece and best friend were about to enter into a situation that would expose Shane as a possible assassin? “Not yet. Just the one return call to Willow. He could be in danger, Greg. I need to find him.”
He took a gulp of his drink, almost draining the entire glass. He was shaky as hell. “Yeah, I don’t doubt it. I tried calling him. Hell, I blew up his phone one night, but he never returned my calls and didn’t read my damn texts. What the fuck happened to that kid?”
“We can’t assume he’s behind the deaths.”
“Oh, yeah,” he barked. “You seemed pretty certain my entire family suddenly followed in your footsteps.”
I allowed the comment to pass. He was hurting. He was angry.
And he also knew more than he was telling me.
“I can’t rule anything out, Greg. You know that. That’s what I do.”
“No, Dimitrios. That’s why it makes you a successful, arrogant asshole. You stepped into your father’s footsteps pretty damn nicely.”
He’d known how much I wanted to do anything else but become the heir apparent. “Sometimes we don’t have a choice in what we do.”
“Sometimes we do but choose not to.” His counter included a hard gaze into my eyes.
“Yes, you’re right.”
He took another gulp and headed to the bar himself, refilling his drink. I moved next to the desk, sitting down on the edge.
“I’m escorting their bodies back to the States,” he said. God, how I hated the sound of his voice.
“That’s good.”
His entire body remained tense enough his left leg was twitching. “Willow should come home with me. She’ll need to sort out the house and other finances.”
When he looked me directly in the eyes, what was left of the decent man inside of me was prepared to tell him about the deal. The more notorious side knew it would do nothing but drag us into a fight. “It’s best she remain with me until I know what we’re really dealing with.”
“You mean Shane.”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Then you need to know that my brother was likely into something he couldn’t get himself out of.”
“Meaning what?” I asked. The dip in his tone indicated just how worried he was.
“I don’t know all the details. I’d spent hours on the phone, talking to various individuals about Winslow and what he could be into. All I can tell you is that whatever it was allowed him to cross the line.”
“I know he was in significant debt.”
“Yeah, which is odd. He was always so careful. He was the ultimate saver. But I think there was a recent sizable cash payment.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I’d loaned him money about six months ago and I found a check in my mailbox the day after you and I talked.”
“How much are we talking about?”
He seemed hesitant and closed his eyes. “Two hundred thousand. He was behind on bills and was about ready to lose the house. The second mortgage he took out had a heavy interest payment due. At least that’s what he told me. He paid me the original sum and fifty grand in interest. Do you believe that? His own brother. I don’t know what to think.”
It was a good question and thought. It would seem Winslow had come into another money source. That presented a serious red flag. “I’ll make some calls. I have friends in New York who might have an inkling of what Winslow was into. Anything else that leads you to believe he was no longer on the straight and narrow?”
“Just that he refused to tell me anything about his business beginning almost a year ago. We used to talk for hours and he stopped doing so. Didn’t return my calls a couple times. But the weirdest thing was the message he left me before leaving for Athens. It was like he telling me goodbye.” He lifted his head, studying my expression. “I didn’t think about it until after news of his murder settled in. It wasn’t what he said but how he talked about our relationship. I don’t know. Maybe I’m pulling at straws, but when I asked about the kids, he barely mentioned Shane.”
What the hell was the man into? My gut was now telling me that whatever it was had gotten him killed.
And perhaps his son running for his life.
Maybe I’d been looking at this entirely from the wrong direction.
“I’ll find out what we’re dealing with. I owe that to you as well as to Willow.”
“She must be devastated,” he said, his exhale heavy.
“She’s a fighter, Greg. She’s very strong. She turned into a beautiful young woman.”
As soon as I offer the kind words, I sensed my inflection had been wrong. He slowly lifted his head, even taking a couple of steps closer to me.
“Wait a minute. Hold on here. Is there something going on between the two of you?”
“I’m keeping her protected.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t touched her.”
How many lies was I adding up at this point? I remained quiet for a few seconds too long. Saying anything was only going to prove his point.
“You fucking son of a bitch. She’s my niece and fifteen years younger than you are. What the fuck is wrong with you? You touched her. You defiled her. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
“Greg, look?—”
I didn’t have the opportunity to explain before the hard punch was issued to my jaw. I was pitched backwards off the desk, tumbling to the floor. Willing myself not to react as I normally would was arduous. I threw a look in his direction, taking several deep breaths as I rubbed my face.
“You fucking asshole. Of all the things you could have done, fucking my niece?” He paced the floor for a few seconds. “Get up. Get the fuck up. Now!”
I was furious things had gotten this far, but I slowly moved to a standing position. He lunged at me instantly, tossing both our bodies against the bar. Glasses rattled, slipping to the floor. The shattering of glass couldn’t overpower his hate-filled roar. I met his glare with my own. “She’s a big girl who can make her own decisions.”
“You pushed her. Did you force yourself on that girl?”
“Hell, no. I have too much respect for her. I care about her, Greg.”
“Bullshit.”
“Not bullshit. She’s a very special woman.”
“That’s the point. She’s just a girl. You bastard.” He threw another brutal punch, trying for a third, but I caught his fist in my hand.
As soon as I shoved him back, he threw himself forward again. This time I reacted, issuing two savage jabs of my own. But there was no stopping his fury or his need to hurt me like I’d obviously done to him.
The man refused to give up, even as I punched him hard enough that he staggered backwards, crashing into the end table. A lamp was thrown to the floor and for a moment, I was certain he was determined to use it as a weapon.
But he came at me with both hands, able to wrap them around my throat before I could respond.
“Stop,” I hissed, punching him hard in the chest with both fists. As soon as I broke the connection, he was on me again. The man was determined to maim or kill me. I managed to wrap my arm around his throat, trying to keep him from doing something stupid, but he was strong, nearly breaking the connection. “Stop?”
We were both panting. Both bloody. Both filled with anger and regret.
“Just stop.” This time I lowered my voice hoping I could break through the haze of rage.
“You fucking… asshole.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“You’re using her.”
“No, I’m not, Greg. Now, I’m going to let you go. Just take a deep breath. Okay?”
He nodded and I released my hold. But that didn’t stop him. My friend spun around, dancing from one foot to the other. The next punch brought stars to my eyes. Now I was enraged and threw myself at him. As I wrenched his arm back at an awkward angle, he howled through clenched teeth from the pain.
Hearing footsteps didn’t stop me. I was hell bent on stopping him before things went too far.
No matter what I had to do.
The door was thrown open, several of my men filling the room. But that didn’t stop either one of us. We pitched and he almost threw us both to the floor.
Until her voice.
“Stop! Both of you. For God’s sake, stop!” Willow had suddenly appeared, anger laced in her normally sensual tone.
We both looked in her direction, our chests heaving from exertion and anguish. But it wasn’t all about physical pain, but the emotional trauma we’d both had to deal with.
Now that included someone else we both cared about.
“Let him go!” she commanded, her eyes full of venom. When I didn’t follow her orders right away, she stormed toward us, getting so close she could get hurt in the fray if we didn’t stop acting like idiots. “Let. Him. Go. And you, Uncle Gregory. You will not hurt the man I…”
Gasping, she closed her arms, placing her head into both hands. The sound she made was full of fury and sorrow.
Greg took a deep breath and I could tell the fight had been torn from him.
I released my hold for a second time, immediately turning my back and heading to the window. We’d acted like fucking fools. But what was there left to say? What could possibly matter at this point?
“What is wrong with both of you? Didn’t you consider yourself brothers?” she asked, but her demanding tone remained.
Greg said nothing, moving to the opposite side of the room. I could see his continued anguish in the reflection in the glass. The air was thick with tension and sadness.
“Dimitrios. I know we have a connection and you’re all I can think about, all I can feel other than anger for what happened to my parents. You’ve awakened my soul and while this deal we made with the devil might go south and won’t last long, being with you is… All I want.”
The words hung in the air and prompted me to turn back around. My men were like statues, watching their leader become unhinged. It wasn’t my normal behavior. Nico was shaking his head and I gave my attention to Greg then back to Willow. Her words touched me more than I’d ever thought they could.
“And Uncle Gregory. You don’t know me any longer. You haven’t taken the time to get to know me. What you remember is a child with wide eyes and absolute excitement about everything around me. Well, guess what? I grew up. I make my own decisions now including who I spend my time with and why. I choose Dimitrios and if that means we can’t be family any longer, then so be it. I will help find the person who killed my parents and Dimitrios’ brother. Period. So get the fuck used to it.”
Greg watched her as she made the speech, never blinking once. I could tell he was thrown by her admittance and her tone. When he took a step forward, she threw out her hand.
“That doesn’t mean I can forgive either one of you right now. You’re acting like children. Don’t you think the asshole with no conscience wanted that to happen? To have the family pitted against each other? That’s not what my brother would do, but someone else. Someone you told me was dangerous, Dimitrios. While the two of you are fighting, he’s winning.”
Neither one of us said anything in response.
She huffed, planting her hands on her hips. “I can’t stand the sight of either one of you right now. Just leave me alone.”
Without another look, she stormed from the room, brushing past Nico and Atticus without giving either soldier a look.
Exhaling, I glanced around the room, settling on Nico.
“Do you need anything, boss?” he asked, doing his best to defuse the situation.
“Make certain Willow is safe and does not leave the premises. Otherwise, give her some space. Ensure the grounds are protected at all times. Understood?” I glanced from man to man. They knew better than to say a damn thing at this point.
“Of course. Come on. We heard the boss. Let’s go.” Nico led them out of the room, giving me one last look before closing the doors.
The ugly tension remained, but at least Greg seemed calmer than before. He walked through broken glass, making another drink for himself. It was strong, which was exactly what I needed.
He gulped half and didn’t turn around to face me at first. “Are you taking care of her? Treating her right?”
“Of course. I already told you I was. She’s a special woman.”
“This deal you made. Does that mean she will be placed in danger?”
Continuing to lie to him wasn’t going to help mend our relationship.
If that was possible.
“Yes, potentially. However, you have my word that I will protect her with my life if necessary.”
This time my words seemed to cause an entirely different reaction. He faced me, his eyes darting back and forth. “If you allow her to get hurt in any way, a fucking scratch on her pretty head, I will kill you myself. I hope that’s clear.”
“Absolutely. I am a man of my word.”
He took another swallow, his face expressing all the pain I felt deep inside. “Fine. She’s a big girl as she said. And she’s right. I abandoned all of them out of the need for some glorified bullshit in my life. Maybe if I’d been there, my brother wouldn’t have…”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Greg. We don’t know exactly what Winslow was into. With your help, we’ll find out together.”
There were so many questions in his eyes including if he could trust me. “Yes. I need to know. I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Then let’s get started.”