Chapter 8 Presley
Presley
Adrian pulled my hand into his lap and stroked his finger down the center of my palm.
My eyes were trained on the man across from me, who was sitting right next to Alex.
The man in question was smirking, and Alex looked like a plastic doll sitting next to him.
Frozen in fear with her golden hair piled on top of her head, thick black lashes, and startling blue eyes.
Markos sipped his wine while Benni and Renzo filled in the rest of the spots around the table.
If there were any additional soldiers, they weren’t visible.
My stomach churned with nerves as I watched Alex for any sign of distress or abuse.
Her skin was flawless, no bruises or scratches. Not even her eyes were puffy.
“So tell me, Presley.” Markos got my attention by setting his glass down and settling his gaze on me. “My Adrian is quite taken with you. Do you feel the same about him?”
The twins were right, and I wasn’t even sure how to process it.
This man was dangerous, and I knew that Alex being with him wasn’t on accident.
It was a threat, but I wasn’t sure yet how to approach it or what to say because she could get hurt, so instead I squeezed Adrian’s hand under the table and smiled.
“Of course I do. It took some time to warm up to him, but I couldn’t be happier about our impending marriage.”
Alex’s blue eyes lifted to mine and held my gaze for a few seconds before lowering them again to the table.
Benni and Renzo helped themselves to the pasta dinner that was in a clear dish near the center of the table.
A large green salad filled another bowl, along with a silver tray of fresh bread.
There were no maid staff, no chef, no one else seemed to be here…
it almost made me wonder if Markos had actually made this meal himself.
Markos glanced first at Adrian, who was sipping coffee, then next to him at Alex. “What do you think, Alexandria? Do you think Presley is fond of Adrian, or do you think she’s still smitten with your twin brothers?”
My pulse jackhammered as I watched Alex’s eyes plead with me for something I had no way of giving her. Before she could reply, Adrian cleared his throat.
“That’s enough, father.”
Hearing Adrian confirm his connection to Markos felt like a rock plummeting into water. How could he have kept this from me? Even if this wasn’t his biological father, according to the twins, this was the man who had raised my fiancé.
Sliding my chair out, I cleared my throat. “Excuse me, I’d like to talk to Alex alone, please.”
Markos tipped his head back the smallest amount, revealing a devious smile. “Of course.”
Alex slid out of her spot and gently set her cloth napkin down while she walked toward the hall. I met her halfway, feeling everyone’s gaze on our backs. We kept walking until we found a spot far enough away that I knew no one would be able to hear us.
My fingers intertwined with hers instantly as her eyes began to fill with tears. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to help you. Scotty said it would be fine, but when I arrived in Italy, this guy picked me up. I assumed Scotty had set it all up for me, so when he said he was one of Adrian’s drivers, I didn’t give it a second thought. I just got in the car. I’ve been with Markos ever since.”
“So he kidnapped you?” I asked, pulling her closer.
Alex nodded briskly. “He hasn’t hurt me, just said we’d be reuniting after your engagement party.
I wanted to be there for that, as protection.
I know you can take care of yourself, but I wanted to ensure you had some backup.
I tried using my phone, but I think he has a signal jammer going or something. ”
I flung my arms around her as hers came around me.
For two seconds, I allowed myself to be nostalgic and think of home.
To remember what it was like to see her every morning and to train with her in the evenings.
Alex was always like a big sister to me, and seeing her here really did make me feel better.
Although, this would also be difficult because if Markos had half a brain, he’d know that Alex meant something to me, and he could use her as leverage.
He just picked up a hostage, thanks to Scotty.
“We’ll figure this out, I promise.” I released Alex and stepped back.
We’d have to get back to the table and act like nothing was wrong. Before we did, I gripped her hand once more. “Did he say anything to you, anything that would help us understand his motivation?”
Alex released me and stepped closer. “His motivation? Presley, come on, you know by now that my brothers were right. This is all an elaborate job to get revenge on your father. They’ll kill us because we’re allies and…well, there might be more.”
“More what?”
She flicked a quick look over my shoulder before leaning even closer. “He said something weird about my mom…like he knew her or something.”
“Presley, darling.” Adrian appeared behind us with his hands loose at his sides.
I turned and saw his worried expression.
“Yes?”
He reached for me, gently. “Come. Let’s go back and sit down.”
His hand was shaking, which told me he was nervous or possibly afraid. Glancing over my shoulder at Alex, all three of us walked back into the dining room and resumed dinner.
Markos was sipping his wine again while laughing with Renzo and Benni. Adrian’s hand moved to my thigh, where my gun used to be before Markos had kindly requested I leave it behind. I wouldn’t have, but he used the excuse that I had already threatened him by pointing it at his head.
Reluctantly, I had relinquished it.
Guns were not the only way I knew how to defend myself, but something was digging in the back of my mind that there was more to this sudden appearance of Markos.
While Alex might be right about the plan to eradicate my family, I had to think there was something deeper going on here.
Why else go through this ruse and not just put a bullet in my head?
Adrian knew where my father lived; it wasn’t like he couldn’t just dump my body on their doorstep.
“I wanted to give you an engagement present,” Markos said, pinning both me and Adrian with a heartfelt stare.
“You know you don’t need—” Adrian started.
Markos waved his hand. “Nonsense, it’s my pleasure to gift something to my sons, and by extension, their new partners.”
My blood froze in my veins as I heard footsteps in the hall.
“Years ago, I actually ran within the same circle as your parents, Presley. I had the pleasure of meeting your mother and your father. In fact, I was very close to your mother for a short time.”
He was lying. My mother would have cut his dick off before getting close to him.
“There was someone back then that stood in the way of your mother’s happiness, Presley.
Someone who was nearly responsible for her downfall.
I’ve kept tabs on this person for years, and I’m happy to say that I have finally managed to bring him to justice, and my gift to you is that you’ll get the honors of dispatching him. ”
What the actual fuck?
Before I could say anything, there were sounds of a struggle in the hall, and two bulky men were dragging someone in, so their feet were scuffing the floor.
A man in his late sixties was tossed on the table, over all the glassware and food.
His groan of pain and outrage echoed around the room.
It made me jump from my seat briskly, just like Adrian and Alex had.
“Please. Take your seats,” Markos requested, with a wave of his hand.
Adrian helped me back into my seat, but I didn’t scoot near the table. This entire situation was weird. The man wore a simple white t-shirt and flannel pajama pants. His hair was thinning so much, he was nearly bald.
His blue eyes landed on me, and immediately his brows lifted to his hairline.
“Rylie?”
I had no idea who this man was, but he knew my mom…
I shook my head to answer the man, and then Markos loaded a pistol across the room before walking over to me.
A singular bullet.
“Do you know who this man is?”
“Markos,” Adrian warned.
Markos ignored him and took a few steps around the table. There was glass that had punctured the man’s skin. Blood was seeping onto the tablecloth, but the man didn’t seem to even register that he’d been hurt other than emanating a few groans.
“Rylie,” he moaned in pain.
My stomach flipped as panic set in. Alex gripped the silver butter knife that had been discarded on the table. She glanced around to ensure no one saw her lowering it to her side but she didn’t have to worry because everyone’s gaze was locked on me for some reason.
“Who is he?” I asked.
Markos tilted his head. “You don’t know?”
The man on the table moaned in pain again, but I studied his face, seeing a similar nose and forehead to my mother’s. He’d said her name…surely this wasn’t her father.
“Is this…” No.
She hadn’t ever told me about him…there was supposedly some attempt that he’d made to reach out after I was born, but we were traveling a lot. I didn’t know if it was because we were in hiding for so long or if it had something to do with him, but I knew Mom and him were estranged.
“This is your grandfather,” Markos remarked.
Benni picked up a glass of wine that hadn’t been smashed and tossed it in my grandfather’s face. “He’s also a dirty, rotten Fed.”
My grandfather was FBI? Well, that sort of explained a lot, but why didn’t my mom ever tell me anything about him?
“You really didn’t know?” Markos asked.
“I’ve never met him before.”
My focus was still on my grandfather, now soaked with wine and bleeding from the glass. I tried to summon some sympathy for him, to care that my blood relation was on the table, bleeding out, but the only person in the room I was worried about was Alex.
“Prove it.” I heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and then the cold, metal silver pistol was set on the table next to me. “Shoot him in the head.”
My glare snapped up to Adrian’s adoptive father. “What?”
“This is your gift. Your grandfather never left the bureau. I was going to kill him myself or allow Benni and Renzo to have their fun, but I figured as his granddaughter you’d prefer to extend more of a merciful kill.”
No. I didn’t know him, but he was my family.
“Markos, stop this,” Adrian seethed.
So, my fiancé wasn’t in on whatever this plot was, that or he just didn’t like it.
Markos’s mouth twitched as he met Adrian’s gaze, but he didn’t waver.
“Take the gun and shoot your grandfather in the head.”
“Where is Rylie? Please, I want to see her, you said I could see her—” My grandfather began thrashing and screaming, but Benni stepped closer and placed a cloth napkin in his mouth.
Adrian began yelling at Markos in Italian. I caught pieces of it.
Outrageous. We just got engaged. Why are you doing this?
Stop this now.
I could only stare into the eyes that I’d more than likely inherited. Blue like the ocean. Blue like my mother. Blue like her father.
“Is this not a gift?” Markos barked in response to Adrian.
The two continued to argue while my grandfather gaped at me.
Tears leaked down the side of his face, and his thrashing around had resulted in even more cuts from the glass.
The more they argued, the longer this man was stuck inside this agony.
There was no way out for him, and perhaps that was the message Markos wanted to send me.
He could get to my family and even force me to harm them, and he’d leave me with no other choice because if I used the gun on Markos, I knew someone in the room would kill Alex.
I was stuck, and this man, who was related to me, was trapped here, at my mercy.
Standing from the table, I leaned closer and stroked my fingers through my grandfather’s thinning hair. “Shhhh.”
There was no exit strategy for me. If I didn’t do this, then they would torture him, and for whatever reason, I couldn’t stand the idea of him being harmed in such a way.
“I’ll do it.”
Adrian paused his rant that had increased in volume. Markos continued to glare at Adrian as if he were angry and disappointed that one of his adopted prodigies would go against him. With the cool steel in my hand, I wrapped my finger around the trigger.
“Pres,” Alex whispered from across the table.
Adrian’s warm hands found my face as he turned me away from the sight of my grandfather lying there. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll fix this.”
I was moved by the redness in his eyes and the way his hands shook.
This upset him, greatly. Even if he knew I wasn’t desensitized to this world.
To the harsh reality of being among men like Adrian and his brothers, it still bothered him.
Something in my chest melted a tiny bit more for this man I was bound to marry.
While he didn’t have my entire heart, he had my loyalty.
I slid my palm against his cheek and muttered, “I can’t stand the idea of him being tortured. Let me end this for him.”
Adrian’s eyes moved across my face in panic. “I didn’t know.”
I believed him.
Pulling away from Adrian’s hold, I stood at the edge of the table and stared down at the man crying there.
“What’s his name?” I gently pulled the cloth out of my grandfather’s mouth and then brushed his hair back. He continued to silently cry.
“Paul,” Markos replied coldly.
“Hello, Paul. I’m Presley, your granddaughter.
I don’t know why I never met you, or why I never heard anything about you, but you should know that my mother is healthy and happy.
I’m their only child, and I’m sorry that you have to die.
I’m sorry that this is the beginning and end of our relationship. ”
Paul waved me closer while his breathing began to become labored.
Leaning in, I heard him whisper, “I have stage four cancer. I only have a few months left to live anyway. Please don’t feel any guilt over this kill.”
“Enough!” Markos yelled.
I stroked his forehead one last time before pressing the barrel of the gun between his eyebrows, and then I pulled the trigger.