Chapter 29
KNIGHT
All my men are gathered in front of the mansion and the SUVs stand ready.
Cassia comes out the front door, and when they all look at her, jealousy surges in my chest.
She’s wearing a tight as fuck, deep-red pencil dress with the sleeves hanging off her shoulders. Her hair is curled, and her makeup makes her look like a seductive siren.
I notice the holster strapped to her shoulder has my Heckler & Koch tucked into it.
Fuck. Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard.
Saunders opens his mouth, and I growl, “One word, and I’m shooting. Just one fucking word.”
Davies chuckles, patting me on the back. “Lucky bastard.”
I know. Trust me, I know.
Stepping forward, I place my hand on her hip. “You look fucking hot.”
“Not what I was going for,” she mutters. “I wanted to look badass.”
“You do.” I step back and glance at all the men. “You have your orders. Let’s move out.”
I stalk to the SUV at the end of the line and open the backdoor, then turn to watch as Cassia walks toward me, looking every bit the head of the Greek mafia that she is.
She slides into the back, and I join her while Davies and Miller get into the front. Miller starts the engine and waits for the other SUVs to move before he follows them.
I lean into Cassia and ask, “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“My Heckler & Koch looks good on you,” I mention.
“I’m glad you like it,” she chuckles.
“We all like it,” Davies mutters.
I dart forward and slap him upside the head.
“What?” he pretends to look all innocent.
“You know what,” I grumble.
Ten minutes later, when we turn up the road where Savvas lives, Davies presses on his earpiece and says, “Radio check.”
I hear him clearly through my earpiece and mutter, “Check.”
One by one, every man checks in, then Saunders’ voice sounds in my ear, “Approaching mansion.”
Cassia grabs hold of my thigh, a nervous expression tightening her features.
I place my hand on hers and give her a squeeze. “Everything will go according to plan.”
“I just don’t want to lose any of our men.”
“Turning steal,” Saunders’ voice comes through the earpiece again, signaling they’re about to breach.
I let go of her hand, and releasing the magazine from my machine gun, I check the rounds before slamming it back into place.
The first SUV rams the gates, and we all follow it onto the property.
When we’re close enough to the mansion, Miller slams on the brakes, then he and Davies get out of the SUV. Gunfire erupts, and a few seconds later, Davies hits the door twice, indicating it’s safe for Cassia to climb out of the vehicle.
I go first, my gun ready and my eyes scanning over the front yard. Bodies of the few guards lie here and there, but not as many as I thought there would be, which has me frowning. I expected the place to be heavily protected.
As Cassia exits the SUV, she moves partially behind me, like I told her to do.
I start walking with her glued to my back, and Davies brings up the rear while Miller moves slightly ahead of us.
Closing in on the front door, Saunders’ voice comes through the earpiece, “Enemies all down and four targets contained in foyer. All clear.”
I glance over my shoulder, nodding at Cassia, and she moves in front of me, lifting her chin high as she steps into the house.
She looks so fucking powerful pride fills my chest for my woman.
CASSIA
As I enter the house, my eyes take in the three dead guards before I focus on Savvas, where he’s kneeling with his hands on top of his head.
Sweat pours down his face, and the moment he sees me, he says, “Cassia, what’s the meaning of this?”
My eyes flick to Arthur, who looks like he’s been beaten to within an inch of his life. “What happened to you?”
He struggles to stay upright, and his right hand keeps slipping off his head. “I found out Savvas was the traitor and came to confront him.”
“Lies!” Savvas shouts. “I found out he betrayed us. My men had to rough him up, but I was going to bring him to you.”
“You can put your hands down, Arthur,” I say before looking at Savvas’ terrified daughters.
“Remove the girls,” I order no one in particular.
Two of my men move forward to carry out the order while Savvas shouts, “No! Please Cassia. I’m telling you the truth.”
Slowly, I walk closer to him until I’m only a few steps away. As I look down at the man my family loved and trusted, I say, “I assume you don’t have that many guards because the bratva withdrew their men.” A smile curves my lips. “In case you were wondering, they left because I made a deal with Nikitin, and he doesn’t need you anymore.”
A frown forms on his face while he shakes his head. “It wasn’t me, Cassia.”
Taking hold of my gun, I pull it from the holster and point it at Savvas’ head. “It was. You’re the only person left, apart from me, who has access to the bank accounts. When you discovered I was still alive, you were going to try to kill me again so you could get to the money.”
He stares up at me, and when tears fill his eyes, he says, “I’m sorry.”
“Why did you do it?” I ask.
“Your father was out of control. We wouldn’t survive a war with the bratva. You know I’m right.”
“Why not just kill him?”
“You want to change too much,” he admits. “You will destroy the organization.”
Anger curls like tentacles around my heart, squeezing any love I ever had for this man out of the organ.
“You’re a greedy coward,” I murmur, my tone emotionless. “You took the easy way out by having the bratva do your dirty work for you. You didn’t even have the courage to do it yourself.” My finger curls around the trigger. “At least I have the guts to look you right in the eye as I kill you.”
“Cassia,” he begs. “My daughters.”
I shake my head. “I’ll show them the same mercy you showed Kiki and Eleni.”
“No, please,” he whimpers. “They’re innocent. Don’t make them pay for my sins.”
“I’m going to make Ophelia and Lydia run. Then I’m going to hunt them down. I’ll shoot Ophelia in the back of the head, and while Lydia watches her sister die, I’m going to put a bullet in her back. If she survives that, I’ll cut out her heart.”
Tears stream down his face, and his eyes are filled with terror.
I can see he believes every word I say, and I watch as he suffers, thinking I’m going to kill those he loves most.
“Cassia,” he starts to beg, but I shake my head to silence him.
This is for my family.
I press my gun against his forehead, and not breaking eye contact with him, I pull the trigger.
The shot rings through the foyer, and his head snaps back. I watch as he slumps to the floor, and his blood starts to pool beneath his head.
Turning around, I walk out of the house. Seeing the girls standing by one of the SUVs with my men, I head toward them.
Ophelia starts to sob, “No-no-no. Please, Cassia.”
When I reach them, I tuck my gun back into the holster and say, “My men will escort you to Cyprus and deliver you to your aunt. If I ever lay eyes on either of you again, I won’t be so merciful. Do you understand?”
Ophelia nods quickly.
“Get out of my sight,” I order.
I watch as they hurry to climb into the SUV, and only when the vehicle leaves the property do I let out a rushed breath.
It’s done.
I place my hand on my stomach, that’s nothing but a hard knot, and when I turn around, it’s to find Knight standing right behind me.
He wraps his fingers around the side of my neck, and leaning a little down, he looks into my eyes. “You good?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m good.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “I’m proud of you.”
A smile trembles on my face, his words meaning the world to me.
“I need to talk to Arthur, then we can go home,” I say.
He glances over his shoulder. “He’s sitting on the porch steps.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I walk to Arthur, and when I’m close, he struggles to his feet, his right arm cradled against his stomach.
I stop in front of him, and looking him right in the eye, I say, “Thank you, Arthur.”
He nods, then asks, “My children. I haven’t been able to contact them.”
“They’re safe. Andrew is here in Athens, but I left Alexa in Chile. I’ll send for her.”
Relief washes over his face. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “Go to the hospital and get yourself fixed up. I need you back at work as soon as possible. We have a lot to discuss.”
He nods. “I’ll be at work tomorrow.” He glances down. “Just need the arm checked, and I’ll be good to go.”
I step to the side and gesture for Saunders to come to me.
“Yes, little boss lady?”
“Don’t make me shoot you,” Knight mutters.
I can’t help but smile before saying, “Take Arthur to the hospital. When they’re done fixing him up, drop him off with Andrew.”
“On it.”
Before they can walk away, I ask, “Any casualties?”
Saunders shakes his head.
Thank God.
“Let’s go home,” Knight says while placing his hand on my lower back.
Nodding, I walk with him to our SUV, and when he opens the backdoor, we hear Davies shouting, “Wait for us, lovebirds.”
“Christ,” Knight grumbles while I climb into the back seat. He slides in beside me and says, “I have to get used to them again.”
“I think they’re awesome,” I give my two cents.
“Don’t tell them that. I’ll never hear the end of it.”