Zoe’s screams go louder, spurring me to focus on her instead of the pain.
My baby. I need to get to her.
But before I can move forward, Aris’s strong hands grip my biceps, and he flips me over onto my back, smashing the back of my head in the process. He crawls up my body, wrapping his legs around my torso. With him hovering above me, I can make out his features.
His eyes scream hate. Fury. Revenge. But the way he’s smirking, it sends shivers down my spine. He’s enjoying what’s happening. Just as I thought he planned all of this, and he’s confident enough to believe he’s going to win.
Not if I can help it.
“Did you really think I would let you and that baby leave that easily?” He chuckles darkly.
“Fuck you!” I spit the blood that’s been building up in my mouth in his face.
“Been there, done that.” He cocks his hand back to hit me, but I see it coming. And lifting my butt into the air, I knee him in the back, forcing him to fall forward enough to lose his balance.
Taking advantage of his current state, I slide my body backward then knee him in the dick as hard as I can. He groans and rolls to his side, as I roll to mine, determined to get to my daughter. We’re both on our feet, running out the bedroom door, when something heavy smacks me in the side of my face.
I fall forward, my face catching the side of the end table.
Gray. Blink. Gray. Blink.
Everything fades so quickly as the sounds grow muted.
“Payback’s a bitch,” Selene screams as my vision goes blurry and then fades to black. I try to fight it, but I can’t.
Wake up!
Open your eyes!
But I can’t. Oh God.
The last thing I hear before everything goes silent is the sound of my daughter, zoí mou, crying for me. Needing me. Needing to be saved. And I pray that Kostas is somewhere close. And that, just like in Zoe’s storybooks, the monsters lose, and the dark knight saves the princesses.
But sadly, we all know too well that reality rarely imitates fiction.
Kostas
My mind is on one track. Find and kill the man shooting at us. The quicker I can eliminate this threat, the quicker I can find my fucking brother.
“Radio to everyone,” I hiss out to Adrian, though I can’t see him. “I want this place surrounded. No one leaves.”
The static of his device can be heard as he makes the command. My phone buzzes in my sweats’ pocket, but I can’t answer just yet. Not when I’m crouched and running between vehicles hunting down a man.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Bullets whiz past me, but I duck down just in time. It’s dark and pouring down rain, so most likely he’s just shooting in our general direction rather than having eyes on us. Something crunches ahead and then a man makes a grunting sound as though he fell. I charge his way. A form is rising to his feet and I don’t waste any time.
Pop!
My bullet hits him in his lower stomach and he groans from the impact. He drops his weapon to apply pressure to the wound. Adrian flies up out of nowhere and tackles the fucker.
“Get him to the cellar,” I growl. I’m blinded by the rain that’s running from my hair into my eyes and everything fucking hurts. I’ll need to get my shit dealt with because I won’t be able to run on adrenaline forever.
I stumble a little, my hip screaming in pain, but manage to keep myself upright. My phone buzzes again. “I need to check on Talia,” I bark out at Adrian. “Let’s get this asshole there for questioning. Aris is still missing.” My blood runs cold with fear that he might have gotten to her.
Men are staked out around the villa.
Aris would have to go through an entire army of men to get to her.
She has a gun and knows how to use it.
It provides some semblance of relief, but not much. Just as we push into the groundskeeper’s house, I dig my phone out of my soaked pants pocket. Adrian hauls the fucker to the cellar while I wait in the living room. My hands are shaking and it takes a few tries before I’m able to enter my code to open it.
The door flies open behind me. I’m on autopilot as I sling my AR around, ready to spray bullets into my assailant. As soon as I see who it is, I nearly fall to my knees in relief.
“Kostas!”
It takes me all of two seconds to take in her appearance. She’s soaked to the bone from the rain, but so many things click into place all at once.
Blood smeared all over her teeth and running down her chin.
Blond hair matted to her face and clothes clinging to her form.
Giant bruise on the side of her face.
Sobbing. Sobbing. Sobbing.
Gun shaking hard in her grip.
No baby. No baby.
No. Fucking. Baby.
“Where’s Zoe?” I demand, terror burning through me like accelerant to an already out of control inferno.
She falls against me, nearly knocking me over. I toss the AR to the couch to hug her to me.
“Talia, where the fuck is our daughter?” My chest hurts and violence thrums through me.
“T-They took her,” she sobs. “You said we were s-safe. We were n-not safe.”
Guilt and fury wage war inside me.
I left them alone. I thought I could eliminate the threat.
“Who?” I ask, my voice low and deceptively calm.
She looks up at me, her bottom lip wobbling. “Aris and Selene.”
I should have known Aris wouldn’t storm the gates so brazenly. That he’d have a plan of attack that would throw me off.
“Adrian,” I bellow. “Get a car and let’s go.”
Three seconds later, Adrian storms into the living room. I don’t have to say the words because he takes in our appearances and mutters out, “Motherfucker!” He rushes out into the night as I walk Talia out the door to wait for him to bring up a vehicle. Soon, he arrives with an SUV and I pile into the front while Talia jumps in the middle row seating behind us.
“Where to?” Adrian demands.
I scrub my palm over my face to swipe away some of the water. The asshole hid from me for an entire year right under my nose. He’s a sneaky bastard like that. But now it won’t be so easy. He’ll have an infant in tow and a mouthy bitch. Someone will see him. I need every goddamn person looking for him.
“Airport,” I utter, though I’m not sure he’ll try that. The jet is always fueled and ready. At the very least, I want to make sure he’s not leaving Crete Island.
Adrian hauls ass through the dark. My fingers tremble as I dial Basil.
“Yeah, Boss?”
“Make them talk, but don’t kill them. I need answers.” I close my eyes and breathe heavily. “They took Zoe.”
“Aris?” he growls.
“I need you to have the men eliminate the threat at the hotel. Get the bodies out of there and make sure the hotel guests are okay.”
“Minister of Public Order?” he asks.
“I’ll call Josef. Just clean up the fucking mess and keep the roaches on a leash in the cellar. I want to know anything, no matter how insignificant.”
“Talia?”
“She’s safe with us but have someone check on her mom, please.”
Talia squeezes my shoulder from behind in thanks.
“On it, Boss.”
After we hang up, I dial Josef. My body feels cold and I fight a tremble. Awkwardly, I fumble for the heater. Adrian shoots me a worried look before swatting my hand away to do it for me.