“I was thinking fruit. A pomegranate sounds good.”
She pulls off her T-shirt, revealing her round tits and rosy nipples. Fuck, she does my head in when all I need is to focus.
“A pomegranate?” I ask, my voice husky as my dick strains in my slacks.
She bends to pick up the dress from the floor and holds it to her chest. Her blond hair cascades over one shoulder as she tilts her head to the side. “An angel can live in hell.”
“Not without getting burned.”
Sauntering over to me, she stands on her toes and kisses the corner of my mouth. “The devil wouldn’t allow that.”
“He already has,” I growl, my palm finding her hip and squeezing possessively.
“But he won’t let it happen again.”
So confident and sure.
She’s right.
“Go be the badass we need right now,” she says, pushing on my chest to break us apart. “I’ll be at my restaurant sucking on seeds until you let me suck on you later.”
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“You’ll need to relieve some tension and then you’ll need a nap.” She shrugs. “Because then we’re going to go get our girl.”
“Damn right.”
I let my stare linger on the swell of her breasts and then up her slender throat before I latch my eyes to her parted lips. Fuck, how I want to yank her to me, drag her to the floor, and drive into her wildly. The desire to claim and own is fierce, but we have more pressing matters to attend to. And once we have our daughter back, I’ll demand my fucked up happily ever after, one orgasm at a time.
Adrian flanks my right and Josef is on my left as we walk into the hotel lobby as a united front—the mob and the police coming together for the same agenda: take down Aris and find a baby. Talia will enter soon with Basil. I need to say what I need to say without her weakening my resolve. As soon as the press sees us, flashes start going off like rapid gunfire. The lights blind me, but I ignore them as I make my way to the podium that’s been set up. Josef steps to the microphone first.
“Dear citizens of Crete Island,” he starts, holding up his hand to end the buzzing chattering of questions being barked our way. “We’re not here to answer questions, but to instead deliver a series of statements.”
More flashes snap.
“Last year, good men and women of Cretan General Hospital were gunned down in a tragic terrorist event. The Demetriou family, while dealing with their own familial tragedies, were instrumental in eliminating the threat at that time.” Josef gives me a grim smile to which I nod so he’ll continue. “His father, the late Ezio Demetriou, was a friend to me and a pillar in this community. The philanthropic donations of this family have been what’s kept the island profitable and successful. With…” He flashes me another look and I nod. “With Ezio’s recent, natural passing—something the family had wished to keep quiet so they could grieve in private but are no longer able to—we are faced with terrorism once again. There are those who see the Demetrious’ efforts as something to destroy, making these attempts when they are down. Last night, they tried to do exactly that. But they are wrong. Our people and the Demetrious aren’t broken so easily. We will fight for peace and profit.”
He steps away from the podium and gestures for me to take his place. I keep my features cool and impassive. Whenever I lock stares with a reporter, they cower under my gaze and look away.
“My family is the proud owner of the Pérasma Hotel. Last night, men stormed our gates and tried to destroy what we built.” Men ordered by my brother. “Because we take security extremely seriously, none of our guests were hurt or even saw the terrible situation unfold. We lost a few good men protecting the people at our hotel.”
More flashes go off as reporters demand to know the names.
I raise my hand, effectively silencing them all. “They were hired on to do a job for the Demetriou family. And they did it well. But now we need for you all to do your job.”
A flash of white in the back of the room indicates Talia has arrived. She’s clutching a soft pink blanket and a newly framed picture of Zoe. Basil escorts my wife past the curious onlookers and to the podium with me. I pull her close, sharing the microphone with her.
“I’m a private man,” I say, my voice hard as steel. “I keep my personal life out of the spotlight. Because of my influence in Greece, people think they can use my personal life as a weakness against me.” I lean over to inhale Talia’s sweet scent before kissing the top of her head, earning more pops of flashes. I turn back to the crowd, my glare once again affixed. “Last year, I wed the woman I loved in a secret ceremony for just the two of us. But then she was taken from me.” People demand to know by whom, but I ignore them. Everyone underground knows it was Aris and that’s all that matters. “When I found her again, she brought home a Demetriou princess. My strong, resilient wife survived the atrocities of capture, delivered our daughter while in captivity, and found the strength to make her way back to me.”
Talia starts to cry and clings to me, which sends the media into a frenzy.
“Last night, while we worked to keep our people safe, the terrorists came in and took our daughter.”
The press starts shouting, horrified and demanding answers.
“She’s…” I trail off and swallow hard. “My wife, Talia, would like to speak about her.”
She sniffles as she pulls away slightly. “Our little girl Zoe was kidnapped.” Her body trembles as she holds the blanket to her and shows the crowd the picture. “She’s sweet and curious and laughs and…” A sob chokes her. “Oh God, I just want her back in my arms.”
I stroke my fingers through her hair in a possessive way while staring down every camera in the room, commanding them with one look. Find my fucking daughter and bring her to me alive.
“I beg of you,” Talia pleads. “If anyone knows anything, please help us. We need her. She doesn’t deserve this.”
“Our fine Minister of Public Order has set up a call center to take any and all calls. Calls leading to the finding of our daughter will be handsomely rewarded,” I say into the microphone. This is for the normal, everyday citizens. They’ll look for her because that’s what good people do, money or not. They want to reunite a child with their family.
But I need the bad people looking too.
“Fifty million euros.”
The room explodes with excitement.
“She was last seen with Aris Demetriou and Selene Vincent.” The crowd gasps again. I ramble through their physical descriptions while deliberately leaving off the fact Aris is my brother. They all know this. I don’t need to fucking say it. Everyone underground will see this as one concrete fact: Aris Demetriou is dead to me.
“Twenty-four hours. If she’s found within that time frame, I’ll reward the finder additionally in ways I see fit.” Meaning, they will get a favor with the Demetrious, which is priceless. “Thank you all for your help.”
The group goes wild with questions, and seven of my men have to flank us to get us away from the crowd. Once we’re safely inside my office, I give Adrian a nod to clear the lobby of the press and tell him to apprise me of any new developments. The moment I have the door closed and locked, I collect my emotional wife in my arms.