“Already?” I pout. I love having my mom here with me. Once she goes back to Italy, who knows when I will see her again.
“Already?” She laughs. “I’ve been here for a month.”
My pout deepens, my bottom lip jutting out dramatically. “But I’m going to miss you, and so is Zoe.”
“I know, cara mia, but Stefano isn’t good at fending for himself. He’s complained every day that the cook isn’t making what he likes.” She rolls her eyes in mock annoyance. “Imagine if you were away from Kostas for a few days? Or a week?”
I laugh at the thought. Kostas would never let that happen. He’d be all growly and then demand he either goes with me or I don’t go. “I get it. So how much longer do I get you?”
“Stefano found a flight for next week. So we have a little more time together.” She gives me a soft smile.
“Okay, I’ll take it.”
Zoe stops banging on the piano and turns to me. Her eyes well up with tears and she shoves her tiny fist into her mouth. Fowler should be back by now with her medicine.
“I’m going to go see if Fowler is back with Zoe’s medicine yet. Can you hold her?”
“Of course,” Mom says, taking Zoe into her arms. “You know, when you and Phoenix were babies, we just rubbed whiskey on your gums.”
I bark out a laugh. “I think we’ll stick to good old Tylenol.”
I run downstairs and spot one of the men on the phone in the kitchen. Not wanting to interrupt him, I head out the front door. The vehicle Fowler uses is parked in the driveway, so I go in search of him. I find him standing on the side of the house. I’m about to call out his name when I see he has his phone pressed up to his ear. Instead, I walk forward a few steps so I can listen.
“The plane is totaled,” he says then stays quiet, listening to whoever is on the other line. I’m curious as to who he’s speaking to since all of Kostas’s men already know the plane is totaled.
“The bitch and the baby? That’s going to cost you big time. Last time I checked you don’t have that kind of money. If you want me to grab them, I’m going to need to see the money first.”
Oh my God! The bitch and the baby? There’s only one bitch around here with a baby, and that’s me. I consider sticking around to hear whatever else he’s going to say, but decide I’ve heard enough to know this guy is bad fucking news. It’s why he doesn’t give a shit about anything Phoenix or Kostas threaten. He’s not working for them… He’s working for Aris. He’s a damn rat!
Needing to get to my daughter and mom to make sure they’re safe, I turn and run back into the house and up the stairs. The first thing I need is my gun. There’s no way I’m chancing that asshole kidnapping Zoe and me and bringing us back to Aris.
Since my bedroom is before Zoe’s, I pop in there to grab my gun from the nightstand. But as I’m grabbing it, I hear footsteps behind me, and a chill runs up my spine. Somehow Fowler knows I heard him.
Not chancing him either killing or kidnapping me, I quickly flip the safety off and turn around with the gun aimed directly at him. He has his aimed at me as well.
“Easy, girl,” he starts, an evil glint in his eye as he steps forward.
Pop!
I choke on a gasp as the blood swells, blooming like a flower. Holy shit. His eyes widen as he grabs his side. He wasn’t expecting me to be packing and he sure as hell didn’t expect me to shoot. He should’ve, though. I’m married to the most powerful mob boss in the country. Of course he’s going to make sure I can defend myself.
Pop!
I waste no time squeezing on the trigger again. This bullet goes through his arm and he drops the gun.
We both go after it at the same time, but as I’m diving down to grab it, Fowler drops to the ground. When I look up, I find Phoenix standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand.
“Thank you,” I breathe. I glance over at Fowler and he’s knocked out, the side of his head bleeding. Phoenix must’ve hit him with the butt of his gun.
“I’ll always have your back, sis,” he says, reaching his hand out to help me up.
“How did you know?” I ask, standing and handing him the gun.
“Overheard him talking on the phone. Saw you listening as well, but I didn’t want to draw attention to you. As soon as you ran, he turned around, and I knew he saw you.” He kicks Fowler in the stomach so he rolls over onto his back. He’s bleeding heavily onto my carpet. Great, I’ll probably never get that stain out.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” I run into Phoenix’s arms.
“Eh, looks like you were handling yourself just fine.” He kisses the top of my head.
“I need to go make sure Mom and Zoe are safe,” I tell him. “I don’t know who we can even trust. I’m going to have her lock herself in the room. Can you tie this fucker up and call Kostas?”
Phoenix’s lips curl into a wide grin.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “I just hope one day I find a woman like you. Kostas got himself a good one. He better treat you right.”
“He more than treats me right,” I tell him. “He treats me like his queen.”
When I get to Zoe’s room, the door is closed and locked. “Mom,” I call out.
“Talia! I heard a gunshot! Are you okay?” she says through the door.
“Yes, I’m okay. You can open the door.” I want to make sure nobody is in there. I knew something was up with Fowler. Who knows who else is a rat.
When she opens the door, I sigh in relief at the sight of my daughter bouncing up and down in her crib. “Go ahead and lock the door again. Phoenix has Fowler, and Kostas will be on his way shortly. Don’t open the door unless it’s one of us.”
“Okay, be safe, sweetheart.” She gives me a kiss on my cheek.
I get back to the room to find Phoenix has Fowler propped up in my reading chair and has used my robe belt to tie his hands. He’s awake, but his head is hanging down. I bet he has a massive migraine. The thought makes me laugh. When my husband is done with him, a migraine will be the least of what he feels.
“What the fuck are you laughing at?” Fowler hisses. “You think tying me up is going to stop Aris from getting to you again?” He laughs wickedly, and I take a step back. Gone is the pervy flirt, and present is a ruthless mobster. “That man is on a revenge mission, and he ain’t gonna stop until he has everything Kostas cares about. Mark my fucking words.”
The room chills several degrees like a cold storm has surged into our bedroom, ready to destroy everything in its path.
“My brother will get to my wife again over my dead fucking body,” Kostas says, entering the room. He saunters over to Fowler like he doesn’t have a care in the world. But I can see the darkness in his usually light eyes. He’s pissed and he’s going to make Fowler pay…after he makes him talk.
“We can make this easy or difficult. Are you going to tell me where my brother is, or am I going to beat it out of you?” Kostas cracks his neck to one side and then to the other, the bones popping in an intimidating way.
Fowler laughs. “I’m not saying shit.” He spits at Kostas. “I already know my death warrant’s been signed. I’m not going down a fucking rat.”