Truths and Lies Duet

“You took me because you think he loves me?” I don’t get it. There has to be more to it.

“I took you because my brother destroys everything he touches and he’s not going to get a chance to destroy you the way he destroyed our mother.”

“Aris…” I begin, but I don’t even know what to say. I hate him. He raped me. He hurt me. He stole me. But my heart still breaks for the man who lost his mother. He’s grieving and he’s broken. He’s not thinking clearly. My only hope is that he’ll eventually come to his senses and let me go. And hopefully before this baby is born.

That was a year ago. He was a monster the day he took me, but now, it’s as if he lives for destroying Kostas. He feeds off it. He’s never going to let me go, which means I have no option but to run.

Zoe’s tiny body stretches, telling me she’s waking up. Her fisted hands rise above her head, and her chunky little body rolls to the side. Her beautiful blue eyes open and she grants me the most beautiful smile.

“Mommy’s going to get us out of here, cara mia.”

After I feed her and give her a bath, I get dressed in a comfortable outfit. I don’t have any tennis shoes, so I make do with the pair of flip flops I have. I tie my hair back in a ponytail and then pull my bag out from under my bed.

When I tiptoe out of the room, I spot Selene on the couch watching TV. I need to be smart about this. Aris’s dumb ass gave her a fucking gun. If I play this right, that gun can become an asset to me, but if it goes the other way, it can be the very thing that kills me.

I spot the gun on the end table next to her. Laying my bag down behind the counter, near the garage door, I set Zoe in her high chair. “Be a good girl,” I whisper, placing a few cereal puffs on her tray.

“Hey, Selene,” I call out.

“What?”

“Aris is supposed to text you a picture of the different Tylenols for Zoe when he’s on his way home. Has he texted you yet?”

“No.” Good, that means he’s still at work. I have time.

Grabbing a frying pan from under the sink—yes, I’m about to be cliché as hell—I tiptoe up to Selene. I’m not sure if the pan will actually knock her out, but my intention is just to knock her off her game long enough to grab the gun. Once I have it, I can make a run for it and she won’t be able to stop me.

I spot her phone in her lap. I want to grab it as well, but the gun is more important. Raising the heavy item to the side, I swing it as hard as I can at the side of her head.

“Ahhh!” she screams, falling from the couch and onto the floor. Without looking back at her, I snatch the gun off the table, dart back to the dining room, grab my daughter and bag, and haul ass. I quickly type in the code to the garage and it works! Using the key in my hand, I hit the fob to unlock the doors. The SUV lights up and I throw Zoe into the seat next to me. I hate that I don’t have a car seat for her, but there’s nothing I can do. With a click of the garage door, it rises, and we’re free.

Kostas

“Basil?”

Adrian nods at my question as he pulls into the driveway of my father’s estate. Once we’re in park, he levels me with a hard glare. “Basil is loyal until the end.”

There was a time when I almost questioned Basil’s loyalties. When he did my brother’s bidding. But when I’d looked in his eyes, I’d seen he was simply doing his job. For me. At the time, it felt like betrayal, but he was only doing what I’d asked long before.

Keep the enemies close.

And since I’ve always seen Aris as an enemy who happens to share my blood, my two best men, Basil and Adrian, have always kept an extra close eye on him.

“Any news from Basil then?” I ask, climbing out of Adrian’s SUV.

He follows me and lets out a grunt. “Just normal comings and goings to and from the hotel. His house is pretty quiet during the day. On occasion, his slut leaves to grocery shop and shit.”

“Galani? Niles? Does anyone besides the skank go in and out?”

“Nope, just her.”

I don’t like it. Feels too easy.

“Call him and have him see if he can find anything out from the hotel staff. I want this quiet and discreet. He’ll need to do it in person.”