Stolen Lies (Truths and Lies 2)

Our little girl.

I’m in fucking awe right now.

A dad. I’m a dad.

And I have my wife back.

Talia

For the first time in over a year, I can finally take a deep breath of relief. Oxygen can enter my lungs without a lump the size of a boulder blocking my airway.

Because Kostas is here.

He didn’t give up on me, and he found me and Zoe, and we’re finally safe.

Thunder booms and lightning strikes, lighting up the entire sky. The clouds open above us, and rain begins to pelt the windshield. It almost feels metaphorical, as if the rain is washing away every bad moment from this past year, hydrating the life back into us. For the last year, I’ve felt dead inside, but now, with Kostas here, I feel like my body is finally thriving once again. I was struggling to make it through each day, pieces of me slowly dying, but now I’m alive and can breathe easy.

Zoe’s head lands on my shoulder, her body snuggling into my chest. When she babbles softly, Kostas glances over at the two of us, and for a brief moment our eyes meet. His hazel eyes tell me everything I need to know. Everything is going to be okay. He’s going to make sure of it.

“When we get home, you’re going to tell me everything that’s happened,” he says.

But my thoughts are stuck on one word. Home.

We’re going home. Where we belong. Where we should’ve been this entire time.

And then it hits me. Home is the Pérasma Hotel. The hotel Aris part owns.

“We can’t go back there.” I sit up straight, and Zoe whines. It’s late and she’s exhausted. “Please, Kostas. We have to go somewhere else. Somewhere far away.” My blood pressure is rising, and my heart is thumping against my ribcage.

“Moró mou, calm down.” Kostas squeezes my thigh.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, please.” I’m working myself up. My head is feeling fuzzy, and it’s hard to breathe again. “I can’t risk Aris getting to Zoe and me again.”

Kostas pulls into the parking garage, swings the car into his spot, and slams on the brakes. “Nobody is fucking taking you again. They’re not going to live to have a chance.”

Kostas pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials a number. Because we’re still in the car, it rings over Bluetooth.

“Boss,” Adrian says, answering on the first ring.

“I found Talia,” Kostas says. “At Aris’s house.”

“Fuck.”

“He and his bitch were holding her and my daughter captive.”

Adrian curses under his breath again, but doesn’t question anything Kostas is saying.

“I need you to go there and get both of them. Bring them to the cellar. Call me when it’s done.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kostas hangs up, and after grabbing the bag I packed for Zoe, walks around and opens my door for me.

When we enter the villa, it’s as if time has stopped. Everything is the same as it was the last time I was here. My flip-flops are still by the door where I left them. My favorite blanket to cuddle with is still thrown over the back of the couch. My school papers I left on the table in the foyer are still in the same spot. My purse I left in the bathroom when Aris took me is under the table. Kostas must’ve found it.

When I walk into our bedroom, one side of the bed is made. Kostas’s side. The other side is how I left it. Messy sheets thrown about because I was in a rush to get to rehearsal that morning. My robe is still draped over the sitting chair. My pajamas are still on the floor next to the hamper because I missed when I tried to throw them in and told myself I would pick them up when I got home.

Only I never came home.

Because I was taken.

Because Aris fucking took me.

Took a year of my life.

“Kostas,” I begin, in shock. “Did you live here while I was gone?”

His eyes meet mine, and with one look, I can feel everything he doesn’t need to say. Pain. Loss. Confusion. Relief. I assess his features. There are dark circles under his gorgeous, glassy eyes. He’s still as beautiful and captivating as he was a year ago, but he looks exhausted. Like he hasn’t slept since I was taken.

“I couldn’t do it,” he admits, stepping toward me. Zoe’s head is back on my shoulder. When she’s nervous, she snuggles into me. And this is the first time she’s ever been away from the only place she knows as home, so she’s nervous.

Gently, Kostas rubs the top of Zoe’s head and gives it a kiss before he leans over her and kisses my forehead as well. The sweet action has me momentarily closing my eyes, relishing in his touch. My body thrums, needing more of him.

“I looked for you every fucking day, zoí mou,” he says softly. “At first, I was too pissed to sleep in here. I thought you ran. So I slept in the guest room. Then every day I searched, the signs pointed to you more than likely having been taken. I looked everywhere. I didn’t think I left a single stone unturned.” He curses under his breath. “I didn’t even think to look in my brother’s house.” His jaw clenches in fury. “Fuck, he’s been helping me look for you.” He rubs his knuckles down the side of my cheek, his hand trembling with rage. “I couldn’t bring myself to sleep in here. To move anything of yours. It would mean accepting you might not ever be back. I told myself once I got you back I would sleep in here again with you.”