Truths and Lies Duet
“We need to go now.”
“What? Why?” I’m so confused.
He grabs my arm and yanks me from the stall and out of the bathroom. “I’ll explain once we’re in the car. Kostas sent me to get you. There’s been a threat and he needs to know you’re safe.”
“What about Michael and Tadd?” My head is spinning.
“They are the threat,” Aris says as he opens the side door to the building. Something isn’t right here.
“Aris, wait!” I shout, but he doesn’t listen. I reach for my phone and realize it’s still in my purse…in the bathroom. Shit! “Aris, I want to speak to Kostas,” I demand, but he ignores me. When I dig my feet into the grass, refusing to walk, he turns around and whips a gun out.
“Get in the fucking car, Talia,” he says.
Instantly, my hands go to my stomach, fearful not only for myself, but for my baby. “Okay,” I tell him. “Okay, just please don’t shoot me.”
The entire drive, my only thoughts are that there’s a good chance I’ll never see or speak to Kostas again. My last words to him were said in anger. He texted me to tell me he misses me, but I never texted him back. He’ll never know how much I love him, and that I’m pregnant.
Kostas
The entire three-hour flight from Heraklion to Thessaloniki was difficult. Being trapped in my private plane with nothing but a stocked bar and a building rage, I was about to explode. I wanted to drown out my thoughts, but something keeps niggling at me—something I need to keep a clear head for. Like the answer is right in front of me, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it.
Aris.
I want to say Aris has something to do with it, but he’s afraid of me. Deep down, I know he is. Where he might willingly sleep with my wife just to show he could, he’d never kill her. And hide her away for a year, that’s just bullshit Aris couldn’t keep from me. I see him every day, all day. If he was hiding something huge about Talia, I’d know.
Wouldn’t I?
When she was taken, I was blinded by determination to find her. Then, anger that I hadn’t. Now, drowning in grief also known as fucking alcohol. Alcohol that Aris has no qualms about offering me anytime he’s around.
Which is exactly why I need to keep a clear head. For the first time since she’s been gone, I feel alert and aware. I didn’t get to where I am today for being a blind fool.
I’m brooding on my thoughts while we hit the tarmac. The staff on the plane is accommodating, but I’m distracted by Talia. Always Talia. Once I step out of the plane, I’m irritated to see Phoenix leaned against a door-less Jeep. He’s dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt showcasing all his tattoos and looking like a fucking escaped convict. I hate how much he looks like Talia. It’s a painful reminder of my loss of her.
“Where’s my car?” I grumble.
Phoenix shrugs and hops inside. I follow suit and climb into his metal death wish. I’m sure I look out of place in my Armani suit.
“Where are your men?” he asks, nodding at the plane.
“Where are yours?” I challenge back.
“I don’t need them,” he sneers, side-eyeing me like I’m a minnow he can easily scare away.
“Same,” I bite back like the shark I am.
He smirks as he throws the Jeep into drive. We haul ass down the road into the city. It’s been a while since I’ve come to meet him about the taxes. In the beginning I did, right after he took over for Niles, but then, when I was losing my ever-loving mind over Talia, Aris took care of business.
“Where are we going?” I demand upon realizing we’re not headed toward the city where his office is.
“We can do business anywhere with our phones,” he grunts out. “I’m hungry and I figured you are too.”
It’s noon and I didn’t touch the refreshments on the flight. He’s right, but I won’t tell him that. He takes us to a small restaurant outside of the city. It has horrible curbside appeal, but the moment we exit the Jeep and I get a whiff of the savory garlic scents in the air, I know looks will be deceiving.
He greets the man up front and then ushers us to a dark corner booth. When he orders ouzo for the both of us, I change my order to water, which gets a lifted brow of surprise from him.
“Got a problem?”
His nostrils flare. “Nope.”
As soon as the waiter runs off to fetch our drinks, Phoenix crosses his arms over his bulky chest and glowers at me.
“What?” I demand.
“Nothing,” he sneers. “Just finally looking at the man who let my sister get taken. The same man who can’t find her.” He’s pissed and his jaw muscle keeps flexing. If I had any thought that he’d taken her, it’s squashed in this moment.