“Mr. Demetriou,” Basil bellows. “We heard gunfire. Are you okay?”
I groan, pulling from Talia’s lips. “I’m fine,” I call out. Aside from the fucking blue balls. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
My lips meet Talia’s once more for a brief kiss. “I need to take care of business.”
“What business?”
“Interrogate the man who tried to take you,” I snarl.
Her brows furrow. “Like Cy the liar?”
“Probably more intense of an interrogation. Cy was a liar. This motherfucker tried to hurt my wife. It carries a heavier offense.”
She nods as though she approves of my monstrous intentions. “I want to come with you.”
“It’s probably best if you stay and rest.”
Tears flood her eyes. “Please don’t leave me again.”
Fuck.
“Fine,” I relent. “Let’s get this over with. I have a big fucking PR mess to deal with.”
“Your dad?” she croaks.
“Alive. They didn’t get to him, but they shot a lot of people at the hospital.”
“I’m sorry.”
I kiss her once more. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Once I coaxed Talia out of the closet, I changed out of my suit into something a little more comfortable. A pair of navy shorts and a red T-shirt. No sense in dirtying up one of my good suits. Talia also changed from her dress into something that looked better suited for the beach—a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top. Now, we probably look like a tourist couple who got lost and ended up in a torture cellar.
Lucky for us, we’re the torturers and not the other way around.
Three men sit in chairs, tied tight by my men. The one who tried to take Talia has his ski mask sitting in his lap. My men wanted me to know which one should get the most of my attention. This is why I pay them well. They know my preferences.
“Care to sit, zoí mou?” I ask, lifting a brow at her, motioning to the sofa where Aris is already seated wearing a hateful scowl.
She shakes her head and reluctantly releases my hand. “I’ll stand here.”
I kiss her cheek before turning to regard the hunks of shit tied to the chairs. They stink and I want them gone. But I want answers first.
“Names,” I bark out. “I want your names.”
Nobody responds.
Okay, I suppose we’ll do this the hard way.
Walking over to the guy on the far right, I slam my fist into his throat. He gasps and chokes for air, struggling against his restraints. When I pull back my fist, he sputters out a name.
Gio.
“Next,” I state in a bored tone.
The middle man, also wearing a suit, scowls at me. His body tenses as he awaits my blow. I give Basil a hard look and he tosses a knife at me. When I catch it by the hilt, the middle man tenses.
“We both know I’ll do whatever it takes to get your fucking name,” I growl. “One, two—”
“Jordan,” the man barks out, sweat beads racing down his forehead.
Turning my attention to the asshole who tried to take Talia, I give him an expectant look. He trembles like a motherfucking girl at a horror flick. When I’m done with him, he’ll be less than a man and there’ll be enough blood. I can see where he’d be confused. He must sense my malevolent intentions because he pisses on himself. The middle man, Jordan, curses in disgust.
“P-P-Pauly,” the wannabe bitch cries out.
“Okay, P-P-Pauly,” I taunt. “Why the fuck were you trying to steal my goddamn wife?”
He sobs. “I fucked up, man.”
He fucked up.
This pussy has no motherfucking idea how badly he fucked up.
“Hmmm,” is all I say as I approach him.
The man stills when I run the blade along his carotid artery, cutting just deep enough to open his skin. One wrong move and I’ll puncture the vein that keeps him alive. He cries out in pain but doesn’t move a muscle. Crimson runs quickly from the cut. I take a step back and admire my handiwork.
“I need more of an answer than ‘I fucked up’ because that’s not a fucking answer. I want to know who hired you.”
He trembles, his dark eyes darting all around. “Niles Nikolaides,” he blurts out.
Talia gasps from nearby. Betrayal cuts deep. I cut fucking deeper. This motherfucker is about to learn: you mess with a Demetriou and you’ll pay the hard way. Talia Demetriou is mine to avenge.
“Niles Nikolaides wanted you to what? Kidnap his daughter and be a hero? I’m sorry,” I tell him, shaking my head. “Seems a little out of character for that worm.”
“H-He thought with you d-distracted by your f-father, he could sneak in and sneak out with her.”
“So he sent a pussy to do his dirty work?” I demand. “A little bitch who pisses himself in the face of true danger? A cunt of a man who thought stealing a Demetriou would make him a tough guy?”