“Turns out he and my brother have far more in common than anybody thought. He was cheating on my mom for years before she had her affair with your dad. And Aris knew the entire time.” He scrubs his hand along the side of his face in frustration. “He instilled loyalty into us from the time we were born, but he was anything but loyal to his own wife. I walked in on him yesterday getting fucked by some whore in the bed my mother slept in, so I made sure the last breath he ever took was in that same bed.”
Yesterday… “That was why you were at Aris’s. To let him know your father is dead.”
“He invited me to his house a million times over the last year, but I always declined. Didn’t care to hang out with him and his skank. But I felt I owed it to him to tell him in person. Showed up unannounced and that’s how I found you. I saw you looking out the window. Thought I lost my fucking mind.” Wow, the death of his father was what led Kostas to finding me. Had he not killed him, he may not have ever found us. No, I refuse to believe that. It was only a matter of time.
“I’m glad you killed him,” I blurt out, and Kostas grins. “Because it meant finding us,” I explain.
“I would’ve found you,” Kostas says, his tone filled with conviction. “But yes, I suppose his death was meant to be.”
Zoe finishes her bottle and bats it away, sitting up and then crawling off the chair and onto the floor. When she gets to Kostas’s shiny expensive shoes, she scratches her tiny nails along them, curiously. Kostas picks her up and gives her a kiss on her cheek, and my heart warms. This is all I ever wanted, and now we’re so close to having it. All that’s in our way is Aris and Selene still on the run.
“It’s Aris’s entire purpose to make you and your father pay,” I tell him, remembering all the times Aris told me how much he despises them.
“He can try.” Kostas shrugs, as if my words barely deserve acknowledgment. “But now he has limited resources to do so. It won’t matter anyway because I have every man out there searching for him. We’ll find him soon.”
“Like you found Niles?” I accuse. I shouldn’t poke the hornet’s nest, but I can’t help it. He’s so sure he’s going to find Aris, yet my father has been underground for even longer and he still hasn’t been found.
Kostas glares. “I don’t give a fuck about finding Niles. He’s a waste of air. Your brother has taken over and is turning a nice profit. But finding Aris will happen, and when I do he will regret ever fucking with what’s mine.” He gives Zoe another kiss on the top of her head.
“And until you do? What if it takes months or even years? Are Zoe and I going to be held captive here as well?” If my dad was able to hide out, I can’t even imagine what Aris is capable of.
Kostas glances over at me. “You will never be held captive again. I have men surrounding the villa, and if you want to go somewhere, we go. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
“I’d like to take Zoe to the beach.” I stand and walk over to them. Her gaze flits over to me and she leans toward me, so I can take her. “Every day I was stuck in his house, I would watch the waves and wish I were back down here. We spent a lot of time at the pool, but it wasn’t the same. There were walls holding us in. I want Zoe to feel the sand between her toes. To feel the waves hit her body. I want her to know what it’s like to be free, even if she’s too young to understand it.”
“Then to the beach we’ll go. But first, you need to call your mother and brother. They’ve been almost as worried about you as I was.” Kostas pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me.
Wow, things have changed. Kostas is telling me to call my family… “Have you spoken to them?” I ask, taking the phone from him.
“Your mother and I speak almost every day,” he says. “I guess you can say we formed a sort of truce. We both wanted to find you. And your brother is nothing like your father. He actually handles business the way it should be handled.”
“Thank you.” I bring myself up on my tiptoes and give Kostas a kiss.
“For what?”
“For finding and saving us.” I give him another kiss. “For loving us.”
After calling my mom, who cries when she finds out I’m safe, then cries even harder when she finds out she’s a grandma, then tells me she’s coming to visit, and Phoenix, who—without the tears—also promises to visit soon, Kostas, Zoe, and I head down to the beach. Since Zoe doesn’t have a suit, we grab one from the hotel store.