But so help me if that fucker Alex has Talia or knows where she’s at…
I scrub my hand down my face and begin scrolling through my contacts. I find Talia’s mother, Melody, and stare at her name. This woman used to hate me, but now we share a common goal: find Talia. Melody wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to her daughter. If she were hiding her or knew where she was, I’d know about it. I put the phone on speaker and dial her. She answers on the first ring.
“Kostas,” she greets, her voice tight with concern. “Any word?”
She always answers right away, hopeful I’ve found Talia.
“No,” I grunt out. “Any news on your end?”
A heavy sigh escapes her. “None.”
We share a long moment of silence, both of us brooding.
“Emilio hasn’t heard any chatter?” I’m always hopeful with his governmental position and contacts with the police, he might hear of some organization somewhere bragging over the fact they got Kostas Demetriou’s wife.
“Nothing,” she says. “I spoke with him today and nothing. Niles?”
I wince at his name. “Still missing also.”
Another long moment of silence. It’s a theory we’ve discussed before. Niles taking her and hiding her away. The motive is unclear, but it’s one that makes a lot of sense. She is his daughter and he hates our family. It could be a way to stick it to us. He’s just not smart enough or rich enough for that shit. It doesn’t add up.
“I will be visiting Phoenix soon,” I tell her. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Don’t hurt my son.”
I smirk. She’s like Talia in that sense. Bossing around a crime lord like it’s not a big fucking deal. But, because it reminds me of her daughter, I give her allowances I shouldn’t. “We’ll see.”
She must not hear any threat in my words because she lets out a relieved sigh. “What about on Crete? My father said not long before she was taken, Ezio had an attempt on his life by the Galanis. Could they be behind this?”
It irritates me she knows so much about our world, but again, she’s her daughter’s mother. I can’t fault her for being dedicated to plucking up every stone to see if it leads to her daughter. I’ll take all the help I can get at this point.
“Most of the Galanis are gone,” I bite out. “The dickless one is still out and about, but he doesn’t have the spine to do something grand like kidnap my wife. Plus, he’d love to gloat. If he had her, he’d torment me with that fact. Since everything is silent, it tells me it’s someone new or someone who couldn’t care less about taunting me, but maybe someone with their own agendas.”
“She’s such a beautiful woman,” her mother breathes. “What if someone kidnapped her and sold her into a sex trafficking ring? Do you know people who do that sort of thing?”
No, but your ex-husband does.
“I doubt that’s it.” I fucking hope that’s not it. “But to be safe, I’ll bring it up to Phoenix at our meeting. Niles admitted to allowing passage with some new clients who were into that shit.”
She lets out a ragged breath. “Kostas, we have to find her. If she’s with sex traffickers…” A loud sob escapes her. “I worry we’ll never get the Talia we know and love back.”
I scrub my face in frustration. “Whoever has her will fucking pay,” I growl. “I will skin them all alive.”
My words don’t frighten her. “Good. They deserve it for taking my baby girl.”
Voices echo down the hallway just outside my office and I sit up straight. “I need to go.”
“Okay, cara mio, take care and let me know if you learn anything new.”
I hang up and let her words sink in. Lately, she calls me her darling like I really am her son. And fuck if I don’t correct her because it makes me miss Mamá.
Frustration churns in my gut. I rise from my chair and stalk outside onto the veranda. This afternoon, the air is warm and the salty sea scent evokes memories of my honeymoon. Taking Talia on the beach for the first time. The look of pure adoration on her pretty face as I made her mine. It’s times like these, when I’m sobering up, everything feels so crystal clear. I think back to that week when we located Estevan Galani in that apartment building. How he’d eyed up my wife like she was trash he wanted to burn. The fact he survived his injuries I gave him wasn’t surprising, but the fact he remains in hiding and not fucking with me is a disturbing fact. It feels important. Like I need to pursue why he isn’t fucking with me. I shot his dick off, for fuck’s sake. If someone shot my dick off, I’d try to destroy them, and would die doing it too.