“Toss me the knife,” I say to my wife.
She throws it at me and it clatters at my feet. I pick it up and then begin sawing Howler free. He squawks and carries on like the little bitch he is.
“What now?” Phoenix asks, violence gleaming in his eyes that match Talia’s.
“A promise is a promise,” I reply, shrugging. “I told the fucker I’d cut him loose if he gave us information.” Then, I grin at Phoenix. “But you, man, you didn’t promise him a damn thing. He’s all yours. I need you here protecting Melody and Zoe. Talia and I are going on a second honeymoon.”
After we showered, changed, and packed some weapons, Talia and I headed out to Agia Fotia Beach with Adrian following behind in his new Jeep. Fucking Phoenix corrupted him with that corny-ass Jeep shit. But, since my wife smashed Adrian’s car, it was only fair I bought him a new toy. Even if the toy is meant for a man twenty years his junior.
To an outsider, Talia and I in my Maserati look like any other rich couple. Carefree and happy. We’re happy, that’s for damn sure. And we’ll be carefree the moment I have my hands around my brother’s throat. Until then, we’ll keep hunting his awful ass down.
“We’re almost there,” she says, yawning. “Are we really going to stay at the beach house?”
“You mean the Cliffside monster stairs home?”
She laughs. “Remember when I made you carry me up all those steps?”
“Remember when I fucked you on four hundred rocks and made you mine?”
We both smile.
“It won’t always be like this,” I promise her. “The people in Greece know they can’t fuck with me. They can try and I’ll hunt their asses down. If they’re smart, they’ll pay their taxes, do my bidding, and be fucking merry.”
“Is that all?” she asks dryly. “Want them to suck your dick too?”
“That’s your job,” I tell her with a smirk.
“You have to admit, you like it when I negotiate using blowjobs.”
“Your blowjobs are the true secret behind world peace. Too bad you only give them to a tyrant.”
She taps at her lips and feigns a thoughtful look. “Maybe I should spread the love around.”
“Maybe I should spread you over my lap and make you fuck me the rest of the way.”
“I did not come through all this to die in a ditch because my sex freak husband wanted to have more period sex while driving a million-dollar car.”
Three mil, but who’s counting.
“There’s always the ride home,” I tease, gripping her jean-clad thigh.
The rest of the trip we drive in contented silence. I know she’s nervous about finding him, but I’m eager as hell. It’s long overdue.
Rather than going to the hotel the Galanis always stayed at, I take her straight to the Cliffside home. It’s my first destination. We pull into the driveway and I lean over to kiss Talia.
“How long will it take to find out if Aris is at the hotel?” she asks once we park.
“He’s not there,” I state as I climb out of the car.
She follows me, grabbing my hand. “What? What do you mean?”
“If there’s one thing I know about my brother, it’s that he likes to play games. He doesn’t trust anyone. You think he’d give such an obvious clue to his man?”
Talia stops to frown at me. “No.”
I caress her cheek. “No, because if the man was found out, then he’d tell me. And if Aris knows me, he had to know I’d find out because I’m not fucking stupid.”
Her plump lips purse, making my dick thicken with need. Not now, but soon, I’ll have those lips on me again. “He wanted to lure you to the hotel.” She lets out a rush of relieved breath. “So we outsmarted him then?”
“Did we?” I muse aloud, darting my eyes to the house.
Her blue eyes flicker with fear, but I shush her with a kiss. “He knew we’d stay here if we came looking for him at that hotel. He’d attempt to catch us off guard.”
She pulls away, whirling around. “Where’s Adrian?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I say with a grin as I lead her over to the front door. “Let’s get you inside. I want to fuck you in the hot tub.”
Her shoulders are tense, but she trusts me as I guide her into the home. As soon as we walk inside, we see Aris. Gun in hand and evil fucking smile on his face.
And then Adrian tackles him from behind.
Aris’s eyes blink open slowly. He looks like shit. I’m not sure he’s showered recently and the scruffy beard he’s sporting doesn’t make him look refined. It makes him look like trash.
That’s what he is to me.
Trash.
Ready to be kicked to the goddamn curb. Indefinitely.
“The almighty Demetriou reigns,” Aris snarls, finding his venom past the haze of recently being knocked out.