A smattering of Greek was muffled, but the voice was male and whiny.
“That’s Michalis,” Athena immediately chimed in, translating for the group. “He’s complaining that he’s there helping her, and she doesn’t appreciate him. Sophia says that he’s only helping so he can get his hands on the money first to pay off his gambling debts.”
Within just a couple of minutes, the small white house came into view. There was a low stone wall around the building, but the gate was open, allowing them to easily slide into the yard. An SUV was softly ticking in front of the house as the engine cooled in the chilly night air. Light poured out of one of the front windows, but it was weak, muddy light through a ragged curtain. The grass was overgrown and yellow while the flowerbeds appeared to be choked with weeds. Either Sophia or her son had managed to locate an abandoned house to use.
“What’s your plan in all this? Kill me? My will is made out. All my money goes to Athena.” A breathy chuckle left Isidore followed by a soft groan. “She’s stronger than me. She’ll never give you a dime. Not after I’m found dead. She doesn’t trust anyone in the family. That was my mistake.”
“No, you’re going to use this phone to transfer as much money as you can to an offshore bank account,” Sophia explained.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then Michalis returns to your house and kills Athena.” There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation or remorse in her voice. She was just stating a cold, hard fact.
“If I do?”
“Then we just kill you after it’s done and we leave Athena alone. We won’t need her. She’ll be safe. I promise.”
The laugh that filled his ear was low and bitter. No one listening to her could possibly believe her promises. She’d squeeze what money she could out of Isidore and then later she’d start squeezing Athena after Isidore was long dead and gone.
“West, circle to the rear. Check for accomplices and see if you can draw out the son,” Gabriel ordered. “K and I will check the sides and front of the house for a way in.”
“You don’t have to take them alive,” Athena added in a low, frigid voice, proving that she was listening to their conversation. “We’ll never be safe as long as they live to scheme.”
Isidore’s sigh cut through Kairo, but it didn’t stop him as he moved forward with West in front. The sniper was a soundless ghost, sweeping around the side of the house to the dark shadows of the back. Kairo went to the south side of the house while Gabriel moved north.
“Aunt Sophia, it’s time to stop. If you don’t, you and Michalis will end up dead. I promise. My boyfriend will never forgive you for hurting me. I’m not even sure I could convince him to leave you alive right now after what you’ve already done to me and Athena.”
Both Sophia and Michalis laughed loudly. “Your boyfriend? That useless mess you introduced everyone to? That man?”
“No. That was all an act to draw you out. My real boyfriend is Kairo Jones and he’s amazing. He’s brilliant, funny, and sexy. And protective. Very fucking protective. The moment he finds us, he’s going to tear you apart. He promised that no one would hurt me because he loves me for exactly who I am. He doesn’t care about the money or my name. He loves everything about me. I know it.”
Kairo had to stop for a second, his forehead pressed to the dirty white wall of the house and he swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in his throat. His man sounded so damn smug, so proud of Kairo. And confident that he was loved.
He was fucking right. Even though Kairo had never said the words to him, he was stupidly, hopelessly, completely in love with this man. He hadn’t even needed to say it. Isidore looked at him and just knew.
But he wanted to say the words. He wanted to tell Isidore every damn day of their lives that he was loved and cherished.
Pulling his shit together, he only half listened to Isidore talking about him and what they meant to each other. His super-smart boyfriend was doing an excellent job of distracting his kidnappers so his rescue team could enter the house.
On the south side of the building, he located a window that was unlocked. He peered inside to see that the room was dark, but there was just enough light leaking in from the main room that he could see that it was empty.
“Open window on the south side. Moving in.”
“I’ve got nothing. Heading to the front door,” Gabriel snarled.
“Back door leads into the kitchen. I’ll move in and try to draw the son out,” West whispered.
Kairo was half in the window when a creak echoed through the nearly silent house. It had almost been drowned out by Isidore’s talking, but their targets caught it.
Sophia said something sharply in Greek, which Kairo guessed was her telling Isidore to shut up. A second later she gave another order. Probably telling her son to check on the noise as West had hoped. There was a shuffling sound and a noise from Isidore that didn’t seem promising.
With her now alone, Kairo finished climbing into the house. Straightening, he held his gun in front of him with both hands as he quickly crossed the room. His heart was racing and a cold chill was sneaking down his spine, but all of his focus was on reaching Isidore.
Around the edge of the doorway, he peered out and his heart threatened to stop. Sophia had pulled Isidore to his feet and was using him as a shield while holding the gun to his temple. She was significantly shorter than Isidore and of slim build, making him the perfect shield. He had no fucking shot.
“Gabriel?” Kairo bit out.
“I see her,” he calmly replied. “Just waiting for West to do his thing. You play distraction.”