Page 50 of Beneath Scarred Vows

I check the time on my Rolex. 6:45 p.m. Dimitri should be here soon. His plane landed an hour ago—he's back from Greece with news.

I want to talk to him without Theo. He's been pushing his thoughts too deep into all this, and I don't want him influencing Dimitri.

A few minutes later, Dimitri is walking through my office doors.

I stand and give him a hug. "Good to see you, brother. Flight all right?"

Dimitri nods and walks over to my bar and pours a drink. He holds the decanter up. "Want some?"

I nod. "Sure."

He pours me a drink and sits down.

"It's a fucking mess, bro," he says and takes a sip. "Contradictions left and right."

"What do you mean?" I ask, setting my drink back down without taking a sip.

He leans forward in his chair. "I don't know how this is possible, but I spoke to five different families all over Greece. They all say different shit."

"Do any of them link Zervas?"

He shrugs. "Two out of the five. The others make wild claims or say they don't know anything."

He takes another sip of his whiskey. "You went out there with Dad. Is there something he said? Maybe it didn't seem like anything, but?—"

"No," I say firmly. "I've fucking racked my brain every day since. He only told me we were stopping by on our way back here. He wanted to fix that villa up we have by the water."

Dimitri nods. "Yes, I remember you telling us."

"I never saw that man in the picture Theo showed. But you know Dad. If he didn't want you to know about something, you didn't."

"Oh yeah, and that guy—George, from the Popolus family, a small faction outside Athens—he's the only one who claims to know who that guy was."

I sit forward. "Did you find him? Did you talk to him?"

Dimitri puts up his hand. "Don't get too excited. It wasn't the guy. Me and six others showed up at this poor bastard's house at three in the morning, and I think he pissed himself he was so scared."

I shake my head. "So, no?"

Dimitri finishes his drink. "No. Kind of looked like him, but no, wasn't him. Whoever that guy is in the picture with Dad—he's a ghost."

"What about people claiming to have seen him right after Father's death?"

"Yes, a few different people confirmed that. But they don't know who he is."

I slam my hand down on the table. "Dammit, we need to find that motherfucker."

"Yes. I've got all our men, plus our allies out there looking for this guy. If he's in Greece, we'll find him."

I lean back in my chair and rub my chin. "Yeah. Thanks, Dimitri. You've done a good."

He stands. "Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to head home. Jet lag's a bitch—even after bouncing back and forth most of our lives," he says with a laugh.

"Sure. No problem."

Dimitri goes to leave and stops at the doorway. "Oh—how's the whole thing going with, uh, Katerina?"

I sigh. "Good, actually. I'm surprised, but I think things will work out."