Page 35 of Marcellus: House of Drakos

The bodyguard stood at the double doors of the palace suite as Alex, Kari, and Oz got off the private elevator and made their way to the entrance.

“Hello,” Alex said to the bodyguard.

“Hello, Mr. Drakos, how are you, sir?”

“I’m well, thank you. Will you let your employer know that I’m here to see him?”

“Right away, sir,” the bodyguard said as he quickly entered the suite.

“We have to wait for him on our own property?” asked Oz. “This is batshit nuts.”

Alex looked at his brother.

“Okay okay. I’ll zip it.” Then he added, beneath his breath: “For now.”

It took only seconds before the double doors were open, the bodyguard stepped aside, and Alex, pulling Kari in front of him, and with Oz behind him, all entered the suite. The bodyguard stepped out and closed the doors behind them.

Marcellus and Savannah stood up from the sofa as the threesome walked toward them. Savannah still had on her red dress and heels, and Marcellus wore another one of his dark, tailored suits.

But even though Marcellus looked the part, his heart was hammering.

It was the first time he’d ever been in the same room with his half-brothers.

They were privileged growing up, and he was penniless.

His mother hated them so he hated them too.

And his hate, and bitterness, only grew when his mother died penniless and alone.

They say sex was a mighty Aphrodite, but for Marcellus hate was.

It embedded itself deep inside of him, and every time he thought about his mother and how she struggled so, and how his so-called father, with just a snap of his fingers, could have helped her so tremendously but he wouldn’t even do that, it ate at him.

And just seeing the two of them in all of their magnificence brought it all back. It still ate at him.

But he was a businessman first and last. His first impression of Alex Drakos, his baggage aside, which was a tall order, was actually a positive one.

He always seemed like a decent fellow whenever he saw him on television or over the internet.

Alex the person didn’t compute with the hatred he felt for him.

But Odysseus, on the other hand . . . computed perfectly with that hate.

But he put that aside too. He wasn’t here to unite a family that never was a family. He was there for help.

Savannah didn’t know why she was there. She offered to go into the bedroom while he handled his business with his “brothers,” but he insisted she remain by his side.

He even looked her in the eyes. “I need you to stay,” he’d said to her.

And loyal as she always was, that was all she needed to hear. She wasn’t about to leave after that.

She’d heard about Alex Drakos for years, and knew his face from the tabloids and other news reports of his various exploits. She even asked Niko once if they were related, since Drakos wasn’t an everyday name, but he said they weren’t. And that was all he ever said about it.

Marcellus explained to her on the plane about the bad blood between the Drakos family of France versus the Drakos family of Greece, and she then understood why Niko didn’t want to claim any connection.

But seeing the two titans of industry together in one room, and the heightened tension it immediately provoked, was an unnerving sight to behold.

Would they fight it out or talk it out? She was ready either way.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was out of her depth.

She felt like an interloper at a time when it should have only been Marcellus and his brothers.

Although Alex Drakos’s wife was there too.

Now that was an impressive woman, Savannah thought.

Some news outlets used to describe her as if she was to Alex Drakos what Eleanor Roosevelt was to FDR. In other words, more useful than attractive.

But they had her all wrong. She was a powerhouse alright, but she was a beauty too.

In her own, unique way she had that “it” factor in spades. She was most impressive.

The other man, however, the younger one, was very good looking, but kind of oddish too. With that long hair and that big hat and that long coat although the weather was mild, she didn’t know what to make of him. Didn’t know much about him either.

But if there was any adult in that very tense room, her money was on Alex Drakos.

He was older than Marcellus and the guy she decided to refer to as Long Hair, and he had an aura about him that not unlike the aura Marcellus had, that made clear he was not about the nonsense.

And when Alex Drakos walked up to Marcellus and extended his hand, it only confirmed her suspicion.

“Welcome to The Drakos,” he said to his half-brother. Marcellus shook his hand.

When their hands touched for the first time in their lives, and they were face to face in the same room together, both of them felt something ignite between them.

It was as if they never believed they were truly related even though they knew they were.

But they were so far from each other in every way, and had never been in any rooms together ever, that it always seemed more surreal than real. When their hands touched, it felt real.

“I’m Alex,” Alex said as they removed their hands. “This is my wife Karena.”

Kari smiled. She knew from the picture she saw of Marcellus Drakos online, when Alex finally mentioned that he had a half-brother, that he was a very attractive man.

But that photo didn’t do him justice at all.

He was beyond gorgeous. He could give Tommy Gabrini a run for his money in the looks department, and that was saying something. “I’m Kari, hi.”

“Hello Kari.”

“And this is my younger brother Odysseus,” Alex said. “He’s known as Oz.”

That fit, Savannah thought.

“Hello Oz,” Marcellus said.

“Why are you here?” Oz asked him. It was obvious to Marcellus and Savannah both that he wasn’t going to even pretend to get along. He didn’t want them there.

“I’m here to speak with your brother.”

“What about?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Savannah thought that was a little rude of Marcellus, given where they were, but she understood it. The guy was rather aggressive unnecessarily she thought. And Marcellus’s response, though it didn’t ease the tension, was proportional.

But Alex’s brother stepped into Marcellus’s personal space. “Anything that happens at The Drakos is my business,” Oz shot back. “Now what do you want?”

Marcellus ignored him. “This is Savannah Richardson,” he said to Alex and Kari. “She’s my lady.”

She’s my lady. Did she hear him right? Savannah hadn’t expected him to go that far in public when they themselves had only just had the discussion. But it warmed her heart. He was all in. Which was all she ever wanted.

But Oz smiled. “Your lady? Don’t you mean one of your ladies? I hear you’ve got many on that little island of yours.”

Marcellus looked Oz dead in the eyes. “Where’s your wife? I hear she’s rarely with you.”

Oz was offended, and surprised that he would know that kind of detail about his life. But he recovered. “At least I’ve got a wife. At least I’ve got enough good sense not to bring my whore into a respectable establishment!”

As soon as he said the word whore, Marcellus punched Oz so hard across his face that Oz thought Floyd Mayweather had hit him. That one lick packed such a punch that it wallowed Oz, and before he knew it he dropped down on his ass.

“Call her a whore again!” Marcellus yelled over his body. “Say that shit again!”

But Oz was as stubborn as a mule when he was angry, and he was enraged. How dare his father’s bastard try to handle him! And when Marcellus dared him to call Savannah a whore again, he did just that. “Whore!” he yelled out. “She’s your whore just as I said!”

Savannah knew enough about Marcellus to know that he wasn’t going to stand for that.

She tried to pull him back, but she could tell he was enraged.

He snatched away from her and grabbed Oz up, carried him by the catch of his shirt all the way across the floor, and then threw him violently onto the other sofa.

But when he reached down to punch him again, Oz blocked the shot, grabbed Marcellus down to his level, and both men flipped over the sofa as they fought to get the upper hand.

“Alex, do something!” Kari said frantically to her husband, but Savannah could tell Alex Drakos wasn’t entirely against his brother’s aggression.

The bad blood between those two sets of kin apparently ran so deep that Alex was willing to let them work it out.

“Just stay out of it,” he said to his wife.

His arm was in front of her barring her from movement.

Oz had the upper hand after the two brothers fell over the sofa, and then he flung Marcellus onto his back, got on top of him, and began punching him violently.

But Marcellus managed with all he had to throw Oz off of him and get to his feet. Oz jumped up quickly too, and then both men began punching each other. Then Marcellus threw Oz against the wall and kicked him in his balls.

But when Marcellus went low, Oz went to hell. He pulled out a switchblade, flapped it open as if he was one of those teenagers in Westside Story, and was ready to cut that bastard’s penis off.

Alex knew then he had to intervene. A fist fight was one thing. A knife fight was different. He knew that both men were gutter fighters from way back and they had taken it to a level just moments ago he didn’t think was possible.

And he took over. “Drop the knife, Oz,” he yelled at his brother. “Drop that knife right now!”

But Marcellus knew Oz’s ass wasn’t dropping shit, so he attempted to take it from him.

He grabbed Oz’s hand and both men began a fight for control of that knife.

There was going to be blood. It was written on both of their hate-filled, enraged faces.

But it wasn’t going to be Marcellus’s blood. Not if Savannah could help it.

When both men went into a death grip for control of that knife, Alex rushed over and tried with all he had to separate the two men. But both were younger than Alex and too strong. But he kept trying.

Savannah could see that Oz, who was younger than Marcellus, was getting the best of the fight.

He was within inches of stabbing his own half-brother.

And if it hit the wrong organ, Savannah knew that could be all she wrote for Marcellus.

Just the thought of Marcellus no longer on this earth terrified her.

That was why she ran behind Oz, lifted her leg, and with the heel of her stiletto shoe she kicked Oz as hard as she could right up his ass. She kicked him so hard she fell on her butt.

She kicked Oz so hard that it felt like an iron rod had been forced up his ass. He screamed out in unbearable pain, dropped that knife, and held his ass. “What the motherfuck!” Oz yelled out as he kept turning from left to right to see what happened to him, and who did it to him.

When he realized Savannah had done it to him, the woman he referred to as a whore, he was stunned. So were Alex and Marcellus as Alex picked up the knife and closed it. They were all astonished.

But Kari was laughing. She couldn’t help it. She was bent over with laughter. “Now that’s my kind of sister right there,” she was saying.

Oz was about to go for that sister, and Marcellus jumped in front of Savannah about to go for Oz, but Alex put his arm in the way and stopped them both.

“Okay that’s enough!” he yelled to his younger brothers.

Marcellus deserved an ass kicking, as far as Alex was concerned.

That woman did too, after what she did to Oz.

But not on Alex’s watch. “Just cut it out and cut it out now!” he ordered.

And finally order was restored.

Marcellus helped Savannah back to her feet.

He wanted to pull her into his arms. He wasn’t sure what she’d done, but he knew it had something to do with Oz’s ass because he was still holding it.

Which brought joy to Marcellus’s heart. He didn’t just have the lover of his life in Savannah.

He had a partner in her. A true, hardcore, ride or die partner.

In that moment he knew it like he knew his own name.

She was fearless. She was his. And he was loving it!

Oz picked up his fallen hat, alongside his fallen pride, and kept his eyes on that . . . woman. He certainly couldn’t call her a whore anymore. What whore would fight for her man like she was willing to do? She could kiss his ass, she and her man both, but he had to respect her game.

Alex gave Kari a look that made clear she was out of line with the laughing, causing her to suppress her grin.

But she couldn’t help it. Savannah kicked the shit out of Oz’s ass.

She couldn’t wait to tell Jordan. She couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the family.

They were never going to let him live it down.

But when the two men eyed each other again, they both broke free and was about to attack again.

But this time Alex didn’t hesitate. He jumped in between both men and pushed first Oz and then Marcellus to keep them apart.

“Sit,” he ordered them. “You act like dogs, I’ll treat you like dogs. Now sit!”

Marcellus and Oz stared at each other again, angry that their sneak attacks were thwarted, but they did as they were told.