Page 19

CHAPTER 19

A few minutes earlier

Havros

“Our stocks have taken a direct hit,” Dimitrios stated as I walked into the office. He’d called the urgent meeting less than thirty minutes before. As expected, he was none too happy to deliver the news.

“As expected,” I told him. The press was already buzzing about Theo’s death. They’d also gotten wind the police had been to our office. The shit just might hit the fan if we weren’t careful. Our company was solvent, stocks now being publicly traded. It had been a decision we’d wrangled over for months, only making it recently.

In doing so, it had made us much more vulnerable to the press and to our stockholders, as well as with the board.

“I’m going to call an emergency meeting of the board. We need to get ahead of this.” Dimitrios was noticeably pissed. I couldn’t blame him. We would be railroaded into certain failure if this wasn’t handled correctly.

“At least we have majority control,” I said as I thought about the fact this had to be all about Bernardi. While he hadn’t made any overt threats, we’d made certain his business had been crushed in the process of killing his son-in-law. The situation had gotten messy and very petty.

“It’s already gone public,” Christos added. “I had a reporter contact me already.”

“Yeah, me too.” Dimitrios closed his eyes. “They know an American reporter gave you an alibi.”

“The fucking detectives,” I hissed. “They want us publicly crucified.”

“Undoubtedly. And my guess is they’ll look up her credentials and she’ll be exposed.”

I fisted my hand, anger sweeping through me. “Great. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged in the middle of this.”

“From what you told me on the phone, she did so herself. She’s aware of the risks, the exposure of your affair.”

“We’re not having an affair.” I laughed when both men gave me funny looks. “Fine. Yeah, we’ve been intimate.”

“I knew it,” Christos chided.

“We’ll handle the public relations as necessary, but business remains the top priority. We move forward with the meetings in Europe no matter what happens or what’s reported. We’ll consider shutting down other operations until this shit goes by the wayside. I’ve called our attorneys. Do not say anything else to the police, Havros. Let our attorney handle it from here.”

I threw up my hands. “I have no intention of conversing with the bastards. They were fishing, but they’re on a mission. Whatever plan was created has been in motion for longer than we’ve realized.”

“I expect the stock will drop even more in the morning. I don’t mind telling you, I don’t like this. We’ve worked too hard to get this far and we can’t let anyone bring us down.”

“I thought you had control of the police department.” Christos was almost as hot as I was.

“The Hellenic police are the least of our worries,” Dimitrios told both of us from behind his desk. We all had an office at Club Sin and Shame, although over the last few months we’d rarely used them for business purposes. In our attempt to appear entirely legitimate, our reputation didn’t pair well with late night meetings. Still, the space had proven useful over the years.

“You think this is about Bernardi as well?” I asked.

“It’s looking more and more that way,” Dimitrios said as he swirled the drink in his hand. “I’ve put boots on the ground, soldiers checking with all our informants. What’s bad is that we don’t have anything definitive yet.”

I nodded. He was right. The man was attempting to bring us down from an implosion instead of a direct attempt at either assassination or theft of our product. “He had Theo killed. Of that I have no doubt.”

“Yet the police want to pin his murder on you.” The Boss was contemplating making some crazy order to the troops. I knew how his mind worked.

“I wonder what’s next? Have me sent to an insane asylum?” At least Christos could still joke. He could also give me shit about being goaded by Aldo as well, which he’d done several times.

“I wouldn’t put anything past the motherfucker at this point. We need to obtain a signed contract in both Paris and Milan. At least we can move forward on the third club within Greece. We’ll soon have pressing business and customers in both cities.”

Pressing business included expanding our diamonds market, legal yet our methods of selling could be considered crossing an ethical line. It was much easier to use the guise of reputable clubs to handle our export business activities. At least with using various methods of payment, money laundering was kept to a minimum.

“We should consider locking down any further shipments until we have control over this.” My suggestion was met with both men nodding. “We’ll be placed under a microscope even if the police aren’t calling for a complete investigation. People shy away from making deals with anyone under the gun.”

“What about a press release?” Christos suggested.

Dimitrios drummed his fingers on his desk. “Not a bad idea. If we do, I’ll need to have it carefully worded. I’ll talk with the attorney when I meet with him in the morning. Above all, it’s business as usual.”

“Agreed,” I muttered, although I wasn’t certain anything could be handled as usual for the long term.

“How’s it going with the reporter?”

Now my older brother was grinning.

“Journalist. I think she’d tell you in no uncertain terms she’s more qualified than a reporter hamming it up on television or in People magazine.” I headed to the bar, finally allowing myself to enjoy a drink. It had been a long time, longer than I’d expected. However stressful it had been, the time spent with Kara had been the most disconcerting. The fact she was bound and determined to hate me had pushed my anger and my nerves to the edge.

“She’s insanely pretty,” Christos told me.

He laughed when I gave him a harsh look after turning with the drink in my hand. “Don’t you think about it. The time spent has been interesting. She’s very talented, but also determined to do this her way even after signing the NDA. She offered me the alibi today against my wishes.”

I noticed the look with brows up my brothers had given each other.

Dimitrios whistled. “I’m not certain what to make of that.”

“Did you have her background checked before agreeing?”

He nodded. “I’m well aware of what her father does in his current job. I also know he was the American ambassador to Italy. From what little I’ve read, he was well liked, very personable, and had the respect of his peers and enemies alike. He abruptly left his job.”

“Doesn’t that strike you as some crazy coincidence? You know how we all feel about that.” Christos had a damn good point.

“It’s possible she’s working with the Cosa Nostra. Just another part of the plan to derail us from the inside out.” I hated admitting that I could have been snowed by her feminine wiles and heavy banter, but with things getting out of hand, I had to look carefully at every possibility.

“Anything is possible at this point. You should do whatever it takes to find out. There’s also something in her past that concerned me. Her mother died mysteriously. I found nothing to indicate what happened or if it was by natural causes or something else. I had to have my men dig deep to find what little documentation there was.”

“Perhaps her father was in a position to help whatever happened disappear,” I suggested. What had my little kitten really been up to all this time?

Christos slumped into one of the two other chairs. “Sending a reporter to another country to help the Cosa Nostra. Seems a bit farfetched. Did you discover anything else out of the ordinary in her records?”

Dimitrios looked at me first. “Her mother’s death coincided with her father leaving his position. There are also no notations as to why, but six months later he appeared as a US Marshal.”

“From what I’ve heard, they often work with international law agencies when a fugitive from another country steps foot on American soil.” I was musing more than anything, but an ugly picture was being formed in my mind.

“Interesting. You need to spend more time with her. I trust you can break her.”

Christos threw his head back, staring me in the eyes. “I don’t think he’s going to have any problem with your request, brother.”

“Don’t do that! Currently, she’s busting my balls. That’s the issue. She’s determined to discover all our dark secrets. The news broadcast about Theo’s murder had her reeling. She asked me point blank if I killed him.”

“Smart girl, and as far as busting your balls, somebody needs to do that.” Dimitrios laughed. “It’s good to see you spending time with someone. But you should be very careful. She could be the best kept secret and mole we’ve ever encountered.”

“You asked me to take over the interview on purpose. Didn’t you?” I pointed my finger at him.

“Let’s just say I know your tastes in women. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Besides, Willow has been bugging me to death about finding the right woman for you. Now, I almost regret my decision. With you being single, she had another way of gaining information.”

“Since when has your wife been allowed to play matchmaker?”

Christos shook his head. “Since he finally accepted Willow has him wrapped around her teeny pinky finger.” He wagged his for emphasis.

“Very funny,” Dimitrios barked. “But she’s right. We’ll thrive if we have another life. That means the two of you. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

“Boasting much?” I snapped at him playfully. “I’m not looking for a relationship and trust me, that woman is only interested in skewering my balls.”

“I knew you sucked in bed.”

I made a fist at Christos, pretending to give him several brutal blows. It was good that all of us had finally started to laugh and joke again. It had been tough for a long time.

Dimitrios was staring at me, or as he usually did, right through me. Just like Kara had managed to do in two short days.

“I assure you I can handle her interrogation tactics. I’m the master of doing so.” I was itching more than ever to have her wiggling underneath me. She would eventually break. I would see to that.

“You like her. I mean really like her.” Dimitrios’ expression was almost sad.

“Don’t worry, brother. If she’s not who she reports herself to be, I will handle the situation.” How, I wasn’t certain at this point.

“I know what you’re capable of, Havros.”

As our mother had often told us. She’d raised four boys who enjoyed displaying emotions. We’d been forced to learn how not to over the years. “She’s something else, I will say that, but it’s bad timing.” And it was. My instincts had been on high alert since learning about Theo’s murder. I had the sense some additional crushing blow was going to come down on us.

“I understand that you don’t want to be seen as a weakness, but you can’t live your entire life under that suffocating rule you’ve placed on yourself. You can balance the two worlds. Just make certain she’s not out to destroy our family and you certainly have my blessing.”

It was true that my older brother had successfully done that, but I wasn’t the best at juggling various items on my plate. In marrying his best friend’s niece, he’d added a forbidden concept to his personal relationships, but they were blissfully happy and in truth, I was envious as hell.

“How could I make that happen? By surrounding her with guards?” I asked.

Dimitrios lifted his glass. “You do what’s necessary to enjoy every minute spent together.”

“Kara would refuse to live that way. Besides, we all need to concentrate on business. Pleasure will need to wait.” Except I would use pleasure to gain what I wanted, just like she’d done with me. I’d been sucked into her deep blue eyes and stunning voluptuous figure. While our passion hadn’t seemed faked in any way, there were definitely women posing as femme fatales who were capable of playing the good actress.

Just like she’d done today.

Dimitrios rolled his eyes. “Lighten up. This rivalry has gone on for years. You’ve confirmed Bernardi’s involvement in Leandro’s death. At least that’s one aspect of business that’s off the table.”

“You’re suggesting this vendetta is completed?” I wasn’t certain he would answer me.

“Unless something else happens, I believe it is. I’ll hold onto that thought until we deal with Bernardi, but Leandro needs to rest in peace.”

I wasn’t entirely certain I bought it unless Willow’s influence had been even more significant than I’d believed.

“I say we make a trip to see our friend Bernardi anyway,” Christos suggested. “He’s gunning to get into Greece as well as a few other countries. If he does, he’ll have the most power of the other members of the five families. That will place him in the position of being considered the true Godfather. Why not pay him back in kind?”

The Italians were staunch advocates of the old ways, ancient practices that included having someone hold the top dog position. The envy and greed of being able to do so had started many a war over the years.

“You know what I don’t get? The man is aging out,” I reminded him. “With his son-in-law six feet under and no other children, Bernardi is the last of his line. The other members of the families won’t accept a non-blood–related Don.” I’d learned a great deal about the Cosa Nostra over the years.

“Unless…” Dimitrios mused. “He does have a half dozen mistresses.”

“You’re thinking he has an illegitimate son somewhere?” I asked. It was a distinct possibility, but I would have thought by now that the Don would have presented the boy or man in public.

The Boss rubbed his jaw. “It’s worth seeing what we can find. He could also marry again, finally producing heirs. Something else to consider. If this thing goes to a war, we’ll need to use all our skills to defeat him. He’s clever and he has decent soldiers and employees working for him.”

“Another reason the man should be visited in his home environment.” Christos looked from one of us to the other.

“Not yet. It may come down to that, but we need to ensure he’s behind the recent activity. Either Aldo had been stupid or paid very well to eliminate Theo.” Whatever the case, he’d been willing to die for the privilege of taking out a mole that had been used.

“Havros has a good point. We’ll wait. First, the meetings. We’ll know by then. If they go south for any reason, we won’t be able to hold back from taking matters into our own hands in a less professional manner.” Dimitrios gulped his drink, his brow furrowing when we heard a knock on the door.

“Why do I have a feeling this will be very interesting?” Christos laughed and headed for the door.

One of our bartenders was on the other side of the door. He nodded in respect to all three of us. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought you needed to know something before I had her just tossed out.”

“What?” I asked, noticing he had something in his hand.

“There’s a guest who was caught taking photographs. She also spent time asking me pointed questions.”

“About?” I walked closer, my gut telling me this had everything to do with my little kitten. She’d blown off lunch and any further time spent today under the guise she needed to work on her article. I hadn’t realized that included becoming an investigator.

“She asked basic questions about whether I liked working here and what the three of you were like. Then she made it more personal, asking about you, Havros.”

Christos laughed. “Let me guess.”

“When she started taking pictures, I went to the Preacher Man to see if he knew anything about her. Anyway, she deceived him by trying to suggest she was a reporter here for Jagger Holt’s arrival.”

The Preacher Man. One of the bouncers who took the time to listen to every employee’s sob story before offering his assistance. Including by the use of his fists or his weapon.

“I forgot the dude was coming today,” Dimitrios said in passing. “Did you think to ask Mr. Holt if this person is actually with his party?”

“I did. She’s not. However, she does have realistic-looking credentials.”

Gino presented what he had in his hand. One look at the picture and my balls tightened. “Thanks, Gino. I’ll handle it from here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where is she now?”

“Being watched like a hawk. She’s in one of the staterooms.”

The staterooms. The staff had taken to calling the series of private rooms after the White House, given the number of politicians and celebrities who’d rented them out for whatever business was on their minds. “Excellent job.”

As soon as he’d closed the door, I took a deep breath. “This woman is going to be the death of me.”

I spun around on my heel, handing Kara’s New York Times ID to Christos.

After Dimitrios glanced at it and grinned, he sat back in his seat, acting far too comfortable. “What are you going to do about this?”

After thinking about his question, I allowed my grin to spread from ear to ear. “I’m going to tame a savage beast. My way. Trust me, brothers. She will learn that obeying my every command is the only way she’s going to survive.”