Page 117 of Thorns of Silence

Cesar threw me a suspicious glance. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

I actually was. His constant words of caution were annoying as fuck. It was like having a nagging babysitter with a conscience following me around.

“I might need you to take care of stuff back in Trieste. The property needs some repairs. That should be peaceful enough for you.”

“Let me guess, you’ll continue ignoring Costello.” He snickered, staring out the window at Acropolis. “And fuck you. I’m not your maintenance man.”

“You’re right. You’re worse.”

“You mean I’m constantly saving your ass.”

“You must be really bored,” I declared, my tone somber. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be tempting me to shoot you.”

He didn’t seem affected one bit. “At least I’d get sick days then.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are we on this shit again? I told you before, Cesar. If you’re sick, be sick and stay in bed. I don’t give a fuck.”

He snorted. “So you can get yourself shot? No, thank you.”

“You’re right. You’re—”

My cell rang, cutting off our bickering. It was Amon.

“What’ve you got?” I answered, hoping he had information on Phoenix.

“You’re still in Greece?”

“Yes.”

“Phoenix is in Athens.”

Hope shot through me and I leaned against the desk to steady myself, my knees suddenly weak. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Reina saw her.” Doubt crept into me. My half sister was healing, but she wasn’t exactly completely recovered. At least not mentally. That could take years—I knew better than anybody—and her worry for Phoenix was her breaking point.

“Are you sure?” I questioned again, excitement in my voice. Could it truly be that I was so close? “I’ve been here for days and there’s been no trace of her. And it hasn’t helped that fucking Lykos’s men have been shadowing me like damn bloodhounds.”

“She’s certain of what she saw.”

“Fucking Lykos and his men,” I muttered. If they weren’t constantly hounding me, maybe I would have found her already. This was my confirmation she was here, and there was no chance in hell I’d leave now.

“You could have just told him you were coming and stayed at his place.” Amon’s reprimanding voice didn’t escape me. “It would have saved you time and energy. Instead, you were a stubborn ass and sneaked into the country like a thief in the night.”

I didn’t exactly sneak in, but that was purely semantics. When in someone else’s territory, it was customary to meet with them first. However, I had no time to waste on bullshit and customs.

“I don’t want to be wrapped up in his problems.” The man had kids and no wife to take care of them. His life sounded chaotic.

I could sense Amon’s frustration over the line. “What problems?”

“Dunno. We all have problems. I doubt he’s an exception. Besides, I didn’t want his little kids running around, annoying me.”

Children just weren’t my thing.

Amon sighed heavily, likely finished with this conversation. “Anyhow, there’s one thing you should be aware of.”

“What?”

“Reina swears the woman had red hair and a little girl with her.”