“I should have known you’d turn out like your mother.”
I slit my eyes, boring him with a lethal stare. “What?”
Under his breath, he muttered, “I’ll never forget how happy I was when that bitch finally died.”
I shuddered, overwhelmed with need to destroy this vile man. For that comment about my mother. About me. But most of all, about the wife I loved.
Killing him would be too fucking easy. It would be too quick of a reward. Besides, I knew his death belonged to Avra. She should be the one to end this piece of shit. It was time to throw this fucker off his throne.
Instead of launching at Ozias, I tipped my head. The guards surrounding us hadn’t left. They were always there, waiting and watching, blended into the background.
I caught the eye of the leader, who was focused on me. I gestured forward, flicking my fingers in a come-hither motion. I directed him to surround my genetic donor, the man I hated from the deepest depths of my soul.
Ozias Xenos would finally learn the majority of the Xenos men only answered to me, not him. They hadn’t taken orders from him in over a decade.
The soldiers moved forward as the trained unit they were and surrounded Ozias.
“What the fuck is this?” He shouted his outrage and moved his head from side to side, looking at them all.
“Stand down. Stop. I said stop!” His voice rose as hestood, stunned in furious disbelief. “Make them stop. Stand the fuck back!”
They tightened the circle, blocking off any chance of escape. I remained where I stood, watching, assessing, and enjoying the show.
“I order you to stand back. What the fuck are you doing? Listen to me!” His face was pinched with anger, red and sweating as he bellowed useless instructions none of them followed.
Two of them grabbed him, securing him in their grasps and sending him down to his knees with deft kicks and confident maneuvers for holding a prisoner. He struggled, cursing and spewing spittle as he demanded that they release him.
Satisfied to see him on his knees, captured, and learning the true strength of his power, I watched as he puffed and bucked, frantic to get free. I wouldn’t let them kill him. Not yet. Not until he spoke and told me all the details of the hits he’d put on Avra’s sisters. On her.
“You won’t win,” he spat, snarling at me. “Even if you take over completely, you won’t win.”
I raised my brows, amused he’d still cling to his insane beliefs.
“We’ll see,” I replied, turning to leave. It was past time to return to Avra. I’d bring her here and show her how I’d captured him. We’d work together to torture him and get the details out of him about the hits on her sisters.
“Before you go,” he sneered, breathing heavily from the exertion of his struggles, “I’m curious.”
I stopped, not turning back to face him as I listened.
“Does your wife know where her dear baby sister is?”
I whipped around, catching sight of his sinister smirk.
Everything in me froze. My heart stopped, then thudded into overdrive time. My lungs drew in shallow pants as panic kicked in.
Calista? No. She is too young. Too soft. Too gentle.
I could only hope it wasn’t too late to save her.
Twenty-Five
Avra
“Where’s the garlic?” Laya asked, pretending to gag after taking the first bite of her sandwich.
I wadded a napkin and tossed it at her face. “Oh, shut up.”
“It’s so plain. We’re Greek. Give me flavor.” She gestured with her hands and gave me a goofy smile that had me returning one.