” Kapani Vlali Market…
“How long have we been here?” Aimee’s arms were growing numb from the ropes and she really needed to use a bathroom. “Hey! Is anybody out there?”
“What are you doing?” Kassi hissed. “Quiet down.”
Aimee ignored her. “Hey! I need to talk to you.” The metal door to their prison opened with a loud creak and the man in charge entered the room.
“You had something to say?” Drossos stopped several feet away from them.
“Yeah! How long are you planning to keep us here?” Aimee demanded.
“That all depends.” He smirked. “Did you have a pressing engagement this evening?”
“No, I have a pressing need to pee!”
The man scowled. “Such vulgar language from such a beautiful mouth.”
Aimee’s glare deepened. “I don’t see any reason to pretty it up for you. You’re not likely to appreciate it as is evidenced by our current accommodations.” She knew she was playing with fire, but this entire situation made her furious. “Why do you want Leo anyway? What did he ever do to you?”
“Personally, nothing. But by virtue of his birth, he stole my future. His father’s actions destroyed my family and since I can no longer get my revenge through Vasil, I intend to get it from Leo—the only Moustakas twin still alive with the power to give me what I want.”
Aimee and Kassi shared a look as the man paced away from them. Keep him talking, Kassi mouthed.
Aimee nodded. “What future are we talking about here? What exactly is it you want?” she asked Drossos.
“Do you know what it’s like to grow up, knowing that everything your father did for you was for naught?” he demanded with venom in his voice. “To watch your mother die daily because her husband was humiliated? To know your father died alone in a cold, dark cell?” He stopped talking for a moment, his face contorted in pain. “To watch the court system reward those who caused so much pain and sorrow in your life, keeping you from ever knowing the glow of success because your last name is synonymous with a criminal?”
Aimee swallowed. “No, I can’t say that I do.”
The man paced towards them, his expression filled with hate. “Well, I have personal experience with all of that. I watched my father work three hundred and sixty-five days a year to build his future, only to watch him hauled away to the prison cell where he died. I watched my mother sink into a depression so deep she ended up being shut away in an institution.”
“I’m sorry about your father and mother, but what does that have to do with Leo or us?”
“Leo is just a pawn in a game his father set up years ago. Vasil thought himself smarter than everyone else. Then Alexi came along, growing the shipping company rapidly. But their success is only a mirage. They paid the courts to side with them. Vasil honestly thought he could buy my silence. I couldn’t get to Vasil while he was still holding the reigns of the company, but that all changed when Alexi fought me in court. Alexi had no qualms about using his power and influence to make things turn out in his favor. He didn’t care about justice or doing the right thing. The courts didn’t either. I decided if they didn’t have to play by the rules, then neither did I.”
“But I don’t understand what you get by killing first Alexi and then Leo.” Aimee’s confusion showed on her face.
Drossos paced the floor. “I didn’t count on Leo stepping in and taking over the company. I thought Vasil would come out of retirement and I’d finally get my full revenge.”
Aimee swallowed. “But Vasil didn’t come out of retirement.”
“Okhi, he didn’t. I decided the only way to completely avenge my father’s humiliation was to kill them all.” He looked at Kassi and Aimee and then shook his head. “A pity really, such beautiful women paying the price for one man’s actions.” Drossos looked at his watch. “You have a little over an hour left. If you feel the need to bear your souls to anyone, you should do so before I return.” He turned and walked towards the metal door.
Aimee shivered. “What happens when you return?”
“You’ll be out of time.” Drossos laughed and then left, slamming the metal door behind him.
Aimee took a deep breath, fighting back the fear she felt. She looked at Kassi. “We need to get out of these ropes. Now.”
Kassi nodded and the two women went to work. There had to be a way to save themselves—and they only had one hour to find it.
*****
Alexi paced the floor, his hands clenching as his frustration grew. He wanted to be in the market, helping to find Aimee and his cousin. Standing on the sidelines, only listening to what was actually taking place was unbearable.
The radio crackled as Piotr and his men reported back their findings. “We’ve narrowed it down to several buildings in the area. All of them are abandoned, and several of them match the description of the windows seen in the video.”
“So, what happens next?” Alexi asked.
“Have you gotten the address for the meeting place yet?” Piotr asked, the radio crackling with static.
“He just sent them. It’s a building near Aristotelous street. He wants Leo to come through the alley entrance.”
Piotr’s indrawn breath came across the line. “Drossos must really feel confident that he’s won. That’s in the same area of the buildings we’ve identified. Do you think he’s bringing you to where he’s holding the girls?”
“I don’t know,” Leo replied. “Alexi’s email seems to have flustered him. Maybe he thinks he has the upper hand and is going to kill all three of them at once.”
“His confidence is going to be his downfall.” Piotr murmured to someone in the background and then asked, “How soon can you both get down here?”
“You have a plan?” Alexi was anxious to be part of the action.
“I do. Drossos wants you to enter from the alleyway, and Leo will. But Alexi, you and a team of my men will enter at the same time from the front of the building. Hopefully, when Drossos sees you both, it will give us just enough of an edge to take out his goons and keep everyone safe.”
“That’s pretty risky, isn’t it?” Leo asked. “I’m willing to do it, I just don’t want to see anyone get killed today.”
“I’ll be waiting for you with bullet proof vests. Wear loose fitting shirts when you get here.”
“We’ll head that direction right now.” They turned the radio off and looked at one another.
“I hope this works,” Leo said..
“Do you need to tell Gemma what’s going on?”
“She’ll just worry and then get the parents worried… No, this is one instance where I’ll tell her everything once the danger is past. I won’t risk upsetting her or endangering the baby.”
Alexi agreed. “Then let’s go end this. To think, I’ve been dealing with this maniac for two years and it will all end today.”
Leo slapped his brother on the back. “When this is over, we need to talk about the company. I don’t want to leave you to do it all alone again. I want to re-distribute the stock so that you and I both have equal shares.”
“You’re going to return my shares to me?”
“Well, not all of them. I want to make sure Kassi is taken care of and I would like us both to give her some stock, enough to provide her a comfortable living if she should decide she doesn’t want to work. She seems to like playing the rich heiress.”
Alexi laughed. “I’ve noticed that. What about Piotr?”
Leo smirked. “He’ll have to handle that on his own. If she’ll have him again.”
“Again? I knew there was a history there, but not the whole of it,” Alexi told him.
“I don’t know all of it either, but from what I’ve seen, Piotr truly does care for our cousin. She seems to have mirrored those feelings at one time, but something happened to change her mind.”
“You don’t know what?”
“I’m not sure I want to know. Piotr will ask for help if he needs it. What about you and Aimee?”
Alexi grinned at him. “Don’t worry about Aimee. I’ll handle things with her.”
“Will she have you?” Leo inquired.
Alexi’s smile faltered. “That is the question, isn’t it? She seems to have a problem with both my wealth and my need to control things. The chemistry is there, but she’s strong and likes to fight it.”
Leo slapped his brother on the back. “Well, if anyone can make her see reason, it’s you—and I feel sorry for anyone who gets in your way.”
Alexi swallowed. If he was to have any chance of winning Aimee, he first needed to save her life. I'll find you, he vowed. And when I do, I’m never letting you get away from me again.
*****
The warehouse…
“Can you pull your wrist out yet?” Aimee felt the warmth of blood as it trickled from her broken fingernails. She and Kassi had been picking at each other’s rope for the last few minutes, making only minimal progress in getting themselves free.
“I think so.” Kassi tugged her arms several times. “Damn, that hurts. I don’t think I have any skin left on my wrists.”
“I’m trying not to think about how bad my fingers hurt. I’d rather deal with the pain later and be alive to do so.” Aimee yanked on her own ropes. She gave a small shout of joy when they started to give. “Almost there.”
She yanked again, the rope digging further into her wrist. She bit back her cry of pain. Almost there. I have to get free and get Kassi and I out of here. I have to get back to Alexi. I have to tell him…
She gave another strong tug and suddenly the ropes around Aimee’s wrists fell away. “Got it.” She wriggled until she worked one arm free, her shoulder aching terribly from being contorted backwards for so long. She undid the rest of her ropes and then helped Kassi with hers.
“Now what?” Kassi looked around the room they were in. “There’s only the one door, and that really dark hallway back there.”
“Well, we know what’s on the other side of the door, so let’s try the hallway.” Aimee scanned the room, seeing nothing useful. “I wish we had some sort of weapon.”
“We’ll just have to be really careful,” Kassi whispered. The sound of voices on the other side of the door sent the two women scurrying to the hallway.
Aimee led the way, walking gingerly into the dark, cold space. “I wish I could turn my phone on but we can’t risk it.”
“I can’t believe that maniac didn’t take them,” Kassi whispered back.
They kept walking, waiting for the cry of alarm to go up when it was discovered they were missing. Aimee paused and listened. “Did he come back inside the building?”
“I don’t think so. I never heard the door open. It scrapes against the concrete.”
“Good observation. Think it’s worth the risk to turn my phone on and see where we’re going?”
“It has to be. I think something just scurried across my feet.” Kassi shuddered.
Aimee pulled her phone out, holding back a moan of pain when her injured fingers bumped against her legs. She pushed the button and then held the phone out in front of them, letting their eyes adjust to the light. “There’s a door up ahead.”
Kassi started toward it. “Let’s see if it will open.”
They reached the door and pulled, but while the door handle turned, the door itself seemed to be stuck. “It won’t open.” Aimee felt a sense of panic.
“Here, let me try.” Kassi took her place in front of the door. She pulled with all of her might, but the door only moved a fraction of an inch. Panting, Kassi turned to Aimee. “Now what?”
A shout of alarm came from behind them. Aimee swallowed. “Now we both pull and pray it gives. We’re out of time.”
They pulled back on the door, gaining an inch, and then several more before it finally swung open, flinging both of them to the ground.
Aimee was the first to regain her feet. She grabbed Kassi’s arm. “Let’s go.”
They ran through the doorway. Aimee gave a silent sigh of relief as light from the high windows filtered into the dusty space. Furniture, covered in dusty drop cloths, filled the space. As they moved towards the other side of the room, their footprints left an obvious trail in the dust.
Just as they reached the exit, Drossos’s voice stopped them cold. “Not another step or I will shoot you both in the back!”
Aimee closed her eyes, despair rushing through her. Alexi, I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you how much I loved being held in your arms.
Kassi’s low curse brought her eyes open and she shared a helpless look with the young woman.
“Turn around, slowly,” Drossos commanded. They did so. He waved them towards him with the gun. “Walk back here. Slowly.” As they approached, he sneered. “Congratulations on your escape attempt. I hadn’t thought you to be so resourceful. Alas, it was in vain.”
He ordered them back into the hallway. Soon they were back in their makeshift prison. “Sit down. I don’t have time to tie you up again, but if you give me any trouble, I will shoot you. It matters not to me.” He said it so coldly, Aimee knew he wasn’t joking. She turned to Kassi, but Drossos saw her movement. “And no talking. I should have gagged you both.”
A knock sounded on the metal door. Two of the goons from earlier stepped inside with Alexi between them.
Aimee barely contained her gasp. Kassi reached for her hand, the pain from the contact making her eyes water.
“Leo, I’m glad to see you can follow directions. Join us, won’t you?”
Aimee looked into the eyes of the man who’d stolen her heart. Fear for his safety surged through her veins as she realized the deception he and his brother were attempting to pull off. What if Drossos isn’t convinced? What if he discovers that Leo is really Alexi?
*****
Alexi looked at the two girls and tried to let them know help was on the way. “Let the girls go. Your battle is with my father and now me, not them.”
“Oh, that was once true, but not anymore. I misjudged you and it occurred to me that if you were going to be a threat, what was to stop the women from also becoming a threat? The only way to prevent one of your family from running the company is to get rid of everyone. You, of course, will be signing over control of all stock to me before that occurs, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Right now, I just want to savor the feeling of my victory.”
Alexi wanted to punch the man. He couldn’t, not until Leo and Piotr made their appearance. “Do you honestly think anything I sign right before I die will be honored by the board? Or the courts? The country will seize control of everything and you will find you’ve gone to all of this trouble for nothing.”
Drossos shook his head, “No, you’re wrong. Once I speak to the board, they’ll realize the wisdom of allowing me to run the show. The government won’t be involved at all.”
Alexi laughed scornfully. “You thought you knew how the government worked before and see how that turned out. The only way you come out ahead is if you let us all live, and you and I come to some kind of arrangement.”
Drossos sneered. “You’re suggesting we work together?”
“That is one way things could work. Or I could simply give you enough money to go wherever you wanted and start the company of your choosing—or no company at all. You could just relax and enjoy your wealth.” Alexi kept his eyes on the man. He saw a slight movement in the dark hallway beyond Drossos, and tightened his expression, not letting a hint of his relief show.
“Take my offer, Drossos. You’re not as smart as you think you are. All this time, you were sending your emails to no one. You were sending them to Alexi’s private address. Did you know that?” Alexi asked, nonchalantly
Drossos shook his head. “You got my emails. You answered one just this morning.”
Alexi smiled as Leo strode from the hallway with Piotr and half a dozen men with their rifles raised right behind him. “Actually, my brother sent you that email.”
Drossos spun around, sputtering in confusion as his eyes took in both of the Moustakas twins. Alive and well. “You! You’re dead! What trick is this?!”
“No trick—just setting the record straight and getting rid of a nuisance.” Alexi told him. Piotr and his men made short work of disarming Drossos and his goons.
Leo stepped towards the girls, hugging first Kassi and then Aimee. “Are you both alright?”
“A little banged up but we’re good,” Kassi informed him.
Alexi was there when Aimee turned around, wrapping her in his arms and holding her close for a long moment. He pulled back, searching her face to see that she was indeed alive and well. “Aimee, I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Aimee hugged him tight. “I was afraid I was never going to see you again. Why would you put yourself in harms’ way like that?”
“I needed to make sure you were safe.”
“By making yourself that psycho’s hostage?”
Alexi hid his smile. “While I’m pleased to know that you were worried about me, you didn’t need to be. I’m here now and everything’s going to be alright.”
Drossos cursed loudly as the metal door opened, preventing Alexi from saying more. Alexi looked to see all of Drossos’ men filing inside, their weapons missing, and their hands held over their heads.
“This is all of them,” one of the security guards told Piotr.
“Good. Cuff them and call for a wagon to haul them off. Let the authorities know we’ll be filing charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, extortion, and anything else we can think of.” Piotr shook his head at Drossos as he passed him. “Against my better judgment, Alexi asked to speak with you alone.” He looked at Alexi and told him. “I’ll be back in two minutes to haul out the rest of the trash.”
Leo took Aimee’s elbow, pulling her gently away from Alexi. He turned her towards the exit door. When Piotr reached for Kassi’s arm in the same fashion, she jerked way from him and shook her head. “Don’t.”
Piotr cursed. “After all of this, you’re still going to cop an attitude with me? There was a time when you didn’t pull away from my touch. Remember?” Kassi refused to look at him and he shook his head. “I was right earlier, you really do need a keeper. ” He strode forward. “I’ll help Aimee, you take that one.”
It doesn’t matter who takes who. Just get them out of here. Alexi would never forgive himself for letting Aimee and Kassi get kidnapped. He wouldn’t feel easy until both women were back at the estate.
The door closed, Alexi looked at Drossos. After so long trying to track him, he felt only sadness for a man who had wasted his entire life trying to correct a perceived wrong. “How did you do it?”
“Do what?” Drossos snarled.
“How did you mess up the radar system on my yacht? It’s the only explanation for what happened I can come up with.”
Drossos laughed bitterly. “Thanks for the compliment, but I didn’t do anything to your radar. I did arrange to intercept your radio signals and give you faulty weather reports, but if you and your men didn’t see the storm system on the radar screen, that was simply an unfortunate coincidence.”
Alexi took a deep breath. “Was it worth it? All of this to defend a man who didn’t deserve your loyalty?”
“My father deserved my loyalty! Everything he did was to create a better future for my mother and me. He wasn’t hurting anyone... But your father suddenly found his morals.”
“My father never lost them,” Alexi told him quietly. “Something your father never understood. I’m sorry you wasted your life trying to avenge a man like that.”
The door opened and Piotr stepped back inside. “The wagons are here. It’s time to go.”
Alexi strode out of the building, leaving Piotr to deal with the man who had cost him so much.
Aimee waited for him at the end of the alley. When she saw him, she ran to meet him.
Alexi enclosed her in his arms, kissing her passionately. She moaned in pain and he pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
Aimee lifted her hands, showing him her torn fingernails and the burn marks on her arms from the rope. “I’ll be okay, I just wanted to hold onto you.”
Alexi caressed her cheek, searching her eyes. “I was so scared when I saw that video. Are you really okay?”
Aimee nodded her head, tears filling her eyes. The events of the afternoon must have been starting to catch up to her. “I was really scared…”
“I know, ómorfi. My beautiful, brave one.”
“I’m not beautiful.” Aimee sucked in a deep breath. “Alexi, I need to tell you… I didn’t mean it when I said I wanted you to leave me alone. I was just scared. You live in this world where anything is possible and I knew I didn’t belong.”
Alexi placed a finger over her lips. “You do belong because I say you do. My world is not all that different from yours…”
“Except you have more money than Croesus and can do anything you want.”
“I don’t have quite that much money, but I like the idea of doing anything I want. Know what I want right now?” Alexi pushed both hands behind her neck and lifted her face up to receive a tender kiss.
Aimee leaned forward, whispering against his ear. “I want to take a long hot bath, and I want a gorgeous man to wash my hair… My hands will hurt too badly to do it myself, and then…”
Alexi kissed her passionately once more, effectively silencing the rest of her wish list. When he finally pulled away, it was to hear Leo and Kassi clapping from the corner. He smirked. “I forgot we had an audience. As for your wish list, it matches mine almost completely. Let’s get you home and see about making both of our wishes come true.”