Page 26 of Lord of Ruin

While there was little to smile about at this point, she’d been the bright spot of my trip. Now I only prayed I could get her to some kind of safety.

Here I was shifting into acting as if I was a decent man.

Nope. It was never going to happen. Not under any circumstances.

Including for a woman, no matter how beautiful and desirable she was.

CHAPTER 8

Jenna

I’d been captured by a beast in expensive clothing, one covered in a dead man’s blood. The images would forever haunt me.

I was sick inside, my stomach twisted in knots.

Stavros was in another elegant suit, one that fit like a glove, adding to his sensual yet dangerous look, but that couldn’t disguise who or what he was.

A murderer.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized he was mafia. He was obviously a weapons expert. Very few people could have made the shot he had in the dark. I knew that much from everything my dad had taught me about weapons, ensuring I understood I had to respect them. And Stavros had done so with ease, no hesitation. He truly was a cold-blooded killer.

Yes, I had to be thankful that he’d saved my life not once but twice, yet I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I’d been shoved into a lavish, private jet, and offered whatever I wanted to eat or drink, including alcohol to try to make my flight more comfortable.

Meanwhile, the bastard had remained on his computer, searching for God knows what. He’d remained quiet, never asking me another question.

And I certainly hadn’t wanted to talk to him.

I peered out the window as the pilot touched down on the runway. It appeared to be a private airport, no commercial airplanes in sight. Plus, I could see a thick gate surrounding at least some of the property.

His Capo, Christos never took his eyes off me. They were both Greek, their olive skin an indication but where Stavros had a light accent, Christos had a heavy one. I was obviously still in a fog since I couldn’t help but think it added to his sex appeal. Was every Greek male basically a god in disguise?

The plane rolled to a stop and I took a deep breath. There were hundreds of questions in my mind, but I didn’t have the fight in me to ask them. I was exhausted from the emotional trauma, unable to focus on much of anything. My stomach churned from the thick knot, my throat dry since I’d refused to drink anything. I had no way of knowing whether or not he’d try to poison me. Great. Now I couldn’t take a deep breath.

Stavros noticed I was struggling to breathe normally, whisking off his seatbelt in the blink of an eye. “Are you alright?

“How am I supposed to be alright? How? I was almost shot at point blank range, had a bastard spank me, another try to rape me, and it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. No, I’m not okay. On top of the shitshow you shoved me into by choosing my street to chase whoever you were running after, my landlord will eventually toss every scrap of expensive equipment into the street or worse, laugh as he sells them for cash. He’ll enjoy torching my pictures and my desk, just because he’s the kind of man who hates women. I’ve been taken to a city far removed from where I live, not told how long I’ll be here and I have no clothes other than what I’m wearing. So, you explain to me how I am supposed to be okay.”

“Whew,” Christos said as he rose to his feet, heading to the door so we could leave the lush surroundings.

Stavros grinned at my expense. “I’ll get you everything you need. We’ll talk more but not until you’re safe inside my house.”

“Right. As your prisoner.”

“As my guest, a woman who was kind enough to remove a bullet that could have turned infectious. Come. We have a vehicle waiting. One of my drivers is here.”

“How many drivers do you have?”

“Enough. I also have soldiers. You’ll get to meet them.”

“Who are you really? Some billionaire dude who enjoys playing with guns?”

He chuckled as he took my arm, leading me toward the stairs. I wasn’t certain whether or not to expect another round of gunfire or maybe I’d be placed in shackles. While there were two massive SUVs, both dark in color, and I counted four additional men, all wearing suits, at least they weren’t carrying assault rifles.

However, I almost laughed out of nervousness because it was a perfect depiction from The Sopranos or some other made-up series about the mafia. Plus, weren’t they all supposed to be fat and balding? I was obviously close to hysteria. At least not enough that I wasn’t aware of what was going on.

Christos immediately headed toward the group of men while Stavros’ phone rang. He gave me a stern look, likely warning me not to go anywhere. I wasn’t certain where he thought I could go given the facility was surrounded by a gate.

However, when he turned and walked away a few steps, I quickly scanned the area before nonchalantly slipping my hand into my bag, trying to be discreet when I pulled out my phone.