Page 85 of Lord of Ruin

When they didn’t say anything, I glared from one to the other. “Don’t go there. Christos is our cousin and he’s fucking lucky to be alive because Jenna had a premonition. Atlas’ mother is on her deathbed, but he chose to stay with me until the last minute. He might be dead too if he hadn’t left.”

“I’m not suggesting Christos is involved. You know that, brother. However, if one of the other three had nothing to do with the attack then that means you were followed,” Phoenix said in his calm voice, which had never worked on me. Not that it was used often.

“Yeah. Someone’s been watching. Jenna saw someone at Elena’s winery and out shopping. I think she saw someone when we were out today.”

“For whatever reason, either you or Jenna are targets. You need to take my advice and leave town now.”

I dropped my head for a few seconds until we all heard noise. When I glanced toward the door, every muscle tensing, the sight of Christos hobbling into the room was enough to spark my rage all over again.

“You should be in the hospital. What the fuck are you doing not resting?”

He continued forward, lucky he could walk at all. He’d been trapped by part of the SUV. Someone had told me I’d lifted it from his legs but it was definitely not in my memory banks.

“Because you all needed to know. I was checking on all possible parties involved. Viktor Marku is dead. So is Rocky Salvatore. They were gunned down just a couple hours ago. Some of their men too. It was all done assassination style.”

I stood up straight, spinning around in his direction. “And the person responsible?”

“Sean Donnelly has already laid claim to the kills.”

Huffing, I looked from one brother to the other. The Irishman from the New York mob had made his play. Maybe I’d found myself in more than one turf war.

“You’re fucking going to Greece as a starting point, Stavros, so you can find out more about Madden and his band of merry men. We’re going to take out part of New York, with the Brotherhood’s help.”

Phoenix was just as angry as I was. Now I was beginning to believe that forming the subsidiary of the Brotherhood was a good idea.

Perhaps after I returned from my hunting trip in Ireland, I would explore the option further.

I tossed back the rest of my drink, slamming the heavy crystal down on the bar’s surface. “Time to get busy.”

“What are you doing?” Nico asked.

“Packing. It would seem I’m going on a trip after all,” I answered.

Rage remained, tormenting my mind and my heart. I glanced out the window of the private jet, eager to go hunting. At least Uncle Dimitrios had a head start on tracking down Madden. He was already like a dog to a bone, which could indeed prove helpful. However, I was itching to spill some blood, volumes of it. Thank God, we were only a few miles out from the small airport in Santorini.

Greece.

“It’s beautiful,” Jenna said as she glanced out the window as the plane was ready to touch down.

“Yes, it is. How are you doing? How are you feeling?”

“Achy. Stop worrying about me. I’m just fine. Nothing a long hot bath can’t cure.”

“I was certain I’d lost you. I can’t fucking stand it.”

She turned her head away from the window, her eyes darting back and forth across mine. “I felt the same about you.” As she fingered the bracelet I’d given her, I thought once again about how close we’d both come to meeting our makers. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost her. “But I’m pretty tough. I keep telling you that.”

“What made you think something was wrong?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling I had. I kept thinking we were being followed. No, I didn’t see anyone. I’m so sorry about your two men.”

The plane hit with a thump and she gripped the armrest, a hint of fear in her eyes. I thought about Phoenix’s piece of advice to follow my gut. While it was telling me that she had nothing to do with any of this, the fact her landlord had been killed did mean she was at minimum a real victim. Right now wasn’t the time to let her know about Rocky or grill her with additional questions.

Including about her family.

I hadn’t wanted to face any possibilities, but she’d even told me she was Irish. I had no clue what I’d do if she had any kind of involvement.

“Don’t worry, my beloved. I will take care of you.”