Chapter19 - Simon
We’re sitting in the car outside the coffee shop. The location is perfect. I was careful when I chose it. Big glass windows give my security team all the visibility they need to keep a sniper rifle aimed right at the old man’s head. They can keep an eye on us without needing to be inside the cafe with us. Guaranteed the old man has security lurking around here, too. I’ve already spotted two suspects. It’s expected, though. As he must expect us to have the same.
“You ready?” she asks from the passenger seat, and I pull my eyes off the scene and look towards her.
She looks pale again. Her body is tense. Her lips are tight. Her eyes are filled with worry.
“I’m ready,” I tell her, reaching for her hand. “And don’t forget. You say the words, and we leave. And I’m right next to you, princess. You aren’t doing this alone.”
She smiles nervously, a slight tremble in her hand. “Thank you,” she whispers, her eyes locking with mine. I lean forward and kiss her. I’m nervous too. I’m scared that something goes wrong, and something happens to her. But this really is the right move. We can’t always be a step behind him. It’s our turn to make a play.
“Let’s go choose the table by the window before he arrives. We want the security team to be able to see us,” I tell her.
She takes one last deep breath and then pushes the car door open. I wait for her to step close to my side, then wrap my arm around her as we walk towards the coffee shop. The normalcy of walking into the small cafe is in such contrast to the tension of the moment that it almost makes me want to laugh.
We take a seat facing the door. Selene is sitting close to me; her thigh pressed against mine beneath the table. I can feel her body trembling lightly.
We sit for only three minutes. Tense minutes, but not a long wait, before Alek Mykros arrives.
He walks into the coffee shop with a broad smile on his old face.
The wrinkles deepen as his smile widens when he sees Selene.
“Sweetheart,” he sings happily, walking faster towards our table and leaning over to hug her in her seat. She goes so stiff I almost grab him and push him off her. But then he’s standing again and offering me his hand. “The all too well-known Simon Volkov. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. We should have done this ages ago,” he says, as friendly as ever. He moves around as though he’s done nothing wrong. He speaks as though we are old friends catching up. He gushes over his daughter as though he loves her deeply and wouldn’t harm a hair on her head. And I watch him through it all, I watch every micro movement in his face, every flicker of his gaze.
Alek Mykros. Right now, he is the man he presents to the public. The friendly grandfather with a nice smile. The man who posts charity events and family photos on his Instagram page. He is kind, gentle, and welcoming.
But I know the snake that lurks beneath the crinkled skin. I know the lines that etch the side of his eyes are not from smiling too often, but rather from frowning.
I know who he really is.
“Selene, it’s really good to see you. You are looking so healthy. You’re glowing. It warms my heart.”
“Father,” she says carefully. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”
He scoffs and waves his hand through the air with a lighthearted laugh. “Of course, I was hoping every day you would reach out to me. I thought… I thought you were angry at me. Because…”
“Because you held me prisoner for five years?” Selene blurts out.
I slip my hand beneath the table and place it gently on her leg. It wasn’t the plan for her to confront her father today. The plan was to smooth-talk him into giving up information. But I see the emotions in her eyes. I feel the shake in her body. She needs to confront him more than she needs information. In this moment she her anger wins. I squeeze gently against her leg. She doesn’t seem to notice.
“You locked me away and treated me like the enemy,” she says bitterly.
“No, sweetheart, you’ve got it all wrong. Everything I did was to protect you. I kept you safe. I kept the twins safe. I would never purposefully harm you!” He is so defensive, so shocked by her accusations, I want to slap him. I’ve seen the scars on her body.
Selene purses her lips and lets out a slow breath of air. “Protect,” she mutters coldly. “That is not what I would call it. Torture is so much more appropriate.”
“Selene!” he gasps in horror. “No! Oh no! I hate that you think that. I wish… I thought… I was trying so hard to do what was best for you. I was doing my best as your father…” He looks wounded as he hangs his head, hurt by the accusation.
My eyes narrow, my gaze piercing through his mask of kindness and emotion.
He is a master manipulator through and through.
Selene has started shaking more. The confrontation, what she hoped to gain from it, is not happening the way she saw it happening. He isn’t going to acknowledge her pain or what he did to her.
Instead of playing the same game of innocence that he is trying to play, I get straight to the point. The sooner I can get Selene away from him, the better I will feel.
“We don’t appreciate the recent string of attacks you have imposed upon our Volkov businesses. If you don’t stop these attacks, we will be forced to take action against you,” I say calmly.
