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I take a deep breath before letting her in on what has been going on. Zoe remains silent once I finish. I know the look on her face, and she is beyond pissed. When she purposely turns her head toward Malichi, I motion for Yiorgos to step in front of him.
“Zoe, he is not the enemy. I mean he was at first but he’s on our side now,” I state firmly.
Through clenched teeth, Zoe angrily demands, “Where the fuck can I find your old boss? No one threatens my sister.”
“We’re handling it, Zoe,” Yiorgos informs.
“And how are you handling it Yiorgos, because if you were then that man would not have boldly showed up at her damn bookstore?” Zoe questions.
Before he can reply there is a loud boom from an explosion downstairs, shaking the apartment. The security alarm to the bookstore begins to blare.
“What the hell was that?” I yell as Yiorgos wraps his arms around me again.
“I don’t fucking know, but you and Zoe stay here while we check it out,” he orders.
“Do you smell that?” Basil asks, sniffing the air.
The smell of smoke starts to fill the room as my smoke detectors in the apartment beep loudly. This cannot be good.
“Change of plans,” Yiorgos yells. “We need to get you two out of here, now. Basil, call 911.”
As we rush to the stairs, his cellphone rings.
“What the fuck is going on?” Yiorgos fumes as soon as he answers the call.
“A car drove past and threw something through the window, we’re chasing them now,” a man’s voice on the other end replies.
“Get those motherfuckers and bring them back to me,” Yiorgos snarls as we make it to my front door where smoke is seeping in.
He opens the door to a cloud of smoke. I dash around him to the stockroom door. Opening it, my heart sinks. The front of the bookstore is engulfed in flames.
Running to the fire extinguisher behind the counter, I grab it and pull the pin. I go around the counter and start to spray the flames closest to me. The sprinklers from the ceiling have come on but the fire continues its destruction. The water mixes with my tears as I try to save what I have worked so hard to build. Large arms bear hug me from behind.
“Kitten, we need to get out of here. The fire department is on their way, but I promise you, that motherfucker will pay for this,” Yiorgos vows in my ear as I struggle to break free from his clutches to no avail.
He carries me back into the stockroom, then out the back door where the others are waiting.
The sound of the fire trucks in the distance blare loudly as Yiorgos lowers me to the ground. Zoe races over to me, throwing her arms around me.
“I’m so sorry, Sis,” she cries.
I have no words to say back to her as my hands stay locked onto the fire extinguisher. This has to be a bad dream; I think to myself as everything around me fades to black.
In my dream state, I find myself laying in the enormous bed of lavish bedroom. Where am I? This room looks like it’s suited for someone rich and famous with all the white and burgundy swirled furniture. Looking up at the high ceiling, there’s a window with the moon glowing down on me. Glancing around the room, my eyes stop when I see an image of Tahir sitting in a chair on the right side of the bed with his head down. He is older than the last time I saw him but he’s still as handsome as ever, looking like daddy with his low tapered fade. In this dream he has a mustache and goatee.
“Tahir,” I whisper.
He raises his head and smiles. “You’re awake.”
“No, this is a dream. I’ve had many since you left and in each one you’ve changed your appearance,” I groggily counter.
Tahir laughs, getting up from the chair, then sitting on the bed.
“Well, I hate to tell you little sister, but this is not a dream,” he states.
I stare at him before bringing my right hand in front of my face, then doing the Prince finger movements. Next, I grab a portion of skin on my arm and pinch hard. The pain that comes after lets me know this is definitely not a dream.
Looking at my long, lost brother, I sob, “Tahir, how are you here? Where have you been?”
