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Dahlia Andreadis’ firstinkling that something was wrong came when the limousine she was riding was refused entry...to her very own home. She gaped as she listened to the voice coming from the intercom, unable to believe someone could be so idiotic. What was this? An attempt to take over her own home in broad daylight?
Her chauffeur looked at her over his shoulder, worry stamped all over his face. “I’m sorry, Madam Andreadis. He says if you want to go inside, you must go inside on foot.”
Something skittered over her veins, like a traitorous snake about to strike at her. She took out her phone and dialed the number of the police chief. She listened with growing consternation as the phone only rang – and kept ringing until it was disconnected.
Ungrateful peasant, Dahlia thought furiously. She did not pay him so much every month to have him ignore her calls. Throwing the door open, she stomped out of the car and stalked straight to the ornate gates that were held close against its own mistress.
She opened her mouth to scream invectives at whoever was behind this, but the words died in her throat when the gates swung open. When she saw what was before her, Dahlia’s knees shook, and only sheer pride kept her standing.
All of her men were on the ground, most of them looking like they had gone through hell. And guarding them were an unsavory-looking crowd, not one of them even looking remotely Greek to her. How were they able to enter her compound and not have her own neighbors raise an alarm?
It took her a long while to climb the uphill path leading to the mansion. Every step had her feeling more and more unnerved, the silent stares of the foreign-looking intruders around her creating an ominously eerie atmosphere. All her guards avoided her gaze as she passed them by, as if merely looking at Dahlia would have their heads cut off.
Nothing about this made sense, Dahlia thought numbly.Nothing. Why was this even happening?
She couldn’t think of anyone who was angry enough at her family to do something this drastic. No one except for—
“A word, Mrs. Andreadis?”
Her head jerked up and she gasped, her face mottled with fury when she saw the man standing at the top of the stairs. “You!” It was the police chief himself. “What’s going on here? How dare you—”
“I’ve been asked to give you a message, Mrs. Andreadis.”
“I don’t give a damn,” she screeched. “You will pay for this—”
“Helios Andreadis says,an eye for an eye.”
Her heart dropped to her stomach at the words, and Dahlia almost swayed on her feet.Helios.He was here again, and this time he meant business. Let sleeping dogs lie. Wasn’t that how the American saying went? Ah, but with Helios, it was more like a slumbering predator of a lion, and she had stupidly prodded him awake and roused his temper.
She looked behind her, seeing all of her guards were still down on the ground, every one of them rendered helpless by the mighty force that Helios had brought in. Dahlia looked back at the police chief, whose face was unflinchingly calm.
Helios must have set him up for life to win his loyalty so quickly. But then, he had never really been loyal to her, had he? He had only been loyal to money, and it just so happened her stepson was able to throw more of it his way.
The point was, everyone, perhaps even her neighbors, had been paid to look away today, no matter what happened. The chilling thought had her swallowing. What did Helios want to happen now?
****
“What the hell are youdoing here?” Herod shot to his feet when he saw his bastard of a brother enter his office at home, cool as you please, like he was a welcome part of the family.
Helios slowly cracked his knuckles. In his mind, he could see MJ, her violet eyes filled with too much pain that made it impossible for her to even cry. Somewhere in this world, the woman he cared most about was hurting beyond tears, and Herod Andreadis was one of those to blame for it.
If not for the damn stunt Herod and his damn mother had pulled that time, Helios would not have been injured. He would not have been lying flat on his bed, resting, while MJ was abducted, her noiseless cries of help going unheard.
Herod was standing right in front of him now, haughty contempt on his face. “Do you have something to say before I have the guards throw you out?”
“I’m not going to play fucking nice this time.” It was all the warning Herod Andreadis got before his younger half-brother proceeded to try, really try, to beat the hell out of him.
Herod had never seen Helios this angry, not even when he had pulled that stunt with Odessa some years back. His lips, bleeding from the uppercut Helios gave him, parted, Herod wanting to make a jibe but Helios not giving him a chance to.
Fifteen minutes later, and the legitimate heir of the Andreadis clan had no thoughts left for making Helios lose his temper. There was nothing to lose, Herod realized, since his brother had long been replaced by a madman.
He tried to protect himself then, but it was useless. Helios had always been bigger, faster, and stronger. There was no way to protect himself from the kicks that landed in his stomach, his legs, and his back. There was no way to stop that one powerful hit which had his ribs cracking.
He tried to escape, but soon enough he realized there was nowhere to go, not when his own mother, Dahlia, was screaming outside the door.Mother.He tried to ask for help, but Helios’ fist punched the word back into his throat, and Herod fell to his knees. He choked, spat, and to his horror, he saw his own teeth fall onto the carpeted floor.
“Let my son out,” Dahlia was screaming.
Someone answered her in a voice too low for Herod to hear.
