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“The quicker we get to Miami, the sooner we’ll have answers.”
He slowly turned his head, the darkness unable to hide the fact he was searching for answers in my eyes, maybe hoping for some brotherly wisdom. At this point, I didn’t have any. “I’ll meet you at the airport in less than an hour.”
“Good. We can’t fuck this up, Stavros. If you’re going to be my underboss, then I need your support.”
He lowered his head out of respect. “You’ll have it.”
What was the saying about keeping your friends close but your enemies closer? That’s exactly what I was doing.
* * *
Whitney
I found Phoenix sitting in a lone chair in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window in his office. A half empty bottle of whiskey was placed on a table, the cap still off. The darkness was even more oppressive than it had been before, my mind a blur as to what he might be facing.
No, not just him. My insistence at going with him weighed heavily on his mind. I’d seen it in his eyes. As I moved closer, his breathing changed, his chest rising and falling from exertion. I slid my hands across his shoulders, immediately starting to massage his tense muscles. He didn’t try to stop me, nor did he say a word.
The silence between us was deafening, my pulse racing. I started to hum for no other reason than I needed the noise to breach the awkwardness. It was worse than when I’d believed him to be my enemy.
Phoenix sipped on his drink, and I could swear he hadn’t blinked since I’d walked into the room. Finally, his muscles started to relax, his breathing returning to normal.
And I continued humming.
“You should be sleeping,” he said in such a hushed voice that I wasn’t certain he’d spoken at all.
“I couldn’t sleep because you weren’t there.” I stopped what I was doing, taking the glass from his hand, placing it on the table. Then I slowly moved in front of him, easing onto his lap.
He peered up at me, aimlessly brushing his fingers on my back. “What were you humming?”
“Something my mother used to hum when I was little and couldn’t sleep. She’d stay by my bed for a full hour, stroking my hair. I’d concentrate on her voice and all the boogeymen would finally leave, realizing they couldn’t terrify me any longer.”
As he’d done before, he pulled my palm against his lips, planting several kisses. “I’m worried, baby. I don’t want to lose you.” He continued fingering my hand, returning his stare to the window.
I lifted his chin, forcing him to look into my eyes. “Then don’t allow that to happen.”
Huffing, he took several deep breaths. “If only it were that easy. I’m risking everything by what I’m doing.”
“Meaning what?”
“I have a bad feeling your father was used in a vicious game.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t want to say anything at this point. The timing isn’t right but if I’m correct, it will destroy people I care about.”
“You still think it’s Jonas.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. I won’t jump to conclusions until I know for certain.”
“When you read whatever my father sent me.”
“Yes.” He lifted his head, trying to smile to give me comfort.
“What if it doesn’t provide what you need?”
“There are other methods of flushing out a rat. However, they’re not nearly as effective.”
“Violence.”
