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“What did he say to you? Anything that might shed some light?”
I thought about the question. The truth was that I’d blocked out some of his incessant chatter. I’d disregarded him and had since the first time he’d contacted me. “That he’d sent me something important and that I’d know what to do with it. I don’t know what that means.” There’d been more to the conversation, but I’d blocked it out, unable to remember anything.
Elena sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. “Sometimes when we’re forced to deal with a situation we don’t want to, our brain plays tricks on us, unable to remember details. Maybe something will come to you.”
“I hope so. Again, I’m sorry, but maybe you didn’t know him as well as you think you did.”
“Do we really know anyone?” She shifted her gaze toward Jonas, the tic every time she did probably not one anybody else would notice.
But I did.
“You’re in love with him,” I told her.
A warm flush swept across her cheeks, and she nervously gave me a quick glance. “I have been since tenth grade, but don’t tell Phoenix that. He was my first and always love.”
“They hit the hardest and never leave. You’re going to be forced to marry someone else?”
Her face beamed. “Maybe not. My darling brother gave me the okay to explore a relationship with Jonas.”
“That’s who you’ve been texting all afternoon?”
She placed her finger against her cherry-stained lips. “Don’t you dare tell on me.”
“It’s our secret.”
My reward was another bright smile. “We have shopping to do so drink and be merry. No more discussions about family. We have plenty of time to discuss the good, the bad, and the terribly ugly about living the life of a Greek princess.” She was making fun of herself and in that instant, I knew we’d become fast friends.
I took a sip of champagne, enjoying being able to spend time with another female. I missed Elizabeth; her spunk and attitude had always kept me on my toes. “What can you tell me about your brother?”
“Which one?” she asked coyly as she ran her manicured fingernail around the rim of the glass. “Stavros is an arrogant bull with a penchant for violence. Nico is sweet and kind, far too good to be a part of our family. Then there’s Phoenix, a man who thinks the sun rises and sets on him. The question is. What do you think?”
“I think he’s exactly as you described, but all huff and puff.”
“Oh, he backs that up.”
“Maybe so but he’s a creampuff in the middle.”
She burst into laughter, her voice loud enough several tables glanced in our direction. “Trust me that you will be in some kind of trouble if you say that to anyone, especially Phoenix. He’s a good man, Whitney, but he’s also as feared as he is respected.”
“I know he has two sides, but I’ve seen what he can do, the devastation he can create.”
As she leaned over the table, the pointed look in her eyes caught me off guard. “Translation. Because he’s a killer. Right? He’s a criminal. In fact, according to everyone in this city the entire family is. Do my father and my brothers engage in certain questionable tactics? Yes. That’s what the family had done for generations. That’s all they know.”
“And the children will be brought up the same way. I don’t see how that’s acceptable.”
“The majority of the Diamondis Empire is entirely legitimate. That’s where Phoenix is taking the organization. But that can’t happen overnight. He’s in control of a billion-dollar empire. If he loses that control, there will be immediate chaos. Besides. Do you honestly believe that there’s more than a handful of men and women in high powered positions who haven’t used their share of shades of gray to reign supreme? What do they call it, morally gray? You’re not that naïve, Whitney. I can already tell.”
“The information my father stole was to gain power? Is that what you’re saying?”
“If he really did, I don’t think it was about him wanting control but about staving off some form of retaliation. That meant he had a weakness and if I had to guess, I’d say his weakness wasn’t gambling. It was you. Maybe your life was threatened. If my brother found you, don’t you think someone else could?”
Her frank words forced a shiver down my spine, but she was right. I needed to get my hands on that information. “I’ll admit to the possibility.” Which made me feel even worse.
“Just don’t think the worst of your father. Trust in your instincts. Listen to your heart. That’s what my mother always taught her daughters.”
“And her sons?”
“They’re too hardheaded. Or as Mama would say,gemátoi apó ton eaftó tous.”
