AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Exactly.”
“Shouldn’t be hard.” Iryna flounced her long, pale braid over her shoulder. “See you in the morning.”
I smiled fondly after my sister as she returned to the villa. Dinner was a success. The greatest problem with Talia was not knowing when she was going to strike. If she ghosted about my home, bored and frustrated, that time would come sooner than planned. But if she felt like she was making progress with me, trying to get into my good graces so I trusted her, she wouldn’t cause any harm. And I could continue to delve deeper into the conundrum that was my wife, while also planning how to take down her father.
Swinging open the gate, I descended to the beach and made quick work of shucking my dress shirt and slacks. My leather loafers and watch nested beside them on the sand. Free of all encumbrances, I took to the water, mentally prepared for a vigorous swim. Naked, I plunged into the waves. The shock of the cold water wore off in moments, and my body fell into the rhythm of rigorous work. It was the only thing keeping my mind from wandering where it shouldn’t.
Chapter 22 – Talia
Although it was sunnywhen we landed, the Californian light seemed a shade dull compared to the paradise I’d just come from. Telling myself it was all in my head, I took my laptop outside to my balcony, knowing that to adjust to the time zone difference, I would have to soak up some rays.
Pulling up the messages of my email, I saw a number of correspondences from my father. They couldn’t wait any longer. He had no way of knowing that my communication had been effectively cut off, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about speaking with him. The first email was all about his disappointment over the wedding. While there were some very blunt phrases, it was all fluff his personal assistant must have composed. A weight shifted in my chest as I read the message; it wasn’t as scathing as I’d feared.
I clicked the second email. This one was written by my father and was only sent yesterday. He reminded me that there was a charity concert at the end of the month. Never having done anything for charity in my life, I scanned that email for our hidden code. The true message appeared not long after:
My attempts to negotiate with the butcher have failed.
He won’t allow me to ship with his fleets.
Product needs to be moved.
Arrange it.
Why was he even bothering? Dropping my head into my hands, I let out a long breath. My father knew what kind of monster my husband was. The butcher wouldn’t yield, not yet, and probably not ever! That was why the plan was to wait with these power plays until Drakos was dead and I was a widow. But during my one chance in Greece, I’d froze. Going forward, I would strike, but only if someone was set up to take the fall. I couldn’t be pinned with murder. Although, I doubted my father cared about that technicality, so long as the job got done.
While that was all well and good, there must be a reason my father needed this request seen to immediately. I also didn’t want to be the reason he was upset. Gathering my resolve, I pulled up a response. My fingers flew across the keyboard. I sounded like a giddy bride, having spent a secluded week away with her husband in one of the most romantic places on the earth. When I was finished, I reread my message, ensuring my code was accurate. The real message explained that my husband had literally kidnapped me, and there’d been no way to communicate since all my belongings had been deposited at the California mansion. It ended with a promise to immediately speak to the butcher concerning the shipments.
After pushing send, I rose and went to my closet. My room was airy. There was a small balcony, and the side wall contained shelves with a television set. The bed took up the other side, and the bathroom was complete with a soaking tub, double vanity, and glass shower. It was the walk-in closet that made it perfect. All my clothes were here in addition to the new pieces from Greece. The jewelry from my father was untampered with, stored in locked cabinets. I considered the cabinet but decided against pulling the jewelry out. The time wasn’t right.
There was no remorse in my heart. My husband would die. I would never reconsider, and failure was not an option. This hit required absolute success. I could never be blamed for his death. His kin couldn’t question me or have a reason to come after me. I had a life to live after this job. I would have earned a place in our world, and my father would find me invaluable for my contribution to our family’s rise.
I chose a simple dress and changed quickly. Exiting my room, I trailed along the short hallway that led off to other guest bedrooms. This second level had two wings, separated by a breezeway hanging over the foyer. My room was the only occupied one on the north wing, as Iryna had her own suite above the garage. The rooms on the south wing were all used by the master of this castle.
My sandals clipped along the hardwood floors as I passed the sweeping staircase that dropped from the breezeway. At the first door of the south wing, I knocked and waited.
A door, two down, opened. Drakos stepped out, black sweats hanging off his hips. His eyes sharpened as he looked at me, sleep vanishing from his features. “Talia?”
