4. A Violent Homecoming
1005 Words
The air in the room shifts again. Thicker. Heavier.
Three men walk through the door my father is holding open. They don’t look like doctors. They don’t look like visitors. They look like an invasion force.
"Is she ready?" the first one asks. He’s the oldest. Thirty, maybe. Dark hair, serious eyes, a scar cutting through the stubble on his chin. He looks at me like I’m a logistical problem he needs to solve. This must be Nikos.
"She is resisting," Father says calmly. He steps back, letting the younger lions take the floor.
"Of course she is," the second one says. He’s leaner, with a smile that’s sharp enough to cut glass. He leans against the doorframe, checking his phone like this is boring. Andreas. "She’s a Kostas. We don't go quietly."
"Enough talking," the third one growls. He pushes past them. He’s a ball of kinetic energy. Tattoos creep up his neck from under his t-shirt. He’s got the same green eyes as me and Father, but his are wild. Manic. Leo.
He stops at the bed. He looms over me, smelling of tobacco and gunpowder. "You look like s**t, little sister."
"Get away from me," I snap, scrambling backward until my back hits the wall. My ribs scream in protest, but I ignore them. "I'm not going anywhere with you psychos."
Leo grins. It’s not a nice grin. "Dad said you were feisty. I like it."
"Leo, grab her," Nikos orders from the door. "We're burning daylight. The shift change is in five minutes."
"On it."
Leo moves fast. Too fast. Before I can kick out, he bends down and scoops me up.
"No!" I scream. "Put me down!"
Pain explodes in my side, white-hot and blinding. I gasp, tears springing to my eyes, but Leo doesn't stop.
"Easy," Andreas says, pushing off the doorframe. "Don't break her before we even get her home."
"She's fine," Leo says. He starts walking. "She's tough. Aren't you, Princess?"
I’m not tough. I’m terrified. But I’m also furious.
"I said put me down!"
I thrash in his arms. My hand finds the meat of his forearm. I don't think. I just react. I sink my teeth into his skin.
Leo doesn't drop me. He doesn't even flinch.
He laughs.
It’s a loud, booming sound that echoes off the hospital tiles. "Did you see that?" He looks back at Nikos, grinning like a maniac. "She bit me! She actually bit me!"
"She's scared, you i***t," Nikos says, holding the door open. "Move. Now."
They march me into the hallway. The nurses at the station look up. One reaches for the phone. Andreas steps in front of the desk, flashing that charming, dangerous smile.
We don't go to the lobby. We go to a service elevator at the end of the hall. Nikos swipes a key card. The doors slide open.
"This is kidnapping," I wheeze, my head spinning from the pain and the motion. "People will look for me."
"No one looks for a ghost," Andreas says, stepping in behind us. The doors close, sealing us in. "Your records are already wiped. Alina the waitress doesn't exist anymore."
The elevator drops. My stomach lurches.
"You can't just erase a person," I whisper.
"Watch us," Leo says.
The doors open to the basement garage. It’s cold. Damp. A line of three black SUVs sits idling, exhaust puffing into the gray air. Men with earpieces stand by the doors.
"Middle car," Nikos commands.
Leo dumps me into the backseat of the center SUV. It’s built like a tank. Thick leather seats. Tinted windows. The door thuds shut with a heavy, solid sound. It locks instantly. Click.
I scramble for the handle, but it’s useless. Child locks. Or prisoner locks.
Leo slides in next to me, taking up half the seat. Andreas jumps in the front passenger side. Nikos gets behind the wheel.
"Buckle up," Leo says, tapping the seatbelt. "Athens traffic is a bitch."
"I hate you," I say, my voice trembling. "I hate all of you."
"You'll get over it," Nikos says, watching the rearview mirror. His eyes are cold slate. "We're moving. Convoy tight."
The engine roars to life. It vibrates through the floor, a deep, powerful growl. We peel out of the garage, tires squealing on the concrete.
I press my face against the cold glass. The city blurs by. My city. But it looks different from inside this armored cage. Distant. Unreachable.
"Why?" I ask, clutching my side. "Why now? After twenty years?"
"Because they found you," Andreas says, not looking back. He’s checking a tablet, his fingers flying across the screen. "And we had to get to you before they finished the job."
"Who?"
"The people who put you in that hospital bed," Leo says darkly. He’s not smiling anymore. He’s watching the side streets. Scanning. "It wasn't an accident, Alina. They tried to kill you."
A chill that has nothing to do with the AC runs down my spine. "It was a car accident. I didn't look..."
"You were targeted," Nikos says. "We intercepted the chatter."
We merge onto the highway. The convoy is moving fast. Too fast. Weaving through traffic like a snake.
I look out the back window.
A black sedan is cutting through the cars behind us. It’s aggressive. Ignoring lanes.
"Is that us?" I ask, pointing.
Leo twists in his seat. "Contact rear!" he shouts.
"I see them," Nikos says. His voice is calm. terrifyingly calm. "Vasilakis."
Andreas opens the glove box. He pulls out a handgun. A Glock. He racks the slide. Ch-chick.
Leo reaches into his waistband and pulls out his own weapon.
"Get down!" Leo yells. His hand—the large, heavy hand of a brother I don't know—shoves my head toward his lap.
"What are you—"
I see the sedan's window roll down. A black barrel pokes out.
Then I hear it.
CRACK.
The sound of the bullet impacting the bulletproof glass is the loudest thing I have ever heard.
- Writer
