“Sir?”
“Tell him to bring his friends—the ones from special operations,” Alexandros instructed in a voice devoid of emotion.
He strode into his private office, the door slamming shut behind Demetrius. The floor-to-ceiling windows cast long shadows as the early afternoon sun glinted off steel and glass. But Alexandros felt none of it.
He was cold—colder than he had ever been.
“Tell me everything,” he said.
Demetrius didn’t waste a second. He handed over a folded note.
A smear of blood marred the edge.
Alexandros stared at it, his throat tightening. “Is it hers?”
“No,” Demetrius said. “It’s the security guard’s. The one watching her. He was attacked last night—bludgeoned, tied up. He was found an hour ago by a friend of Dani’s. A guy named Carlos. Carlos said she never showed up for work.”
Alexandros unfolded the note with hands that trembled only slightly.
Fifty million euros. Waterproof bag. Coordinates enclosed. No cops. Or I send her back to you in pieces. Start with her beautiful green eyes? Or would you like the ankle with the little beads around it?
He swallowed. Hard. The letters swam in front of him. “How did he get on board?”
“Busted hatch on the trawler. Lock forced. We found signs of a struggle inside the salon.” Demetrius’s voice was tight. Controlled. “The bastard planned this. Knew where she’d be. How to get in and out. Fast. That she was being watched by security.”
“Cameras?”
“Disabled.”
Alexandros’s eyes burned with fury.
“The police?”
Demetrius pointed to the note. “He said we’re free to call them. He’d be ‘happy to send body parts’ if we did.”
Alexandros’s gaze locked on the coordinates.
“International waters.”
Demetrius nodded grimly. “International waters.”
Alexandros’s voice turned to granite.
“Then we don’t need jurisdiction.”
He strode to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and slammed his hand down on a hidden biometric scanner. The small panel beeped, unlocked, and opened to reveal a satellite phone, an encrypted tablet—and something darker, colder.
He looked up.
“Get me eyes on those coordinates,” he ordered. “Deploy drones. Activate whatever favors we’re owed.”
“And the money?”
Alexandros’s mouth curled. “He’ll get his money, but he won’t live to enjoy it.”
His gaze dropped to the blood-streaked note again, then turned to the window.
“She’s special, Demetrius,” he said quietly. His voice cracked, just once. “And this happened to her… because of me.”
