I spin on my heel and march back towards his office.
Chapter 9 - Kristopher
I drop the phone onto my desk. Agitation rumbles through me like thunder rolling through dark gray clouds, angry and ominous.
That was a call I knew I was coming but wasn’t looking forward to.
Any dealings with Ali Koskos put me on edge. I’m hyper-aware of everything I say, and of every response. No matter how minute the remark is, I feel like it might be relevant. A clue, a hint, a taunting message from my father delivered via Koskos.
There is an underlying current in every conversation.
Koskos isn’t giving anything away. No matter how I approach the topic of his connection to my father, he denies it. But I’m one hundred percent sure they worked together to kidnap Georgie. I’m one hundred percent certain they’restillworking together. And until I can figure it out, I don’t feel like she is as safe as she should be.
On top of everything else, I want them both to pay for what they did. They can’t just get away with it. What they put her through wasn’t fair.I want revenge. I want them to suffer like she did. Like I did when they took her. The worry, the agony of not knowing where she was and what they were doing to her. I want them to feel the same.
I have to do this properly, though.
Because considering how powerful Ali is, I can’t justify revenge without evidence. My allies will question my judgment; I’ll have to answer for my attack on him. And he will have every right to fight back. It could easily turn into a bloodbath with no backup on my side.
I need unquestionable proof.
I reach out and tap my laptop. The screen brightens as it turns on, and my e-mails sit in a neat list in front of me. I’d rather be drinking a glass of wine with her, but the last two days she’s been edgy and snappy. She needs space, and I need to work.
Just as I’m about to open a file and get to work, Georgie bursts through my office doors, a fierce look on her face. My body responds to her presence immediately. Relief to have her so close again. And that intense yearning for her to be even closer.
“You traded me for land?” she blurts out.
“I, uh…”What? How could she know that?
“You gave away a huge piece of land and properties that you needed. Valuable territories,” she insists, and I realize she must have overheard the conversation I just had.
I lean back in my chair and fold my arms over my chest, studying her with curiosity.
“What if I did?” I ask. I’m impressed that she had the balls to eavesdrop, and even more impressed that she had the confidence to confront me about it.
“It would be a really stupid move if you did. Isn’t that land keeping you safe from your father? That territory was yours, right? Not your father's. Not your family's.Yours.”
I cock my head to the side. She’s very observant.
“Yes, they were my territories. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the right to bargain with them,” I say, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my desk.
“Okay, but weren’t they keeping you safe from your father?” she asks again. “Isn’t this all like one big game of chess, but in real life, with real land?”
Jess must have told her some things about my family and our rather fucked up dynamic. Why else would she be pinpointing issues about my father and the power struggle between us?
I tap my fingers against the desk, lost in thought for a moment. Georgie might know a few things about my father, but how does she know to ask the right questions now? It has to be Jess.
When I look up at her, she’s got her hands on her hips and her brows raised as she waits for my answer. I love her fierce side. I love the challenge of dealing with her when she’s unwilling to back down.
Dammit, she’s so fucking sexy.
“My father is my problem, Georgie,” I say confidently. “It’s not something you need to worry about.”
She shakes her head.
“Of course, I should worry about it. If you put yourself and my best friend in danger to save me, then I am most definitely worried about it,” she sighs softly.
“We aren’t in danger. And it’s just land. Territories come and go.” I want to pull her into my arms and comfort her. I want to explain that she is my entire universe, and no one will ever come between us.
