Sixty-Five
Henry had dispatched his men back to his house, and the only one beside him was Darryl, who didn’t follow his orders and stayed put. Linus took them to a big house by the shore on the other side of Santorini. His mind was a clusterfuck of thoughts and, for the first time, he wouldn’t be able to find his way back if he wanted. Everything passed by him in a blur, and his only wish was to get back home. He had to see with his own eyes his little princess was sleeping in her safe little bed.
Josh and Bryan were there, in some sort of infirmary, getting treatment from their shot wounds. Then he got himself checked. The wound in his shoulder was almost healed, but with the evening events, it was raw again, for fuck’s sake! Someone gave him a change of clothes and showed him to the shower. It was about midnight when Henry got back to the house with Darryl and Linus by his side.
Elissa was at the door, waiting for him. The look of understanding and compassion she addressed him was crippling. He transformed her granddaughter’s life into a hell, bringing back all the violence she was running from, and the old lady looked at him with motherly love in her eyes. On the other hand, he stared at her with guilt, sadness and begging for her forgiveness. He felt like scum and there was no way to make that feeling stop poisoning the blood in his veins.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Elissa.” They were the only words coming out of his mouth when he stopped in front of her, then got into the house straight to Eve’s room.
Chops raised his head, giving him the evil eye, and socks meowed at him, while Lina didn’t give a fuck. They were all in bed with the girl like loyal guards. He didn’t want to disturb her sleep, but there were so many horrible emotions going on in him, he was at the brink of madness, and only the comfort of those little arms could bring him back, because he was at the point of losing it. He got himself into bed, curling up with the girl. It would be just for a short while, because he needed to track down Melina.
“Daddy…” she mumbled in her sleep. “Monsters daddy.” Eve grabbed his shirt, squeezing in her little chubby hands. “Mommy?”
“It’s okay, muffin. There are no more monsters, and daddy will bring mommy back.” Closing his eyes, Henry pressed Eve to him. “Sleep, my beautiful princess, everything will be good in the morning.” He needed to believe in those words.
His stomach rolled, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. All the regrets and uncertainty of his past deeds assailed him at once, corroding his insides without mercy. He wasn’t there to protect her this time, and only God knew what was happening. Faith wasn’t his area of expertise, nor he wasn’t a man who cried, but so many things went wrong in his life. He was about to explode, so he let his tears flow freely, and prayed to a God he wasn’t even acquainted with, but he did. If the Almighty would forgive or listen to him, he wasn’t sure, because in his heart he didn’t think he was worthy of any.
It was time. He had to leave the solace Eve brought him to track his forever love, and make Velasquez pay for even daring to be born. If guilt and sorrow filled his soul before, it gave place to hatred and fury. The only thoughts he had for the man who dared to put his hands on Melina were murderous. Velasquez didn’t have a clue with whom he messed with, and he needed to find out if Gabriella was part of that sordid plan. He put Eve back on the mattress when the little one was once again fast asleep and his tears had dried.
“Take good care of her boys,” he said to the cats. “And girl…” he added when Lina snapped her eyes open, staring straight at him. “This is just crazy…” Shaking his head and blabbering, Henry turned for the door, and Elissa was there observing him. Was she by the door the entire time? They were as stealthy as cats. Now, he understood their love for the fur balls. It was in their blood. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the living room once he got closer to her.
“Son, I will try my best at English.” Elissa fixed her eyes on him and caressed his cheek. “Wipe that guilty look from your face. It’s not your fault. Sometimes life is not the way we want it to be. Things happened and some of them are beyond our powers. So don’t waste your time with regrets, boy. Go get Melina back. Linus and Darryl are waiting for you outside.” Elissa planted a blessing kiss on his forehead. He was a good man, but with a lot of baggage dragging him down, and he needed to let go of them. It was amazing how much he reminded her of Leander, and how life repeated itself sometimes, but Elissa just wished it’d have a happy ending this time around.
“Thank you, Mrs. Elissa.”
“You can call me Yiayiá!” She patted him and smiled.
“Thank you, Yiayiá. Can I trust Linus Karagianis?” He needed to know if he could count on the mobster. It would make all the difference in his approach to the situation.
“With your life, son.” She didn’t hold herself back and gave him a hug. He needed it. It was all over his troubled face. He kissed her back on the cheek, and left, but at the door he turned to her, “Please, when Eve wakes up, can you put her on the phone with me?”
“Sure. Now go!” He nodded, stepping out of the house.
The night breeze greeted him. It was chilly since fall was on top of them, leaving the summer air far behind, but he was glad about it. The cold would keep his mind sharp and alert for the hard task ahead. Henry stopped in front of the men with a rigid posture. This time around, he was having a hard time putting himself into business mode. It was too personal, and his emotions were keeping him on edge, making him ill. Calming himself down was a priority and dressing himself in his ‘who gives the fuck’ armor a must.
“Don’t worry about the baby and Elissa. I put half of my men around. Only a nutcase will try to break in this place again.” Linus assured him, as if reading his worries.
“What now, Hank?” It was Darryl’s turn to stare at him, expectant.
“Now we go to the inn, and track her down.” Henry closed his eyes and inhaled a lung full of air, and when he snapped them open, the warm pools of honey like Melina used to say, were cold and merciless, as if he had an on and off switch. “She has my bracelet.” Darryl opened a wide smile and Linus stared at them, waiting to be part of what seemed a private joke.
***
Henry strode into the room going straight to his laptop, his fingers were flying on the keyboard and his eyes glued to the screen. After leaving Franco’s mob behind, Henry put a tracker on his bracelet. If something happened to him, Darryl had a way of tracking him down, but he never imagined how useful it would be one day. Paying attention to the map in front of him, a little red dot flashed at him like the moon in a dark sky. He never felt so blessed in his life, and happiness invaded his soul like an avalanche. Melina’s location!
“Linus! Where’s this place?” The old man came to the computer, observing the screen, then his face relaxed.
“They are in Oia, close to Sideras. It’s in a nice and quiet neighborhood. We can get there in about forty minutes.” Linus was already getting his jacket when Hank called him.
“Not so fast.” He looked out the window. The dawn was approaching, and the sky grew into a colorful palette. But he didn’t have time to appreciate the beauty of the moment. “Let’s wait for him to make contact. It won’t take long. The game changed in my favor and the good part is that he’s not aware of it.” Hank turned from the window, as if for the first time seeing the room and the people in it. His stoic façade was once more in place.
“And what’s that, boy?” The quizzical look on Linus’ face was priceless.
“You, Linus. You just became my fairy godmother.” Hank gave him a toothy grin that reminded of a hungry tiger. “That son of a bitch doesn’t know I have you on my side, which puts me way ahead of him in his own game. Velasquez thinks of himself too smart, well he’s in for the nastiest surprise of his life.”
Hank’s phone rang before anyone had the chance to voice anything else. He got it from his pocket and with a devilish smirk Hank said, “Are you ready to negotiate, Velasquez?”