The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract (30 page)

The guests screamed and hid behind the tables. But in Nikos’ rage, nothing else mattered. He dove toward Hector and the momentum bought them to the floor. He slammed Hector’s wrist against the floor and he dropped his gun.

With his other hand, Hector swiped with his knife and Nikos dodged backwards. Hector was still on the floor and Nikos kicked his other arm causing him to let go of the knife. Nikos aimed another kick and this time it was to Hector’s ribs.

Alex continued firing towards the men. Several of them dropped dead while more were returning fire. Alex ordered the other guests back and
told them to stay down and call for help.

“Get down!” he shouted to them.

On the corner of his eye, he saw one of the men approach Isobel. He fired as he dove towards her.

“Get behind me!”

He crouched and crawled to the corner of the room where the buffet was laid out. He pushed her behind it and checked how much bullets were remaining. He only had two.

“Stay here,” he told Isobel who remained silent and shaking from fear.

One of the men pointed his weapon at Nikos while he was on the floor in a struggle with Hector. Alex quickly fired and the man dropped down. Nikos tried to reach for the gun of that fallen man but Hector beat him to it. Alex used his last bullet and fired on Hector but the villain was able to duck.

Alex crawled to the other side of the room so he could get his gun that was kicked away earlier.

On the other side of the room, Antonio was behind one of the tables as he protected Elise and Cassia. Cassia had difficulty breathing and made choking sounds. She spat out blood and Antonio turned her to her side.

“One of her lungs is punctured,” Elise murmured as she removed her sweater. She balled it up and used it to stem the bleeding from her wounds.

“My baby...” Cassia whispered weakly.

Elise removed her hand from her stomach and saw that it was where the second bullet went to. She had to be brought immediately to the hospital or she may never survive. But their exit was blocked by the armed men.

Antonio retrieved his phone and called for help immediately. He detailed their situation and he was promised quick response. He only hoped they came in time before any of those who were injured died.

“Are you really going to kill your own older brother, Nikos?”

“I have no brother!” he spat.

“You’re right. We’re so different, you and I. I’m scum and you’re everyone’s golden boy.”

“Shut up, Hector. You’re scum because you chose to be that way. Because you chose to involve yourself with the drug cartel.Because you chose to do this.” Nikos waved a hand indicating the entire room.

“Not everyone is born with a silver spoon!” Hector kicked Nikos who staggered backwards. Nikos stood up but his side was pierced with agony. It felt as if one of his ribs was broken but he refused to back.

“You could have gone back. You could have introduced yourself and I could have given you what you wanted.”

“I doubt that. I want everything, Nikos. I don’t want scraps. I am the rightful heir of Andrei Demakis and I should have been CEO.”

“That’s your problem then. You’re nothing but a greedy bastard who thinks he has the right to everything.”

Hector roared and charged. He punched and kicked wildly because of his anger. On the other hand, Nikos did not allow his anger to rule him. He knew Cassia was hurt but unless they beat all the men here, they would not be able to escape.

“I’ll kill you. But first, I’ll let you watch Cassia die. I’ll make you watch as I carve her chest open and tear out her heart. That’s the time when I’ll kill you,” Hector snarled.

Nikos saw red.

He jumped towards Hector and punched him in the face. Hector spat out blood but still had the gall to grin.

“Every second you waste fighting me, she dies slowly.”

“Shut up!” he roared.

Nikos charged and they exchanged blows once more.

On the other side of the room, Alex finally found his gun. He waited for the perfect opportunity
. While waiting, he took out his phone and sent an emergency message to his team. They were the only ones he trusted and he knew they’d come as soon as they could.

Now, he just had to keep his friends alive.

He saw an opening and fired at Hector. He hit Hector’s shoulder and the man crumpled to the ground in pain. Nikos kicked him in the back and the bastard sprawled on the floor.

“Kicking a man when he’s already down? Going to kill me now, little brother?” he taunted.

“This is for my wife and my child!” Nikos punched Hector’s face again.

Hector’s left eye was so swollen that it was almost shut. He laughed still and tried to rise.

Nikos grabbed his half-brother’s shirt and shook him hard.

“This is for what you did to Antonio and me!”
He continued punching Hector even if pain shot up his arm with every swing. His knuckles might be broken but he ignored the pain. Once more, he punched Hector and that last one was enough to bring instant loss of consciousness.

When the men saw that their leader was unconscious, they started to retreat.

“Let’s go! We already have the money!” the one who confirmed the transfer told the rest of the team.

“No one leaves,” Alex snarled.

He carefully aimed his gun and fired. He kept on firing and when he was out of bullets, he rushed into the fray, pulling his knife out of his boot. He rolled to the floor and grabbed one of the scattered weapons.

One man
came at him from the side and Alex quickly spun and jabbed him with his elbow. It stunned the man then Alex kicked him backwards before he fired. He threw his knife at the one who had the laptop. The knife hit the man in the back and he crumpled to the floor. The man tried to crawl away but Alex ran to him and slammed the butt of his gun at the man’s head. Instantly, he was unconscious.

Alex quickly grabbed the laptop then retrieved his knife.
He turned to help Nikos.

Nikos was about to rush to his wife when he heard Hector speak, “Kill me now, brother.”

“No. That would be a mercy. You deserve to rot in jail.”

“Then, I will kill you,” he laughed.

Hector grabbed the gun nearest to him and aimed. But Alex fired first. Hector took his last breath and Nikos watched the light fade from his eyes.

He tried to feel remorse or sadness but there was none. He even felt as if a burden was lifted off his shoulders.

Finally they were all free.

The one who tortured him finally paid.

The threat to his and Cassia’s life was eliminated.

Every inch of him ached but he forced himself to stand up and limp to the other side of the room. Alex’s team burst in and they finished off the rest of Hector’s men.
They took the one whom Alex rendered unconscious. When he woke up, he would be their source of information.

One of them also took the laptop and reversed the transaction so that the money would go back to Nikos’ and Antonio’s accounts.

Minutes after Alex’s team arrived, the police and the paramedics came.

Nikos’ heart stopped when he saw his wife. She was pale and her eyes were closed. Her face was a mask of pain and her body was coated in her blood. Elise, who tried to help her, was also covered in blood. She cried as she held Cassia’s hand.

Dazed, Nikos followed them to the ambulance.

“Sir, we need
to see to your wounds as well,” the paramedics told him and pointed at his bleeding hands.

“No. Her first.”

He climbed inside the ambulance with her for the second time in his life. He winced at the thought but it was all over now. She would never be in danger again.

He took her hand and held tight even as the medics tried to do everything they could. They stemmed the bleeding, placed an intravenous line and hooked her to monitors. They also placed her on oxygen to help her breathe. Nikos saw her vital signs on the monitors. Her pulse was too weak and he knew she’d lost a lot of blood.

“Don’t give up,
agapimeni
. Fight for me. Fight for our child,” he whispered.

Then, Nikos Demakis bent his proud head over his wife’s hand and wept.

January 26, 2013
Athens General Hospital
Athens, Greece

“Mr. Demakis?” The doctor finally came out of the operating room and spoke to Nikos.

He stood up followed by Antonio and Alex. They all awaited the news with bated breath.

“She’s resting now. Her vital signs are stable and we’ve retrieved the two bullets. Her right lung has collapsed but a few days of treatment, it will be as good as new. The other bullet went to her abdomen and punctured an intestine but it has also been repaired. So that means no solid food for a while. She’ll be here for a long time but I foresee no reason as to why she cannot make a full recovery.”

All three of them sighed with relief.

“And our baby?” Nikos whispered.

“Mrs. Demakis had a little bleeding. If the bullet went another inch down, it would have pierced your wife's womb instead. Good thing she was brought here quickly. Your baby’s fine, Mr. Demakis. ”

“Thank God!” Nikos cried out.

Alex and Antonio patted him on the back. His knees threatened to buckle so he sat. He moved quickly and his chest hurt agonizingly. He had several broken ribs but they’d already been seen to and bandaged tightly.

“When can I see her?”

“She’s in the recovery room now. After this, she will be brought to the intensive care unit. If we do not have any complications, you may see her there. But I think she won’t be awake for another two to three days.”

“Thank you for everything, doctor,” Nikos said as he shook the surgeon’s hand.

“My pleasure, Mr. Demakis.”

“The police and my team just need a statement from you, Nikos. Can you manage that before you go and see your wife? I just need that and then the part of my case about Hector Petrides is closed,” Alex asked.

Nikos nodded.

“What’s next, Alex?” Antonio asked.

Alex shrugged.

“Hector is just one of the many bosses of the cartel. There are still more. That’s the only information I got from the only one from Hector’s men that we got alive. After he said that piece, he killed himself.” Alex shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I was just assigned to Hector Petrides so I’ll say case is closed. If they want me to investigate further and nail the big boss of the cartel, then that’s another matter. Another assignment for me.”

A few hours later, Nikos entered the Intensive Care Unit wearing a sterile gown, gloves, mask and a cap. It didn’t matter to him that he could only stay for a few minutes instead of sitting by her side through everything.

He’d take as much time as he could get.

He closed his eyes and fought a wave of pain the first time he saw her. She looked so fragile lying there. She was connected to so many tubes and machines that he feared to touch her. Her beautiful skin was now pale and covered in bruises.

He felt his eyes fill with tears once more and he fought them back. He would not be weak now. Cassia needed him and he needed to be strong for both of them. His tears would do nothing to help.

He took her hand and squeezed.

“
Koúkla
, I’m here...”

S
he looked so fragile yet still looked beautiful.

“Hang in there, okay? Be strong for me. I’ll be here. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay here and guard you and our baby.”

He kissed her cold fingers and brushed away the tendrils of hair from her face. Then, he stared at her while he prayed to whoever might be listening to give her a full recovery.

February 1, 2013
Athens General Hospital
Athens, Greece

It took five days before Cassia finally woke up.

Those five days were hell for her husband. Two days ago, she was already out of the intensive care unit and was brought to the largest suite in the hospital. Through it all, Nikos never left her side. He had Alex and Antonio bring his things and he asked James, his faithful assistant, to remain in the hospital as well.

When he needed to work, he worked beside her. He didn’t want to go because he didn’t want her to wake up without him in the room.

It paid off. When she opened her eyes, he was beside her holding her hand and reading a book. When her hazel eyes gazed into his, his heart missed a beat. When she finally smiled after looking around in confusion, he wanted to scream his joy to the heavens.

“How are you feeling,
koúkla
? Do I need to call the doctor?”

“I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck and that truck is still on my chest,” she whispered hoarsely.

She turned to him and her eyes were wide with panic. Her hands immediately covered her abdomen.

“Nikos, our baby?”

“Relax,
agapimeni
. He or she is fine but the doctor ordered you on bed rest for about a month after this.”

“Right now, bed rest sounds divine. And it’s a good thing I don’t need to be out of bed for my work,” she whispered.

“I’ll be right here. I’ll watch over both of you,” he said as he settled his hand over her abdomen.

“Hear that baby? Your papa will stay right here with us.” Cassia grinned. “Wait. But what about your work, Nikos?”

He turned around and waved to the direction of the table behind him. His laptop was there along with several papers.  “I brought my work here,” he said with a shrug.

“How long has it been?”

“You’ve been asleep for a week.”

“A week?!”

“Shh...don’t stress yourself. You need rest.”

“I’m fine, Nikos. I promise I won’t overexert myself.”

“I nearly died of a heart attack the moment I saw you there on the floor. I will never allow that to happen again,
agapimeni
.”

His words made her smile. But then she remembered something else and it wiped all the happiness away.

“Is Hector—“

“He’s gone. It’s over.”

She closed her eyes in a wave of pain. She’d been with Hector for a long time and he was one of her greatest friends. But she never knew his past or how troubled he was. If only he told her, she was sure she could’ve helped him.

She couldn’t help feeling guilty. It was her fault that everything happened. She drove him
well over his limit.

“Cassia, I know what you are thinking about. It’s not your fault. It’s his. He chose his path and what he wanted to believe in. He was rich, he was famous and he had you but he threw all that away for his revenge.”

Nikos cradled Cassia close, careful of the tubes still connected to her.

“I just can’t help wishing that I was able to help him, Nikos.”

“I wish that too. I never knew I had a brother.”

Then he just held her until she finished crying all her tears.

“What’s going to happen now, Nikos?”

“We’re going to start anew. We are going to forget everything that’s happened and get on with our lives. Soon, there’s going to be an addition to our family, Cassia. I want everything to be all set before the baby comes. We’re going to start with us. I’m going to fix us.”

She lifted her hand and traced his jaw.

“How are you going to fix something that isn’t broken?”

He drew in a sharp breath.

“I told you I’ve forgiven you for everything, Nikos. The past is all a lie and a big fat misunderstanding. What matters is what we have now. I have you and I’m not letting you go.”

Nikos grinned.

“I won’t give myself over,” he teased and his heart soared when she laughed.

“So what are we going to do after I’m out of here?”

“You are going to continue to rest. If the doctor says bed rest, I will chain you to our bed if I have to.”

“Okay. Let’s just say that I am cleared to go and that our baby’s fine. What happens then?”

“Then I guess we’d travel. We’ll go to Paris and you’ll have one of your fashion shows there. Then we’ll go to China and you can eat all the
dimsum
your heart desires. Hmm...then maybe to Hawaii because I know how much you love the beach. Or perhaps Bora Bora where you told me you wanted to spend a month?”

Cassia’s eyes were filled with tears by the time he stopped speaking. “You remembered all that?”

“Of course. How could I not?”

She squeezed his hand. “I like that. Promise me we’ll do all that?”

“As long as we still can,
agapimeni.
When you can’t travel anymore because of our little one, we’re going back to our island. I want my son born in Greece.”

“Son, huh? What if it’s a daughter?”

“It makes no difference to me if we have a son or a daughter. I just want him or her and you to both be healthy. If we have a son, I will teach him how to be an even greater businessman. If we have a daughter, you can teach her how to draw or paint and she could become a fashion designer like you.”

She gave him her widest smile.

“I told you I can be charming when I want to be.”

Cassia rolled her eyes. “Then you should have done that ten years ago. Maybe now, we’d have three or four children.”

Nikos laughed and held her close.

“That is my one regret. I should not have believed the lies your grandfather told us. I should have gathered evidence. I should have believed what Antonio told me before. But because of my pride and my anger, I acted out. I’m so sorry, Cassia...”

“Don’t be. I am a much better person now because of everything I’ve experienced.”

“Then I am thankful for those ten years but sad that I was the catalyst. I should never have treated you that way.”

“Yes. And you promised you’d make up for it every day of our lives.”

“
Ne
. I promise.”

He cupped her jaw and tilted her head up so her hazel eyes would clash with his green ones. He wanted her to remember this moment forever
.

“
S'agapo i kardiamoueinaidiki sou.”

I love you, my heart is yours.

Those were words he wanted to tell her for a long time now but hadn’t had the courage to. Now that he blurted it out, he couldn’t help feeling anxious as to how she’d respond.

Would she reject him again? Was everything going too fast?

“Have I won your heart now, agapimeni?”

“
Yes.
It’s been yours a long, long time ago. I love you too, Nikos.”