Four words plague the Lykos family:
POWER. POISON. SILENCE. VENGEANCE.
Running a centuries old empire comes with a price. Every day Rafael Lykos's reign is at risk.
But his hunger to stay on top is powerful. And any poor souls who attempt to take h...
"Open the door, Tally," Theron demanded from the other side of the door. The cottage had plenty of his clothes lying around so he had no issue finding his clothes. He had spent the whole day thinking about what to do with her captive and so far, he ended up with no ideas. When he initially brought her to his haven, he was acting on impulsive behaviour. After the high had died down, he had dropped her in the cottage and fed her. He spent his days on the other side of the island, ignoring her.
It was time to let go.
Towards the other end of the island, he had a more modern mansion. His brothers had insisted on building a better home, but Theron frequently spend his time in the run-down cottage. The cottage itself, held far too many memories that he wasn't willing to part with and now Talia would add to more.
Memories he didn't want to let go of, memories that suffocated him.
On more than one occasion, Theron had found himself in wolf form, sitting outside cottage while Talia was inside. Today had been the only day that he had been caught by her. When she awoke, he would leave the side. He spent way more time as a wolf than as a human, but after today, one thing was clear, she needed to go.
Talia hadn't seen Theron clearly and he would do his best for her to keep the vague image in mind. He knocked again on the kitchen door, knowing fully well she was armed with a knife. She had been scrambling around just before she had slammed the door in his face.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Theron threatened. He had little patience for humans, but this time, he was the cause of the problem, so he had only himself to blame.
This was for the best.
Reluctantly, Talia opened the door. The next movements were a blur as Theron quickly disarmed her, without causing any injuries to her before throwing her over his shoulder. Talia protested by punching, kicking and screaming. He did his best to ignore her. There was no one else who could hear her anyway. It didn't take Theron long to get them onto his boat. Her bag and belongings were still scattered around the floor.
He threw a lifejacket at her which she didn't protest about, and quickly tied her hand up. The journey to the harbour was not the same. Even though the darkness aided in keeping his identity a secret, he didn't want to take any chances with her. It wasn't like the authorities would do anything to him.
Talia was deposited on the harbour with her belongings in the middle of the night. A security guard found her and everything after that was a hazy nightmare with the authorities. No one had reported her missing but her booking at the hotel had lapsed. All she wanted to do was forget about everything and return to the little cottage and pretend nothing existed. Unfortunately, she had to face a new reality.
6 MONTHS LATER
Talia had been travelling between countries at the expense of whichever billionaire she felt like billing. The price paid by hackers were none, if you didn't get caught. It helped if you went after men who spent time evading tax because those accountants never questioned random first-class tickets. A few days ago, she had been contacted by an individual with a job offer. Talia knew better than to accept anything without checking out the people herself.
The past few days had been spent researching a man by the name of Rafael Lykos. A man that held very little information. Not even his date of birth could be traced properly. There was only one other notable relation online, his brother Micah. Everything else was tied up in webs of deceit and lies. Talia had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she decided to meet up anyway. One ticket to New York later, she sat in a random Starbucks with a random venti coffee.
Talia sipped on her over price drink that she used a fake discount coupon to purchase and watched as the crowd moved around. This was a perfect place to meet as she wouldn't be kidnapped again without someone noticing if she had a commotion. All the time she scanned the crowd, watching as a few men watched her. She had noticed that she had been followed since she arrived at the city, but that's all they did. All her movements were being reported to the big boss.
The alarm bells rung in the back of her mind when she found that the men that had been so carefully watching her, were now retreating. Those actions would only mean they were moving from being passive to something more. Talia didn't move from her seat, even if she wanted to run to the closest airport and flee the country.
A man that looked vaguely familiar took a seat next to her with a coffee of her own. His presence demanded attention and she wasn't the only person in the room looking at him. He pulled out a pen from a pocket hidden within pocket of his suit jacket and wrote something down on a napkin, sliding it to her. Talia opened the napkin and blanked at the figure written on it.
"That's how much you will be paid," the man said. He wasn't looking in her direction as he spoke even though he was speaking to her.
"Money isn't an issue." It never would be as long as online banking with weak security existed. She needed something more if she was going to risk her life working for an organisation, which she was sure weren't going to let her leave alive.
"You're currently the best on the market, and I want that." He smiled at a random lady who was looking at him.
"If I'm the best then you'll have to willing to pay the price for me." This was the first time that Talia was negotiating. She had never been given the opportunity to do so as he worked alone. A rogue hacker.
"I'm listening." He took a sip of his coffee and frowned at the cup.
"I want security, a place to live and no limit on the equipment expense, and I can make anything disappear." Talia knew that she was demanding a lot, though she had a target in mind. She needed to live somewhere where she didn't need to constantly look over her shoulders. The government could start looking for her at any moment, even though she covered her digital footprints.
"Deal."
Talia's eyes widen with disbelief. If she knew that her terms would've been easily accepted, she would have added more. The man pulled out an envelope and handed it to her with a list of instruction. When she looked up, he had vanished. The men who had been watching her had returned. It was only until later that she had found out that she had met the infamous Rafael Lykos.
~*~
I left this chapter to marinate for like 2 weeks now.
Shoutout to the consistent 100 readers and 10 consistent voters. I see you. I appreciate you.
xoxo gossip pikachu
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