Page 183 of The Umarova Crime Family

Chapter One

Ambros

Present Day

I couldn’t be more thrilled to be touring my brand-new home. Located in Mykonos, I’ve never been happier. I’ve had smaller homes in this area, but nothing of this caliber. It’s a recently renovated mansion that’s been here for many decades. I remember staring at this home as a little boy and knowing I’d own it one day. With a little over sixteen-thousand square feet, it holds six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

It’s a stunning, modern villa that offers incredible views of the water. The team who conducted the renovations did a fabulous job of making sure the inside and the outside spaces were cohesively tied together.

I’m sitting outside on a lounge chair in a pair of deep blue swimming trunks, the same blue as the sea in front of me. I find myself sitting here most days, staring out at the serene beauty. I’m lucky enough to live in a gorgeous place such as this, and this happens to be the place I call home. I grew up on the other side of Mykonos, and my entire family lives here as well.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to enjoy this view for long. I’ve been traveling a bit over the last few weeks, and I’m leaving tomorrow for another job. This time, I’ll be headed to Russia.

My phone begins ringing, so I pick it up and look at the name on the screen. It’s Linus, my younger brother. I press the green button to answer it and bring the phone to my ear. “Hello there, brother.”

“Wow. I’m shocked you answered. I figured you’d still be sleeping this late.” Linus knows I’m notorious for drinking and partying when I’m home. Mainly because my being home means that I’m not working.

“No, I had a lot to get done this morning.”

“Really? What were you doing?”

“I’m at the house.” Sometimes, my brother can’t remember anything of importance. Why would it surprise him that I moved from across the city to a bigger house? It doesn’t directly affect him, so maybe that’s why he doesn’t remember. Linus tends to only care about what’s circling his own world, so to speak.

“Oh, fuck. I forgot about that. Mind if I swing by?”

“No, go right on ahead. I’m out back by the pool. You hungry?”

“I mean, I could eat.” Linus chuckles, and I put him on speaker while texting my personal chef, Marsala.

“I’ll get Marsala to make us something. When do you think you’ll get here?”

“Probably twenty minutes or so.”

“All right, I’ll see you then.”

I hang up the phone with my brother and immediately switch to my text message app.

Ambros

Linus will be here in about twenty minutes. Is there anything you can throw together for lunch?

Marsala

What do you think about garides saganaki?

I could really go for some shrimp right now.

Ambros

That sounds great. Thank you.

Marsala

Of course. I’ll start on that. I’ll make some pasta salad and souvlaki too.

I put my phone down and lean back, baking in the sun until my brother arrives. It’s nearing thirty minutes by the time Linus ends up getting here. I should have told Marsala it would be thirty minutes. My brother’s constantly running late. If he somehow manages to run on time, something must be wrong.

Linus walks out through my massive open-concept living area and takes a seat on the empty lounge chair beside me. “This place is awesome. Was it designed like this before you got here?”

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