Nick had never considered himself vindictive.

Competitive? Sure. Nick liked to win after all. It got him far in business.

But, when someone committed a wrong against him or his business? He always made a point to settle the score in a way that left a message. He rarely had to explain himself twice. His adversaries learned not to cross him again. Most were clever and learned the lesson before the infractions grew too great. They learned before the punishments grew more severe.

Nick had never enjoyed that part - handing out the punishments.

And yet, this time was different. This was personal. His fingers tapped an impatient rhythm over and over again.

Nick was going to enjoy this. A lot. Probably a lot more than he should but, in the end, his prey made it easy by being so dirty he left a rotten trail through all of his dealings. It was just an unfortunate accident he hadn't been caught sooner.

Leaning back into the leather of his car seat,  Nick peered up at the London townhouse through the windscreen. It was still. The lights were off with no sign the occupants were even awake. Hours before, Nick had watched the Giannopoulos outcast stagger through the front door with his latest hook up on his arm. He had been so intent on shoving his tongue down her throat he hadn't even realised he was being watched as he entered the property.

The same property that was bought from so much dirty money Nick could almost see the soot clinging to the paintwork.

Nick's hands tightened on the steering wheel as he rolled his shoulders. It was almost time. The minutes had ticked by slowly but also too fast.

The skies overhead were just starting to lighten with the first blush of sun rise. It was sure to be one of his top sunrises of all time. It was a sunrise he would never forget.

And it was a sunrise he was not spending alone.

"Thank you for helping me with this." Nick stated, turning to smile at the man seated beside him. His step brother shifted in his seat, burrowing further into his thick coat. "You didn't have to but I do appreciate it."

"I wasn't about to let you go through this alone." His brother leaned forwards, his balding head glinting in the light of the street lamps. "I'm just glad I could do something to help. Though it would have been nice if you had brought some coffee and if we didn't look like we were the ones up to something." 

Nick sniffed in response, his fingers gripping the wheel harder so that his muscles blanched before he sighed. This. A part of him was unwilling to dredge up the past and break this fledgling truce between them. It didn't matter that the animosity had been one sided. The new peace between them was so fragile he was determined not to break it.

Sighing, he glanced in the rear view mirror. He rolled his eyes at the less than subtle SUV parked further down the street. For once, Nick had foregone his own drivers and the warning of his security team. This was something he wanted to see firsthand. It didn't stop his security team from ignoring his orders and following him anyway.

"You don't have to try so hard."

His brother turned his head. The expression was one Nick could not read. The silence between them heavy. And then, after a moment, a chuckle escaped his mouth. It grew louder until his entire body was shaking with the force of his laugh and tears were forming in his eyes.

"You've got to be joking." His face flushed as he gasped out another chuckle, his hand slapping on to his knee. "You're one of the hardest people to impress. I've been trying to get your attention for over a decade, Nick. I've been apologising to you for a decade over something your dad did. Over something I had zero input in."

Nick gritted his teeth together and glanced away. The twist in his stomach was painful. He hated to admit it but he couldn't deny the truth in the words. It was the way he worked. Push people away before they could they could disappoint him. He had been taught young at that school of thought and it would take more than a moment to erase that training.

"I'm sorry." Nick said quietly, glancing at his brother as he spoke. "You're right. My battle was with my father."

"And my mother."

Nick tilted his head as he conceded the point. "It was never with you or your brother though. Unfortunately, you were just an easier target. It was too simple to blame you both."

"Thank you for saying that." Terry said, placing his hand on Nick's shoulder. He didn't remove it even when he felt the tension in Nick's shoulder beneath his touch. "I really needed to hear that. I forgive you. I think I forgave you even back then because if I was in your shoes, I would have done exactly the same."

Dropping his hand away, the balding man grinned widely. "And I have to say, I've missed you and your stubborness. I just wish it didn't take something like this to bridge the gap."

Nick nodded stiffly in response. "I would say me too but I am man enough to admit that I probably wouldn't have reached out if it wasn't for Betsy."

"She's an incredible woman." Terry commented, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping at his eyes. "You're lucky to have her."

"I am." Damned lucky, Nick added silently.

"And she's lucky to have you. After all, how many men would sit in a cold car on a stake out?"

"I think you'd be surprised." Nick muttered with a shake of his head. Revenge could be a powerful motivator after all and he was only a man. A man who wanted to protect his family and would do anything to ensure that promise was kept. Nick would be keeping that promise.

Terry carefully folded the handkerchief and tucked it back into his pocket. "So." He paused, fiddling with the lapels of his coat before tentatively adding, "Did you read Dad's letter?"

Nick shook his head. "No. Betsy is keeping hold of it for me. I - I'm not ready to read it yet." He swallowed and glanced away. Eventually he cleared his throat. "Open the glove box for me."

Nick allowed his gaze to wander back to the still house. It was almost painful waiting. Weeks of works and research had culminated in this moment while Christos Giannopoulos continued sleeping and drinking his way through his bank balance.

The pop of the catch opening brought Nick's focus back to the car.

"Okay. What am I looking for?"

"Grab that blue envelope. It's for you."

"For me?" There was a brief moment of shuffling before the glove box clicked shut. "What is this?"

"It's a wedding invitation." Nick replied into gloom of the car's interior. "I want you all to come. That is, if you want to. There's no pressure."

"No. No. I mean, yes, we would love to come." Terry stated quickly and, as Nick turned to him, he caught the shimmer in his step-brothers gaze. "Are you sure?"

He nodded in assent. "You should know by now, once I have made a decision, I usually stick with it. I would be happy if you could make it and I know Betsy would too. I would also love to formally introduce you to your niece and nephew"

"I'd be honoured." Terry stated, his voice thick with emotion.

"Good."

"Good."

"I'm glad that is settled." Nick stated stiffly, swallowing past the tightness in his throat. He shook his head.   "Betsy would call us both ridiculous for this."

"Maybe she has a point."

Nick snorted and rubbed at his tired eyes. He stretched out his stiff back which was protesting a night spent in a car seat. And then he heard it.

Terry opened his mouth to give some other but Nick pressed his finger to his lips and shook his head.

Before they could say another word, a growing sound had Nick sitting up further in his seat. It started as a far off whine. It was barely perceptible over the general drone of early commuted traffic just a street away. Yet, with each moment that passed, the sound became more distinct and loud. The shrill sounds of the police sirens filled the air until they were all they could hear.

Nick watched the house. They were close enough to the main road that most of the occupants would likely sleep through the commotion. But there was one house that would not be getting a lay in.

The police cars swiftly entered the road from either end. The blue flashes of light illuminated the brick fascias as the stationary vehicles formed a blockade around the property. The still morning had been replaced swiftly with the chaos of an early morning police raid.

The men filed out of the cars swiftly surrounding the town house with their weapons drawn. Two walked around the back of a vehicle, quickly retrieving the battering ram as their co-workers proceeded up to the threshold.

Finally aware of the disturbance unfolding outside of his home, the lights clicked on within the townhouse.

A corner of a curtain lifted in the top floor window, a face appearing in the window for a brief moment. And then the curtain dropped back into place. The police man on the stoop knocked on the front door as several uniformed men slipped around to the back of the property.

They were taking no chances. And neither was Nick. If this cockroach somehow managed to slip past his greeting party, Nick had his own welcoming committee waiting. The man had a better chance with the police. Nick had never crossed that line. He had always had morals. But, by endangering his children and his fiancee? Nick wasn't entirely comfortable with the harm he wanted to inflict on this man who was nothing like his family.

"Ten quid he's a runner." Terry commented absently, his hands still clutching the envelope.

"Too easy." Nick replied, watching as the battering ram was hauled forwards.

A loud muted thud echoed down the street at the first strike. Nick felt an answering thud in his chest. And again. On the third strike, the door gave away with a giant crack, a thud following a split second later as it crashed into the interior wall.

Like a damn had burst, the uniformed officers flooded though the open doorway in a rapid torrent. Shouts flooded the air. And then came the waiting.

Even the neighbours, who had managed to sleep through all of the commotion so far, had their faces pressed up against their windows in anticipation.

Nick reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He glanced briefly at the screen, frowned at the text waiting for him. Markos.

"Everything okay?"

Nick clicked on the button and the screen darkened. "Nothing important."

And it wasn't. Much. Markos had agreed to let him handle the situation. Still, Nick wasn't sure if he would approve of him systematically destroying everything Markos's nephew held dear. Not that there was much to that. Unlike the rest of the Giannopoulos family, this individual was the sins come to life. Greed. Envy. Gluttony. You name it and the man likely had some vice which fulfilled his selfish desires. Markos only knew the tip of the iceberg but Nick would be damned if he was the one to enlighten him.

"It's strange." He said absently. "His entire family are some of the best people I've ever met."

"Sometimes the apple falls far from the tree."

"That old cliché."

"It's a cliché for a reason." Terry reminded him calmly, leaning forwards as several people filed out of the house. "I think she got more than she bargained for."

Nick grunted in assent. The blonde who had been so enamoured with the Giannopoulos heir only hours before was probably reassessing her life's choices. He didn't feel any guilt that she had been the collateral damage. Maybe he should have. However, Nick had no doubt she had gone home with him willingly. This was her choice. After all, he was a married man and a woman would have to be living under a rock not to know that. She had been a willing participant even if the publicity and fame she desired came not in the form of a paparazzi spread on the e-zines and news sites but in the form of a dawn police raid.

She clasped the edges of her coat together as she was guided to the back of a police car. Make up was smeared down her face and her hair was in disarray.

"I almost feel sorry for her."

Terry nodded absently from beside him.

And then there was the moment they had been waiting for. Nick wished he had cracked a window. Instead, the effects of the moment were muted but no less enjoyable. The disappointment of the Giannopoulos family was loudly escorted from the house in handcuffs and a pair of bright red boxers. They read him his rights but the man had not stopped shouting since they dragged him from his home.

The man's shock of dark hair screamed bed head, sticking up in every direction as he fought against his captors. His face was bloodshot, a bruise starting to form on his cheek as he shouted and screamed at the men and women escorting him to the waiting police car. They tried to push his head down to guide him into the backseat but a fresh round of twisting and turning resulted in him being slammed bodily into the side of the car.

Nick winced even as he enjoyed the other man's discomfort. It was the least of what he deserved. After all, his crimes were numerous. Nick had known the man was rotten. The fact that he was It shouldn't have surprised Nick. Then again, a part of Nick hadn't thought this man capable of anything that required even an ounce of effort.

And, that was true to a degree. All of his crimes had been opportunistic. Lazy almost. But they just had been plentiful. 

The saying was true. There was no such thing as victim-less crime. This man had singlehandedly buried several people. He had put them out to slaughter and made them bare the punishments of his crimes. Their reputations forever tarnished. The issue had been spread across continents. Quietly handled with barely a footnote.

No amount of money could make up for that. No amount of money was worth the harm he had inflicted. No amount of money was worth the harm he could have inflicted if the driver hadn't kept his cool.

The officers finally got him into the back of the car. Nick turned the key so that the car rumbled to life. Then, as the car passed, he pressed the button in the door. The window scrolled down just as the car passed.

The look levelled Nick's way was one of pure loathing. Nick waited until they were level, their eyes meeting for only a second. And then, Nick smiled.

In that one look, he told Christos exactly who was responsible for his downfall - as if there had been any doubt. Though he had to give it to the man. He made it bloody easy. But, easy or not, the answering fury was absolutely priceless.

And, to think, Nick was only just getting started. 

But, with a long sentence in Christos's future, those plans could wait. Nick tugged his seatbelt across his body and plugged it in with a satisfying click. "Come on, let's head home. Betsy promised to make breakfast."

Terry's reply was filled with warmth. "I wouldn't miss it."