Portia sat across from her husband and told him everything. He was normally an amiable soul, but she knew that beneath his affable persona he had a temper and she saw the fury burning ever more brightly behind his eyes.
"You knew! You fucking knew that bastard was lurking about someplace and you still went off for a damned picnic without even taking Gunter for security."
"His smuggling habits have been useful in the past, so I tolerated him, and he's never bothered anyone from the villa before. Very rarely he stumbles onto a tourist and a ransom is paid but so far nobody's been hurt. I pay him well and I thought I could control him through his greed."
She looked down at the tablecloth and whispered, "It appears I was mistaken."
"What of Natassia and Susan? Will he harm them?"
"I think so."
"And you left them," he growled.
Portia looked up at her husband and for the briefest of moments, he thought he saw her lower lip tremble, "My choices were limited. If I pushed it, I think he would have kept us all."
Her voice quivered, "I'm sorr-"
Cassius snarled and savagely hurled the table aside; cutlery and china flew in all directions, and he towered above her. "Get out of my sight!"
She fled.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath Cassius tried to master the anger he felt and failed.
"Fuck it!"
He turned on his heel and stalked towards the villa.
Martin sat in his suite drinking a cup of coffee and checking stock options as he thought about Margaret.
"
It was a pity the bandits hadn't managed to get their hands on her as well
", he mused, kneading his growing erection through his trousers as he imagined the things they would have done to her.
"
I bet they would have taught her a thing or
..."
His pleasant musing ended abruptly as the bedroom door exploded open with a crash.
Cassius strode into the room and took the startled man by the throat. Dragging the struggling figure to the balcony he snarled, "Don't speak! If you say a single fucking word I'll throw you headfirst off this balcony, understand?"
Goggle-eyed the man could only nod as he tried vainly to shift the iron fingers that had locked around his throat like a vice.
"Whatever your deal is with Margaret it's over! I'll pay whatever she owes, and you'll leave her be".
Cassius pulled the man's face close and seeing the murderous rage in his eyes Martin could only nod in terror as he tried vainly to breathe.
"Good! Because if I hear you've bothered her, or gone near her, or if I just happen to be in a bad fucking mood one day, I won't just destroy you, I'll kill you."
He released the shaking man who collapsed blubbering onto the floor, taking in great mouthfuls of air as he gasped and wheezed for breath.
"The plane has been refuelled. Get your shit and get the fuck off my island."