Page 119 of Before Broken Vows

I shake my head.

No. I won't allow myself to think that way.

He's doing it for us.

So we can be a family.

I kiss Theo's knuckles where his hand grips mine. "Then finish it," I whisper. "And come back to us."

I'll be here when he returns. I'll wait, no matter what. Because now we're not just surviving, we're building something worth fighting for.

And what he's doing, it's for the future he refuses to let anyone take away again.

33

THEO

Five SUVs sit in the darkness. Engines off. Lights cut. The mountain air is crisp and cool.

Up ahead of us is a multi-level estate set against the hillside. Beyond the iron gate and stone perimeter, Cosmo Kouris—the one who called the hit on my father, the one responsible for Xander's kidnapping—is probably settling into bed.

"He's in there," Dimitri says, checking his watch. "Arrived yesterday morning with his mistress for the weekend. Security's lighter than his official residence, so this should be easy."

"Remember, we take him alive," I say, my voice firm. "He's no use to us dead."

Dimitri nods, checking his gun. "What did Ares say when you called him?"

"What I expected. George Zervas and Stavros Petrou refused to help. Afraid of government blowback."

"Fucking cowards," Dimitri says, sliding his gun into his holster. "We don't need them anyway."

"They've agreed not to interfere, which is the most we could have expected." I pull my gloves tighter. "But Ares insisted on informing Stavros about tonight's plan."

Dimitri's head snaps up. "What? Why the fuck would he do that?"

"As a courtesy," I say, hating that he did. "Out of respect. For Katerina," I add, looking at Dimitri, "with Stavros being her uncle and all."

"Bullshit." Dimitri shakes his head. "Since when do we telegraph our moves?"

I shrug. "You do questionable shit for your wife's family, I guess," I say and check my guns. "Doesn't matter. We're here now."

Our men gather around us, twenty in total. Their faces are stern and focused. These aren't ordinary soldiers of ours—these men are what I'd call the loyal. They've served my family for a long time. Earned their way to be standing here with blood and action.

I run through the plan one final time. "Team One takes the perimeter. Team Two secures the grounds. Dimitri and I, with Team Three, go for Cosmo. No harm comes to the women in the house. Are we clear?"

Nods all around.

"Once we have him, we move to the secondary location. Anyone who compromises this operation answers to me." I look at each face. "Let's move."

The men disperse silently across the grounds as we use the darkness to advance. I turn to Dimitri, who's carrying a duffel bag I don't recognize.

"What's that?"

He unzips it with a grin that tells me I'm probably not going to like what's about to happen. His eyes light up—that same fucking look he's had since we were kids whenever he's about to show off something new.

"Check this out." He launches it into the air, and it emits a soft hum. "Signal disruptor drone. Scrambles their security feeds."

"Seriously? We didn't discuss this."