Page 125 of Before Broken Vows

As we walk down the stairs, I step over a body on my way out, not even looking down. They don't matter. They were in my way.

My hands are sticky with blood—some mine, most not. I flex my fingers, feeling the skin pull where it's starting to dry.

As we exit the villa, the air feels cooler than it did when we first got there. Some of our men are walking around, checking the dead bodies for anything useful.

"You good?" Dimitri asks.

I look at him, at the blood splattered across his face and clothes, and I think of Stassi's face when I left. The fear in her eyes—not for herself, but for me.

"I just want all this to be over," I say, surprising myself with the confession. "Get back to Stassi and my son. Have a bit of a normal life, you know?"

Dimitri glances at me and nods.

Our SUV waits at the end of the driveway, engine running, our driver waiting for us.

Dimitri and I slide into the back seat, and as we drive away, Dimitri pulls out the phone we found, turning it over in his hands. The blue light from the screen glows in the dark.

"You get back to Stassi," he says, not looking up from the device. "I'm going to figure out who this 'S' person is and bring death to them."

There's an edge to his voice I haven't heard before.

"It's my way now. No more chasing leads, no more strategies. You've had your turn. You wanted to find who ordered the hit on Dad—you did. Now it's my time. Let my guns lead the way. Leave a trail of bodies, and the person you're looking for shows up."

I study my brother. He's the hothead—the no-plan-is-the-plan type. And I can tell he's ready to burn the world down to find answers.

"Fair enough. Let me get married first," I say. "Maybe get them settled back in Chicago." I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder. "Then we'll go after this 'S' person, and we'll do it your way."

34

STASSI

Chamomile tea never works, but here I am, hoping it'll somehow calm the flutter in my chest.

My reflection in the vanity mirror stares back, calm and serene, at least on the outside. A white silk robe drapes over my body, my hair half-pinned, my lips painted with a soft rose. Behind me, Calli is chattering with the makeup artist about my look. Her voice is light, playful. It helps. A little.

Calli leans over, her hair falling forward as she points. "More gold in the inner corners, I think. Her eyes need to pop, especially with that veil."

I smile slightly, careful not to disrupt the artist's work. There's a hum of activity in the air, people coming and going, preparing and arriving. All for us. All for this day I never thought would come.

I glance down at my engagement ring, twisting it slightly on my finger.

How did we get here?

Through happiness. Through heartbreak. Through years apart and a son born in secret. Through violence and some long-buried truths. But also through love. The kind that never died, not even when I tried to kill it.

It's as if Theo and my heart had a string, and no matter how far either of us went, we were always destined to come back together. Granted, there was a painful reunion and a kidnapping involved, but hey, we made it.

Calli's warm hand squeezes my shoulder, snapping me from my thoughts. "Hey, you doing alright?" she asks, her eyes meeting mine.

"I'm spiraling. Just a little," I say, and we both laugh.

I smile, turning slightly toward her. "No, I'm just thinking about how different this is from what I used to imagine."

"You used to imagine marrying my brother?" Calli's eyebrow arches with amusement.

"Back when we first got together." The confession feels a bit childish. "I used to picture us eloping somewhere quiet. Just us. No fuss." I laugh softly. "I think I knew from the beginning I wanted him forever."

Calli's eyes soften, and she wraps her arms around my shoulders from behind, careful not to disturb the makeup artist's work. "And now you're getting the full Kastaris treatment instead." She rests her chin on my shoulder, our reflections side by side in the mirror. "I'm so glad you're back in our lives, Stassi. In his life."