Page 121 of Beneath Scarred Vows

They nod and run off.

We make our way through the restaurant, past the half-eaten food and drinks.

"Were Sebastian and his men eating before we arrived? Enjoying themselves while my wife was tied up downstairs?" I ask my brother in a soft tone, anger simmering.

"Don't worry. We'll fucking kill them for it," he says.

Just then a woman falls out of a small closet onto the ground and screams.

"Don't fucking move!" Theo roars, scanning the room. "Hands where I can see them!"

She complies immediately, raising her hands. "Please, please don't kill me," she says through tears.

I kneel down in front of her. "Where is she?" I demand. "Where's Makris keeping her?"

The woman stammers, her face white with fear. "D…downstairs. There's a hidden door. Please, I didn't do any of this."

"You being here, knowing my wife was down there, is enough for me to end your life. But luck is on your side. Get the fuck out of here," I say.

I've done a lot of things in my life. Killing a woman isn't something I want added.

She hurries to her feet, leaving her heels behind, and runs outside crying.

Gunfire erupts from the kitchen—our rear team and the men I sent, engaging with our enemy—but I tune it out, focused only on finding the stairs.

"Ares," Theo calls, keeping pace beside me. "Left!"

I turn to see three armed men emerging from a door. They freeze when they spot us, then raise their weapons. I dive behind a column as bullets chip the marble where I stood a second earlier. Theo returns fire, dropping one. I lean out and take down the remaining two, my aim true to their throats. As I watch them crumble, blood pouring out, I see what's behind them.

"Stairs," I say, pointing to the doorway the men just emerged from.

We move toward it, stepping over bodies. Someone shoots from inside and I jump back. Theo steps in front of me and fires three times until his gun clicks, then steps back to reload.

"Got the asshole," he says, shoving a new clip into his gun. I pop my head through the door and see the stairwell leading down into darkness.

"Theo," I say, turning back to him. "Stay here."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't," I shake my head, "I can't risk your life. It's pitch black down there. We don't know how many men stand in our way. I couldn't protect Dad," I say, wiping my—or someone else's—blood from my face, "hell, even Katerina," but I don't finish.

"Ares. It's never been your job to protect. And up until recently, it wasn't your job to lead. If my wife was down there, would you come with me?"

"You don't even need to ask."

"Well, then let's fucking go. We're Kastaris. We live as one, and if the man upstairs wishes it, we'll die as one."

Theo cocks his gun. "Let's go get her back."

I stare down into that darkness and then I hear it.

A muffled scream.

My entire body locks up.

It's her.

"Katerina!" I yell, my voice raw, primal. "I'm coming!"