Page 58 of Beneath Scarred Vows

However, I have an even bigger issue I'm trying to wrap my head around.

Why would someone try to kill her?

Or better yet, why would they try to kill me?

20

ARES

Iscan the shipping contract in front of me, eyes narrowing at the fine print. These Colombians think they're clever, slipping in an extra clause about liability during transit. I cross it out with a heavy black line and initial next to it.

My phone vibrates on my desk. Christos's name flashes on the screen. Odd. He's with Katerina and Calli for lunch.

"What is it?" I answer, still reading through the contract.

"Boss," he says, his voice heavy, and he's breathing deeply. I know that tone. It's the one my men use when everything has gone to shit. "There's been an ambush. Multiple shooters. Johnny's dead."

My pen freezes mid-stroke.

"They were after Calli and your wife."

The world stops.

My blood turns to ice. The pen drops from my fingers, rolling across the contract and leaving a trail of black ink like spilled blood.

I say nothing. I can't. My throat has closed up, and a rage so hot it burns is spreading through my chest, turning my lungs to fire.

"Boss? You there?"

"Are they hurt?" The words scrape out of me like broken glass.

"Your wife took a graze to the arm. Calli's shaken but physically fine."

I stand so abruptly my chair crashes into the wall behind me. My fingers curl into a fist, and I slam it into the desk with such force that the crystal tumbler of whiskey topples over, amber liquid spilling across the mahogany surface and dripping onto the floor.

"Where are you?" My voice is deep, like a predator's tone before the kill.

"We're heading back to the house now."

"Hurry up," I say and hang up.

I pace my office. My heart pounds like a war drum in my chest, but my mind is terrifyingly clear. Someone touched what's mine. My family. Someone tried to take them from me.

I reach into the bottom drawer of my desk, pull out my gun, and slide it into my shoulder holster. The way it presses against my ribs instantly turns me into the god of war I'm named after.

A high, piercing sound from my phone cuts through the silence—the all-hands alert that Chris activated. My security feeds cycle automatically, showing me my men moving rapidly. Sometake defensive positions at the front entrance, others fortify the perimeter. The gate is being locked down, additional guards posted.

The door to my office flies open. Theo stands in the doorway, eyes wild with fury.

"What the fuck happened?" he demands.

I meet his gaze, the ice in my veins turning my voice into something unrecognizable.

"They tried to kill my wife and our baby sister."

Theo's face darkens, a flush of rage takes over his face. "Who?" he asks, his tone carrying the promise of violence.

"Don't know yet." I reach for another gun in my desk and hand it to him. "But we're going to find out."