Page 106 of Betraying Family Vows

"Okay, let's go find out who S is."

33

ATHENA

My reflection stares back at me as I give myself a once-over. More borrowed clothes, though Dimitri promises these will be the last.

I brush my hair, trying to breathe calmly and look presentable for what feels like a tribunal. Dimitri appears behind me in the mirror.

"Stop fidgeting," he says, resting his hands on my shoulders. "You look fine."

"I'm about to face your brothers, who probably want me dead," I reply, turning to face him. "Fidgeting seems like an appropriate response to that."

He smiles. "Relax, Alepoudítsa. I won't let anything happen to you. We just show them what we found. What you enabled us to find."

"Ares is the head of a crime family, Dimitri. Your family. He might find your sudden loyalty to me inconvenient."

"He might sound intimidating, but he's not." He straightens his own shirt. "At least not to me. I'm his brother, after all."

That's not particularly reassuring.

I take a deep breath, smoothing my hands one last time.

"Will your sister be there, too?" I ask, desperate for any information that might help me navigate this minefield.

"No, Calli's away at some kickboxing or training retreat thing."

This surprises me. "Kickboxing? She's some kind of fighter?"

He scoffs. "Calli? No, not really. She started training after something happened to her." He checks his watch. "It's a long story. I'll fill you in later. You ready?"

"No," I say, turning to him. "But let's do it anyway."

We leave the blue suite, Dimitri leading the way, his hand firmly holding mine. My heart pounds harder with each step.

I start going over everything in my head. Over and over.

As we approach double doors that must lead to the office, I notice two women sitting on a sofa outside. They're both stunning in completely different ways.

"That's Stassi and Katerina," Dimitri says. "Theo and Ares's wives."

I offer a tentative smile, which they return with equal hesitation. I don't blame them for the stiffness in their expressions. To them, I'm the daughter of the man who helped kill their father-in-law. The woman who drugged and kidnapped Dimitri. I'd be suspicious too.

Dimitri doesn't pause for introductions. He pushes open the doors to the office, and he guides me inside.

Just like everything else in this damn house, the room is massive with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to something so perfect it could be a painting.

Ares sits behind a massive oak desk, elbows planted on the polished surface. His eyes lock on me the second I step over the threshold.

Theo sits to his right in a leather chair, posture relaxed but his eyes follow me in. He's absently tapping the armrests, but there's nothing distracted about the way he studies me.

To our left is a wide TV mounted on the wall, cables running down to a low table where Dimitri's laptop case, the one he took from Piraeus, sits.

Dimitri squeezes my hip as he gestures to a small sofa opposite the desk.

"Sit," he says.

I do, tucking my hands in my lap to hide their trembling. Dimitri sits next to me, his thigh pressing against mine.