Page 112 of Betraying Family Vows

A hoarse laugh crosses his lips as his breathing begins to return to normal.

"Yeah," he says after a second, his arms coming around me. "Okay."

36

ATHENA

We slip through a side door in the office and out into the cool evening air.

Neither of us says a word. I just wrap my arm around Dimitri's, and we walk.

The sun is sliding low over the hills, giving that sweet golden glow over the rows of vines and olive groves that feels too beautiful for a day like this.

The ground crunches beneath our shoes as we step onto the gravel path that winds away from the mansion.

I keep stealing glances at his profile, jaw tight, eyes fixed on some distant point. The revelation about Stavros has carved new lines into his face. I want to smooth them away with my fingers, but I know better. Some wounds need time to heal.

I haven't even begun to process mine, but I don't think I'll be able to, not until he does.

We follow the path deeper into the vineyards, rows of grapevines on either side, their leaves rustling in a breeze that smells earthy.

We've been walking for nearly fifteen minutes, and he hasn't said a single word. Not one. I've never seen him like this. Not even when he was tied to that chair and I held a knife to his throat. Even then, he spoke. He taunted.

The path curves toward a cluster of olive trees, and we cross into them, leaving the grape leaves behind, and still, he says nothing.

I swallow hard and clear my throat. "If you need to be with your brothers right now, or somewhere else, to process, that's okay. I can wait in the room."

Dimitri just shakes his head once, firmly, and keeps walking.

So we continue. It should be peaceful here, beautiful even. And it is, but beauty seems hollow in the face of such rage and betrayal.

More minutes pass. More silence.

Then, Dimitri stops and turns to face the setting sun. His profile is sharp against the light.

"It's funny," he says finally, his voice rough. "My father's revenge has consumed me since his murder," he says. "Everything I did, every fucking thing, was about that."

He exhales, and the sound is ragged.

"And don't get me wrong, I'm still going to kill that piece of shit. I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born."

He turns to face me.

"But now that I know who it is, and I know we'll need to plan because he's the second most powerful don here in Greece…"

He pauses, looking down and grabs my hand.

"I just want to make sure nothing happens to my family." His voice drops. "Ares, Theo, Calli, and…" He stops and looks at me, his blue eyes burning with intensity. "And you."

The words hang between us. My heart feels like it's going to explode with emotion.

"Me?" I ask.

"You." He steps closer. "There's no separation anymore between them and you." His hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb rubbing my cheek. "I've never wanted to protect someone like this before." His voice roughens. "When they took you, it was like they took a piece of me."

I tilt my head and kiss him.

"I don't know what I am without all this. My family, my life, blood and chaos. But with you, I feel like I'm something to someone. My family has to like me. You don't, but you still do." A shaky laugh escapes him. "I mean, you saved me at the gas station."