Page 85 of Betraying Family Vows

"No!" she screams, clawing at the hands grabbing her arms.

I fire once, but a knife comes through and cuts her seatbelt and grabs her. I can't get off a shot since she's blocking them.

There's another smash behind me. The butt of a rifle shattering the backseat window.

"Get the bag. The phone," someone yells.

I fire again, but my arm is shaking too hard. The bullet goes wide as someone pulls the bag out of the car.

"Dimitri!" Athena's voice breaks through the chaos.

I turn back to the front and see her being dragged, kicking and fighting. The men are staying behind her.

FUCK!

I can't get a shot off.

Someone yells. "Finish him!"

I then see a small white hatchback appear in the distance, slowing as the driver takes in the wrecked vehicles and armed men.

"Shit! There's a car coming!"

"Fuck it. We got what we need. We'll deal with him later. We need to go!" someone yells and I see some motherfucker shove Athena into the SUV, slamming the door. The engine roars to life.

"No!" I roar, trying to get out of the car. "Athena!"

Silence falls, except for the wheezing rasp of my own breath as I climb out of the car. My body screams in protest as I drag myself through the shattered window frame. Blood drips from a gash above my eye, running hot down my face.

Athena is gone. The bag is gone. The phone.

Everything.

I stagger once I'm out of the car and on my feet. The SUV that took her is already a speck in the distance, dust trailing behind it.

I start running anyway.

"ATHENA!"

The SUV disappears around a bend in the road.

I keep running until my legs give out, until I'm bent double on the side of the road, hands on my knees, blood dripping onto the pavement beneath me. My chest heaves with each breath.

We were so close. So fucking close to ending this.

The driver in the white hatchback gets closer and panic overtake her face and she speeds off.

Dammit.

I straighten and turn back to the wreckage. The car is ruined, but my phone survived in the glove compartment. I pull it out and unlock it, my fingers leaving red smudges across the screen as I dial.

Theo picks up on the first ring.

"Dimitri?"

"They have her."

"Who?"