Page 97 of Betraying Family Vows

For a split second, his expression doesn't even change. Then the hood covering Athena splashes with red and the man's shoulders relax. And then it appears. A hole, just above the bridge of his nose. Blood pours and he drops like a stone in water.

The wall behind him covered in red and grey pieces.

Athena screams and falls to the ground, crying harder now. Her body convulses with sobs that seem to tear through her entire being.

I rush toward her faster than I've ever run before. I rip the hood off her head, tossing it aside.

Her eyes are wild, blinking rapidly in the sudden light, struggling to focus. Her lashes are clumped with tears as I wipe them away.

"It's me, baby. It's me," I say, my voice raw.

"You're okay. I'm here," I continue, brushing the hair out of her face.

Her mouth trembles. For a second, she just stares, like she can't believe I'm real.

Then her shoulders slump, every muscle going slack.

"I knew you'd come," she says. Her voice is raw, shredded. "I knew it."

I pull my knife from my belt and saw through the zip ties, the plastic leaving bloody grooves on her wrists.

The moment her hands are free she wraps them around me.

I look her up and down. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "I'll be okay. As long as you're here. Everything else will heal."

"Jesus," I say, rubbing her cheek. "You had me worried, Alepoudítsa. The thought of losing you. Shit."

I stop and tilt her face up to mine, studying every bruise, every cut. Then I lower my mouth to hers.

We kiss deeply, desperately, the taste of her tears mingling between us. It's a kiss of relief, of survival, of promises kept.

When I pull back, her eyes shine.

"I've got you," I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers. "You hear me? I've got you."

She nods. "When I was here. Thinking about you and about life. I only had one regret," she says.

"Getting kidnapped?" I say with a smile.

She laughs and then winces in pain and coughs.

"It was never telling you how sorry I was for misjudging you and not telling you sooner that I —"

A voice cuts through the moment like a blade.

"Dimitri!"

Theo bursts into the doorway with his men and mine, eyes sweeping the room. His gun tracks over the bodies, then to us.

"We have to move," he says, voice firm. "Come on."

Athena flinches against my chest.

I slide one arm under Athena's knees, the other behind her back, and lift her against my chest. She's so light and fragile in my arms.

"Hold on to me, tight," I say as her fingers grip my shoulder, digging in like she's afraid I'll disappear.