Page 99 of Betraying Family Vows

I then sit up, scanning the area, ready to shoot.

I turn to check on Athena.

She's curled into a ball, rocking as the SUV speeds toward the main road.

I reach out and she instantly grasps my hand and squeezes it.

Ares pulls out onto the main road, and I look through the windows and see we're alone. Just our convoy of black SUVs behind us.

"We're safe now," I say and pull her up so she can sit next to me.

I see Ares glance at her in the rearview mirror and Theo turns back to us and nods, then looks forward.

"Where we headed?" she asks, looking at me.

"To our estate in Kalamata," Ares replies from the driver's seat, his voice firm and laced with rage. "Where you can enlighten us how you happen to know who killed our father."

I pull her into me and we lean back in the chair, each too tired to deal with Ares. He'll learn soon enough what she's bringing to the table.

I look down and kiss the top of her head. Despite everything we've all been through, her scent wraps around me and I breathe it in.

She's now mine to keep, and no one will ever take her again.

31

ATHENA

The drive back feels endless.

I'm tucked into Dimitri's side in the back seat, my body too spent to do anything but lean into the warmth of him. Every time the SUV bounces over a pothole, the bruises along my arms and ribs flare. I press my face against his shoulder and breathe him in.

I'm safe, I tell myself over and over.

I don't think I've ever been this tired. Not even the day my mother died. Not even the day I watched my father get lowered into the ground, wondering why I couldn't feel anything.

But this, this is different. Because there's no numbness left.

I feel everything. Every ache. Every heartbeat. Every breath that passes my lips.

No one speaks. Dimitri just keeps one hand buried in my hair, stroking the tangled strands like he's reassuring me that I'm okay, but I think maybe it's for him as well.

At some point, I drift in and out of consciousness. The motion of the car, the low hum of Dimitri's heartbeat, it all blends into something that relaxes me.

When the SUV slows and turns, I blink awake.

I lift my head enough to look out the cracked side window.

Massive wrought iron gates swing open and men with guns walk alongside us. I look out the windshield and see the road winds through olive trees, leading to a sprawling mansion.

I swallow. My mouth tastes like copper and dirt. My throat burns from screaming. The zip ties left raw rings around my wrists that throb.

"We're here," Dimitri says, against my ear.

The SUV rolls to a stop near the front steps. The other vehicles pull in behind us. I catch a glimpse of Ares, his face set in that same cold fury I saw back at the quarry.

"Don't move," Dimitri says, opening his door and stepping out.

I sit up and follow him with my eyes as he walks around the car to my side and opens the door.