Page 29 of Deceptive Vows (Bound by Vows #3)

Chapter Twenty-Four

NAZAR

“Are you sure, Thea?” her brother, Lucas, asked. “Ma?—”

“Would want those little girls saved.”

Because her Ma had saved her once—and now, Thea was determined to do the same for someone else.

I could see it in her eyes the moment she got the text—she’d seen herself in that picture.

The fear, anguish, and rage swirled in her dark gaze.

Marco would die, and no amount of luck would make it quick.

Lucas cursed under his breath. If I were in his place, I’d be pacing the Lykos office, running my hands through my hair, desperate to find a way to stop my sister from marrying a man she’d only just met—a man who might be leading her straight into a trap.

"It's probably just one of Marco's games. We know how much he likes power plays. I mean, do you really think he'll let those women go if you get married?" Her brother met her eyes a moment before sweeping his gaze to me.

“We have to do it, Lucas. We have no choice. Besides, once the auction happens, we take Marco out, we…” She trailed off, glancing at me. That flicker of pain in her expression—there and gone—might have been easy to miss if I hadn’t been watching so closely.

“Annulment,” Lucas supplied, his voice tight. “You can get an annulment after we handle Marco.”

I kept my expression neutral, though the word struck me like a physical blow.

An annulment. Normally, that would be the clean severing of a bond that hadn’t even formed yet.

But that wasn’t the case between Thea and me.

Yes, the time we’d known each other was short, but there was most certainly a bond, a deep one .

I could understand her brother’s perspective. It was a necessary exit strategy that made perfect sense.

“Yes,” Thea agreed, her voice steady as she stood next to me, her arms crossed over her chest. “After Marco is dealt with, we can end it legally. The important thing is saving those girls.”

My gaze shifted to the phone sitting on Lucas’s desk, the message still glowing on the screen. The deadline, Christmas Eve, gave us three days. Three days to transform what had been an elaborate ruse into something legally binding and befitting the Kalantzis family.

“We can’t tell anyone else about the threat.” My voice sounded loud in the tense silence that had descended. “Whoever sent it could be watching any of us. The wedding preparations continue as planned, just accelerated.” And real.

Lucas nodded, his jaw tight. “I’ll push through the marriage license today. I know someone at the county clerk’s office.”

“Father Michalis will accommodate us,” Thea added. “He’s known our family for years, and if we explain it’s... urgent, he’ll understand. I mean, he presided over yours and Ari’s. ”

“Without revealing the true reason,” I cautioned. “The fewer people who know about the threat, the better.”

She met my eyes then, and I caught a glimpse of something vulnerable beneath her composed exterior. This woman, who had faced down killers without flinching, now faced something that terrified her far more—surrendering her independence, even temporarily.

“What about Pasha?” Lucas turned to me. “Will he support this?”

I nodded. “ Da . Without question. He understands what’s at stake.”

In truth, Pasha would do more than support it.

He’d been pushing me toward Thea since the beginning, recognizing what I had tried to deny, that she was everything I’d ever wanted in a partner.

What had started as a necessary alliance was becoming something else entirely, something neither of us had anticipated.

“I’ve already called the printer about the date change. We should contact Mr. Marcello,” Thea said, her voice softer now. “The rings...”

“I’ll handle that,” Lucas offered.

“We can tell everyone that Pasha won’t be able to attend at a later date. We’re accommodating him because he’s Nazar’s best friend and best man.”

Her brother nodded. “That’s plausible. Do you want me to let Claire and Anna know about the change?”

She waved him off and, with a flourish, sat in the chair next to mine. “No, I can do that. They’ll likely want to throw a bachelorette party.” Her lips curled slightly. “At least we have a place for the reception.”

The tension in the room eased fractionally, though the weight of what lay ahead still pressed down on us all. A wedding in three days. A real wedding, with real vows and a real marriage certificate.

Thea rose from her chair. “I should call Father Michalis.”

Her phone chimed, and she glanced at it. “Claire?” Her eyes narrowed as she brought her gaze to Lucas’s. “How interesting.”

“She said she planned to call you today about the bachelorette party. She wanted to start working on it.”

The phone rang again. “I’ll take this in the hall.” She looked at me. “I’ll be right back.”

As the door clicked shut behind her, Lucas leaned back, his expression still tight. "Before we get into anything else, talk to me about the plan. I'm not letting my family walk into a death trap."

Nor was I letting my Pakhan. "As soon as Thea talks to Father Michalis, we'll secure the venue. My men will coordinate with your people and do a full sweep the night before and again in the morning. We'll lock down an entry point. No one gets in unvetted."

"Gabriele will love that." He smirked.

"I think we both know he'll only be there for appearances' sake… just long enough to ensure we exchange vows. Once he leaves, we'll lock everything down and get everyone out as quickly as possible."

Lucas drummed his fingers on the desk. "This coup… Do you buy it?"

I shook my head. " Nyet. I don't believe Marco is so careless as to let that get out. If it were a real coup, no one would have known about it until Gabriele was found dead."

He grunted a chuckle as his gaze locked with mine. "Agreed."

"My gut says Marco knows he's been double-crossed."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. Which means we need to add extra security at the church and Lykos." He paused. "And we need to find those women."

" Da . I will double the men at both locations and personally inspect the limo. I'll see what I can find on the dark web. The last time I checked, there was nothing. Maybe with it getting closer, chatter will pick up."

"Maybe."

A brief silence followed as Lucas studied me, his expression unreadable. Then he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

“You care for her.” It wasn’t a question.

“ Da .” I met his gaze directly. “More than I ever planned to.”

His eyes narrowed. “Does she know?”

I nodded. "She knows I care. I've told her. Shown her. But if she were my sister…" I let the thought hang for a beat. "I'd want the man pursuing her to come to me. Not because she needs my permission. But because respect matters. Especially in our world."

He nodded slowly. “And after Marco? After the auction? What then?”

The question hung between us, heavy with implication. What happened when the mission ended? When the threat was eliminated ?

“I want her in my life,” I said. “If she’ll have me.”

“Your life… in New York.” Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “You’re asking her to leave Chicago. Her family. Everything she knows.”

It was easy to understand his position. He loved her. She was his only sister. “I’d ask her to choose me.”

He leaned back, running his hand over his face. “I’m not blind. I’ve seen how she looks at you. I also know her well enough to know she’d be torn.”

“ Da , but New York is a two-hour flight.” I took a deep breath.

“I’ve waited my entire life for a woman like her.

Strong, capable, independent. A partner.

She’s… I’ll worship her until I’m dead. I’ll kill anyone who so much as draws a tear from her.

” I laced the last sentence with enough venom that it could be felt in the air.

“And if she doesn’t choose you?”

The question flayed my heart open. “Then I'll wait. Patiently, until she does."

A hint of respect flickered across his features. “You know, when this arrangement was first proposed, I thought it was a necessary evil. Using my sister as bait.” His jaw tightened. “I’ve spent my life protecting her, even when she didn’t want protection.”

“She’s stronger than most men I know,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need people who care for her.”

A slight nod. “It’s always been hard for her to let anyone get close.” Lucas’s voice softened. “When she loves someone, she loves hard. The first time I ever saw her cry, really cry, was when my father was killed. She’s suffered so much loss…”

I knew the shape of that kind of grief. I’d seen it in her silences. In the way she refused comfort. In the way she kissed, like she was starving and fleeing at the same time.

Lucas fell silent, watching me with the calculating gaze of a man who’d spent his life reading people’s intentions. Finally, he spoke again.

“This wedding might be happening for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t make the marriage itself wrong.” He leaned forward, his voice dropping. “But understand this—if you make promises you don’t intend to keep, there won’t be enough of you left to bury.”

I didn’t flinch from the threat. I’d expected it. Respected it, even. “I would sooner die than hurt her.”

Something in my tone must have convinced him because Lucas’s posture relaxed slightly. “Then we understand each other.”

“Perfectly.”

The door opened and Thea stepped back into the room, her sharp eyes immediately assessing the atmosphere. “Well, I see you’re both still alive. That’s promising.”

Lucas smiled, the protective brother transforming back into the businessman. “Just discussing some logistics.”

“Right.” Her gaze steadied on Lucas and slowly panned to me. “I guess we should be going.”

Pushing out of the chair, I moved to her side. “I need to check in with Pasha, make arrangements for him to fly in.”

“I’ll make sure the restaurant staff knows we’re hosting a rehearsal dinner the day before,” Lucas said.

“Thank you.” Thea spun on her heels. “I’ll call you later.”

As we prepared to leave, finalizing the next steps in our accelerated wedding plans, I caught Thea watching me with a question in her eyes. Later, I knew she would ask what her brother and I had discussed. And when she did, I would tell her the truth.

I had just promised to protect something far more precious than my own life—her heart.