Page 40 of Deceptive Vows (Bound by Vows #3)

Chapter Thirty-Two

THEA

Nazar’s arms locked around me, unyielding, even with the blood streaking down his face and the way he swayed slightly on his feet. His breath rasped against my hair, rough with relief that matched the tremor in my limbs. He was here. Alive.

He looked both terrible and wonderful. My fingers traced his jaw, finding his skin fever-warm and his pulse racing beneath my touch.

Our rings caught the emergency light as our fingers intertwined, the soft glow a stark contrast to the chaos around us. Behind me, the women huddled together, tense and afraid .

Lex appeared, rifle ready, relief softening his expression. “Thea?—”

“Four guards remaining down here,” I interrupted, keeping Nazar’s hand in mine. “The others are down that hall. We need to move now.”

Dimitris approached with a cigarette tucked behind his ear, a grim smile playing on his lips. “Lead on, sis.”

With a grunt, Nazar straightened. “North exit’s closest,” he said. “Transport’s waiting.”

We formed a ragged line with Nazar and me at the front. Lex and Dimitris covered the women, while Elena supported Alexa. The corridor stretched ahead, concrete floors slick with condensation and mold. Distant gunfire echoed through the facility as Lucas’s diversion held the main force at bay.

“Almost there,” Nazar murmured, his grip tightening on his weapon and then on my hand.

Multiple footsteps suddenly echoed ahead of us. Lucas’s radio crackled with urgent static.

“East side compromised,” a voice reported. “Gray Wolf reinforcements arriving. Need immediate backup!”

Lucas cursed under his breath. “They’re flanking us.” He exchanged quick glances with Lex and Dimitris. “We need to secure that side, or we’ll be trapped.”

“Go,” Nazar ordered. “We’ll get the women out through the north exit.”

Lucas hesitated, his protective instinct visibly warring with tactical necessity. “Thea?—”

“I’ve got this,” I assured him. “These women need protection more than I do. Secure our escape.”

After a moment’s consideration, Lucas nodded sharply. “Lex, with me. Dimitris, cover the west corridor. Make sure no one cuts them off from behind.” He gripped Nazar’s shoulder. “Get them out.”

“You have my word,” Nazar replied.

My brothers vanished down separate corridors with swift purpose. I knew it pained Lucas to leave me, but he understood the reality—without secured escape routes, no one would make it out.

We had taken barely a dozen steps when a massive figure rounded the corner ahead. Marco’s enforcer gripped a shotgun in his meaty fists, flanked by another bodyguard. Between them stood Marco Moretti himself, cold fury etched into his face, a pistol already in his hand.

His eyes met mine briefly, then flicked to Nazar, widening in surprise. The realization hit, and they narrowed with cold calculation. “Nazar Volkov,” he said, voice smooth and venomous. “I was told you’d been taken care of permanently. And Mrs. Volkov... how touching.”

“Your mistake,” I spat, positioning myself between him and Nazar.

Marco’s smile thinned. “Not quite. Some loose ends remain.” His gaze swept over the women clustered behind us. “Drop the gun, or they fire. You might take me, but your little flock won’t survive.”

A standoff—Nazar’s pistol against three loaded weapons. The women pressed closer together, Alexa’s frightened breathing audible in the tense silence. Shooting was a gamble with too many innocents and too little cover.

“Don’t listen to him,” Elena whispered fiercely from behind me. “He’ll kill us anyway.”

She was right. Marco was cornered and desperate. Surrender meant certain death—fighting at least gave us a chance.

The enforcer raised his rifle. Nazar shoved me behind him as the blast erupted, catching him in the shoulder.

He staggered back from the impact, a grunt of pain tearing from his throat.

Blood slicked his hand as he fought to keep hold of his weapon, but his knees buckled, and he slid down the wall, body sagging under the weight of the injury.

“Nazar!” I dropped to one knee beside him, heart hammering.

“I’m fine,” he gritted out as the color drained from his face.

The guard shifted his aim to me, but Marco raised his free hand. “Not her,” he ordered sharply. “She’s worth more alive.”

Then—a wail tore through the facility, inhuman and guttural. Marco’s head snapped toward the sound, alarm cracking his composed mask.

“What—” a guard began.

In that moment of distraction, Nazar fired twice in rapid succession.

The enforcer dropped where he stood. The women scattered to the walls as Elena pulled Alexa to safety.

Before the remaining guard could react, Nazar fired again.

The man crumpled with a bullet in his chest, his weapon clattering to the floor.

Marco retreated, his pistol still trained on us despite the momentary distraction. Nazar tried to aim, but his injured arm shook. The shot went wide. Marco sneered, advancing with his pistol now pointed directly at Nazar’s head.

I launched myself at Marco, aiming for his center of gravity.

We crashed to the floor, bodies tangled as he twisted beneath me, his strength surprising.

His gun swung toward Nazar, but I clamped my hand around his wrist, digging my thumb into the pressure point until his fingers spasmed and the pistol slipped from his grasp.

He snarled, his free hand closing around my throat. “I should have killed you with your sister.”

My vision tunneled, my lungs fighting for air. But I didn’t need breath—I needed leverage. I slammed my forehead into his nose. Cartilage crunched beneath my skull as his shriek split the air. Blood splattered hot against my cheek.

We scrambled to our feet, circling each other. My hand darted to my waistband, drawing the jagged metal shard I’d pried from my cage. Not my usual blade, but it’d work.

Marco lunged with blood streaming down his face. I twisted aside, driving the shard into his side. He let out a ragged sound as blood soaked through his expensive shirt, darkening the fabric.

“For Gianna,” I hissed, stepping back as he staggered.

I struck again, slashing his arm. Tendons parted beneath the metal, his hand dropping useless at his side. His scream echoed down the corridor.

“You don’t get mercy.”

He swung wildly with his good arm. I ducked under his attack and drove the shard deep into his thigh. He collapsed to one knee, the fight draining from him with each pulse of blood.

I gripped his hair, yanking his head back to force his gaze to mine. The metal shard hovered at his throat, its jagged edge kissing his skin.

“Beg,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “Beg like I know she did.”

His lips twisted in defiance, blood bubbling at the corners. No plea came, only hatred glaring back at me.

I smiled. “I told you my face would be the last thing you saw before you died.”

The shard bit deep, slicing across his throat with deliberate slowness. His eyes widened as the life drained from him in a red flood. I held his stare until the light faded completely, Gianna’s name a silent prayer on my lips.

I released him, letting his body thud to the floor. For a moment, I stood frozen, chest heaving, the bloody shard dripping in my hand. I wiped the shard on Marco’s jacket before tucking it back into my waistband.

Turning back to Nazar, I closed the distance and knelt next to him.

“Finished?” Pain laced the word.

“Yeah.” I examined his shoulder. The bullet had passed through cleanly, but he was losing blood. I tore a strip from my shirt, packing the wound. “Can you walk?”

He nodded and gritted his teeth as I helped him to his feet. “That was... impressive,” he murmured, his gaze never leaving my face.

Elena emerged from hiding, supporting Alexa. Her eyes flicked to Marco’s corpse, then to me with a mixture of awe and gratitude. The other women followed cautiously, hope beginning to replace fear in their expressions.

Gunfire still echoed through distant corridors as my brothers fought to secure our escape.

“We have to go.” I turned to the women. “North exit—now.”

Elena rallied them, guiding Alexa who swayed but moved forward. I cast one final glance at Marco’s body, grim satisfaction settling in my chest. For Gianna . For all the women he’d hurt.

“What about your brothers?” Elena asked as we hurried down the corridor.

“They’ll find us,” I assured her with more confidence than I felt. “They know where to meet us.”

As we approached the north exit, gunfire erupted nearby. I pushed the women behind a concrete pillar while Nazar braced against the wall, weapon raised despite his injury. Moments later, Dimitris appeared, firing methodically at unseen pursuers.

“Marco?” he asked between shots, glancing over his shoulder.

“Dead,” I answered.

Dimitris’s eyebrows rose, then a satisfied grin spread across his face. “Good.” He fired once more down the hallway. “Lucas and Lex secured the vehicles. We need to get out of here—now.”

“The Wolves?” Nazar’s voice was becoming more strained.

“The ones who aren’t dead, ditched,” Dimitris replied.

“Good,” I said. “We have nine women to get to safety.”

Dimitris nodded, moving to help the women. “Exit’s clear. Let’s go. ”

Nazar’s hand found mine. I tightened my grip, steadying him as we moved forward. The blood and chaos fell away, leaving only the steady anchor of his hand in mine.

“Together,” he said, voice faint but firm.

“Together,” I echoed, our rings pressing between our palms—forged in fire, sealed in blood.

As we guided the women toward the exit where my brothers waited, the weight of the past hours settled over me. I’d lost Nazar, found him, and killed the man who murdered my sister. It wasn’t the end—just a turning point. Gabriele still remained.

But for now, I could breathe. Nazar was alive. The women were safe. For now, we were alive. And that was enough.