Page 17 of The Billionaire’s Siren (S.E. Smith Signature Romance: Heart & Soul #1)

Ten

The glass trembled in Alexandros’s hand, ice clinking softly against the crystal.

He didn’t blink—just stared—then slowly set it on the tray beside the conference room’s minibar.

Bourbon. Untasted. He’d poured it out of habit, like a man acting on muscle memory.

His hand trembled, betraying the turmoil threatening to crush him.

He curled fingers into a fist—his knuckles whitening, his skin stretched tight. It didn’t help. Not really.

The sleek conference room—once a cradle of billion-euro deals—felt sterile. Cold.

The overhead lights hummed, their glow too sharp, too precise. It wasn’t a sanctuary anymore. It was a cage.

Behind the frosted glass walls, the command center buzzed like a hive—Demetrius had stayed behind to coordinate the ground teams. Drones hovered overhead. His brother’s team and private security were on the move. Theo’s voice crackled through the comms—calm, lethal, precise. A soldier’s voice.

Alexandros sat at the long table alone .

Utterly helpless…

So… powerless.

His palms pressed flat against the polished wood as he leaned forward, his head bowed—his muscles straining to contain the storm rising inside.

Guilt was a cruel beast—relentless, gnawing, whispering insidious doubts in his head.

This is your fault. She trusted you. You were supposed to protect her.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

The image of Dani’s beautiful, smiling face haunted him. Yet, it was the sound of her voice on the call—quivering, brave, terrified—that echoed in his head.

Theo would bring her back. He had to.

And when he did… Alexandros would do the only thing left he could do to keep her safe.

He would send her away—to protect her from the danger he’d brought to her door.

It would tear him in half.

But he’d survive. Because she would.

He didn’t deserve her. Not if loving him put her in a monster’s crosshairs.

The conference room’s speakers hummed to life, and his head lifted. His eyes fixed on the dots moving across the screen mounted on the wall.

“Team Alpha, in position.”

The voice of Demetrius’s team lead came through, clipped and focused.

“Drone confirms the beacon is coming from Warehouse 14. Two-story structure. Satellite shows partial roof collapse. Minimal exterior lighting. We’ve got one heat signature—possibly two.”

“Understood,” Theo’s voice replied. Calm. Steady. Cold as a scalpel. “Markos, Nikos, north entrance. Luke, Sebastian, take the west. Angel, Cole, do you have eyes up high?”

“Roger that,” Angel said.

“Moving into position now,” Cole said .

Theo’s voice rang through again. “I’m taking the east entrance. Move in.”

“Copy.”

“Demetrius, confirm exit routes are secure.”

“Exits are secure. Three teams have the surrounding area blocked off. We have cooperation from the local authorities. They are on standby if we need them.”

Alexandros’s fingers clenched on the armrest of his chair.

He pictured the building. Dani trapped inside. Her attacker somewhere near her.

God!

He pushed to his feet, pacing to the far end of the room, but the walls closed in. He felt like he was about to go mad. He had never felt so helpless. So… useless. He knew that every second counted.

He stiffened when a beat of silence came across the feed.

Theo spoke again: “Move in on my mark.”

Alexandros stopped breathing.

The silence on the line was deafening.

“Mark.”

Static crackled.

Muffled footfalls.

The low, metallic clicks of the weapons' safeties being released echoed in the tense silence.

A door creaked open.

Glass crunched under boots.

Theo’s voice was low. “Moving in. It’s dark. Smells like oil and mold. Be advised—there’s fresh blood on the floor.”

A growl tore through Alexandros’s throat.

He wanted to rip through the walls. To storm the warehouse himself. To pull her from that hell and carry her home. Instead, he watched the live feed coming in from the front of the half-dozen men scouring the warehouse.

Theo swept the area, moving in a slow, steady, graceful movement that spoke of his years in Special Ops.

Theo swung around, his weapon at the ready .

A sound. Muffled. Desperate.

“Movement. First floor. East corner,” one of the team whispered. “I see her—damn, she’s running!”

Alexandros’s heart exploded in his chest.

Theo’s voice surged. “Dani! Hold your ground!”

Another voice. A scream. Hers.

“Alexandros! Alexandros, help me!”

Gunfire erupted. Shouts followed. Glass shattered. Boots slammed against metal stairs.

Theo called out, “I’ve got her! I’ve got her!”

Alexandros sank into the chair, his hand trembling over his mouth as Dani’s sobs tore through the feed. The body cam caught the blood on her face, her clothes.

“Alexandros—he said… he said he came back—please! Don’t let him get me again. Please, Alexandros?—”

“You’re safe,” Theo said, his voice a soothing anchor. “I’ve got you. You’re going home. He’ll never touch you again.”

Alexandros’s chest heaved. He pressed a hand against it like he could hold his heart together.

“I want Alexandros—” Dani gasped through tears. “I want him—please—take me to him.”

“You will see him. I promise. You’re safe. Alexandros is waiting. Just hold on.”

A sob burst from her so raw it split Alexandros open.

Alexandros stiffened when he heard the change in Theo’s voice.

It was sharper—tense.

“We need a medic. Stat!”

Alexandros froze.

No!

More static. A garbled response.

In the background, he could hear sirens blaring, steadily growing louder.

Suddenly, more gunfire erupted. The whump of boots and shouted commands.

The audio feed cut out. Then, the body cam went dead .

The quiet in the room was deafening.

The world tilted.

Alexandros pressed his palms to the table to keep from collapsing. Nausea churned in his stomach. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this-this feeling. This excruciating pain.

The door opened behind him.

He turned, feeling shattered.

His father stood there.

The Kallistratos patriarch. Ramrod straight. Silver at his temples. Power emanated from him like Zeus ready to strike.

“I heard,” Christos said, his voice like gravel. “They’re taking her to the hospital.”

Alexandros couldn’t speak. He could only nod.

Christos’s gaze softened—just a breath. Just enough.

“Come,” he said. “We go now. Theo will meet us there.”

Alexandros moved.

No hesitation.

He would be at Dani’s side when she opened her eyes.

And nothing—not her trauma, not his guilt, not even the demons he would carry forever—would take her from him again.

Not until I know she’s safe, he thought grimly.

Dani sucked in a terrified breath. Her eyes met Zayan’s, and in that instant, Zayan knew—she was free. As he reached for her, Dani, fueled by adrenaline and fear, surged upward with a desperate lunge.

The shard of glass she’d hidden under her skirt flashed in her hand as she drove it into his side.

His roar of pain and rage was deafening.

He stumbled, then collapsed on top of her, knocking the breath from her lungs. His weight pressed her into the mattress, his hands scrabbling for control. Her muscles burned as they struggled. She thrashed beneath him, clawing, twisting, fighting with every ounce of fury she had .

She cried out when his fingers sank into her raw flesh.

Pain exploded through her arm as he slammed her wrist against the rusted pipe.

Her makeshift blade clattered to the floor.

“No!” she choked out.

But she wasn’t done. Jerking her head forward, she smashed her forehead into his nose. Stars danced in front of her eyes from the blow, but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

She brought her knee up, striking him hard—once, twice—before he grunted in fury and released her. She wrenched sideways, slipping from beneath him just as he reached for her ankle.

His fingers brushed her skin.

She kicked out—connecting with the raw wound where she’d stabbed him.

Zayan released a guttural scream. “You little bitch!”

Dani scrambled to her feet and lunged for the door. Her blood-slick fingers fumbled with the doorknob, finally wrenching it open. She burst into the hallway—blinded briefly by the bright light before she turned and ran.

She didn’t know where she was going. Her bare feet slapped against the concrete as she tore through the corridor. She needed an exit. A sign, anything.

“Dani!” Zayan’s voice thundered behind her.

A gunshot rang out.

She flinched, veering left. A second shot cracked past her head.

Something burned—a fiery sting across her upper arm. She cried out, stumbling sideways, her shoulder slamming into the wall. She crumpled to her knees.

But she didn’t stop.

A sob burst from her chest as she forced herself up, her breath ragged, blood dripping from her arm.

Keep going. Keep going. He can hurt you only if you stop.

She spotted a metal staircase and ran for it.

Another shot exploded behind her. A chunk of the wall burst near her head .

“Run all you want,” Zayan roared. “There’s nowhere left to hide!”

She stumbled down the stairs two at a time, the world tilting, her vision tunneling from blood loss and fear. The warehouse came into view—open, industrial, shadows moving.

And then?—

A door.

Open, glowing with sunlight.

Freedom.

She bolted toward it.

She was ten feet away when a hand grabbed her.

She screamed—raw, terrified, wild.

“No! Let me go!” she shrieked, twisting, striking out.

But the voice that caught her froze her in place.

“I’ve got you! Dani, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She blinked up through a haze of panic, her heart slamming against her ribs.

Dark eyes. Familiar. Fierce. Gentle.

“Alexandros?” she gasped.

“No. Theo. I’m his brother,” he said, steady and calm. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

She collapsed against him, her legs buckling, relief and pain crashing over her like a tidal wave.

Theo wrapped an arm around her, dragging her down with him behind a column of crates. He spoke into his comms, his voice terse. “I’ve got her. She’s alive, but bleeding. We need a medic, stat!”

Gunfire erupted nearby. Boots pounded against the floor.

Dani clung to him, sobbing, unable to stop. “He said he came back… I thought he would kill me… I didn’t know where to go… I wanted—I needed—Alexandros?—”

Theo’s voice didn’t waver. “I know. He’s waiting for you. You’re going home.”

“I want him,” she whispered. “Please, I want him.”

“You’ll see him soon. Just stay with me, alright? I’ve got you.”

She nodded against his chest, her body shaking uncontrollably.

More shouting echoed through the warehouse. The sound of a second gun battle broke out. Additional sirens wailed in the distance. Theo’s voice barked orders into the comms.

Dani’s world tilted again.

Everything hurt. Blood trailed down her arm. Her body was battered—bruises, cuts, gunshot—but something inside her had survived. She wasn’t broken. Not anymore.

She was free.

She was safe.

Most of all, she was going home.

Her eyes, weighted with fatigue, finally closed. She released a soft breath. It wasn’t fear that claimed her—but fragile peace… and the promise of seeing Alexandros again.