Page 29 of Thorns of Desire

There were many things I could extract from my prisoners, but the unhinged look in the man’s eyes told me he was done.

So I took pity on him and put a bullet between his eyes.

It was time I paid a visit to the opera singer.

ELEVEN

ATHENA

The window in my room was open, the city noise buzzing with life and stars glittering above. I always slept with curtains slightly open, needing to see the sky when I opened my eyes.

I shifted on the soft hotel bed, trying to get comfortable.

Speaking to my mother earlier had opened the floodgates to the memories I had put a tight lid on. The box seemed to close in on me, just like it had all those years ago. The darkness. The pain. The terror.The fire.

Every time I let my guard down, believing I’d escaped my nightmares, they came back with a vengeance. I started to think they’d forever be around, following and mocking me through life until there was no more life left in me. Maybe it was time I sought out a new therapist.

Keeping my gaze locked on the stars, I put a hand on my chest, tapping it lightly as if it’d release the pressure.

I considered what my old therapist used to tell me when I experienced overwhelming sensations.To free yourself, you must face your demons; otherwise, you will never find peace.

“Not tonight,” I murmured under my breath, fluffing up my pillow, then shifting to the side.

Then I did something I hadn’t done in years. I began humming a song, each soft vibration pushing me closer to a restless sleep.

Darkness.

I could feel the heat from the fire inching closer to my skin with each breath, yet I was cold. My nails scratched against the wood. An invisible hand tightened around my neck.

“Please,” I tried to whisper but I couldn’t move my lips. “Mama, please save me.” But I couldn’t say a word. Tears blurred my vision. Snot ran down my nose. “Someone, please.”

I would die here… burn alive.

Then suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed me. They were gentle, unlike the men who shoved me into this box. Yet, I thrashed against him.

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe. It’s okay.”

I forced my eyes open just as cold fingers pressed against my neck. The first thing I noticed were tattoos underneath his ash-smeared white shirt. But when I looked up at his face, I couldn’t distinguish his facial features. Everything looked hazy aside from stormy ice-blue eyes.

When he grabbed me by the neck, he hissed, “Breathe.” The order was clear and the frantic look in his eyes demanded I obeyed. “And don’t you dare stop.”

I took my first breath, oxygen expanding my lungs. Then another, and slowly, the tightness in my chest started to loosen up.

But I needed to know who this was. I had never seen him before. Why did he save me?

“I don’t want you wrapped up in this fucked-up mafia world, Athena Kosta.” His voice was surprisingly gentle. “I’ll ensure nobody can find you from now on.”

His words made no sense, but I still nodded as if they did.

I moved my lips. “Who are you?”

“One day you’ll learn, but for now, kiddo, you better stay alive.”

I awakened with a jolt, my breathing harsh and my nightgown damp from sweat as the memory of the night that started the nightmare lingered in the back of my mind. My eyes darted to the window, the bright colors splashed against the dark sky as dawn crept up.

My hand came to rest on my chest to ease my thundering heart as I pushed the memories back into the vault along with gratitude for the man who saved me and hatred for the man who’d caused my mother so much pain.

The visit with my mom was turning out to be different from past ones.