Page 171 of Safe and Sound

Christos shook his head. “This belongs to an acquaintance of mine.”

He then led me to a room off the foyer. It was a masculinely decorated office with leather chairs and mahogany furniture. Sitting in the middle of the room on an ornate table was what I assumed was my parents’ safe.

Christos handed me a phone. “Call your parents for the code.”

With a shake of my head, I replied, “I know it.”

His eyes danced excitedly. “Then put it in.”

On trembling legs, I stepped forward. My fingers quickly punched in 1-0-1-7 for my October birthday, which also happened to be my parents’ death date. The door on the safe popped open.

Christos practically knocked me out of the way to reach inside. After snatching out the velvet box, he cracked it open.

Dare had put the key in the center of the box. Christos grabbed it before tossing the necklace and box to the floor. “All my life I thought this was a myth. A silly story my father told whenever my mother wore this necklace. ‘Sons,’ he’d say, ‘That necklace protects the key to a vault of riches. Should we ever fall on hard times, use it to replenish our wealth.”

My curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn’t help asking, “What kind of riches?”

Christos jerked his gaze to mine. “The deed to a sapphire mine. One worth tens of millions of dollars. The deed resides in the oldest bank in Athens. This little key is the only way to get into it.”

“You didn’t need it before, but you do now,” I said. As Christos eyed me curiously, I said, “That’s why you started to search for the necklace. You desperately need the money.”

With a chuckle, Ares said, “She possessesanaginoskein anthropous.”

“I see.”

Regardless of my ability to read people, I had too many questions swirling in my mind. “When did you realize I was still alive?”

“After looking through old photographs, I realized Dimitrios had given it to your mother. I knew her family must have it, so I started hunting them.”

“But they’d changed their name. And disappeared to America.”

He nodded. “Then one of my men stumbled upon a post on the dark web. He’d known your mother. When he saw your photo, he knew you had to be Thea’s daughter. When I went back to read the crime scene report, I realized they hadn’t listed fetal remains.”

“And you came for me,” I whispered.

“I did,” Christos replied, his eyes darkening to black.

Swallowing my rising panic, I said, “You have what you wanted. What happens to me?”

He tsked at me. “You’re far too smart to ask that question.”

As he pulled a gun from his jacket, my heart shuddered to a stop. “I’m very sorry, Ava, but despite not being a true threat to my leadership of the Trakos family, you would be entitled the money from the mine.” He shook his head. “I just can’t have that.”

Christos stepped forward and cocked the gun. I closed my eyes, my mind focusing on an image of Dare and Piper.

An explosion went off, sending a warm spray across my face. At the sound of a body hitting the floor, my eyes popped open. With a gun in his hand, Aeres stared down at his father’s body.

Blood sputtered from Christos’s mouth. He stared wildly up at Ares as he came to stand over him. “How…dare…you!”

“That was for my mother.” Cocking his gun, he said, “This is for me.”

I ducked my head not to watch as the bullet exploded from the gun. A few seconds ticked by. I focused on the beat of my heart in my ears.

At the feel of a hand on my shoulder, I jumped. “Let’s get you out of here,” Ares said.

As he started to lead me out of the office, I froze. Glancing back at me, he furrowed his brows. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not going to kill me?”

---