Page 64 of Before Broken Vows
"Split up at the bottom," I tell Dimitri. "You head east, I'll go west."
"Like hell," Dimitri yells. "We stick together."
We hit the first floor, and I shove the door open, gun first. The service corridor is clear. We sprint down it toward the side exit that should lead to an alley.
I push the exit bar, and the door swings open to reveal the narrow alleyway. Empty, thank God. But I can already hear sirens in the distance. Someone's called the police.
As we sprint away from the building, my mind races faster than my feet. Nicolas's last words echo in my head. They plan on doing to—who? Us? The Kastaris family? Was he warning us?
And that ledger. All those names. The connections I'd been looking for, right there in black and white. If I can get out of this alive, I may have solved so much.
We weave through back streets, cutting through a restaurant kitchen, ignoring the shouts of the startled staff. Out the front, across a busy street, down another alley. We don't slow down until we're sure no one's following us.
We duck into a coffee shop and finally feel at ease.
"We're fucking onto something, Dimitri. They made sure Nicolas was silenced before he could tell us anything. Someone big is behind all this."
He nods, breathing deeply to catch his breath.
My phone buzzes. It's Stassi.
Flight booked for tomorrow. 9 AM.
I stare at her message, a strange feeling washing over me. If I'd been a few inches to the left, if that sniper had better aim, I'd be dead right now. I'd never see my son. My son who doesn't even know I exist yet.
I type back.
Thank you.
Whatever game we've stumbled into, whatever web Nicolas was part of, it's bigger and more dangerous than I imagined. And now it threatens not just me and my brothers, but Stassi and my son too.
I need to think, because one thing is clear: we're not just hunting anymore.
We're being hunted, too.
"Dimitri," I say, pocketing my phone. "I need to leave Greece for a few days."
He looks up sharply. "Are you out of your fucking mind? We just got ambushed. Dio is dead. And you want to leave now?"
The coffee shop buzzes around us, patrons sipping espresso and chatting, oblivious to the fact that two men who just escaped a firefight are sitting among them.
"I've got no choice," I say, leaning forward. "It's about Stassi."
Dimitri's jaw tightens. "What about her?"
"Look. It'll just be a few days. Then I'll be back," I say, looking around. "I need you to take the lead on this. Dig deeper into the ledger. When I get back, I'll explain everything."
"You realize the timing is shit, right?" Dimitri leans forward. "We just had Nicolas in our hands. He was about to tell us who's behind all this—who might have killed our father—and now he's dead. His people tried to kill us too. And you want to leave the country."
"I know," I admit. "But I can't ignore this. I have to go."
The muscles in Dimitri's jaw flex.
"And Ares? What do I tell him?"
I consider this. Ares will be furious that I'm leaving in the middle of all this.
"I'll take care of him. Don't worry about it."
