Page 74 of Beyond Enemy Vows
Each one feels like a gut punch. I can hear his voice in my head, the confusion giving way to anger.
If something happened to one of your brothers and you had to leave, fine, I get it.
But if you just left, especially after I told you I loved you, then what the fuck?
I press a hand over my mouth.
You're mine, Calli.
I will go through hell to get to you.
We're not over.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears escape anyway.
Either call me or see me soon. You don't get to just walk away from this.
The phone slides into my lap, and I wipe my eyes.
It's too much. His words. Theo's warning. The baby.
My chest feels like it's caving in. I press a hand to it, but the pressure only grows until it's almost unbearable. My stomach twists violently, and the nausea rises again, sharper this time.
It's happening more often now. Not just in the mornings. Nausea sweeps in with no warning, no mercy. It's whenever stress hits, whenever I think about what's coming, whenever I picture Niko's face.
My entire body trembles. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold everything in.
God, what am I supposed to do?
I pick up my phone and scroll back to Keira's messages. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and hit FaceTime.
She answers on the first ring.
"Wait. Why are you at home? What the fuck happened? Tell me everything," she demands without so much as a hello.
I choke on a laugh that quickly dissolves into a sob. "Everything is fucked, Keira. Everything."
"Tell me." Her voice hardens, going into problem-solving mode.
So I tell her.
I tell her about Dimitri's call. About the name that dropped like a guillotine into my life. About Stavros Petrou being the man who killed my father.
Her eyes widen. "Fuck. Stavros Petrou as in?—"
"As in Niko's father." I press my fingers to my temples. "But that's not all. My brothers are planning to kill them both. Stavros and Niko."
Keira doesn't say anything at first, but her eyes flash, that same electric, dangerous light she gets when someone messes with her family.
Then she starts moving. She paces across her bedroom, phone in hand.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Let me get this straight," she says finally, voice sharp. "Your brothers find out Stavros killed your father, and their plan is to kill both him and Niko? Even though they don't have proof Niko had anything to do with it?"
"Yes." I nod, crying. "Theo said even if Niko didn't know, he'd retaliate. That they can't leave loose ends."
"Loose ends?" she snaps. "He's the father of your baby. Jesus." She hits her forehead. "What the actual fuck."
Keira stops pacing, turns back to the camera, and stares at me.
