Chapter 15
ATHENA
I'm kneeling beside him as I search through the first aid kit, its contents spilling onto the stone floor.
I glance up at him, trying to act like I'm looking for the perfect thing to treat his wounds, but in all honesty, I have no fucking idea.
All I can think about right now is how in the hell is he still alive after that? There were like five men beating him, and now he's just sitting here, bloodied, staring at me with those blue eyes.
I tear open some bandages and gauze and rip open some antiseptic packets. I know I'll need that. My hands aren't steady and I can barely breathe, but I force myself to move.
I'll start with that deep gash above his eyebrow. I dab it gently a few times, scared I'm going to cause him more pain. As the blood soaks the cotton, I'm surprised at the relief that washes over me when I realize most of the blood isn't his and the cut isn't as bad as it appeared.
"Okay," I say, tossing aside the bloody cotton, "this is going to hurt."
I press an alcohol-soaked gauze against the wound.
Dimitri winces. "Son of a bitch!"
I pull back quickly. "What? Shit, did I hurt you?"
He starts laughing and shakes his head no.
"Asshole."
"Oh, come on."
"No, it's just. I..." I trail off, overwhelmed.
Dimitri slides his hand up and squeezes my thigh. "You're doing fine, Athena."
I look at him for a moment before I continue cleaning the wound.
He doesn't flinch this time. Just watches me with those ice-blue eyes, tracking my every movement.
I finish and apply a bandage, his eyes still following me. I work on cleaning the dried blood across his hairline thinking there's more cuts, but there's none.
"Okay, now you're looking at me like I'm going to stab you with the tweezers."
He smiles. "Wouldn't be the first time someone's tried."
"I'm not even going to ask," I say as I get fresh new gauze.
"Hold still," I say as I start dabbing the cut by his lips.
It's hard because I can't look away. And staring at his lips... well, it stirs things up in me, and I can't look into his eyes because that's just...
Damn, I'm too close to him. Should I back up? But that would be weird. I'm making it weird.
Jesus, I'm in my head.
I swallow.
I want to hate him.
I should hate him.
But sitting here with dawn approaching, patching up the man who just killed a bunch of people to keep us alive, I don't know what I feel anymore.
He saved me. I owe him this much.
"Your shirt's covered in blood. Do you have an extra one in your bag?"
He nods. "Yes."
"Okay, take your shirt off then," I say, then quickly add, "I need to check you."
He hesitates for a moment and then pulls the blood-stiffened fabric over his head.
I freeze.
It wasn't the blood or the bruises that stole my breath. It was the man beneath them.
Dimitri's body is all hard. Muscles carved from marble. A broad chest, defined abs, every inch of him built for power. His skin is covered in black ink.
I've seen them on his hands and forearm, but now I can't help but really take them in.
On the backs of his hands: wolves chasing prey.
His forearms, Greek, maybe Spartan warriors, shields up, swords drawn.
Across his chest, below a Greek god is a phrase inked in bold script.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ.
His ribs and stomach are covered with daggers, coiled serpents, skulls, gods and goddesses. Just what you'd expect a dangerous Greek mobster to have.
And right over his throat, a Greek cross, almost out of place. Etched along its side, the name, Eleni.
I swallow hard, my hands hovering over his chest. The heat of his body radiates against my palms before I've even touched him.
I press my fingertips gently along his ribcage, feeling for tenderness. His breathing changes, but he makes no sound of pain.
"Does this hurt?" I ask, pressing lightly on a darkening bruise.
"A little, but not too bad."
I smile, and I'm suddenly very aware of how close I am to him. My knee pressed against his thigh. My hair falling forward, brushing his chest as I lean in to examine a particularly nasty cut. His breath warm on my forehead.
"What does this say?" I ask, nodding to the phrase on his chest.
"Mol?n labé. Come and take them."
I look at him. "I don’t get it."
He grins. "It's what King Leonidas told Xerxes the night before the battle of Thermopylae. He sent someone to ask the Spartans for their weapons and that was Leonidas’s response, come and take them."
I smile. "What is it with men and their love of Spartans?"
"For me, it's not just a warrior but my role as a protector."
I pause before grabbing some bandages to place over his final cuts across his ribs.
"Is that why you saved me?" The question tumbles out before I can stop it. "At the gas station. That man was about to shoot me."
Dimitri's eyes meet mine. "I need you alive."
"For what?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it matters," I say, pressing the bandage harder than necessary against the cut on his ribs. "It matters to me."
He catches my wrist, stilling my movements.
"The truth is, I knew whoever set you up planned on killing you when they didn't need you anymore.
But you didn't. You thought they'd come save you.
That I was still the bad guy," he says, loosening his grip so I pull my hand free, "but when I saw that look in your eyes, that realization that everything you thought was wrong.
.. to me, you became innocent in all this.
And," he sighs, "and I've never wanted to protect someone more. "
My chest tightens. The words hitting me harder than I expect. I don't want to need those words. But fuck, I do.
I turn to fidget through the first aid kit, pretending I'm unfazed.
During my fake search, I find some ibuprofen pills and tear them open and grab the water bottle.
"Here," I say, dropping them in his hand, "take these."
He does, and I just stare at him, taking in everything.
"You know," he says, handing the water back to me, "I feel like we're a lot alike."
I lean back and sit against a stone and take a sip of the water. "What do you mean?"
"Raised in your mom's shadow. Never feeling like you can be yourself or live up to her. Take anything you can if it promises to pull you out of that shadow."
I nod. "Something like that."
"Please. It's exactly like that. Look at you.
You're sitting in oversized clothes splattered with blood.
You just had someone point a gun to your head with the intention of killing you.
And," he says and sticks his hand out for the water, "you're stuck here with me, unsure of your fate.
You're way too pretty for all that, Alepoudítsa. "
It's weird, but I'm starting not to mind that nickname.
"Well, I am among some beautiful ancient Greek ruins, so that's a plus," I say, taking the water back and taking another sip. "Plato's house, right?"
Dimitri laughs. "Shit, don't make me laugh. I need the pills to kick in first."
"So you just talked about me. What about you? How are we the same?"
"My shadow is my family. I make sure the Kastaris vision is secured, whatever that may be. It's what defines me. Nothing else. And at seventeen I was sent for training, rebuilt in fire to be this way. To be the man you see."
"And what exactly do I see?"
"A living weapon. Someone whose life is meant for service. I do what is necessary to make sure my family stays on top. Always striving. Never finishing."
Something in my chest twists.
I shouldn't care.
I shouldn't feel anything but hate for him.
But I do.
"You deserve to be happy though. To be your own person, separate from the shadows of your family," I say and take another sip of water.
He shakes his head. "Says the woman trying to get out from under her mother's. Good advice though."
I give him back the water.
"I was sent away too. A lot younger than seventeen. To live up to my mom's standards. And somewhere along the way, her needs became mine. Her dreams became mine. It got so blurred, even I don't know what I really want anymore."
Dimitri nods. "Yeah."
Maybe it's the lack of sleep and delusion, but I start laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. It's a fucked-up world where the person you were after ends up saving you. Is able to relate to you. Even caring more about you than..." I pause. "Not that you care about me or anything, but like, you know... protects you from the men you thought were on your side."
I look around and the ruins seem so beautiful and the morning light appears. I also realize now we're literally out in the middle of nowhere.
"About being on your side... you can leave," Dimitri says, gesturing toward the entrance with his chin.
I blink, not understanding.
"I'm not keeping you prisoner anymore," he continues. "If you want to run—run."
My pulse quickens. Is he serious?
"What's the catch?"
"No catch." He winces as he shifts position. "I left the phone they were tracking us with back at the gas station. So I'm not going anywhere. At least for a few hours. I need to rest. After that, I'll find a way back to Athens. You can either stay or go."
I stare at him, searching for the trap. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Freedom is right in front of me. I could just walk away. Find my way to a road. Flag down a car. Disappear.
I should go. Every rational part of me screams to run. To be away from him, from this place, from everything.
But something holds me in place. The memory of him taking a beating because he turned to save me. The fact that without him, I'd be dead. There's no way I would have survived tonight.
And something about leaving now, leaving him like this, feels wrong.
If I stay, what then? Back to Athens with him? To what end?
If I go, where? With what money? To whom?
They betrayed me. Used me. There's no going back to that life.
Ironically, I may be safer with him.
Maybe if I rest for a bit, I'll be able to think more clearly.
"I, um... I can't just leave you like this. You know, after saving me. And I'm pretty tired anyhow, so maybe I'll rest a little too. And then go."
Dimitri looks at me, a small smile on his lips. Those damn lips.
"Okay, Athena. Rest, and I'll keep watch."
"No." I shake my head. "You're the injured one. You rest, and then I can."
Dimitri looks at me for a moment, his eyes seeing what I'm hiding.
He nods, takes his gun in his hands, rests it across his lap, and closes his eyes.
A few hours later, the calmness of the breeze, the quietness, and my lack of sleep since the day before Theo's wedding does me in. As I struggle to stay awake, I tell myself... as soon as I'm up, I'm leaving. I'm gone.
Yes, that's exactly what I'll do, I think.
And before I know it, I'm asleep.