Chapter 27 Dimitri
DIMITRI
The road curves ahead, winding like a snake through the countryside. Athena's been quiet for the last twenty minutes, her face turned toward the passenger window, watching the world go by.
It should feel like freedom.
Instead, every mile feels heavier. Like the closer we get to Kalamata, the more I can feel everything tightening around me. I can already picture the moment, walking into the compound, Athena at my side, pulling out the phone and laying it on the table like a bomb about to detonate.
We unlocked the phone. Here's the truth.
I check the rearview mirror. Clear. For now.
I flex my fingers on the wheel. One crack in the facade is all we need.
One mistake from whoever "S" is. I've spent years building walls around the family, walls of bodies, and now someone's gone and punched a hole right through them.
Killed my father, tried to kill me, and dragged Athena into this mess.
Part of me almost believes it could be that easy. Walk in, show the evidence, find the bastard who killed our father, end it.
But nothing in my life has ever been that simple.
Either way, in about thirty minutes or so I'll put all this in front of my brothers and watch them decide if she lives or dies.
And maybe, I think, that's the problem.
I don't want to watch them decide.
I want to tell them.
I want to make it clear that if they want her gone, they'll have to come through me to do it.
I glance at Athena again. Her hair catches the sunlight streaming through the window, turning the edges golden. I wonder what she's thinking about. If she's picturing what comes next, like I am. If she sees herself in it.
Movement ahead snaps my attention back to the road. A white delivery truck sits half on the shoulder, hazard lights blinking in the afternoon sun. Two figures stand near the back, looking down at a tire.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary, but every hair on the back of my neck stands up.
Something seems off.
I slow the car, shifting my hand to check the Glock holstered under my jacket. The road is empty in both directions, just us and a broken-down truck on a stretch of coastal highway.
"Dimitri?" Athena's voice is curious, noticing our decreased speed. "What is it?"
"I don't feel..." I say, and stop as I see one of the men shift and a gun pops up.
Then the truck suddenly lurches forward, engine roaring to life. It swerves across both lanes, cutting directly into our path.
"Fuck!" I slam on the brakes and pull the wheel hard to the right.
Tires scream, the car fishtailing. Athena cries out, bracing her hands against the dash.
"Dimitri, what's going on?"
Before I can respond, another vehicle slams into us from behind.
Our car lurches forward, the steering wheel torn from my grip. Glass explodes around us into a thousand glittering shards.
Metal shrieks.
My head snaps back against the seat, pain flashing white behind my eyes.
Everything slows.
I have time to see Athena's hair whip across her face.
Then everything flips.
Once.
Twice.
The world slams back, hard enough to knock the breath out of me. We're spinning, everything blurring into streaks of color. Athena's screams mix with the howl of twisting metal. My head cracks against the side window, warm wetness immediately trickling down my temple.
When we finally stop, the car is laying on its side, my window against the ground. Athena hangs above me, suspended by her seatbelt. Her arm dangles limp, fingers brushing the roof, which is now more of a wall.
"Athena," I say, my voice barely making it past my lips.
I unbuckle my seatbelt, letting my body drop the few inches to what used to be the driver's side window. Glass crunches under my shoulder as I shift, reaching up.
I reach for her, fingers brushing her cheek. "Athena. Athena, look at me."
She doesn't move, but I see her chest rising and falling. Relief floods through me, so powerful it makes my hands shake.
"My Alepoudítsa, open your eyes."
Her eyes flutter open and terror fills her gaze.
"Dimitri," she says, voice raw. "What happened?"
Doors slam outside.
The sound cuts through the hissing of the engine, the ringing in my ears. My head snaps toward the shattered windshield. Through the maze of fractured glass, I see movement.
Dark figures approaching, guns out.
Son of a bitch.
I fumble for my gun, but it's trapped beneath me, pinned between my body and what used to be the window. I twist, jamming my hand between the seat and my hip, feeling the cold grip of the gun.
I yank the gun free, ignoring the slice of glass against my hand. Blood makes my grip slippery.
"Get the girl," a voice commands. "He wants her alive. Move!"
Two men in dark clothes rush the passenger side, and one of them aims at Athena.
I don't hesitate. I fire through the cracked windshield, one shot, then another.
The first one catches the shooter in the thigh. He stumbles, rifle falling from his grip. The second shot tears through his shoulder, spinning him around. He drops, screaming into the dirt.
The second returns fire. Bullets ping off metal. Athena flinches, covering her head with her arms.
I line up another shot, but before I can squeeze the trigger, more shadows swarm, three, four, maybe more. They pour out of the delivery truck, converging on our wrecked car like wolves on wounded prey.
They fire into the car and shift out of the way.
I look up at Athena as hands reach in for her. She's struggling with her seatbelt, trying to get away.
"No!" she screams, clawing at the hands grabbing her arms.
I fire once, but a knife comes through and cuts her seatbelt and grabs her. I can't get off a shot since she's blocking them.
There's another smash behind me. The butt of a rifle shattering the backseat window.
"Get the bag. The phone," someone yells.
I fire again, but my arm is shaking too hard. The bullet goes wide as someone pulls the bag out of the car.
"Dimitri!" Athena's voice breaks through the chaos.
I turn back to the front and see her being dragged, kicking and fighting. The men are staying behind her.
FUCK!
I can't get a shot off.
Someone yells. "Finish him!"
I then see a small white hatchback appear in the distance, slowing as the driver takes in the wrecked vehicles and armed men.
"Shit! There's a car coming!"
"Fuck it. We got what we need. We'll deal with him later. We need to go!" someone yells and I see some motherfucker shove Athena into the SUV, slamming the door. The engine roars to life.
"No!" I roar, trying to get out of the car. "Athena!"
Silence falls, except for the wheezing rasp of my own breath as I climb out of the car. My body screams in protest as I drag myself through the shattered window frame. Blood drips from a gash above my eye, running hot down my face.
Athena is gone. The bag is gone. The phone.
Everything.
I stagger once I'm out of the car and on my feet. The SUV that took her is already a speck in the distance, dust trailing behind it.
I start running anyway.
"ATHENA!"
The SUV disappears around a bend in the road.
I keep running until my legs give out, until I'm bent double on the side of the road, hands on my knees, blood dripping onto the pavement beneath me. My chest heaves with each breath.
We were so close. So fucking close to ending this.
The driver in the white hatchback gets closer and panic overtake her face and she speeds off.
Dammit.
I straighten and turn back to the wreckage. The car is ruined, but my phone survived in the glove compartment. I pull it out and unlock it, my fingers leaving red smudges across the screen as I dial.
Theo picks up on the first ring.
"Dimitri?"
"They have her."
"Who?"
"Athena. And the phone. Everything."
Silence stretches between us.
"Where are you?"
"About thirty minutes outside Kalamata. I'm not waiting. I'm stealing the next car that passes and going after her."
"Don't be a fucking idiot. We're on our way."
I end the call before he can argue with me any more. Before he can tell me this isn't worth it.
I look at the empty passenger seat.
At the blood smeared on the door where they dragged her out.
At the place she was sitting an hour ago, telling me things she'd never told anyone.
Something in my chest fractures.
I start walking, every step sends a bolt of pain up my side, but I keep going. I'd crawl if I had to.
One step.
Then another.
I don't know where the nearest town is.
Or where they're taking her.
But it doesn't matter.
I will find them.
And when I do?
I'm going to burn their fucking world to the ground.