Chapter 40 Athena
ATHENA
Panic tore through my chest as the lock clicked. For a second, I thought it was a trick of my starved mind, but then the door swung open and hope slammed into me like a fist. I ran for it, nearly colliding with my mother. Her face twisted in confusion.
“Athena? Why were you locked inside?” Her gaze flicked past me. “Where’s Ace?”
Tears had already dried on my cheeks, but fresh panic threatened to replace them. The thought hit me like a punch to the gut—what if it’s already too late?
What if Dominic is dead? What if Ace is? Whatever was happening out there, I didn’t want it to end in blood. Not like this and not because of me. Being locked in this room with only my thoughts and no way out, I realized two undeniable truths.
First—I’ve completely lost my mind.
Second—I’m not doing this for my family anymore. I’m doing it for him.
God help me, but I’m done pretending. I want Dominic Stone.
The scarred man. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
Dominic Stone taught me how to breathe again when life was choking me.
He gave me something I didn’t know I needed—a fire.
A reason to feel alive. With him, I stopped surviving and started living.
I no longer cared what was expected of me.
I lived all my life for others—my parents, my family, my image. This time, I choose me.
“Mom, please. Give me your phone.” I grabbed my mother’s hands, desperate and shaking.
She hesitated, but handed it over. I typed the number I needed, shot off a message, erased every trace, and shoved the phone back into her hand.
“Athena?” she asked, her voice strained. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I can’t explain.”
I loved her. I loved my family, but for the first time in my life, I was choosing something for me.
I brushed past her and tore down the stairs, my feet pounding against marble like thunder.
When I reached the front door, I didn’t stop.
I pushed it open and ran toward the front gates. Please don’t let it be too late.
There were no guards posted, but I didn’t have time to question it. I was almost through the gates when I slammed into something solid. Someone. My breath caught as I stumbled back, and when I looked up, I froze.
“Mason.”
He stood just outside the estate gates like he’d been waiting, lurking in the shadows.
His usual golden-boy charm was gone, replaced by something dark.
His eyes burned holes through me. I stepped back instinctively, chilled by the absence of the warmth I once thought I loved.
The air was still and warm, but a shiver snaked down my spine.
He didn’t speak. Just stared. It felt like I was being watched by a stranger.
After what felt like an eternity, he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen before holding it out. My stomach dropped as the video began to play.
Dominic is on his knees between my thighs.
The way he devoured me like I was his last breath.
The way I screamed his name. My face burned, but not from shame.
I watched it, owned it, even as my heart pounded and my breath faltered.
I should feel guilt and regret, but I didn’t.
Not one ounce. Mason clenched the phone so hard I thought it might crack before he locked the screen and shoved it in his pocket.
“You weren’t supposed to have that,” I said flatly.
‘‘And you weren’t supposed to fuck another man while telling me you wanted a fresh start, but here we are.”
I looked at him and wondered how I ever believed I loved him. How I ever thought he was what I wanted.
‘‘You were never my boyfriend, Mason, and I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
“You kissed me. Said we could try again.” His jaw flexed.
“And you said you loved me while fucking half the city.”
The mask cracked. His face twisted in an ugly way. He dropped the phone, screen splintering against the ground.
“You fucked that son of a bitch in public. On camera, like a whore.” He laughed bitterly. “Your father would be proud.”
I stepped forward and jabbed my finger into his chest. “Don’t bring my father into this. You lost the right to use his name the day you stopped being decent.”
Mason’s hand snapped forward and grabbed my wrist.
“You’re not thinking straight,” he growled.
“No,” I said through gritted teeth, “I’m finally thinking clearly.”
He squeezed tighter. Pain shot up my arm, but I didn’t flinch.
“You think I’m going to let him have you?” he snarled. “You think I’m just going to let this slide?”
“Let me go!” I screamed, trying to pull back. He didn’t.
Until a voice sliced the air like a knife.
“I’d advise you to let her go, boy,” it drawled, cool and mocking, “before I cut that hand off and make you eat it.”
We both turned in the direction of the voice to see Alec leaning against his white Jeep just outside the gates, phone in one hand, a glint of steel at his waist, and relief crashed into me.
“Alec,” I whispered.
He gave me a lazy smirk.
“I’ll count to three.” He didn’t raise his voice; he didn’t need to. The gleam of his blade and then the gun he drew said enough. Mason’s grip fell away. His arms shot up, and Alec tilted his head, almost disappointed.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
I rushed toward him. He opened his arms without hesitation, wrapping them around me like armor. For someone who had taken lives without blinking, Alec felt safer than Mason ever had.
“Thank you for coming,” I breathed.
“Always, princess.”
Mason’s voice snapped behind us. “You’re making a mistake, Athena. A big fucking mistake. You’re turning your back on your family for him?”
“You still here?” Alec muttered. “Fuck off before I paint your pretty face red.”
Mason hesitated, then, like the coward he was, turned and disappeared down the road, spitting curses under his breath. I didn’t look back. Alec and I ran to the car, and as soon as we were inside, he hit the gas. His phone lit with a blinking red dot on a satellite map.
“Is it him?” I asked.
“Yep.” He grinned. “Found him.”
The dot didn’t move, anchored to a building on the edge of town. I exhaled, hope threading its way through the panic.
“Alec,” I said, glancing at him. “Thank you.”
He gave a half-shrug, one corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re one of us now, princess, and we protect our own.”
I smiled, then he grinned wider, eyes flashing.
‘‘Also, Nic would cut my dick off if I let anything happen to you.”