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“Unconscious,” Avra replied as she cut the ropes holding her youngest sister captive.

For the next few minutes, she concentrated on freeing her hands while I cut at the rope around her ankles.

She glanced up at me, tears glossy in her green eyes, and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for finding her.”

I stared into her eyes, knowing it was far from over. My father was still out there, and I would never earn gratitude there.

“I willalwayskeep my promises,” I reminded her as Cali slumped forward, free.

I picked her up, ready to carry her somewhere secure so she could receive medical attention. As I adjusted her fragile, too-light weight in my arms in a fireman hold, hurrying before anyone came back here or fired again, I pulled Avra close to my side and kissed the topof her head.

My wife would always come first.

And saving her sister was part of the package I was glad to have for the rest of my life.

There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her in the name of love.

Twenty-Seven

Elias

I sat on the patio, gazing at the distant waves as the sun sank, readying to kiss the horizon and disappear.

Brooding and dwelling, I failed at this so-called relaxation. I wouldn’t forget about how we’d gotten into this mess.

Ozias was still out there, adjusting his plans and setting the rest into action. I refused to call his bluff, not when they were hits on my wife and her sisters.

Still, I wanted to sit and calm down for at least a few hours for the rest of the night. We’d succeeded in finding Cali. She lived. And Ozias couldn’t evade me forever.

One day at a time, Eli. One day at a time.

Calista faced a long road to recovery. She had remained in and out of consciousness until we finally managed to get her to a private medical facility Nikolas oversaw.

However, once her mind cleared, her eyes were filled with fear and unimaginable horror. There wasn’t any need to confirm what she’d endured, I knew.

If they hadn’t been dead already, I’d take great pleasure in making them wish for death.

We returned to Patras immediately. We set Calista up with round-the-clock care of doctors and nurses in the guest wing of the house. With rest and physical rehabilitation, she would make a full recovery.

Mentally? I had no idea.

Her scars ran deep and jagged. I would find a way to help her, even if it meant flying in the best therapist in the world to counsel her.

I exhaled deeply, attempting to let go of the tension I had carried for weeks. For one night, at least, I could say I’d delivered on a promise I had made.

I wasn’t like Ozias Xenos at all. He knew nothing of love except for a love of himself.

There was no understanding him, and trying to do so was an exercise in futility. It was better to focus on the peace I felt for the first time in my life.

I watched the birds dive into the waves and lift back into the air.

Was this what it felt like to have a home?

As if my thoughts had conjured her, the rustle of Avra’s nightgown alerted me to her arrival.

“I thought you were going to bed,” I said.

She glided over the stone, and her hair flew in gloriously long, dark tresses over her shoulders and down her back with the breeze. As she walked closer, I noticed the lingering sadness in her eyes and the fatigue on her beautiful face.