Page 101 of Legacy

“I've heard about your efforts to locate a woman-your wife's cousin?” There were noises on his side of the call.

“Sister. My wife’s sister.”

“Yes. She is a cousin to my cousin’s wife.”

Instead of commenting, I said, “Do you have information on her?”

“I’ve had my men on the streets in Athens. Some of them have been reporting rumors of a high-value product.”

I tensed, gripping my phone tighter. Already, this sounded promising. “Any more details?”

“A woman confined in a basement in a high-traffic neighborhood.”

My pulse skyrocketed. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but?—

“Fuck, I am glad you have men in the area.”

“I have men everywhere.” He chuckled wryly. “From what my men have heard, they think it might be a Vitalis.”

Athens?I was flying there immediately. “Can you get closer?”

“Of course.” He paused to listen to some conversation in the background. “The property I mentioned belongs to what we call freelancers. And they confirm a woman is with them.”

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes.

Freelancers. Guns for hire were what they were. They pledged no loyalty to any family and followed no formal structure. They worked for a paycheck.

He spoke some more with his men. I heard him give directions about discretion and call up others in the area as backup.

My heart hammered in my chest as thoughts of what they could have done to Calista came to mind. How would I tell Avra any of this? I wouldn’t hide any details from her, but this wasn’t good.

Avra was strong. She tried to take it in stride, but she would break inside. At least she knew Cali was alive instead of succumbing to the worst-case scenario.

When Nikolas returned, he instructed, “Meet me at my estate outside Athens.”

“Done,” I said. Athens wasn’t too far.

“I’ll be waiting,” he replied, telling me when to call back.

Just as we prepared to hang up, he shouted, stopping me. “Hold on. Hold on. Xenos? Elias! Are you there?”

“Yes.” I hadn’t disconnected yet. “Yes, I’m here.”

“Get ready to fly. We’ll wait for you to raid, but I can confirm it’s your sister-in-law. Calista Vitalis.” Papers shuffledfrom his end of the call. “One of my men managed to grab a picture of the woman tied to a chair.”

I swallowed. “Alive?”

He grunted. “Barely. Beaten and bloody, but comparing the girl to the picture we found online, it’s her.”

“We’re on our way.”

I hung up, running inside to tell Avra.

“Avra!” I sprinted toward our room.

Laya had just woken from a nap on the couch, and she was startled so much that she rolled right off to the floor, muttering and mumbling as she snapped, “Cali?”

“Avra!” I pushed open the door, catching her in the middle of a workout.

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