Page 135 of Bound By Revenge

“I can’t,” she whispers, her voice cracking like glass between us. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Not yet. For your own good. Because I can’t live without you any more than you can live without me. But if you’d reconsider this ridiculous idea to kill McGuire or die trying?—”

I cut her off, my patience snapping. “I told you—we’re done talking about that. You want my trust? Then give me yours. Stop with the secrets. You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

She shakes her head, disbelief flickering in her teary eyes. “And you’re breaking my heart.”

The weight of her words hits me like a hammer, and for a moment, I falter. I hate this—hate the distance growing between us with every passing second. The last thing I want is to hurt her. Everything I’ve done has been for the right reasons. Can she say the same? If her reasons were so good, why hide them from me?

“After everything, why can’t you just trust me?” Her voice wavers, and she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand.

I stare at her, my chest tight. “I didn’t think trusting you would feel like this. Like it’s a test I'm doomed to fail.”

Her lips press into a tight line. “That’s the thing about trust, Nik. It always involves risk. You just have to decide if I’m worth it.”

Her words are like a knife in my heart, and I flinch. How did we get here? Hours ago, she was wrapped around me, calling me—me—herkotyonok. Herkitten. Now, her eyes hold a cold, disappointed edge that makes me feel two inches tall.

“Kat,” I say, reaching for her hand. “I don’t want to lose you. Ican’tlose you. Believe me, I want nothing more than to see you happy. You know there are things I can’t change about myself or my life, but I’ll do everything I can to make you happy with our life together. With me. But I need you to understand—keeping you safe will always come first. Whether you like it or not, I’ll do what it takes—even if it makes you hate me. I won’t let you, McGuire, or the devil himself stand in my way when it comes to protecting you.”

Her face falls, the disappointment giving way to fury. Something inside me shatters as she pulls her hand away. Without a word, she spins on her heel and storms out, leaving me standing there, empty and furious all at once.

Chapter 49

Kat

The nerve of that man.

I storm into the guest room after our fight, slamming the door harder than necessary before twisting the lock. It won’t stop him if he really wants in, but at least it might piss him off a little. Or so I thought. Hours pass, and he doesn’t even try. would’ve known—I stayed up most of the night, stewing over everything we said. Every word cuts deeper than before, and the longer I sit here, the angrier I get.

So, I focus on what I can control. The plan. The heist. Getting the Flame of Mir back, along with the evidence. I pour everything into it, mapping out every detail, running through every possible scenario. By the time the first light of dawn creeps in through the curtains, I’m mentally and emotionally drained—but at least the plan is solid.

Dragging myself to bed, I flop onto the mattress, determined to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. I’ll need every ounce of energy to deal with both Nik and thestronzotoday. But, of course, just as my body begins to surrender to exhaustion, my phone rings.

Groaning, I reach for it, momentarily delirious enough to think it might be Nik, calling to beg for forgiveness. Why he’d call instead of busting down the door, I don't know. But whenI croak a hoarse hello, it's A.J.’s voice that greets me, way too awake for this hour.

“So. How did it go yesterday?” she askS, straight to the point.

“It went great,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “I’ve got everything I need. Thanks again. Where are you?”

“Safe. Don’t worry about me,” she says, her tone softening. “You sound off, though. You okay?”

“Yeah. Just… tired,” I mutter, throwing an arm over my eyes.

Her tone turns teasing. “Did your new boyfriend keep you up all night with his reportedly legendary lovemaking skills?”

I scoff. “As if,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. “No, I stayed up working—by myself. If I hadn’t, the only thing Nik and I would’ve been doing is driving each other insane. And not in the fun way.”

“Uh-oh. Spill. What happened? You were so into him last time we talked.”

I let out a long sigh. “I still am. God help me. It’s just… we had a fight. A big one. Let's just say that his overprotectiveness and need to control every damn thing—including me—cannot be overstated.”

“Damn, babe. I wish I could say I’m shocked, but… Still, you know I’m here for you, right? If you need me to come save you from your mafia fairytale, just say the word.”

I smile despite myself. “Thanks. But I’m okay. I think I can handle him… probably. You’ve got enough to deal with without worrying about my love life.”

There’s a beat of silence, then she says, “Well, if you change your mind, you know how to find me. In the meantime, wanna run your plan by me? Maybe I can help.”

I take her through it, keeping my voice flat and detached, as if that’ll somehow make the plan sound less insane. Breaking into thestronzo’ssafe house. Retrieving proof of his secret lovechild. And, of course, stealing back the Flame of Mir. If everythinggoes right, we’ll get the diamond back and proof that he’s been cheating on his wife—the same woman who made himdonin the first place.

Yesterday, I spent hours crouched in the shadows outside the safe house, sweating my ass off, watching the place and trying to figure out how the hell I was going to pull this off. It was supposed to be a simple recon—watch the guards, figure out their patterns, and scope out the best way to slip inside and hit the safe. At first, things looked promising. The guards were predictable, at least—patrolling in lazy loops, completely uninterested in doing their jobs well. One of them even punched in the front door keypad code without bothering to shield it. Amateurs. I was feeling pretty good about my chances, right up until I heard two of them talking as they loaded gear into a van.

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