Page 153 of Bound By Revenge

“You made her a part of this,” Dmitri snaps, his grip on me tightening. “Her blood will be on your hands as much as mine.”

Nik’s eyes widen slightly at the bitterness in Dmitri’s tone. “There doesn’t have to be blood. Let Kat go, and you and I can figure this out—peacefully.”

Dmitri scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Peacefully? Come on, Nik. I know you too well for that. The second I let her go, I’m a dead man, and I can’t die yet.”

“You have the gun,” Nik says calmly. “You said it yourself. You’re the one in control right now. Let her go, Dmitri. You haven’t hurt anyone innocent yet. Don’t start now.”

Dmitri’s laugh is hollow. “I might not be the smartest guy in the room, but I’m not that stupid. After everything I’ve done—what I did to Maxim, what I’ve done to Kat—if I let her go, it’s over for me. We both know you’ll make sure of that.”

Nik shakes his head and sighs deeply. “You’re like a brother to me. I could never kill you in cold blood. Let’s talk this through. Let her go, Dmitri, and we’ll figure it out together. I promise you.”

For a moment, Dmitri’s grip on me loosens. I can’t see his face, but I can feel his hesitation. Nik’s words are getting to him, chipping away at his defenses and tugging at the bond they share. It’s obvious Dmitri doesn’t want to completely betray Nik. Deep down, he wants to believe Nik can somehow fix this mess.

But in the end, his resolve hardens. With a final shake of his head, he says, “I’m sorry, Nik. I can’t. I’m taking her with me. I don’t suppose you’d make this easier and let us go? I really don’t want to hurt her in front of you. Or kill you, for that matter.”

Nik tenses, his body coiled like a spring, as if he’s about to make a move. But he hesitates. Instead, he exhales slowly, steadying himself, and locks eyes with Dmitri.

“Why, Dmitri?” Nik asks, his voice soft but heavy with disappointment. “Why would you choose this path for yourself? We were family. Is that what this is about? Blood being thicker than water? I guess I wouldn’t know.”

Against my back, Dmitri’s heart races wildly. “No,” he says, his voice horrified. “Nik, how can you even ask me that? My father is nothing to me. Less than nothing. Being his son is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

His grip on my arm tightens, and his words spill out in a rush, raw and unfiltered.

“He never cared about me or my mom. Not until you came into the picture. You know he’s always hated you, Nik. As soon as he found out about us—how close we were—he tried to turn me against you. He pretended to be proud, like some kind of doting father, but it was all bullshit. I didn’t fall for it. I wanted nothing to do with him. But then he found out abouther. He took her from me. I had no choice.”

Nik steps forward slowly, his boots crunching against the dusty concrete. His voice is steady, but there’s a sharp edge to it. “You had a choice. You could’ve told me. You should’ve told me. I would’ve handled it—for you. As yourpakhanand as your friend. You know that. You should’ve trusted me, Dmitri.”

Dmitri’s grip falters for a moment, his voice rising with frustration. “I wanted to trust you. I swear I did. But you have to understand… I was ashamed. From the start, I didn’t want you to know he was my father. I didn’t wantanyoneto know.”

He exhales shakily. “You’ve always been good to me. To my mom. You treated us like family. I didn’t want to lose that. I didn’t want you to look at me and seehim. And when he tookher, I couldn’t risk putting her in more danger by telling you.I couldn’t. I’d already screwed up by letting him find out about her. He told me if I didn’t do what he wanted, I’d never see her again. What choice did I have?”

Nik exhales deeply, his shoulders lowering slightly. “I never knew.”

“I know,” Dmitri says quietly. “And I wanted to keep it that way. I thought I could fix it myself. Get rid of him before anyone found out. But then Kat and her friend figured it out, and I knew you’d find out too. I didn’t have time. I had to act fast.”

He pauses, his voice breaking as he adds, “I hope you can forgive me someday.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Nik says, stepping forward slightly, his movements deliberate. “Let Kat go. Let me help you. We can figure this out together. You know I’ll do whatever I can to make this right. It’s not too late.”

Dmitri lets out a bitter laugh, the sound echoing through the empty warehouse. “You say that, Nik, but we both know how this ends. It is too late. You’ll never let me walk away after what I’ve done—to Maxim, to Kat. And I don’t blame you for that."

His grip tightens again, enough to make me wince. “But I can’t let you stop me. Not before I save her. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. I’ll spare Kat as much pain as I can. If it comes to that, I’ll make it quick.”

Nik’s eyes flick to mine for the briefest moment before refocusing on Dmitri. Even from where I stand, I can see the impact of Dmitri’s words. The pain. The rage. It burns just below the surface of Nik’s carefully controlled expression.

“Like you did for Maxim?” Nik asks, his voice measured, but the scathing edge cuts deep.

Dmitri shrugs, unbothered. “I’m sorry about Maxim. I really am. For what it’s worth, it was fast. He didn’t suffer long.”

Nik’s eyes darken, his expression hardening. My heart breaks for him. He never knew that on that single, catastrophic night, he lost the two people he cared about most in the world.

“What did you do with his body?” Nik’s tone is sharp but deceptively calm.

“Yeah, that wasn’t me,” Dmitri says casually. “The last time I saw Maxim was when you found him—lying on the museum floor.”

Nik scoffs. “Right.”

“I mean it,” Dmitri insists. “I’ve got no reason to lie. Not anymore.”

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