Page 160 of Bound By Revenge

Nik’s smile turns cold, his dark eyes gleaming with lethal intent. “Exactly. Because I say so.”

And then he moves.

Faster than I can process, Nik grabs Salvatore’s arm and twists it with a sharp, violent motion. The sickening crunch of bone echoes through the room as the revolver clatters to the floor, and Salvatore’s strangled yell cuts through the wail of police sirens and the shrill fire alarm.

Nik doesn’t stop. He slams thestronzointo the nearest column with enough force to send cracks spidering through the crumbling marble. Salvatore tries to recover, but Nik is relentless. His fist connects with thestronzo’sjaw in a brutal, bone-shattering punch. Then another. And another.

Blood sprays across the floor, each hit landing with the wet, sickening sound of flesh meeting bone. The stronzo’s smirk disappears, replaced by a look of sheer terror.

“You think you’re getting away with this?” Nik snarls, his voice trembling with unbridled rage. “You think you can hurt what’s mine and walk away?” He slams the Salvatore’s head against the column, the impact leaving a vivid crimson smear on the once-pristine marble. “Nobody fucks with my people.”

Salvatore gurgles something incoherent, his words lost in the blood pooling in his mouth, but Nik doesn’t care.

He grabs thestronzoby the throat, his fingers digging in mercilessly as Salvatore’s face turns a mottled purple. The man claws at Nik’s arm, his nails scratching uselessly, his kicks growing weaker with every second. Nik slams thestronzo’s head into the column again and again, the impact so loud it echoes through the room. Blood smears across the floor, and Salvatore’s knees buckle.

But Nik isn’t finished. He hauls the Italian up like a rag doll.

“You hurt her,” Nik growls, his voice guttural and unrecognizable. “You threatened her. And for that, you die screaming.”

Nik pulls back slightly, just enough to yank my gun from his waistband. The polished metal gleams in the dim light as he aims it squarely at Salvatore’s face. He stares down at thestronzo, his face cold and unrecognizable.

“Look at me,” Nik demands, his voice eerily calm. His bloodied hands are rock steady as he presses the barrel of the gun against Salvatore’s temple. “Come on, open your eyes. When you get to hell, I want you to remember who sent you there.”

He lets go, and thestronzocollapses to the ground, his face unrecognizable. Nik kneels over him, his hands dripping with blood. Salvatore wheezes, blood bubbling at the corners of his lips, his pale blue eyes wide with terror. He tries to say something—maybe beg—but Nik doesn’t wait.

The deafening crack of the shot echoes through the empty hall like a thunderclap. Giuseppe Salvatore collapses in a lifeless heap, blood pooling around him as his head lolls to the side.

Nik doesn’t move, his chest heaving, his knuckles dripping with blood. His face is blank, devoid of anything but cold finality as he stares down at the corpse.

For a moment, all I can hear is the alarm blaring and my own shallow breaths.

"Oh," I say, the word slipping out as a sudden realization strikes me. "I get it now."

Nik glances at me, one brow arching in silent question, his gaze still slightly dazed, but now edged with curiosity.

"Why you laughed when I was bawling my eyes out, terrified you might die fighting McGuire," I explain, the pieces clicking into place as I speak. "And why Dmitri was so shocked when he realized you’re... well, kind of my teddy bear. No offense." I lift my hands, palms up, offering him a quick, sheepish smile.

My tone is flat and matter-of-fact, completely free of drama or exaggeration. Even so, his lips twitch, and a slow, amused smirk spreads across his face.

With a sigh, he turns to me and extends a hand, his palm open and waiting. “Come here,” he says hoarsely, his voice rough like gravel.

I don’t argue. I can’t.

He takes my hand, his grip firm and possessive, his fingers warm despite being streaked with blood. His jaw is tight, his body still trembling with adrenaline as he pulls me closer.

“I told you,” he says firmly, his voice shaking with fury. “No one touches what’s mine.”

Chapter 58

Kat

He’s comefor me at last.

Even through the thick bedroom door, I hear Nik’s voice—low, steady, commanding—and the muffled echo of his footsteps on the marble floors. I freeze, holding my breath as anticipation coils tight in my chest.

It’s been hours since Nik ended thestronzo’smiserable life. Vladmir showed up not long after with a small army ofbratvasoldiers. By then, most of the members of the Seven Families had scattered, slinking back into whatever hole they crawled out of, while the chaos A.J. and I unleashed continued to rage on.

Alarms blared, sirens wailed, and the scene was pure mayhem. Eventually, thebratvamanaged to shut it all down before it attracted the cops—or so I’ve been told. As soon as thestronzo'sbody hit the floor, Nik had me taken from the scene.

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