Page 119 of Bound By Revenge

“I’ve considered every angle,” I say, forcing my tone to stay even. “I didn’t just decide McGuire was guilty on a whim. I know it was him. By the time you even got pulled into this, I’d already eliminated every other possibility. If anyone had the motive, means, and opportunity, it was him. I don’t need a lecture on how to handle my own business.”

Her expression softens, but she doesn’t back down. “I’m not trying to insult you. I just thought?—”

“Even if he didn’t kill Maxim, it doesn’t matter anymore,” I interrupt, my voice firm. “Not after he sent his men after you. That alone seals his fate.”

“Listen,” she says, shaking her head like she’s trying to redirect the conversation. “You wanted to avoid a war. You didn’t want anyone else to die over this—that’s why you asked for my help in the first place. Just take a moment and think about this. You can still mend fences with McGuire. We could just put this behind us and move on.”

“Don't ask me to dishonor Maxim's memory by letting the man who killed him walk free," I say, my tone sharp. "McGuire has to go. That’s not up for debate.”

Her lips press into a thin line, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. Her voice rises slightly, betraying the tremor of fear underneath her anger. “Just hear me out for a second—you’ve said it yourself, McGuire’s dangerous. Would you want me walking into something that could get me hurt—or worse, killed?”

I grit my teeth, the knot in my chest tightening. “No, but?—”

She cuts me off before I can finish. “Then how do you expect me to be okay with you doing the same damn thing?”

“That's completely different, and you know it. Besides?—“

“I can't just sit here and pretend to be okay with you risking yourself like this,” she snaps, cutting me off. “Both you and McGuire have made this personal, and it’s not going to end until one of you is dead. And I don’t want it to be you.”

“Kat, I can handle McGuire,” I reply firmly. “Everything will be fine. I promise. You have to trust me.”

Her eyes flash with frustration, her voice rising. “You can’t promise me that! And it’d be one thing if this was about protecting someone, but it’s not—it’s revenge. Killing McGuire isn’t going to bring Maxim back. He wouldn’t want you to die for this.”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” I snap, harsher than I mean to. “You have no idea what Maxim would’ve wanted. None.”

“Maybe not," she says, her voice shaking with frustration. "But here’s what I do know—I’ve spent my entire life fighting to protect myself and the people I care about from violence and danger. Fighting to keep us safe. If something happened to you…” She grips my shoulders, her knuckles whitening. Her voice falters, and she swallows hard. “I don’t know what I’d do. And if you insist on doing this, it’s only a matter of time before it does.”

I sigh, the weight of exhaustion creeping into my tone. “Kat, I’m asking you to trust me. That’s all. Everything will be okay.”

Her arms cross tightly over her chest, and her blue eyes blaze with anger. “After everything we’ve been through, I deserve better than this. If Dmitri or Vladmir brought this up, you wouldn’t just brush them off like this.”

I let out a humorless laugh, the tension snapping between us. “If Dmitri or Vladmir evendreamedof questioning my authority like this, I’d shut them down a hell of a lot harder than I’m doing with you.”

Her jaw tightens. “Your authority?”

“Yes, my authority,” I snap, my frustration boiling over. “The thing that keeps me as the head of thebratva. Because that’s what I am, Kat—the head of thebratva. Do you know how I got here? How I stay here? Not by being weak, that’s for damn sure.”

I take a step closer, the harshness of my words heavy in the space between us. “You may look down on me, think of me as nothing but a street thug with no class or common sense, but I don’t have the luxury of being soft. Of letting things slide. This life—it’s brutal, bloody, and messy—but it’s mine. It’s how I keep my head on my shoulders. It’s how I keep food on the table, designer shoes on your feet, and a roof over our heads.”

Her eyes flash, but I press on, my voice lowering, almost dangerous. “It’s how I protect Vladmir, Dmitri, you, and everyone else who depends on me. And you knew this from the start.”

She takes a half-step back, her gaze flicking briefly toward the door as though she can’t bear to look at me. “I just don’t want to lose you,” she says, her voice trembling. “That’s all. I just want to put all of this behind us. I want to be with you, feel safe, and be happy.”

“I want the same things!” I snap, harsher than I mean to. “That’s why I need to kill McGuire.Thisis how we’ll be safe and happy. Hate to break it to you, but this is not a fairytale. I’m not your Prince Charming, and I don’t have a magic wand to wave and magically give us a happy ending.”

Her jaw tightens, her fists curling at her sides. “I don’t want you to be my Prince Charming,” she spits back. “All I want is to not have to worry that every time you walk out the door, it might be the last time I see you alive. Is that too much to ask?”

I sigh heavily, the weight of her words pressing against my chest. “You’re not listening to me?—”

“No, you’re the one not listening!” she interrupts, her voice rising. “I wish?—”

I cut her off, my tone cold but steady. “You wish I were someone else. I’m not a good guy, Kat. And I’ve never pretended to be. Never promised I’d be, either. This is my life. That’s the truth. I can’t change who I am. Can’t change the fact that this is the world I live in.”

I step closer, my voice softening, though the edge remains. “I’ll bend over backwards to give you anything you desire, but that’s something I can’t give you. I thought you understood that. Especially after last night. That’s what you signed up for when you stayed.”

"No, I don’t accept that," she says, her voice firm despite the tremor running through it. "I want to be with you, but don’t ask me to just sit here and accept the possibility that whenever you leave my sight, I might never see you again. You signed up for this life, but I didn’t. I want you—not all the strings attached.”

Her words hit me like a slap, sudden and sharp. My body stiffens, the air in the room turning frigid. I step forward, invading her space, but too far gone to care. “Don’t you dare say that to me. You can’t do this to me—not after last night. This is not one of your games, Kat. I warned you there was no turning back. That if you stayed, you were mine. Forever.”

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