Page 157 of Bound By Revenge

She groans, pressing her hands to her temples. “You’ve completely lost it,” she mutters. “Stealing the Flame of Mir was child’s play compared to this.”

“I know,” I admit softly. “But I don’t have a choice.”

She exhales sharply, her eyes narrowing. “You realize that even if you succeed, you’ll lose everything we’ve fought for, right? As a mob wife or whatever, you’ll never be safe again. And I’ve met him, Kat—I know how he is. If he gets his hands on you again, he’s never letting you go. Ever.”

I nod, a small, sad sigh escaping my lips. “God, I hope so. I’m counting on it.”

A.J. groans louder, her frustration palpable. “I don't even know who you are right now.” She snatches the laptop from my hands, muttering curses as she powers it on. After a minute of furious typing, she spins the screen toward me.

“There,” she says with a resigned sigh. “That’s where his phone is.”

I study the blinking green dot. It’s moving away from the city, heading toward the old financial district. My stomach churns. Of course. That’s where thestronzo'ssafe house was.

I grip the steering wheel, my heart pounding as I start the car. “Thanks, A.J. I've got it from here. If you don’t want to come, I’ll understand. No hard feelings.”

She scoffs. “Please. Like I’d let you do this alone. Now, tell me you have a plan.”

I glance at her, guilt and gratitude swirling in my chest. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Figures,” she mutters, leaning her head back against the seat. After a beat, she squares her shoulders, sighing and giving me a resigned look. “Just fucking drive.”

Chapter 56

Nik

Even under thefaint light in the vast, dark chamber, I spot Giuseppe Salvatore right away. He’s standing a dozen yards away, his pale blue eyes glinting with smug satisfaction. The flickering fluorescent lights cast sharp, uneven shadows across his face, making his greasy smirk even harder to stomach.

The others stand silently around us in a wide circle, watching. Judging. I take him in—the perfectly tailored suit, the way he grins with his hands casually in his pockets, like he’s already won. My rage simmers just beneath the surface, clawing to get out.

I’ve never wanted to kill someone so badly as I do right now, knowing everything this man has done to Dmitri, Maxim, and Kat.

I’ve never wanted anything as much as I wanted a life with Kat. A full life. But thanks to Salvatore, that’s never going to happen.

Even now, being kept from her makes my skin crawl, like a part of me is missing. The empty space where she should be gnaws at me, leaving me restless and on edge. But at least I have one thing to hold onto: Kat will be safe. After everything I’veput her through, at least I can give her this. My death will mean something.

Still, it’s hard not to think about what could’ve been. I wanted more time. A lifetime to earn her forgiveness. I would’ve cherished every second of a life with her.

Will she think about me? Wonder what we could’ve had? A selfish part of me hopes so. I hope she remembers me fondly once in a while, but not too often. I hate the idea of her wasting her life on me. She deserves more than that.

None of it will matter much longer, anyway. Shackled and unarmed, I’ll die tonight. Salvatore will kill me, and Kat will be safe. That’s the deal. That’s all I care about.

The faint hum of the overhead lights buzzes in the silence, cutting through my thoughts as I glance around the room. The dirty paneled walls stretch endlessly into the shadows, cracked and water-stained in places, like the ghosts of deals made here are etched into the plaster and wood.

When Dmitri brought me here earlier, I couldn’t stop thinking about my past. He used to ask me about it all the time when he was younger. He’s always been fascinated by it, always wanting to know how Maxim and I survived on the streets with nothing. To him, it probably felt like a fairy tale—something out of a folk tale or legend.

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a miracle. There was no divine intervention, no higher power stepped in to save the day. It was just pain, violence, and sheer stubbornness to survive.

Earlier, when he dragged me into this room, all of those memories hit me like a freight train. The years of struggle. The senseless violence. The constant fight to keep going.

I’ve done a lot with my life. More than anyone expected. But standing here now, all I can think about are the things I didn’t do. The mistakes I made. The regrets I’ll never get to fix.

Would I change anything if I could? I don’t know. Maybe. But if I did, maybe I wouldn’t have met Kat. Maybe I wouldn’t have found her at that party and felt my whole world tilt the second I looked into her eyes.

Even now, I can picture her so clearly—her dark blue eyes sparkling with mischief, the curve of her lips when she smiled at me like she knew what I was thinking.

By some miracle, I got to know her. To love her. To hold her.

I’ll regret the pain I caused her until my last breath, but at least I’ll die knowing I protected her. That’s got to count for something.

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