Page 37 of Bound By Revenge

What… what on earth is this?

In the short but eventful time we’ve known each other, I’ve learned Nik is many things. Amazing in bed, for starters. A smooth-talking bastard. Infuriatingly bossy. Terrifyingly powerful. And, oh yeah, the proud owner of a nasty, mercurial temper.

But this? I don’t know what to make of this.

Against all odds, could Nik be… sweet?

I want to stay angry. Ishouldstay angry, hold onto the fire, the sharp edge of my fury. But the box—it’s too thoughtful, too... nice.

And ridiculously late, it hits me.

He wasn’t here to yell at me. Or punish me.

He was here to apologize.

He just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The glass of wine trembles in my hand as the realization sinks in.

Nikolai Stefanovich feels… bad.

Worse than that—Nikolai Stefanovich…likesme. Not just begrudgingly attracted, not just caught up in lust. Oh, no. Helikesme.

Somehow, against all reason or logic, the man who had me kidnapped in broad daylight was just pacing outside my door in the dead of night, trying—and failing—to work up the nerve to… make things right. Withme.

With unsteady hands, I close the lid, pressing my palm against the top of the box like it might help me make sense of this.

I take a deep, deep breath. Maybe Idoneed some berating after all. Because, against my better judgment, as I clutch the box to my chest, I feel something I have absolutely no business feeling—something infuriatingly like butterflies in my stomach.

Chapter 17

Kat

My eyes snap open,and I jolt awake, gasping. For a few panicked heartbeats, I’m disoriented, caught between reality and the lingering dread of a dream. Sheets pooled around my waist, I scan the room, my heart still racing as I realize it was only a nightmare.

I’m not actually running for my life down a darkened street; I’m in Nikolai’s penthouse. I’m safe, kind of. Nik has already caught me, unlike the faceless man in my nightmare. For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem to have any immediate plans to kill or torture me.

My phone buzzes as I catch my breath, watching the sunrise. It’s a text from A.J.

Sorry about last night. If you decide to tell the Russian to go to hell, I’m only one call away.

A sigh slips out. After Nik left me alone in his kitchen—and before I found him pacing outside my door—I called her. Her reaction to my news was nothing short of explosive. First, she was furious with him, worried sick about me. But once she’d heard everything, her anger had shifted to me. Keeping Nik asecret, she argued, betrayed our friendship, endangered us both, and jeopardized our plan to take down thestronzo.She was right; we can’t afford secrets right now.

I text back:

Sorry again for keeping things from you. I wish I could be there to track down Camilla’s lead with you.

She replies right away:

You have a lot going on already. You’ve done more than your share. Just keep your Russian happy. But not too happy.

Rolling my eyes, I type back:

Easier said than done. Trust me.

A second later, I shoot her another text:

Be careful, A.J. Please.

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