Page 56 of Bound By Revenge

“You won’t,” he promises. “Not while I’m here. You've never been safer in your life. Sleep.”

I want to argue, but his steady strength and warmth lull me, and his fingers, drawing circles on my back, distract me. Despite the lingering fear, my eyelids grow heavier, and exhaustion wins.

When I wake again, sunlight floods the room, bright and hot.

Stretching, I groan softly and notice something that wasn’t there before—a chair beside the bed, pulled close as if someone had sat there, keeping watch.

The memories of the night before resurface, but in the daylight, they feel absurd, almost unreal. I’m half convinced I imagined it all.

As I shift to roll out of bed, something catches my eye—a small, brightly colored plastic bag on the pillow beside mine.

I pick it up, blinking at the label in disbelief.

Life Savers.

To keep me from drowning.

A laugh bubbles up, soft and unexpected, as I clutch the candy in my hands.

Chapter 24

Kat

There areplenty of things to complain about when it comes to my current “job.” The impossibility of quitting, for starters. But I can’t fault the pantry. For all his flaws—and there are many—Nik has excellent taste. It’s fitting, considering what I confirmed last night.

The man’s got it bad for me.

Of course, I’m hardly one to talk, considering I feel the same way about him. Still, I can’t deny how useful his inability to resist me is for my plans. If I want to stop being at his mercy—and save myself—I need to seduce him.

A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, though I won’t pretend it’s any kind of hardship. Between his devastatingly good looks and the surprising tenderness he showed last night, he has me craving him more than ever.

This morning, after finding the bag of Life Savers he left for me, I put extra effort into my appearance. I wanted to look irresistible to my elusive bed partner.

Total waste of time—Nik is nowhere to be found.

All day, I’ve waited for him to come find me, but the man is completely MIA.

By mid-afternoon, boredom creeps in. I consider texting him—or even sexting him—only to realize I don’t have his number. The thought is hilarious and sobering. There’s so much I don’t know about the man who holds my life in his hands.

Maybe his absence is the perfect chance to gather some intel.

With that in mind, I retrace my steps from the day before and make my way to his office. The penthouse is eerily quiet, and I half-expect to run into Dmitri or one of Nik’s henchmen. But no one shows up.

After lightly knocking on the door and hearing no response, I step inside.

Once again, I’m struck by how personal the space feels. From his faint, familiar scent to the carefully arranged photographs scattered around, it screamsNik.

I pluck a frame off the shelf. In the picture, Nik stands between two men, his arms slung casually around their shoulders. Humor sparks in his dark brown eyes, and the crooked smirk pulling at his lips softens the sharp edge of his typically intimidating aura.

I recognize Dmitri immediately. His pale blue eyes squint with laughter, his expression openly delighted.

It takes me a moment longer to place the third man.Maxim. Even more striking in this photo than the surveillance footage had suggested. His electric blue eyes seem to pierce through the image, sharp and intelligent, with a mocking twist at the corners. I can’t help feeling like I’d have liked him a good deal.

Behind me, the door creaks open. Startled, I nearly drop the frame but manage to place it back on the shelf before turning.

Nik stands in the doorway, one brow raised.

“Honey, you’re home,” I say, giving him my sweetest smile.

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