Page 114 of Bonds of Obsession

Nico catches me staring, his eyes locking with mine. “Everything okay, wife?”

The words build in my throat, threatening to spill out. Three simple words that could change everything. That could make this all real in a way that terrifies me, especially after losing so much. But they stick there, caught behind my fear and my inability to be that vulnerable, even with them.

Instead, I step into the kitchen and draw in a steadying breath. “I don’t want this place to become our prison,” I say. “I won’t let that fucker trap us here and have us always looking over our shoulders, waiting for his next move.”

Atlas’s jaw tightens, and Killian’s lips press into a hard line. Even the cat seems to sense the tension, squirming in Killian’s hold until he strokes her ears.

“We’re not meant to live like that,” I continue. “Caged up and afraid? That’s not who any of us are.” I meet each of their gazesin turn, drawing strength from the intensity I see there. “And I’m done letting Ambrose dictate how we live our lives.”

“What do you have in mind?” Atlas asks.

“Ambrose wanted what I have.” My fingers drift to my shoulder, where the Dark Lotus Syndicate’s mark used to be before they burned it away. “He’ll never forgive me for taking that membership instead of giving it to him. He’ll keep coming after us, keep trying to destroy everything we build.”

Nico’s expression hardens, and I can see the same rage in his eyes that I feel burning in my chest.

“So we end this,” I say, my voice steady despite the fury coursing through me. “He fucked with the wrong people when he took my home. When he burned down Blood and Ink. When he forced me to disband Enigma.” My own hands are starting to curl into fists now. “He signed his own death warrant, and I want to be the one to carry out the sentence.”

The men share a look between them—one of those silent conversations they’ve perfected over years of brotherhood. Then they turn back to me with matching, deadly expressions.

“Tell us what you need,” Killian says. “Whatever it takes, we’ll help you kill the bastard.”

“There’s no question that he’s rebuilding his power,” Atlas says, rubbing at his chest where I know his wounds from Ambrose still ache. “He’s already lost everything once before, when he went to prison. Now he’s got that ruthless edge. The kind that lets someone claw their way back to the top.”

“And he’s smart,” Nico adds, his eyes narrowed. “Choosing his targets carefully. Building alliances. The way he infiltrated the Princes through us, manipulating everything from the shadows—that wasn’t luck. That was calculation.”

Killian nods. “He’s the kind who won’t stop until he’s king of the castle again. And he’ll stack the foundation with bodies to get there.”

“Our bodies,” I say, memories of Atlas’s screams while Ambrose tortured him still fresh in my mind. “Unless we put him in the ground first.”

“He’s got resources,” Atlas points out. “Men working for him. Connections we don’t know about yet.”

“And he knows how to disappear,” Nico adds. “The way he slipped away after we freed Atlas, after he killed your guy in the alley—he’s good at going underground when he needs to.”

I nod and look around to each of them. Everything they’ve said is correct, but I still refuse to stay up here in this gilded prison biding my time while Ambrose only grows stronger. “Then we’ll have to be better. Smarter. More ruthless than he is.” My voice hardens. “And the next time we find him, we won’t let him slip away.”

“What about calling in your last votum?” Atlas asks, shifting his weight to lean against the counter. “If Elliot could get the whole Syndicate to help take out his competition, maybe we could do the same with Ambrose.”

My stomach twists at the thought of the Dark Lotus Syndicate members. The way they look at me like I’m beneath them, like I’m nothing but a street rat who got lucky.

“It feels too risky,” I mutter. “Like too big of an ask. None of them trust me, and Imogen basically told me they’re looking for an excuse to put me down.”

“Can’t exactly blame them,” Killian says, scratching Princess behind the ears as she purrs against his chest. “You did pull a fast one on them with that first votum.”

“And burned through the second one pretty damn quick,” Atlas adds.

I run my fingers through my tangled hair, frustrated. “I know. I shouldn’t have used it so fast, asking for this place.” I gesture at the fancy condo around us. “We could’ve found somewhere else to crash.”

“No.” Nico’s voice is firm. “You made the right call. We needed somewhere secure, somewhere defensible.”

“Besides,” Killian adds, “what good is having power if you don’t use it when you need it?” The cat mewls in what sounds like agreement, making him smirk. “See? Even she knows I’m right.”

“That’s just it though.” I meet his eyes, then look at the others. “Power like that, it comes with strings. Every time I use a votum, I feel like I’m getting deeper into their web. And I don’t trust any of them not to wrap those strings around my throat when it suits them.”

Atlas nods slowly. “Imogen’s warning wasn’t subtle. They’re watching you, waiting for you to slip up.”

“Exactly. And using my last votum so soon after the others…” I shake my head. “I’ve got the feeling they see me as some upstart who doesn’t know her place. One who hasn’t earned the right to cash in so many favors at once.”

“Then we do this ourselves,” Nico says, pushing off from where he’s leaning against the fridge. “We’ve handled worse odds before.”

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