Page 92 of Bonds of Obsession

“As long as we don’t have to go too far.”

“We’ll do our best to make it quick,” he says. “Just keep your breaths shallow.”

“The cat—” she starts.

“She’s in good hands, I promise,” I say. “We’ll keep her safe.”

A tear slips down Celine’s cheek as she nods. I pick up the carrier, and Nico grabs the bag full of money and valuables. Atlas takes point as we head back to the service elevator.

We move silently through the penthouse hallway, past the storage closet where the guards are stashed. The elevator arrives quickly and empty, just like before.

The ride down feels like it’s never going to end, and my heart is pounding faster with each floor we pass. Celine stays perfectly still in Killian’s arms, playing her part. Even the cat seems to understand the need to stay calm and quiet.

Finally, we reach the ground floor. The service corridors are still empty thanks to Atlas’s perfect timing between security rounds. We retrace our steps through the maintenance areasquickly and efficiently, constantly moving until we make it back to my waiting car.

The trunk is already prepped with blankets. Not ideal, but better than the alternative if she’d stayed up in that penthouse.

“Just for a little while,” I promise as Killian lays her inside. “Once we’re clear, we’ll move you somewhere more comfortable.”

She nods bravely. “Thank you. All of you.”

I close the trunk and hand the cat carrier to Killian, who takes it with surprising gentleness. As we pull away from the hotel, I can’t help thinking about all the dangerous shit we’ve done tonight. But this time we did it to save a life instead of take one.

“You did a good thing,” Nico says, resting a hand on my thigh.

“We did a good thing,” I correct him with a tired smile. “And we’re not done yet.”

30

QUINN

“Easy,”Nico says as Celine stumbles getting out of the trunk. “Don’t try to move around too much until you get your bearings again.”

Her hands shake as she clutches the bag of cash and jewelry to her chest. She’s holding on to it so tightly that her knuckles have gone white against the dark fabric. Poor girl. I feel for her, but she has to realize that it could’ve been so much worse.

“Are we good here?” Atlas’s voice is low as he scans the tree line, and I nod. We drove for over an hour, taking random turns and backtracking to make sure no one followed us. The woods are pitch black around us, perfect for what we need to do.

“Did anyone see us leave the city?” Celine’s voice trembles. A muffled meow drifts from the car, and her eyes dart toward the sound before quickly snapping away. Smart girl. She knows she can’t take anything from her old life, not even the cat.

“No one saw shit,” Killian says, his large frame silently moving past me in the darkness to check the perimeter. “And even if they did, they won’t find you here. And they won’t find anything to connect us to your disappearance.”

I watch him move through the darkness, remembering how carefully he handled that damn cat earlier. He’ll never admit it,but I saw the way he looked at Princess. That cat’s going to end up spoiled rotten at our place.

“What if someone realizes I’m not really dead?” Celine wraps her arms tighter around the bag, like it’s an actual shield against all the bad things that could still happen to her.

“The only thing anyone’s going to find is evidence that you were killed,” Atlas says. “There will be dead bodyguards and blood spattered everywhere. They’ll think you were eliminated, just like Elliot ordered.”

“And Arturo?” Her voice catches on his name.

“He’s probably already dead,” I tell her. No need to sugar-coat the news, since I know it’s exactly what she’ll want to hear. “The rest of the Syndicate should have taken care of him by now.”

A choked sound escapes her throat, half-laugh and half-sob. “I can’t believe it,” she whispers. “He’s really gone?”

“Gone for good,” Nico confirms, moving closer to stand at my back. “No one’s going to be looking for you after tonight.”

Fresh tears spill down her cheeks, but these aren’t the terrified ones from earlier. Her back straightens and she squares her shoulders as the truth sinks in. She looks younger suddenly, lighter.

“What do I do now?” she asks, wiping at her face. “I’ve never… he controlled everything. Every minute of every day.”

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