Page 39 of Bound By Valor

I managed a small, unsure nod, aware of the complexities of his life. This was something I knew he couldn’t promise.

My fingers traced a path along his chest, moving up to a small, rugged scar just above his collarbone.

Before I could ask, he caught the curiosity in my gaze and murmured softly. “Bullet wound, three years ago. We walked into an ambush during what was supposed to be a straightforward rescue op.”

I didn’t stop there. My fingers, trembling, drifted to another scar near his ribs—a stark, jagged line. “Stab wound, about seven years ago,” he continued, a shadow passing over his features. “Logan pulled me out of that mess. Saved me for, I think, the twelfth time before I got stabbed again.”

My hands found his recently bandaged arm, and my heart ached at the sight. Noticing my concern, he gave me a reassuring smile. “Just a bullet graze from this morning. It’s nothing serious—won’t even leave a mark.”

As I pressed closer, wrapping my arms around him tightly, comforted by the rise and fall of his steady breathing, he broke the silence again, his voice hesitant. “Would you ever tell me about him?”

As I traced idle circles on his chest, my expression clouded with a frown. “It’s not really a story worth telling,” I began, my voice tinged with hesitation. “I met him at a cafe. He was charming. But looking back, he was also incredibly pushy.”

I paused, lifting my gaze to meet Zarek’s. “I really don’t remember the worst of it. It’s called trauma-induced amnesia. I remember bits and pieces leading up to it, though. He was very controlling. Didn’t want me to hang out with Ally. He despised her, actually. Then when I got promoted to Resident Psychologist, I was out more. Getting called in at night. He became very protective. At least that’s how I defined it then.”

Zarek’s embrace tightened, his discomfort palpableas I continued. “One night, I got home around four in the morning. I was just taking off my shoes when he threw me against the door. The handle dug into my back, and I screamed. He was ranting about smelling men’s perfume on me. I couldn’t understand a fucking word. Everything was hazy. That’s the day the beatings started. Until eventually, one day, he stabbed me with my own kitchen knife and left the apartment.”

Zarek’s sigh was laden with a restrained fury. “Baby, this is fucked up. Who found you?”

“My mom,” I answered quietly. “She dropped by the next day to leave something—I can’t even remember what. But yeah… she found me there.”

He shook his head, the muscles in his jaw working. To shift the heaviness of our conversation, I added with a half-hearted chuckle, “You know, I had to live with my parents for a year after that? Talk about a different kind of torture.”

His eyes softened, and he pulled me closer. “You’re the strongest, bravest, most amazing woman I have ever had the privilege to meet, let alone be saved by.”

“Privilege to stalk.” I corrected, chuckling.

“You know, I wouldn’t want to take back that time. I needed every second of it.”

I smiled and nestled closer into his embrace. The weight of the past seemed a little lighter with him by my side, and we remained entwined like that until it was time for dinner.

NINETEEN

Zarek

I didn’t catch a wink of sleep. Leora was curled up against me, her breath warm on my neck. It should have been comforting, but a restless fear was creeping into my heart. In my gut, I knew we needed to be together to face what was coming.

But there it was—that gnawing fear every time I pictured her with the squad, suited up and in the line of fire. She had chosen this path for herself, boldly stepping into danger, and it wasn’t my place to pull her back. I had no right to make this call for her.

So, there I was, wide awake, thinking about how I could possibly make her journey smoother, how I could support her without stepping over the line. I needed to shake off this urge to control, to protect her from everything. If I didn’t loosen up, she’d be right to walk away. And I surely wasn’t ready for that.

???

The morning came in with a startling commotion. Loading up the cars, I made multiple trips from the rooms to the cars that were now parked inside the warehouse using our sneaky garage door on the side wall. Kabir kept a watch on the camera feed for any new snipers or ambush near us.

I walked past Leora on one of the trips and she gave me a wink. I never thought I’d be blushing over a woman, not at this age. But here I was, heat flooding my cheeks.

“I guess I won’t need to bunk in the command center,” Kabir grinned.

“Because…?” I gave him a confused look.

“Won’t you and Leora be shacking up?” he gave a knowing smirk wiggling his brows.

I shoved a case of magazines to his chest, “Get this in the Escalade.”

Once we were all packed and ready, we took off to our new safehouse which was across Toronto, on the other side of Ontario. Passing through the Gardiner Expressway and sliding past the CN tower, I saw Leora looking out the window with a slight sheen in her eyes. It was clear she missed her old life.

“Can we–” she started, “Never mind.”

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