Page 57 of BounBound By Scars

The guy checking my desk didn’t even glance up.

But the third man—the one standing back with arms crossed, who hadn’t moved—turned to me.

And his eyes locked on mine like he already knew who I was.

“Mr. Kabir Gill?” he asked.

I always thought I’d be one of those men who’d answer that type of question with ‘who’s asking?’, but my bloody throat closed.

A cracking “Yeah?” escaped me, my breathing picking up.

He stepped forward—smooth, controlled, way too calm.

“You need to come with us,” he said.

That was the day I met Zarek ‘Ghost’ Rivera and because he offered an excellent excuse to not attend the damn wedding, I took it. Then I met the squad—squad I was joining as a new trainee—and learnt that Zarek was the Squad Leader.

The man I couldn’t call anything but his call sign for over a year. The man I silently considered my mentor during training, who barely nodded when I passed the deadliest mock mission of my life.

I wasn’t like Logan. Or Dylan. I wasn’t Maxton.

The mission that claimed Maxton’s life and nearly took mine was the same one that earned me my first near-death experience. While Zarek grieved his fallen brother, I lay in a sterile infirmary with bandages and silence.

No visits. Not from the team. My family wasn’t even informed.

Only Amelia visited. No one else.

Because I wasn’t Maxton.

I wasn’t Logan.

I wasn’t Dylan.

Hell—I wasn’t even Kabir.

FIFTEEN

Amelia

“Why is Kabir sitting up front with Zane?” Seb leaned toward me and asked quietly, as I took my place at the altar after my walk down the aisle. Kaylan right behind me.

I didn’t mean to react, but my jaw tensed before I could stop it.

I gave him a tight smile. “He’s not one of the groomsmen.”

Seb nodded, but the subtle crease between his brows deepened. “Weird.”

You’re telling me.

I tried not to let it get to me. This was Zarek and Leora’s day. It wasn’t about Kabir. It wasn’t about me. Still, I couldn’t help the flicker of confusion—or maybe disappointment—that bloomed in my chest. Kabir should’ve been up there, standing with Zarek, Logan, and Dylan. Not sitting like an outsider.

But that wasn’t the only thing I noticed. Logan was missing too.

Zarek looked confused, eyes scanning the row of groomsmen. He leaned slightly toward Dylan and whispered something I couldn’t hear. Dylan just shrugged, glancing around casually like this wasn’t his problem.

Seb, standing next to me in his navy suit, would be officiating. Of course. Because the man really could do it all. And while I was trying to refocus my brain on how damn perfect this courtyardlooked—the late afternoon light soaking into the white and green florals, the scent of fresh roses thick in the air—my ears caught the first soft notes of the song.

Roseby Honest Men.

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