Page 109 of BounBound By Scars

They touched her.

They hurt her.

Theyshother.

But I was still standing.

Their mistake.

TWENTY-FIVE

Amelia

I had chosen North. Kabir would be taking the South.

I didn’t have time to be fast. I needed to be a diversion. And I needed to play it right.

My heels clicked softly on the marble steps as I ascended, pulse steady but breath tight. I could still feel the phantom weight of Kabir’s fingers brushing mine when I handed him my gun, before we split up.

The bathroom was just past the stairwell. I slipped in, locked the door behind me, and braced my back against it. One hand on my stomach.

My breath came out ragged.

Come on, Falcon. Smile. Sway. You’re drunk. You’re lost. You’re harmless.

I waited ten seconds.

Then I stepped back into the hall.

And froze.

Six men in tuxedos. Spread out—wide, but deliberate. Strategic spacing.

Not guests. The unknowns. Every one of them had the same bulge beneath their jackets, too perfectly positioned to be anything but firearms. Suppressed weapons, likely. Nothing loud. Nothing messy. My kind of enemy.

Their eyes cut to me the second I appeared. Predatory. Assessing.

“Oh!” I feigned a stumble. My voice high-pitched, breathy. “Shit. This isn’t the powder room, is it?”

The one in front, tall, slick hair, Eastern European features. Cold eyes.

He said nothing.

One on the left adjusted his stance. Subtle. But enough for me to catch it—he was resting his palm over the hilt of his hidden Glock.

Another took a step closer. Eyes on my legs. On the slit in my dress. That one? He’d be the first to go if I could help it.

“I’m looking for the…the ballroom?” I slurred, tilting my head in mock confusion. “This place is like a damn maze.”

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Slick finally said.

I blinked. “Oh… sorry? I just—wait, can one of you help me back?”

“We’ll have to search you first.”

That did it.

Fucking bastards.

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