Page 132 of BounBound By Scars

A wall of static. A blackout.

Delara spoke, voice soft but edged with something.

“You and Kabir split up after the mission. You took the north hallway. You were ambushed. They beat you up pretty bad.You were shot in the lower chest.” She swallowed. “Kabir found you. Got you out. He didn’t leave your side. Not until you were transferred here—two weeks ago.”

My gaze darted around the room again.

“Where…” I croaked. “Where’s K-kabir?”

Silence.

No one met my eyes. Not even Logan.

“Where is he?” I pushed again, my voice a brittle whisper.

Kaylan stood abruptly, her voice firm. “Okay. That’s enough. She needs rest.”

“I’m fine,” I rasped, already knowing I wasn’t. “I need to see him.”

“Everyone out,” Kaylan ordered.

The others hesitated but obeyed. Zarek gave me a soft nod. Delara looked like she wanted to stay. Logan lingered the longest, but one look from Kaylan and he followed the rest.

She closed the door, her back to it for a second before she turned to face me.

“Amelia…” Her voice cracked.

“What happened?” I whispered. “Kaylan… please.”

She sat beside me, eyes welling.

“We can talk about it later. When you’re better.”

I shook my head. “No… tell me. Fucking please! Is he dead?”

She sighed. “His RLM went inactive seven days ago. Kabir’s gone.”

My breath hitched. “Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“He left, Amelia. Walked out. Took the tech… and disappeared.”

My body froze, but the storm inside had already begun.

“No…” I shook my head weakly. “That’s not… no.”

Kaylan held my shoulders. “He stole Sentrix 5.4.”

“What?”

“He took the whole module with him. Everything. He’s gone rogue, Amelia.”

“No,” I gasped, chest rising in shallow panicked bursts. “No, he wouldn’t—he wouldn’t leave me.”

“Hey. Listen to me.” Kaylan tried to still me. I couldn’t breathe. My skin felt too tight.

“I need—I need to see him. He wouldn’t—he wouldn’t just—”

“HELP!” Kaylan shouted, reaching for the nurse call. “We need to sedate her, now!”

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