Page 148 of BounBound By Scars

That’s why. That’s why he left the way he did. Because for a moment, he thought I was already gone.

We were both kneeling now, holding onto each other like we were trying to keep the other from vanishing again.

“It’s beating,” I whispered.

And for the first time in weeks, I felt the hollow inside me start to close.

???

We lay in the quiet, side by side on my bed, the room dark except for the soft blue glow of the drone’s charger in the corner.

Kabir’s fingers hadn’t moved from my neck. Two fingertips pressed lightly against my pulse, like he needed constant reassurance that it was still beating. That I was still here.

His gaze never left mine.

And for a moment, it felt like the war outside the walls had paused. Just long enough for us to find each other again.

He opened his mouth, closed it. His throat worked around something heavy.

Finally, he said it—soft, like it hurt. “I learned the team is planning an assault on Romano’s estate.”

I nodded slowly. “Tomorrow evening. Zane’s finalizing the op brief.”

His eyes darkened. “Call it off.”

“What?”

“Call it off, Lia. Get them to cancel it.”

I pushed myself up slightly. “You’re not making sense.”

He sat up too, hand falling from my neck. I already missed it.

“This morning, a new security protocol was added to Romano’s property. I saw it myself. Surveillance spikes, route blocks, a new authorization level. That kind of response doesn’t happen unless they’re baiting someone in.”

I blinked at him. “So you think it’s a trap?”

“Iknowit is.”

I shook my head. “Kabir, you weren’t here when Zane found the file. Project Ruby referenced a secondary node—RSR Grounds. That’s Romano’s house. Everything points to Doom Switch being stored there.”

“And you think they’d leave a trail like that intact?” His voice rose, frustration cracking through. “That’s not how this works. You don’t hide somethingthatdangerous for years only to let it slip now.”

“It’s not a slip. It’s a thread. One of the only ones we’ve got.”

He stood suddenly, pacing. “You’re not hearing me. I’m telling you, they want you to attack.”

“And I’m telling you, we don’t have the luxury of waiting around anymore!”

He stopped, facing the wall, hands clenched at his sides. I saw the war in his body before he said it. He looked at his watch briefly.

“I have to go back.”

My blood chilled. “Go backwhere?”

“Virginia. Fuck… I need to leave.”

I sat up fully, heart slamming in my chest. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”

---