Page 204 of BounBound By Scars

Zarek’s tone turned cold. “They’re a waste of time.”

Tattoo Guy chuckled darkly. “Technically, we’re Deathmark. But we also answer to‘who sent you?’and‘I have a family!’”

That made even Logan blink. Zarek, however, stiffened.

Tattoo Guy pointed to himself with his thumb. “Gray.”

Then to the masked woman on his right—pixie cut, eyes hinting an East Asian ethnicity. “Sevy.”

The second woman—taller, shaved head, dark eyes—“Bee.”

She waved enthusiastically.

And finally, the other guy. Built like a steel beam, but zero twitch. “Vic.”

“And no need for your introductions. We know all of you,” Gray said, casually pointing at us one by one. “Cipher. Viper. Falcon. Ranger. Ghost. Shadow. Healer. Gunner. Specter.”

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the space beside Zarek. “Dr. Mateez is missing.”

A chill swept through me. How the fuck did they—

Lia finally stepped forward, her voice steady but tight. “How do you know the term ‘fireflies’?”

Gray turned to her, the smile in his voice fading.

“You know how.”

Amelia stared at him for a long moment.

“Where is he?”

He didn’t move an inch before responding. “Not relevant, is it?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Once.

“Take them to the conference room.”

Her tone had that unmistakable ring—firm, final, not open to discussion.

Sebastian barely hesitated. “Alright.”

We moved.

And they followed.

The conference room was tense. More than tense. It was suffocating.

We were all gathered in there, a place we normally owned. But not tonight. Not with them here.

Deathmark.

They stood across from us like they belonged here, like they’d called this meeting and we were the guests. And maybe we were.

Leora had joined us, wobbling in with her hand on her belly. Guess Zarek’sorderfor her to stay put was overruled.

Sevy’s eyes found her immediately.

Her expression was unreadable—blank on the surface—but her gaze lingered a beat too long on Leora’s swollen stomach. It made something cold crawl down my spine. My hand itched for my gun.

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