Page 36 of BounBound By Scars

And there it was.

An archived hit contract. Red-flagged.

Payout confirmed. Anonymous transfer. The timestamp matched the day before the SOS alert went out.

I sat back, exhaling slow.

This wasn’t a coincidence. This was cleanup. A message. Or worse—testing waters.

I started filtering the remaining Alpha Squad names, both confirmed and previously recruited. Then Squad Six. Squad Two. Even those discharged. Nothing was showing up…yet.

I set an auto-alert for all our names and family’s names, a ping system tied to a buried node I’d check twice a day now.

TEN

Amelia

There was a massive difference between being in love with someone for years and finding another man attractive enough to date.

Fake-date.

I was trying my hardest to rearrange my thoughts.

On one hand, I really did want Kabir. But, I had never given him any clear indication of how I felt until that damn kiss. The oneIstarted. The oneherejected.

On the other hand, I felt like it was my responsibility to move on. To stop forcing something that may only exist in my deluded imagination.

Yes, he seemed off since I’d started dating Sebastian.

Could be written off as fear of losing a friend.

Yes, he seemed jealous when I interacted with Sebastian.

Could be chalked up to his general hatred for the man.

Okay—that last one was a stretch. But I had zero solid evidence that Kabir had feelings for me.

So why the hell was I on this stupid quest to claim him? Why was I obsessing when there was an actual, tangible option in front of me?

Sebastian was interested, wasn’t he?

I didn’t have to decode his words or question his smirks. His flirting was blatant.

‘I’ve lost you.’

Kabir’s broken whisper lingered still. I groaned inwardly. I wasn’t sure what he had meant but it felt as though he hadn’t just implied our friendship.

But given that I had never actually dated before, maybe I owed it to myself to—

“How about signing table on the right and the altar… here? This fountain looks beautiful.”

Leora’s voice yanked me back to reality.

I blinked, processing my surroundings again. Right. Wedding planning.

We were standing in the courtyard of Blackthorn Security, a stunning green oasis tucked inside the fortified building. The entire space was bathed in soft sunlight thanks to the see-through roof, making it feel like a garden outside of time.

“I think the magnolia arch would go perfectly in front of the fountain.”

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