Page 181 of BounBound By Scars

Kaylan rushed toward me, grabbing my shoulders, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. It was just noise. Everything was noise.

Zane moved fast. He was on the floor beside me in seconds, pulling me into his arms.

I collapsed into his chest like something lifeless.

He held me tight, kissed the top of my head, over and over.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. Amelia, I’msosorry.”

I shook harder. My fingers curled into his shirt, clutching it.

Kaylan was behind me now, one hand rubbing my back. Her voice soft, steady, but I couldn’t make out the words.

Logan sat frozen, eyes glassy. Red-rimmed. His hands clenched on his knees like he didn’t know what to do with them.

No one did.

Because Squad Six wasn’t just wounded anymore.

It was bleeding out.

And I felt it in my bones.

The truth of it.

I looked up at the hollow room, at the ashes of who we once were.

This was the death of Squad Six.

THIRTY-NINE

Kabir

I groaned.

Every inch of my body flaring with pain. Muscles stiff. Ribs aching. My head felt like it had been used for batting practice.

Fuck.

Where the hell was I?

I tried to move—but something jerked me back.

A hand gripped my jaw, forcing my head up with a sharp snap of motion.

I cracked one eye open.

A man stood inches from my face, his smile wide and unnatural. East Asian. Mid-50s, maybe. Neatly combed hair. Wire-rimmed glasses perched too perfectly on the bridge of his nose. His suit hung awkwardly on him—expensive but a size too big, like it belonged to someone else.

Fake charm, real menace.

“Good morning, Kabir!” he chirped, his Chinese accent sharp but cheerful.

It hit me immediately.

“Gao Ling,” I rasped, barely managing the name. An educated guess. But the flicker in his eyes told me I was right.

I forced my gaze to scan the room.