Page 27 of BounBound By Scars

For something I couldn’t name.

For something that flowers, no matter how beautiful, couldn’t give me.

???

“I’mtellingyou!” I grunted through another set of back squats. “She stares at me. Like… like she won or something.”

Leora burst out laughing. Not a small chuckle—a full-body, throw-her-head-back laugh. Which was rich coming from someone who had just been biting her lip two minutes ago trying to hold it in.

I’m serious, dammit!

“Stop laughing—”

“I’m not laughing at you,” she wheezed, still laughing. “It’s amachine, Amelia. You can… I don’t know… reconfigure it?”

She made her way across the gym, tagging Kaylan’s arm before sliding onto the bench press. Kaylan gave me one of those tight-lipped smiles that said I’m trying not to laugh too—please.

Chariot had become my savior. My shield. My tactical diversion from the unholy topic of my fake date last night. The moment I walked into the gym, Leora had cornered me with a gleam in her eye and a full report, courtesy of Chef Matthis, who apparently moonlighted as a damn spy.

But for now, I’d successfully redirected the conversation. Chariot, the too-smart-for-its-own-good drone, had taken center stage.

“You don’t understand,” I muttered, racking the bar. “I need to do an obscene amount of changes just to bring it up to my standard. And Chariot is a bitch—shestillwon’t listen.”

Kaylan shrugged. “Why don’t you ask Kabir?”

The thought hit harder than I expected.

The thing was, I used to ask him. Constantly. We used to tweak Hawk and Eagle together for hours. But now? We barely talked. And when we did, it was layered in anger and tension and unspoken everything. Last night was a testament to that.

“Maybe,” I said noncommittally, wiping my forehead. “He’s busy with decoding that message from Pedro and Lan.”

At the mention of their names, Kaylan went still. Her hands dropped from the bar. Silence rippled through our trio like a tremor.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, but my words still echoed in the quiet of her grief.

She exhaled, sharp and tired. “I’m not sure how I feel, honestly. I loved them like family. But they didn’t even check in after I escaped Ravenrock. No message. No visit. Nothing. Just… back to their real families. And now they’re gone.”

Leora lowered herself onto the bench and gently asked, “Is that your way of avoiding the grief? Trying not to feel it?”

What I didn’t expect was the smirk that tugged at Kaylan’s mouth.

“You do that, you know?”

Leora blinked. “Do what?”

“You psychoanalyze Logan.” Kaylan smiled, crossing her arms. “You’ve never done it with me before. I’m honored.”

Leora’s brows flew up. “Oh God. I’m sorry, Kay. I didn’t mean—”

Kaylan stepped around the bench, touching Leora’s shoulder. “No. I mean that in a good way. You question things. It helps us think. And trust me—Logan needs that. Man’s treating recovery like it’s an optional side quest.”

That earned a shared laugh between them, one I joined with a snort.

But Leora’s face softened quickly. “For what it’s worth… once things settle, you should consider meeting Pedro and Lan’s families. It might give you some peace. Some closure.”

I nodded. “You talked to Ronan and Dylan, right? About Riley?”

Kaylan gave a small nod.