Page 53 of BounBound By Scars

He knew what it meant. Shit, they all did.

Logan snorted so hard he nearly dropped his gun. “Oh my God,” he wheezed, clearly delighted.

Zane was laughing too now, and Dylan’s scowl had gone from mildly annoyed to full-on insulted.

“I didn’t say it to you, man,” I said quickly, trying not to laugh. “It’s… general-purpose. Like, it applies to everything. The firewall. The day. Thefucking moon,for all I care.”

“But he’s not, though,” Logan added cheerfully. “Abehenchod. Not yet, anyway.”

That made Dylan smirk as Logan held out a fist bump to him. Dylan stared at it for a beat—and, to my eternal shock, actually returned it.

Absently.

Logan smirked. “Progress, Kabir. You’ve got his blessing now.”

“You’re so fucking weird,” Dylan muttered.

“I second that,” I added, grinning despite myself.

Not that Dylan’s blessing meant anything. Amelia was dating someone else. And I was sure Sebastian already had all the silent approval in the world.

Before Logan could spout off something even more unhinged, the door creaked open.

Zarek stepped in.

His eyes scanned the room once—narrowing slightly at the sight of all three of us grinning like idiots.

Then he zeroed in on me. “Cipher, update?”

The smile vanished from my face like someone hit a kill switch.

I shook my head. “No progress yet. White House Crazon is still locked.”

He nodded once, no judgment in his expression. Just… that blank, unreadable stare. “Then quit the comedy hour and get back to work.”

Logan rolled his eyes dramatically.

I didn’t move, though.

I couldn’t.

Because when Zarek looked at me, I didn’t feel like a guy doing his best. I felt like an asset. One with an expiration date if I failed.

???

“Kabir?”

Her voice was soft. So soft that it barely cut through the echo of my boots in the hallway.

I stopped, sighing quietly as I turned around.

She was standing there—shoulders tense, hands fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves. And yet, her eyes—her eyes held everything. Hesitation. Hope.

Hope that I was trying like hell not to catch.

But,God!She was still so fucking beautiful that it made my chest hurt.

“Hey,” I said, offering a small smile. “I was just heading to the gym. Logan’s demanding ‘moral support’ because apparently he’s too stiff to stretch on his own.”