Bonds

Chapter Six

~Maya’s POV~

Natalia’s voice, muffled through the phone, jolted me out of a daze. “You really think he did it?” Her words felt like sandpaper against my raw nerves.

I let out a sigh, “I don’t know,” the confession scraping my throat, “But think of it, Natalia. If I were to bomb a place, why would I leave evidence that it was me on the bomb?”

“Exactly!” Natalia’s sharp tone crackled through the receiver. “My thoughts exactly. But still, he’s the only one with a motive to stop the wedding. Maybe he realized what he lost.”

I shook my head, the gesture echoing the hollowness inside me, “I looked into his eyes. The Alex that loved me… I didn’t see that man anymore. There was anger, yes, but also a stranger, someone consumed by something I couldn’t understand.”

A beat of silence hung between us, thick with unspoken doubts. “So maybe it was his way of making good on that threat. Maybe this was his way of showing Everton that he means to really go to war with your father.”

“And my father, of course, couldn’t help but blame me,” I muttered, bitterness lacing my voice.

“When are you going to stand up—?” Shebegan, her question hanging in the air.

“No, Natalia, please don’t,” I interrupted, my voice laced with a plea. “I did that once, and it ended with my heart in pieces. That fire…” I choked back a sob, the memory a barbed wire twisting in my gut. “It’s gone.”

“Amaya…” Her voice was laced with concern, reaching across the miles to wrap around me in a virtual hug.

I clutched the phone tighter, “It’s gone,” I repeated.

Silence followed as I stared at myself in the mirror. A stranger stared back, her eyes dull with pain, her lips drawn in a tight line of resignation.

began, her tone softer now, filled with understanding. “It’s not about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing under the ashes. You

her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger. Instead, she sidestepped,

knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of

simmering on Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I

the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding

forming on my lips. “It’s past ten. I

just comply, to shrink into the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I miss the girl who

a punch to the gut, jolting me out of my

wiping the tears that threatened to spill

rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and cocktails that sing opera. I’ve been dying to check it out, and tonight, my friend, tonight

Nathan

some girl time anyway, and you need a night to forget the bomb, the broken vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart. Plus, I have this new outfit that practically screams ‘watch me dance,’ and you wouldn’t

I’ll handle everything. I’ll text you the address, you wear something that sets your inner warrior goddess on fire, and meet me by the back gate in ten minutes. We’re painting the town ruby red, Maya Stone, and

of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of stripping away the self-doubt and

on a breath

she promised, her voice already

there’s dancing. Lots and

the hallway. “Tonight, my

my eyes, chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the

My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There she was, Natalia, silhouetted against the streetlamp, arms crossed and lips

teased, her voice

I breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter

seemed to pierce through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing

I denied, though the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just needed to…

get it,” she said, “It’s been a hell of a day. But tonight, we

I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders. “Ready when you are, General

glint in her eyes. “Now, about that