Page 32 of Bound By Sin
The left side of his face is swollen and purple from his cheekbone to his jaw. His right eye is ringed in dark yellow where a bruise is fading from black to green. There's a cut above his eyebrow held together with butterfly strips, and when he steps back to let me in he moves stiffly, favoring his left side like his ribs are hurting too.
"Hey," he says and tries to smile. The smile makes him wince, which makes me feel bad.
"Kaz." I set the jacket on the nearest chair and reach for his face with both hands, turning it gently toward the light from the window. "What happened to you?" I can see why his lights are out. He was probably resting. It looks like he got in the ring and lost, but I know what really happened.
I'm not stupid. Makar and Bogdan did this. They had to have used the intel about Kaz picking up that American and they ambushed him.
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You look like someone hit you with a car." I brush my thumb along the edge of the bruise on his cheekbone and he flinches. "Who did this?"
"It's handled."
"Kazimir, please…" The guilt is so bad, just looking at him, I almost break down crying. I can't believe they took it this far. We were supposed to make him look unreliable, not harm him. I am so angry with them, I'm shaking.
He takes my hands off his face and holds them between his, squeezing. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm glad you're here. That's what I want to focus on."
I can't stand this torture. My brothers crossed a line they never told me was a possibility. Had I known this was what the outcome of sharing that intel would be, I'd never have given it to them. I'd have kept it my little secret.
He leads me to the couch and sits cautiously, gritting his teeth to hide the pain. But I read him like an open book. They didn’t just fuck up his face. They hurt him bad. I sit beside him and pull his arm over my shoulder, settling against his side, and he lets out a long breath that turns into a grunt when I press against his ribs.
"Sorry," I say, pulling back. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry."
"Don't." He pulls me back in. "It's worth it."
"Was it a sparring match?" I ask, hoping maybe I'm just overthinking this. I mean, Kazimir is a fighter. He runs a gym, for fuck's sake. This could've happened in a ring, though the padding they wear makes it less likely.
"Zora, I asked you not to push this."
"I'm worried about you," I whisper, and he sighs.
"Some assholes jumped me in a parking lot. Just a mugging, okay? They didn’t get much, just a few bucks, really."
My heart sinks because I know the truth, that it was my brothers, and it was no mugging. He's lying to protect me so I'm not afraid. And that only makes my nausea and my guilt worse.
I press my lips against his jaw below the bruise, and he turns his head and finds my mouth. The kiss is soft because his lip is split. I can feel him holding back, and when I push for more and slide my hand down his chest, he catches my wrist.
"Zora." He pulls back and his gray eyes are apologetic. "I can't."
"Can't what?"
He lifts his shirt. The left side of his torso is a map of purple and black bruising that stretches from his hip to his armpit. Two of his ribs are taped and the skin around the tape is swollen and dark.
"Oh, my God, Kaz." Tears crest in my eyes and slip down my cheeks instantly. I can't believe they did this. I have to turn away at the sight. It's too painful.
"Hey," he says, catching my jaw and making me look back at him. "It looks worse than it feels." He drops his shirt and coughs, then smirks. "That's a lie, actually. It feels exactly as bad as it looks."
I put my hand on his thigh and keep it there because I need to touch him and it's the only place that doesn't seem damaged. The bruises on his face and his body and the cuts on his knuckles make my chest burn with righteous indignation. Makar is gonna hear about this. I am so fucking done. I won’t be their pawn anymore.
"Will you at least let me get you some ice?" I ask.
"There's a bag in the freezer. I've been rotating it between my face and my ribs for three days now." He closes his eyes. "The ribs are winning."
I get up and go to the kitchen and find the ice pack in the freezer. I wrap it in a dish towel and bring it back and press it against his side. He hisses through his teeth and then settles into it, his hand covering mine on top of the towel.
"I'm sorry we can't spend more time. I have a meeting with my uncle soon…" He winces as I pull my hand back and I swipe at my eyes. This is all my fault. I bet that meeting with his uncle is to find out what punishment he'll get. I wonder what the American looks like if Kaz looks this bad.
"You should be in bed resting. I'll call him right now and tell him." I shake my head, annoyed that anyone would make this man get up and work when he's in this shape.
