His Caged Bird A Vengeance Reborn

Boyd didn't come home that night.

The day I played the video for him, he ordered every copy on the computer wiped clean. But what he didn't know was that Gail hadn't just sent them to my email. She'd sent a copy to my phone, too.

The innocent little girl he saw when he looked at her was far more cunning than he realized.

For the entire night Boyd was gone, I sat on the couch and watched every second of those videos.

Even at the height of passion, Boyd's eyes were filled with tenderness and aching devotion. He handled her like she might shatter, like he was terrified his own strength would break the girl beneath him.

In four years together, I had never once seen that expression on his face.

With me, Boyd was savage. Unhinged. He wanted to crush my bones to dust. My body always bore the marks to prove it.

But the man in these videos, aside from sharing the same face, was a complete stranger. Every expression, every touch, was something I didn't recognize.

My phone buzzed. A text notification. A photo of a necklace.

The pendant was a bullet.

"I just said it looked cool, and Boyd gave it to me."

"He said it was some worthless little trinket. Told me I could have it if I liked it."

I froze. At that exact moment, the bedroom door swung open, and there he was. Boyd. Gone all night, now strolling in like nothing had happened.

Before he reached me, I locked my phone screen without a flicker of expression.

Boyd walked over and pressed a kiss to my cheek, casual as breathing.

"Still up? Were you waiting for me?"

I looked away from his eyes. My gaze dropped to his neck.

Just as I thought. Bare.

The necklace he never took off, not even in the shower, was gone.

I pulled back from him, putting distance between us as naturally as I could.

"Where's your necklace? Why aren't you wearing it?"

Not a single crack in his composure. He loosened his tie with one hand.

"Chain broke. I sent it out to get fixed."

I said nothing. The silence stretched on and on.

That bullet on the necklace had nearly pierced my heart four years ago.

Back then, Boyd wasn't the untouchable crime lord he was now, the kind of man who could raze empires with a single word. He'd already made a name for himself on the streets, though. Enough of a name that every rival boss wanted him dead.

That time, a rival syndicate sent their best assassin to finish him off for good.

The instant both men raised their guns, my chest seized. I threw myself in front of Boyd on pure instinct and took the bullet meant for him.

Boyd's shot hit the assassin right between the eyes.

The assassin's bullet stopped half an inch from my heart.

When I woke up in the hospital, it was the first time I ever saw Boyd cry.

"Faith, I swear on my life I will never betray you."

"Anyone who wants to touch you will have to step over my dead body first."

He had the bullet pulled from my body made into a pendant and wore it around his neck every single day.

Four years. That necklace never left his skin. Not once. Not even in the shower.

I looked up at him, and a thought crystallized in my mind.

"Boyd, let's get married."

He blinked, clearly caught off guard. In four years together, I had never once brought up marriage.

He recovered quickly, ruffling my hair.

"All right, quit messing around."

"I'm going to take a shower."

He turned and disappeared into the bathroom.

It was only a test. He hadn't refused outright.

But his evasion was answer enough.

Over the next few days, Boyd spent most of his time with me. Neither of us mentioned that name again.