time, causing panic to set in.
It’s no one’s business what goes on in my room, but I don’t want anyone questioning me.
“This never happened,” I mutter, walking out of the room.
“Oh, but it did, and it’s not something I’m likely to forget, ever.”
Trey and Cristian are standing at the bottom of the stairs as we descend, both on their phones, no doubt trying to track us down. They both look up when Raphael clears his throat.
Cristian smirks, and Trey’s eyes narrow at Raphael.
I ignore the frostiness coming from Trey, and I’m grateful when Cristian gives us their update.
“Bodies are dropping fast out there on both sides.”
“How many of ours, how many of theirs?” I ask, falling into my chair behind my desk.
“Twenty of ours, ten of theirs. It was quiet all morning, and then in the last hour, the mood shifted.”
Twenty men down. That’s a lot, but still a figure we can deal with.
“We heard DiMarco is still held up in the church with a band of his men,” Trey mumbles.
He’s sharper than this, but if this mood change is because of jealously, we’re going to have words.
“Then we blow it up,” Raphael suggests, leaning against the doorframe.
“No we will not!” I snap. My lips may still tingle, his taste still clinging to my tongue, but it isn’t affecting my senses. “That church has stood for two hundred years, and it will not fall because being trigger-happy is the easiest option. It will still stand long after we take down DiMarco.”
“You can’t think with your heart, Mila. We both agreed we had to move fast to take him out, and this is fastest way.”
“My heart has nothing to do with it, Raphael.” Rolling his eyes, he crosses the room and takes a seat on the couch. “We’ll find another way to get to him.”
When Trey hands me a drink, I look up at him, noticing his frosty attitude hasn’t thawed yet.
“You say you heard he only has a few men with him. Find out where his soldiers are holed up. They must have somewhere they meet to rest and regroup. We find them, we can take down everyone around him,” Raphael surmises.
“That was your plan for me, and it didn’t work out so well.”
“Trey is the last one standing, is he not?”
“Yes, but it took you ten years.”
“Come on, now, we can’t be arguing between ourselves,” Cristian scolds, helping himself to a drink.
“My intentions are different this time.”
“How?”
“Because they’re not you.”
Trey huffs beside me, and it’s a sign of his jealously gone too far. Pushing up out of the chair, I jerk my head for him to follow, ignoring Raphael’s mocking smirk as I pass.
Out in the hall, Trey follows me into the kitchen, and I turn on him sharply.
“Tell me now what your problem is.”
He shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t act like a child. You’ve been acting like a jealous lover for far too long, and I’m over it.”
He’s the complete opposite of Raphael, which is what I used to like about him. I hated anyone who reminded me of him in any way.
“No matter what you say, he’s been trying to kill you for years, and then he bends the knee, throws you a few lines, and you’re up in your room with him. It’s like you’ve forgotten who he is. He surrendered to you. You should be keeping him at arm’s length, not attaching your mouth to his.”
My hand flies through the air, crashing against his cheek. He doesn’t budge, or blink.
“How dare you!” I seethe, trying my damnedest to keep my cool. “He bent the knee, making him our biggest ally. He has men—”
“Yeah, who work for you now.”
“And if I were to bend the knee, you know my men would still look to me first for direction. We need him to fight DiMarco.”
He physically bites down on his bottom lip, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“I swore to protect you from him, but I can’t protect you from yourself. Falling for his smooth words of the history you shared, whatever the fuck that might have been, is a mistake.”
Our history. No one knows our history, and sometimes I feel like I forget most of it. But history is to be learned from so the same mistakes are avoided. A kiss shared with Raphael doesn’t change anything. A kiss can simply be a kiss.
“You’ve trusted my word and advice for a long time, Mila. Don’t go deaf to that now because he’s here.”
I watch