and for once, I agree with him.
“What do you propose we do, then?” She’s calm. Almost too calm.
“We do what we know best—we fight,” Cristian declares before Trey can open his mouth.
“How long will that take, though? Our families have spent two centuries fighting, and it took us years to get to this point.”
“That’s a valid point, Mila. However, we’re not fighting people we know anymore. There’s no one at the top backing down at the last moment because they’re in love with the opposition.”
She narrows her eyes at my cousin, and I don’t blame her. He’s stepping close to the line, though he’s not wrong.
“Which brings us back to the question: what are we going to do?”
“We prepare for the fight of our lives, starting with giving our soldiers the weapons they need to win.”
They all look to me, and silently, it’s agreed.
“We strike hard before they do,” Mila adds, and I can’t stop the slow grin stretching across my face.
Rising from the chair, I lean against the front of the desk. “Make sure everyone has what they need, and have them ready to go at a second’s notice.”
Cristian sets off to carry out my order, and Mila nods for Trey to join him. Once the door has closed, I pull her against me and wrap my arms around her.
“While they’re out fighting, we should deal with the brothers.” Her eyes narrow. “What?”
“I’m waiting for you to say you want me to stay here where it’s safe.”
My laugh is loud as it escapes from deep in my chest. “You think I haven’t learned my lesson by now? Besides, I’m not letting you out of my sight. We do this together.”
Her laugh is light, and her eyes glisten with amusement. “What do you propose?”
“We have our men march through the city toward the market square. With a force of that size, they’re bound to send their men to stop them from getting close to your estate, and that’s when we go for the brothers. We take our best men with us and wipe them out.”
“We hit them hard and fast?”
I smirk. “Just how you like it.”
“Just how I like it,” she agrees, adding, “Round up fifteen of our best men and have them ready to go within the hour.”
With a curt nod, I pull away from her and set off to find the best. She referred to them as our men. For today, for right now, there’s no circle to break with her flipping from hot to cold.
Chapter Forty-Two
Jamila
The car is filled with tension, and I roll my eyes at the reason why. Raphael and Trey, of course. This is getting worse, and I’m done trying to argue with them to move on. Raphael sits to my right, and Trey sits opposite with Cristian. A holdall containing enough arms for us to have two guns each and plenty of bullets sits on the floor between us.
Reaching for the Glock on top of the bag, I unclip the barrel and fill it with six bullets. Raphael takes hold of his Glock while Cristian and Trey choose their weapons.
“I say we let the soldiers go in first, and we enter after,” Cristian offers.
Shit. I don’t have the energy to argue with him on this again.
“No, I agree with Mila. We show we’re united. We go in together,” Raphael repeats.
“You would,” Trey huffs.
“I would what?” Raphael snaps, losing his patience.
“You would agree with her. You’d agree to anything just to make sure she climbs into your bed again tonight.”
“Trey!” I shout.
Did he not hear a word I said not even an hour ago?
Raphael’s hand lifts, aiming his gun at Trey, who doesn’t even flinch under his heated glare.
“Don’t, Jamila. There’s no way you’d go in blind like this before he bent the knee. He isn’t Superman, and having him at your side doesn’t make you untouchable.”
The anger in him is rising, but it’s no match to mine. Placing my hand on Raphe’s gun, I lower it until it’s resting on his thigh.
Trey is mine to deal with. Sitting forward, I’m glad the car is a town car, and I have room to move a little.
“My blood makes me untouchable. My determination makes me untouchable. My fucking name makes me untouchable. You’ve underestimated me for the last time. Get out.”
I’m not letting him make me feel guilty for how I feel about Raphael, regardless of how confused I am over him, and he’s certainly not going to make me feel stupid for going after