After we entered the passages, I’d shown the team the spy grills mounted in the walls, pointing out where x’s mark camouflaged doors. I’d given them orders to terminate every soldier in sight and then I took off to find India and Leo, trusting my team to fight the fight with me.
Now, my brothers are all in one place. Two of them are unarmed in my peripheral vision, the other is straight ahead on his knees, surrounded by four goons and staring down the barrel of a service pistol.
I smile inwardly, feeling unusually sane inside. Under normal circumstances, André would tear them apart with his bare hands. No one can contain my unhinged twin for long.
Despite that, his typical wild side is simmering––because he’s plotting. We all are. And we have to act fast.
Taking it all in, the situation appears to be impossible. There’s no easy way out of this mess. If I had time to plan, the team would be in position, ready for my order to blow these fuckers’ brains out at the exact same time. But we don’t have that luxury tonight.
In the back of my mind, I hear Papá telling me to protect the head of our family, no matter who else dies. My duty is to ensure Tomás gets out of here alive and to leave the rest of them behind as collateral damage. That’s the sort of messed up bastard my father was.
His cartel organization was the priority.
But I am not that man.
And I don’t need to do his dirty work anymore.
Casually shifting my feet, I mutter the number five, just loud enough to be detected by my trainees along the airwaves of my hidden comms. It might seem like a strange thing to say, but now the team knows there are five targets in this room.
I hunt out India’s face again and recognize the fierce flicker in her glare. For a moment, all I see is her and nothing else. Only my girl.
She eyeballs the guy threatening my twin, baring her teeth at him as she writhes against Fabian fucking Lozano.
He’s got some nerve putting his hands on my woman. And the fact he’s doing it puts me one heartbeat away from losing my shit.
When India’s eyes drift to mine, unwelcome tremors shake my hands and I shove my fingers through my hair to settle myself. This isn’t like me. Then again, the emotions I’m battling with aren’t normal for me either.
It's vital I keep my cool even though my veins are on fire. But the way she stares at me aligns the stars in the universe, tethering us together. My heart’s pounding for her.
Our connection is more than a feeling.
And it’s only now that I fully accept the platonic love she has for André. Those baby blues of hers don’t change when she looks at him, but for me, they shine brightly.
On quick inspection, a deep red mark surrounds a swollen lip and dried blood decorates her pretty features. Despite the bruising, from what I can tell, the blood doesn't appear to be hers.
Before her long inky lashes lower, something odd flashes in her eyes. A shiver of fear catches me off guard.
She’s plotting too.
Instinctively, I understand the expression she’s wearing. That courageous flare vibrating through her is the telltale sign she’s about to make the next move.
A furious pulse throbs in her proud neck and her bottom lip slips between her teeth as she thinks.
I witness every thought running through her mind.
Feelthe consequences of every single choice she debates.
Her siren eyes darken like a turbulent ocean and her stubbornly set chin holds its place—strong and rebellious.
Despite her heaving chest, there’s something different about her rigid posture. It's an undetectable wisp of recklessness—or worse—the edginess of the risk she’s about to take.
This is what she’d warned me about. How she had wanted the independence to defend herself when our enemies finally showed up. She’d wanted to train hard, build on her skills, and fight for herself—the people she cares about. And that’s what I want for her too.
But she shouldn’t be in this mess. I’m the guy who’d endured grueling years of training to become the Souzas’ guard. To protect all of them.
Unbrushed blonde hair maps the hoodie she wears, those light strands, the threads of sunshine forever reaching into my dark world.
I’ve slaughtered more men in the past few minutes than I could count on both hands. None of those lives mattered. And now, here I am—fueled with dread for what she’s about to do next. My glacial mood becomes deadlier by the second.
