Page 35 of Wanted By the Cartel

"Who else?" I asked, finally turning to face her.

"Rodriguez. Santos. A few others, too." Chen met my gaze steadily. "They're discrete, sir. And they understand the need to protect him."

I laughed. Who did she think she was trying to fool? "Protect him? By encouraging him to put himself at risk?"

"With respect, sir," Chen's voice was measured, "he's protecting himself by building allies. The cartel respects strength. Right now, many see him only as your mate, your weakness. But if they saw what he could do—"

"They'd try to use him," I cut her off. "Or kill him."

"Or follow him," she countered. "Alongside you. The way Santos's team already does."

I leaned against my desk, suddenly tired. Santos. One of my most loyal captains, now working with my mate behind my back. It shouldn't have surprised me. Lyrian had a way of inspiring loyalty, of making people want to protect him while simultaneously wanting to follow him. It happened with me, too.

A knock interrupted us. "Enter," I called.

Rodriguez burst in, face flushed with urgency. "Sir, we've intercepted communications. The Vipers are planning to hit the south warehouse tonight. They know about the weapons shipment."

"How did they—" I started, but Rodriguez was already shaking his head.

"They didn't. It's a trap. They think we're moving weapons, but Lyrian sensed something off about one of the dock workers last week. He had Chen's team investigate." Rodriguez glancedat Chen. "The worker confessed to feeding false information. The Vipers are walking into our ambush."

My blood ran cold. "Where is Lyrian now?"

The silence that followed confirmed my worst fears. Dammit.

"He insisted on being there," Chen said, her words almost impossible to make out. "He can sense if anyone approaches from hidden angles. Santos has his best men—"

I was already moving, barking orders into my phone. "Lock down the south warehouse. No one moves until I get there. And find my mate!"

The drive to the warehouse district was a blur of fury and fear. Lyrian was seven months pregnant. He should be safe at home, not playing spymaster in the middle of an ambush. Yet a small voice in my head reminded me that without his intervention, we might have lost the entire shipment. Without his abilities, we wouldn't have known about the trap at all.

I wished we didn't have to rely on him so much. He was bound to use that to his advantage, trying to make me change my mind.

When we arrived, gunfire was already echoing across the docks. I spotted Santos's team in defensive positions, and there—behind a stack of containers—was Lyrian, protected by a wall of our best fighters.

He shouldn't be here. He should be safe at home, sipping his tea and taking care of our unborn children.

Our eyes met across the distance. Even from here, I could see the determination in his face, the way he was challenging me to tell him he was wrong. He wouldn't apologize for this. He was proving a point.

A point that was going to get him killed.

The firefight ended quickly. The Vipers, realizing they'd been set up, retreated in disarray. We lost no one, took minimaldamage, and captured three of their lieutenants. A complete victory.

All thanks to my mate's deception.

I found him afterward in Santos's command post, calmly directing clean-up operations like he'd been doing this his whole life.

"Don't," he said before I could speak. "Don't say it was too dangerous. Don't say I should have stayed home. This worked, Zoren. It worked because I was here."

"You could have died." I could barely control myself. "All three of you could have died."

"But we didn't. Because I had protection. Because your people—our people—kept me safe while letting me do what I do best." He stepped closer and took my hand. "This is who I am. Who I need to be."

I looked at our joined hands, feeling the pulse of life beneath his skin. Everything I loved, everything I feared to lose, contained in one precious being.

"Sir," Chen appeared in the doorway. "The captains are requesting a full debrief."

I nodded, mind already working. I couldn't keep fighting this battle on two fronts—against our enemies and against my own mate. Something had to change.

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