Page 14 of Fired at the Heart

Why is he even here? Everything I have on him says he hung up his gun to focus on his law practice. This is far from his boardroom of choice these days.

I risk a peek through my lashes. He leans back in his chair, pretending to be at ease, but I catch the telltale flex of his jaw, and the restless drum of his fingers.

Is he affected by my proximity? I sure as fuck hope so.

“Any questions?” Aaiden scans the table.

I shake my head, eager to move on to the main event and distance myself from Raphael’s unsettling presence as soon as possible.

“Okay, then we’ll move on to team assignments,” Aaiden says, and I frown.

What the hell is he talking about?Iassign my people, not the Rockfords.

“Three teams, two hits each, back-to-back so they don’t have time to scatter,” Aaiden continues, ignoring my displeased expression.

“Damien and Ezra will be on team three and go after the drug manufacturer. We don’t expect much resistance beyond basic security. We’re looking for documentation, and then we’ll blow the place up.” He arches a brow at me. “Who will lead that team?”

Disliking the way he’s orchestrating things, I gesture to my third in command. “Rico. He’s my bomb technician. He can take down a building without fallout to the surrounding structures.”

“Excellent.” Aaiden’s green eyes flick from my third to Damien and the youngest of the Rockford clan. “Your second location will be a supplier located within a twenty-minute drive. If possible, rig the explosion to happen after you’ve breached your second location to avoid setting off any alarms.”

Under the table, Rico’s foot taps mine in question, and I dip my head in agreement. It’s how I would have sorted it, minus the Rockford additions. This is their party, though, so if they want to risk their necks, it’s no skin off my teeth. We’re just the hired help.

And if either of them gets in the way…casualties happen.

Across the table, Caleb leans forward, his chair creaking under his weight, his posture tight with anticipation. “I’ll be teaming up with Cassian for the second target.”

My head snaps toward him, surprise darting through me. Cassian is my right hand, my most loyal soldier. The idea of him running point with an outsider, withCaleb, sits uneasy with me. Especially since the two men have almost come to blows once already.

If this is some kind of underhanded way to remove the Alpha from my side…

Caleb meets my assessing stare head-on, a faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. He lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “Did you have someone else in mind to lead that team?”

An unspoken challenge underscores the mild question, the subtle implication that he doesn’t think I trust him. Which I don’t. But I had planned for Cassian to lead one of the teams before finding out the Rockfords planned to tag along.

“Cassian’s more than capable.” I hold Caleb’s stare. “And you won’t mind having Lena, my sniper, watching your backs.”

Caleb’s smirk widens, and his chin dips, conceding the point. For now.

As Aaiden moves on, detailing the two targets for team two, unease coils tighter in my gut. So far, both teams have at least one Rockford, and of those left in the room, only one has combat training.

“Sebastian and Milo will stay back to coordinate between the teams,” Aaiden continues, and the redheaded Omega raises his hand, manicured fingers fluttering.

When I turn toward Sebastian, I catch a flicker of apology in his expression, and that unease triples.

“As for team one,” Aaiden drones on. “Raphael will be working with Avery’s team.”

What. The. Fuck.

The sudden silence is broken only by the sharp, disbelieving scoff that tears from my throat. Every eye in the room settles on me, but all I can see is Raphael.

Raphael, with that infuriatingly calm expression, with those eyes that once promised me the world, now watching me like he’s waiting for me to combust.

Does he want a reaction? Fine. I’ll give him a fucking reaction.

I lean back in my chair, elbows on the armrests, open to the challenge as I pin him with a glare. If he thinks he can waltz back into my life, into my operation, like nothing happened… like he didn’t shatter every vow he ever made me…

My fingers dig into arms of the chair hard enough to leave indents.

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