Page 16 of Fired at the Heart

“Run me through the coordination points one more time.” My throat tightens with restrained frustration. “I want to make sure we’ve got every detail nailed down before we head out.”

“Got it.” Sebastian’s fingers fly over the keyboard as he pulls up a series of maps and diagrams. “Your team will be split into three to cover all the entrances and exits. Team A will enter from the north.” He highlights the relevant points on the map. “Team B from the east, and Team C from the south.”

I study the maps, committing every detail to memory. Next to me, Raphael leans over the map, the heat of his body seeping into my skin through the layers of clothing that separate us. It’s distracting, but I force myself to focus.

The mission comes first. Everything else is just noise.

I nod my approval. “I’ll need copies of the maps and timelines for my team to memorize on the way. I don’t want any mistakes out there.”

Sebastian reaches for a stack of papers he has at the ready. I take a deep breath, trying to calm the adrenaline starting to surge through my veins.

I spare a glance at Raphael, taking in the hard set of his jaw and a fire burning in him that I doubt he’s felt in five years. For a moment, I allow myself to remember the man he used to be, the man I fell in love with.

But that man is gone now, replaced by a stranger wearing a familiar face. I can’t trust him. Not anymore. If Raphael thinks he’ll use this mission as a way back into my good graces, well then, he’s a fool for trusting me.

“Don’t slow me down,” I tell him. “Fall behind, and I’ll move on without you.”

He smirks with amusement. “Worried you won’t be able to handle me, baby?”

I scoff. “I think I already proved I’m more than capable. Or don’t you remember being on your knees begging me two days ago?”

He leans in, his breath caressing my ear. “I’d like to be on my knees for you again, but next time, you’ll be the one begging.”

My hand twitches toward my knife, but he catches it before I can decide if his audacity deserves a good stabbing.

He leans back and chucks me under the chin. “Don’t worry. I can still keep up with you.”

“Well, I’m sorelievedto hear that,” I bite out, my words dripping venom. “Here I was, thinking I’d have to carry your sorry ass through this whole operation.”

Raphael’s smirk only widens. “You always did have a flair for the dramatic.”

Bristling, I decide that, yes, he needs to be stabbed. I force myself to take a deep, steadying breath, my nostrils flaring with the effort.

When I speak again, my voice comes out controlled. “Let me make one thing clear. If you’ve let your skills grow rusty, if you so much as hesitate for a split second, I’m not carrying you through this. I won’t risk my team, myfamily, for your sake.”

Raphael’s expression sobers, and a flicker of regret flashes across his face before that infuriating mask of calm composure replaces it. “I understand. I won’t let you down. Not again.”

I swallow hard, my throat tightening. I want to believe him, want to trust in the sincerity in his face. I just can’t. Not after everything that’s happened, everything he’s done.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

I tear my gaze away from his, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. “We’ll see about that.”

The mission comes first. It always has. It always will.

And if it means working side-by-side with the man who broke my heart and left me to pick up the pieces, then so be it.

I’ve survived worse. I’ll survive this, too.

6

The cloying perfume of roses hangs thick in the air, almost sickly as I move through the garden first, boots silent on the stone path, the suppressed pistol steady in my grip.

My team fans out behind me, shadows weaving between sculpted hedges and trellises draped in thorn-laced vines as we move toward the sprawling mansion ahead. Tall windows spill golden light onto the rose bushes, and I catch movement from within.

I signal with two fingers, swift and sharp, and movement halts. A breeze shifts through the garden, rustling leaves, carrying the faintest murmur of conversation.

We wait, breath held, bodies coiled like loaded springs.

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