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I was shocked, sitting with a mixture of thoughts and feelings that I was struggling to sift through while everyone else at the table argued.

Every commander was talking over the other while Wes looked bored at the onslaught.

If there was one thing I got from all the shouting and snarled faces, it was that absolutely no one thought this was a good idea.

In fact, Giza, Bynes, and Krous all seemed to be on the same side, trying to convince Wes that he couldn’t go on the mission.

I had feelings about it too, of course, but I was too dumbstruck to even sort through them.

In fact, I was still trying to figure out if Wes had even been invited to the meeting in the first place.

And why? Why was he volunteering himself to go and co-lead this thing?

Did he think I couldn’t do it either? Did he think I was going to end up getting myself killed, along with my entire team?

That would mean no obligation to marry me.

Did that bother him? Did he…did he actually want to…

? I shook my head. I couldn’t finish the thought.

Wes and I weren’t like that. We were never like that.

Sure, we had some interesting, heated moments in our past, but I was convinced ninety-nine percent of those were my fault, caused by my stupid brain getting confused and thinking Wes was Chase.

But that hadn’t been the case for a while now.

So how did I explain this morning? I couldn’t…

not with an explanation that made sense to me.

Maybe Wes wanted to do what was best for his faction and make sure the North gained something from our marriage?

Maybe he was tired of always being the black sheep of the family and wanted to prove to his father that he could fulfill his role as the First Son just as well as his brother did?

Maybe he was on his own mission. A mission to prove to his family that he was just as good, just as worthy, as his brother?

Now that…that made sense to me. Wes feared his role, ran from it, detested it.

But he hated it because he was always the next in line…

like me. Never the favorite and always the disappointment.

But with Chase gone, Wes was expected to assume all those responsibilities.

And sure, maybe he bucked at those expectations at first, but if you had the chance to finally prove to your parents that you were just as great, just as worthy, just as deserving as your sibling… wouldn’t you?

And just like before, the puzzle pieces clicked into place for me, and I finally understood Wes Calvernon.

He was going to play the part of a doting fiancé, sweep me off my feet if he could, and marry me, securing a whole lot of wealth and power for his father.

And, most importantly, he was going to prove his father wrong.

Because there was no greater revenge than success, baby, and Wes was going to flip his dad the biggest middle finger by securing the biggest increase in power for the North.

But to do that, he needed me alive. And if there was one thing I knew deeply about Wes, it was that he didn’t trust anyone with a job he deemed important.

If he needed me alive, he was going to keep me alive.

Wealth.

Power.

Survival.

Revenge.

It was amazing how much people made sense once you understood that everything boiled down to those four things.

“Thanks for all of your concerns,” Wes spoke with such patronizing calm that it was clear he was communicating to everyone that they could shove their concerns up their butts.

“But frankly, I’m tired of this meeting and I’m kind of hungry,” he added as he patted his belly lightly.

“So, here’s what you’re all going to do.

I want a meeting hosted tomorrow to discuss mission parameters and to select the team.

Mara and I will both be there. And then I want training to begin immediately.

” The lazy look in his eyes slowly slipped, replaced by furrowed brows, thin lips, and a nasty stare.

“The time you spend arguing with me is time you could spend ensuring that this mission is a success with minimal casualties. Do your jobs, and let’s get this shitshow going instead of wasting time. ”

“But, sir—” Giza began sternly, looking mighty pissed off himself.

“I said , Sergeant Major, that I’m done talking about this.

” Wes met Giza’s gaze, their eyes locking, and exchanged heated stares before Giza rolled his shoulders back and gave one definitive nod, remaining silent.

Wes flashed everyone the fakest smile I’d ever seen.

“Good. Now that that’s settled, I expect to hear from you all within the next two hours with details. ”

“Yes, sir,” they all responded in unison.

Wes cleared his throat and stepped away from the table towards the door.

Just as he reached it, he paused, turned around and looked right at me.

I was still glued to my chair, overwhelmed, lost about what just happened, and unsure of how I felt about Wes’s involvement in all this.

Understanding his motives left me feeling a little, well, disappointed if I was honest with myself. But I couldn’t figure out why.

Wes cleared his throat. “Are you coming, or what?”

“Uh…” I stood up and gave a half nod to everyone in the room. “Thanks,” was all I could muster before I stepped away quickly and followed Wes out the door.

***

We were standing outside the building, waiting for Smiley and Roger to bring our respective cars around to pick us up.

And it was awkward. So much happened so fast, and now I didn’t know what to say.

Moreover, I had a million questions, and I wanted answers for all of them.

Then again, a part of me was nervous to ask and find my suspicions confirmed.

What I just couldn’t put my finger on was why did I feel bothered by it? That piece made no sense to me.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a meeting with Giza this morning?” Wes’s curt voice caught me off guard, startling me.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you,” he began again slowly, like I was an idiot, “tell me…you were…meeting with Giza?” He dragged the whole thing out.

Since when did I need to tell him my business?

“Last time I checked, you aren’t my babysitter anymore.

” My words came out with a bite, and I knew that Wes knew exactly what I meant when I used the word babysitter .

So often in the rebel camp, that’s exactly how he referred to himself whenever he was stuck training with me.

He got the reference, looking taken aback.

He hesitated, and then cleared his throat, standing a little taller as he spoke.

“True. But last time I checked, you and I are stuck in a tighter bond than babysitting. If we’re going to do this, it would be nice if we started trusting each other a bit more.

” He looked at me, eyes sincere but filled with fiery energy I couldn’t peg.

“As in actually telling each other what’s going on.

Just a suggestion…” he added sarcastically.

“Oh yeah,” I fired back hotly, “then why didn’t you tell me you were meeting with Giza?”

“I wasn’t.”

Wait, what? “Hold up…were you not just in the same craptastic meeting I was?”

Wes sighed, looking at the sky before speaking. “I didn’t have a meeting with Giza. You mentioned meeting with him before you ran off this morning. So I made a few calls and got my ass over here.”

“Why?”

Wes cracked his neck as he rolled his head over his shoulders, then glanced at me with a bored expression. “Why what?”

God, I hated when he played stupid. “Come on, Wes. Why did you come? This has nothing to do with you.”

His expression changed, flickering through an emotion that looked like… hurt ? No, why would he be hurt? It disappeared quickly, and his features went back to annoyance. “Well, it has something to do with me now. So moving forward, when you’ve got meetings like these, you tell me,” he demanded.

I didn’t like it.

“Oh, well excuse me, your highness. I didn’t mean to get your boxers all up in a bunch, but I don’t have to tell you squat, got it? And you didn’t answer my question. Why the hell are you here?”

He stood up straight, turning to face me as he crossed his arms, muscles bulging deliciously under the sleeves of his t-shirt. “I’m not asking you, Mara, I’m telling you. I’m co-leading this operation now, and I’d like for us both to come back alive. Unlike you, I don’t have a death wish—”

“I don’t have a death wish,” I argued back. “And you can’t boss me around like that, Wes. Co -leaders don’t boss each other around.”

Wes scoffed. “Clearly you’ve never been a leader then.”

Ouch…that one, that one hurt. I stayed silent as my brows knitted together and a frown took over my lips. Wes noticed the shift, flicking his gaze toward me. Then the scowl dropped from his face.

“Hey,” he began, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Whatever. I didn’t need to hear his lame excuses.

It didn’t matter, anyway. “It’s fine,” I said sharply.

“Whatever… We just sat in a meeting for over an hour arguing about how I’m not fit to lead.

Fine,” I spat out. “So maybe I’m not a leader.

” I shifted my gaze back to him, hardening myself, letting my hurt surround me and act like a shield.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t boss me around or tell me what I can or can’t do. ”

His face went blank, holding my gaze, until he finally nodded.

“Good. Now, will you please tell me why you came? Why did you get yourself mixed up in this whole thing?” The curiosity was burning within me.

And even though his comment struck a nerve that had just been banged on like a drum on New Year, it didn’t replace my desire to understand why Wes got himself involved.

I knew what I thought I knew…that ultimately, he wanted to advance the power and wealth of the North.

But that didn’t explain why he showed up in my room this morning, or why he invited himself to a meeting that he didn’t know about to begin with.

It didn’t explain the heated, silent exchange between him, me, and my damn nightstand.

Wes hesitated, his poker face slipping into place, but his eyes revealed a storm that was whirling and brewing and calculating.

I watched as he squared his jaw and chewed the inside of his cheek as though he was buying himself time to craft an answer he felt comfortable with.

A response that answered the question while revealing nothing at all.

And I didn’t want that. I wanted the truth .

So, I decided to play a card from his very own playbook.

Wes always got up into my personal space, and that always threw me off, left me stuttering, and, to my chagrin, caused me to blubber out thoughts and emotions I would rather remain hidden in the depths of my soul. But two could play that game.

Without thinking it through, I stepped toward him, closing the gap between us, and a part of me felt deliciously satisfied as his eyes grew wide, the stoic expression dropping from his face.

Because for the first time, I was the aggressor, placing a hand on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heart escalate as I brought my face only inches from his.

But Wes didn’t back down or step away. His molten hazel eyes locked onto mine, and I could practically see him scrambling to regain control of himself.

“Tell me, Wes,” my voice low, almost a whisper. “Why did you come?”

“I…” he began, his body rigid as stone.

And what he said next had my body boiling all over again.