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“ M iss de la Puente,” Giza admonished.

Bynes sneered, “Why you little—”

“I’d be careful, General,” Wes cut in as he remained lazily slouched in his chair, “with what descriptive words you choose next.”

Bynes slammed her mouth shut, biting her tongue, but her gaze sent a thousand knives my way. She looked from me to Wes, and then back to me, before she took in a haughty breath and sat back in her chair. Silence encased us all, and the tension grew thick like butter until Krous finally spoke up.

“So Miss de la Puente will lead the operation. No offense to you, miss,” he cleared his throat, hesitantly looking at me and Wes, “but an operation like this will require someone with greater skill and leadership training. Your team will need to know they can depend on you. They need to trust you. But your, uh… parentage will make it difficult to form a team ready to listen to your command. As Lieutenant General of the North, I recommend the Dissenters reconsider this decision.”

Everyone’s lack of faith in my ability to lead this team wasn’t wrong.

I knew I didn’t have the skills or even adequate experience to run a mission like this.

But it cut into my mushy, limited self-esteem and had me doubting myself and every decision I’d made.

And I…I didn’t know what to say. Heat pumped within me as my cheeks undoubtedly grew red.

And I knew what I was feeling…I was embarrassed.

Embarrassed that nobody believed in me, nobody thought I could do this.

And what was worse, nobody wanted to support me either.

Everyone here was against this operation because it meant sacrificing their troops to rescue a man they all saw as the enemy.

And I understood that, I really did. But it still sucked… majorly . Because I was alone.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

I was at a loss—stuck. Because I had no defense, no logical reasoning I could offer these people.

Just my own lack of trust and my own secret motives to be on this mission.

But I couldn’t share that with them. Sharing that would prove their greatest suspicions—that I couldn’t be trusted either.

And that realization had me closing my mouth as my stomach bubbled.

Giza cleared his throat. “I will share your concern with President De’vor, but I believe—”

“No need, Sergeant Major,” Wes cut in. This time, he sat up, the laziness gone from his posture and the stoic, firm expression that I knew so well was back.

Wes cracked his neck, confidence oozing from every pore of his body.

And frankly, it made him sexy as hell. I mean, how did he do it?

How did he walk around like he was the best thing on earth, taking shit from no one, and owning space like it was his private chamber pot?

Truthfully, I was in awe of how Wes, as broken as I knew he was on the inside, could just badass it like nobody’s business.

“Sir?” Giza shifted his attention to Wes.

Wes stood up, assuming his full height. “There’s no need to speak to Sasha about Lieutenant General Krous’s concerns.”

“Mr. Calvernon,” Bynes interjected. Her tone was on-edge, but she kept her attitude in check this time.

“Lieutenant General Krous is correct. Regardless of my opposition to the objective of this mission, the choice of making Miss de la Puente point in this operation is absurd. You are asking us to risk valuable resources and to sacrifice lives ,” she emphasized.

“Your men need to know that, as leaders of this army, they can trust us to make decisions that are in the best interest of this region, with as little risk to them and their lives as possible.”

Bynes stood, rolling her shoulders back.

“Sir, I cannot endorse this operation. Not in good conscience. You want me to risk our people to rescue a criminal of war? Fine. I’ll follow your orders.

But I will not do so under the leadership of an inexperienced Telvian brat ,” she pushed out through gritted teeth.

“Hey!” I objected as I stood, but Wes’s arm flew out, pushing me back into my seat.

“Understood, General,” Wes began. His voice rose only a decibel or two, barely noticeable, but boy, did those eyes burn hot and bright.

“I understand your predicament loud and clear.” He leaned forward, extending his arms out in front of him on the table, supporting his weight.

“Now allow me to make myself equally clear. You will be mindful of how you address the Telvian brat since that Telvian brat is my promised.”

My breath hitched. It was the first time anyone had spoken of our betrothal in public—certainly the first time Wes had announced it out loud—and it made me…it made me feel… I blinked, trying my best to inhale oxygen into my deprived lungs.

Bynes’s face dropped, the shock displayed across her features as her eyes flicked to me. Clearly, the news was a big surprise to her. Her gaze shifted back to Wes as he continued to speak.

“Furthermore, you can lay your objections to rest. Jacob de la Puente may very well be a war criminal, but he is my soon-to-be brother-in-law. And that,” Wes said with a cocky smile, “well, it makes him family, now doesn’t it?

” The laughter slipped from his expression, and he was back to cool, calm, and badass.

“So I’d like to see more enthusiasm with the objective of the mission, all right?

” It was a rhetorical question. Wes was on a roll, and he didn’t wait for her response.

“Finally, you can inform the President that he should feel very motivated to support this operation and to spare no expense on ensuring its success. If you’re truly concerned about our troops, General, and their confidence in Mara’s ability to lead them, then you can reassure them as well that there is nothing to worry about—”

“But, sir—” Bynes tried to interject, but Wes lifted a hand, effectively shutting her up.

“ Tell them ,” Wes began, his tone icy, “that there is nothing for them to worry about. Mara will be ready for this mission. I can guarantee it because I’ll make sure she’s ready for it. And if there’s any remaining doubt at all, you can tell them Mara won’t lead this operation alone.”

Giza spoke up this time. “Sir?”

Wes ignored him and continued to face Bynes head on. “Because I’m going to lead it with her.”

And then all hell broke loose.