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“They want her. They won’t let us in without her,” Zander countered. “She’s a Villin now. We’ll keep her safe.”
Raf snarled again.
I was going to have to talk to him.
Despite me being angry and hurt, I still knew he would listen to me. He would have a conversation about it, even if he wouldn’t with anyone else.
I squeezed Brynn’s hand one last time before letting go and standing up. Rafael’s eyes were narrowed as I stepped up to him and took his hand. His grip on me was even tighter than Brynn’s had been. “We’ll get ready and be back in a few minutes.”
“Take your time. We need to get backup into place and work out a few other things before we head out,” Bash said.
I towed Raf out of the apartment. His jaw was clenched so tightly, I could almost hear his teeth grinding. Typing the code in only took a moment, and the door unlocked and opened smoothly.
Rafael shut it behind us. He remained in front of it, his back to the entrance as if that would keep me from leaving. “I won’t risk you getting hurt, Tater-tot.”
Arguing wouldn’t get me anywhere when he was that against it. Honestly, arguing never got meanywherewith him. Having an honest, logical conversation was the only way to reach a decision we were both comfortable with.
So I stepped up closer to him and put my hands on his chest.
His lifted to my lower back, and pulled me closer.
“Miley is my family,” I told him simply. “You have Zander and Bash; I have Brynn and Miles. She’s alive, and she’s hurting. If Bash or Zander were in her place, I would do whatever I had to, to get them out. I need you to do the same for me.”
He closed his eyes, jaw clenching again.
I remained where I was, giving him time to think, process, and decide what he was going to do.
Rafael was far from stupid. He knew that it wasn’t just a decision about rescuing my best friend. The choice he had to make was either to risk my life to save Miles, or to lose me by letting her die.
“You don’t leave my side for anything,” he finally gritted out, opening his eyes. His stare was hard, and serious. “We maintain physical contact the entire time we’re there.”
I nodded. “That’s fair.”
“If I give an order while we’re there, you follow it. If I hide you somewhere, you stay until I’m back. And if I tell you to shift and run, you shift and run.”
I nodded again. “Understood.”
He let out a long breath and then released me.
I was still hurt, and angry, but I wrapped my arms around his neck anyway. He hugged me tightly, and I buried my face in his neck. “Thank you, Raf.”
A moment passed, and I released him. He let go of me, his sharp gaze following me as I stepped back. “We need to dress for a nightclub, right?”
He was already wearing slacks and a light blue button-up rolled to his elbows, so he was ready.
Rafael dipped his head in confirmation.
I had already put on my black, glittery bralette and was struggling to zip up the matching mini skirt when Raf met me in the closet, my tiny makeup bag in his hand. His eyes moved over me quickly, and the barely-there lust coming off him grew more vibrant.
“Turn.” He tucked the makeup pouch beneath his arm.
I reluctantly turned.
He held the stiff fabric together with one hand and worked the zipper up with the other. “When did you get this?”
“Brynn told me and Miles she needed us to go dancing with her a few years ago, and made us buy clothes for it. We went to a nightclub, and shehatedit. It was so loud and crowded, we only lasted twenty minutes. When we got home, she turned on music and we had our own dance party in the kitchen.”
I bit my cheek, fear for my friend swelling in my stomach again.
