“We were following—”

“Who was it?” The storm raged in me, ready to strike. I contained it. Barely.

“We were following the Bartels' crew.”

I nodded and bent down to scoop up Emma.

“Carter.” Cole got into the elevator with me.

His men moved to come with us, but he held a hand out, stopping them. They looked at me, and I saw their concern. But those weren’t my men. They were his, and they didn’t know me. They only knew of me, and they thought I was a danger to him. No, not Cole. Not him.

“We didn’t know who they were following. We saw the attack from behind, and once your guards began shooting back, we went in to help.”

My men were dead.

My woman could’ve been.

I didn’t care about the details.

The elevator doors slid open, and I walked out, cradling Emma in my arms. His men were guarding the bottom floor, and at the sight of me, their hands went to their guns.

He barked out. “Stop! Put ‘em away.”

I strode past them.

“Wait, Carter.” Cole jogged to keep up with me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop.

I looked over his shoulder. His men could hear us, and I said, “Leave.”

They melted backward.

“Look—”

“I’m not in the Mauricio family,” I said, stopping him. Emma was hurt. She was bruised. She had bled. I would not let them break her. “This is me, only me—”

He shot a hand up. “Would you shut up? I’m trying to tell you something. I’m trying to tell you it’s fine. Whatever you’re going to do, I will back you. And I know the elders will, too. It’s you. They went after your woman. You can go and do whatever you want to do.”

When I said nothing, he rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, Carter. I know we talked about you being my secret weapon against them, and yeah, a part of me was considering just waiting for them to piss you off enough so you could do the dirty work. But after we talked, I changed my mind. I realized that was wrong. So I got these men. These are guys I grew up with. I went to school with them, and I trust them. They’ll do whatever I tell them, and they’re yours. If you need them, let me know.”

He glanced away, his voice softening, “I know you had most of your men guarding her. They knew that. They had other cars with them. Shit, Carter. They had a fucking army to go against yours, and I know you still have a few men, but they can’t be enough.”

Emma moaned in my arms. I held her tighter, wishing I hadn’t let her go this morning. “You’re not using the Mauricio soldiers?” I asked.

“I can’t. Not until I know who to trust. And that’s the other thing I needed to tell you. Those men will follow you too. The elders will follow you. They might not trust me yet, but they do trust you. You’re the glue in our family right now. Whatever you need, we’ll help you.”

I nodded, then turned and left. When I carried Emma to the car, there were no guards. Most were dead. The few left alive, I had let go so they could return home, mourn their brothers. As I bundled her into the seat and walked around to the front to drive home, the solitude felt oddly comforting.

When I got her home, I didn’t expect to see anyone. Instead, Michael, Peter, and Drake met me. They weren’t in their suits, but had dressed in dark sweatshirts and jackets with jeans.

“I told you guys you could go home.”

Drake moved forward and motioned to take Emma from me. When I didn’t relinquish her, Michael spoke up. “He’ll just take her to the bedroom. That’s all.”

“I’ll tuck her into bed, boss.”

Reluctantly, I allowed him to take her. I wanted to go with them. I wanted to be the one to tuck her in, but they were right. I needed to remain behind. They deserved my time, and I raked a hand over my face. “Guys, I’m sorry—”

“You pay us,” Michael cut me off. “We’re not here because you’re our boss. We’re family, too. We follow you because we respect you.”

“We lost so many today.”

“Not Emma. Or you.”

Peter cleared his throat. He wasn’t as tall as Michael, but he was broader in the shoulders and thicker in muscle. “Our job is to protect both of you,” he said. “We know the consequences of our job, the risks that are part of it. We die to protect you.”

Drake returned and nodded. “I agree with them, boss.”

“They weren’t just our coworkers, they were our brothers,” Michael said. “We want to help you. Tell us what to do.”

“I need to know everything. I need to know their businesses here, their warehouses, any side deals they have, everything. I want to know their mistress’ information, the playgrounds for their children. I want to know every hiding spot they’re going to use.”

“Got it.” Drake and Peter nodded. I gave them instructions on what to do if they ran into trouble, and they left.

Michael remained behind, taking a position next to the door.

“Michael,” I said.

He looked at me.

“You’re not my bodyguard anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re a team now. This place is guarded. I have alarms set. If you’d like to sleep, go ahead.”

“But Emma.” He gestured toward the bedroom. “I figured you’d want to be with her.”

“I do, and I will be, but we take shifts now. Go and rest. I’ll stay awake for this shift.”