AIDEN's POV
"Wait." My voice held steady, calm, the kind of voice I’d learned to keep under pressure after years under Michael’s iron-fisted training. I was molded from his ruthless lessons, and unlike Aiden, I wasn’t here to lose.
No words could capture the bond between Michael and me. I despised him in ways even I didn’t fully understand, but there was still something in me that would sacrifice for him without hesitation. He’d do the same—and he already had. Years ago, in the middle of a firefight, he took a bullet for me, threw himself in harm's way, and spent a week in critical condition afterward. He’d taken so much from me, twisted and molded me into someone unrecognizable, yet he’d given as much as he’d stolen.
I hated feeling any gratitude, but I owed him something for keeping
