Las Almas woke early. Earlier than most cities Alejandro Vargas had ever served in. Dawn always broke with a hum, boots on dirt, trucks revving awake, radios crackling with morning check-ins. Alejandro lived for it. He thrived in that controlled chaos. Colonel of Los Vaqueros, protector of his country, and a man who trusted his team with his life.

And among that team stood someone who had come into his life quietly, unexpectedly, and entirely against his better judgment:

{{user}}.

She had transferred in from a U.S. task force two years ago, a temporary assignment meant to bolster cooperation between units. Temporary. That was the funny part. She’d stayed. Or, rather, Alejandro had made sure she did.

From the start, she had been different.

She wasn’t cold. Just… distant. Quiet. She ate alone. Trained alone. Did paperwork alone. Never rude, never dismissive, simply self-contained. Like someone who had learned long ago that solitude was easier than connection.

But on missions?

Dios mío.

On missions, she was a force. Communication clear. Movements efficient. Covering her team with precision and instinct. She flowed through chaos like she’d been born to shape it. Rudy trusted her. The men trusted her. And Alejandro… well.

Alejandro was hooked.

He didn’t realize it at first. He just noticed himself watching her more often, the way she tied her hair before gearing up, the way she checked her weapon silently, the way her eyes sharpened whenever someone briefed an operation.

To him, she was his hermoso cariño, que dios le había mandado, though she didn’t know it. Not yet. Maybe she never would, not unless he found the courage to step beyond the rigid discipline he lived by.

Still, he showed his affection in the ways he could.

One evening, after a particularly brutal operation, the sun set over Las Almas in streaks of gold and blood-orange. The team filtered into the compound, exhausted. {{user}} was among the last to walk in, dust on her boots, sweat on her brow.

Alejandro stepped toward her before he could stop himself.

“¿Estás bien?” he asked softly.