Jomiloju's POV
There was something in the air. Not just the scent of rain—or blood—but something colder.
Final.
The cameras crackled again, displaying the car that hadn't moved in ten minutes. Black. Sleek. Silent. Like death had driven it there.
And then he stepped out.
The man in white.
Not cream. Not beige. White.
Pressed linen, spotless, despite the mud of the alley. His gait was smooth, calculated. A vulture in silk.
I didn't need Steve to tell me who he was. His presence screamed it.
"He's here," Ada whispered behind me. "Koleosho's cleaner."
The room tensed like a trigger pulled halfway.
And suddenly, the silence felt louder than any explosion.
Steve's POV
Bako.
Even his name came with ghosts attached.
He didn't leave warnings.
He left bodies.
And now he stood at our gate like he was dropping off a fruit basket.
"He's alone," Ada confirmed. "No visible backup. But something's wrong. He wants in."
I didn't answer. I didn't have to.
My eyes were on Jomi.
Her face was unreadable, but I knew her heart was hammering beneath her skin. The way her fingers curled tightly around her bracelet. The way she didn't blink.
I turned to her. "You're not staying in the room."
She arched a brow. "You think I'll run?"
"I think he'll weaponize your breath if he can."
"I've survived worse than a man in a white suit."
That made me pause. Her eyes locked with mine, fiery and steady.
She wasn't asking for permission.
She was declaring war.
I sighed. "Fine. You stay. But don't speak. Don't move unless I say."
Her voice was soft. "Understood, boss."
The Knock
Three soft taps.
Precise. Like everything else about him.
I opened the door myself.
Bako stepped in like he was walking into a Sunday brunch—unhurried, unimpressed.
His eyes swept the room. Noticing everything. Filing it all away.
He stopped when he saw her.
Jomi.
And for the first time, something flickered in those predator eyes.
Not lust. Not interest.
Recognition.
He didn't greet me. Didn't offer his name.
He spoke directly to her.
"So… you're the rose he stole."
Jomiloju's POV
I should've looked away.
I didn't.
"Call me that again," I said evenly, "and I'll cut your tongue out with the fork behind you."
A small twitch played at the edge of his mouth. Almost like a smile.
But not quite.
"She's spirited," he said to Steve. "I can see the appeal."
Steve's voice was steel. "Get to the point, Bako."
That made him chuckle.
"I like that," he said, placing a black envelope on the table. "So here it is. Straight up."
He pointed to the envelope. "Inside: an offer."
Steve didn't touch it.
"You take it, you live. Your people live. The girl gets a private jet and a security escort back to her gilded cage."
I didn't move.
"And if we don't?" Steve asked.
Bako's eyes went cold. "Then this little rebellion ends before dawn. And your Rose? She dies slower than the rest."
Steve's POV
I stepped forward. Between him and her. My voice low, calm.
"You've made your delivery. Take it back with you."
He didn't blink. "Don't be reckless, Steve. This is Koleosho giving you a way out. That doesn't happen twice."
My hand hovered over the envelope.
Then I tore it clean in half.
Right down the center.
"You want her?" I said. "Come and try."
Jomiloju's POV
Bako looked at me again.
Not like I was a person.
Like I was a chess piece.
A pawn he'd underestimated.
His voice was soft. "You really think this ends in love?"
I smiled coldly. "No. It ends in blood. Yours first."
He laughed. A quiet, joyless sound.
Then he turned to Steve.
"You chose her. Just remember what that costs."
Steve's POV
The door clicked behind him like a gun being cocked.
No bullets had flown.
But a war had just begun.
Jomiloju's POV
We stood in silence, the broken envelope still between us like a dead thing.
I turned to him. "You knew he'd come."
He nodded. "Just not this soon."
"What now?"
His voice was calm. But deadly.
"Now we don't wait for Koleosho to strike."
I stepped closer. "You're going to him?"
His eyes flicked to me. "We're going to him."
Steve's POV
That night, I stood in front of the old mirror, gun in hand, dressing the wound Bako had just carved into the path ahead.
I didn't notice Jomi behind me until her fingers brushed my back.
"Steve?"
I met her eyes in the mirror.
"I should've protected you better."
She shook her head. "You gave me fire. I'll protect myself now."
Her voice wavered slightly.
Then she pulled something from her pocket.
A silver ring.
Simple. Bare. Hers.
She held it out.
"I don't need a priest," she said. "But if we're walking into hell… I want to wear your name."
Steve's POV
The ring burned in my palm like truth.
I didn't ask if she was sure.
Because I was.
I slipped it on her finger.
And kissed her like it was the last thing I'd ever do.
Scene Ends — Transition to War Preparation
In the dim light of the back hallway, Ada stood outside the door, arms folded.
"You sure about this?" she asked me when I stepped out alone.
I nodded. "We hit Koleosho's estate in 48 hours."
She handed me a phone.
A message blinked on the screen.
From: Tunde.
"Intel confirmed. Koleosho's daughter is in the city. They've brought in reinforcements from Port Harcourt. War's begun."