“Are you sure about this plan?” Blaze asks me, his voice low and gruff. “If anything happens to you…”
“Nothing will happen,” I interrupt gently, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll stick together, and Aksel will have my back and Felix will have yours.”
He nods reluctantly, his jaw set in a hard line.
“It’s time,” Aksel says.
Blaze and I move apart before coming into view of the entrance. Felix and Blaze move away from us right after Blaze gets us in.
As we enter the warehouse, the noise of the crowd washes over us, a cacophony of jeers and cheers punctuated by the brutal sounds of fists meeting flesh. Blaze visibly tenses, and I know he’s thinking about the countless times he was forced to fight in places like this.
“Remember, our main goal tonight is to identify the important players,” Aksel says, his eyes flicking to mine. “Once we know who they are, we can work on climbing the ladder and getting closer to the top.”
“Agreed,” I say, just as the crowd roars in response to a particularly brutal hit in the ring. The violence is jarring, but I steel myself, knowing that we must gather the information we need.
They are going down.
Aksel takes my hand, guiding us toward a dark corner of the room. We need to blend in and appear inconspicuous while we gather information. As we settle into our hiding spot, Aksel wraps tendrils of darkness around us, just enough to cloak our presence without arousing suspicion. The shadows feel like a cool, comforting embrace, disguising our true intentions.
“Let’s keep our eyes and ears open,” Aksel whispers, his breath warm against my ear.
“Right,” I agree, my eyes scanning the room. It’s a challenge to focus on anything other than the violence unfolding before us, but I force myself to concentrate, knowing that our mission is vital.
I catch someone staring at us and subtly tell Aksel.
“Okay, we need to blend in,” Aksel says, his voice a low growl. “Let’s make it look like we’re just another couple getting off on the violence.”
There are people having sex all over the room. People who need professional help.
I nod, my cheeks flushing at the thought. I move closer to him, our bodies pressed together as he wraps an arm around my waist.
“Like this?” I ask, tilting my head to expose my neck to him.
“Perfect,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against my skin. The sensation sends a shiver down my spine. I can feel the heat of his breath, the gentle scrape of his teeth against my flesh. It’s undeniably arousing, and I can’t help the way my body responds to his touch.
“Is it working?” I whisper, my heart pounding in my chest. I try to focus on the task at hand, but it’s difficult with Aksel’s hands exploring my body, his fingers dancing across my hips, tracing the curve of my spine.
“Seems like it,” he replies, his voice strained. I can tell he’s just as affected by our charade as I am. He dips his head down, pressing open-mouthed kisses along my collarbone, making me gasp. “No one’s paying us any attention.”
“Good,” I manage to say, my words coming out breathless. His palm slides up my side, grazing the side of my breast before teasing the sensitive skin just below my earlobe. My knees go weak, and I cling to him for support.
“Can’t say I’ve ever been turned on during a mission before you came along,” he confesses. “You’re mine tonight to help me deal with this.”
He pressed his erection into me and I love the effect I have on him.
“Focus, Anna,” he whispers, his voice full of desire. “We can’t afford to lose sight of our objective.”
“Right,” I agree, though it’s hard to concentrate on anything other than the feel of his body against mine. We continue our passionate display, keeping one eye on the events unfolding around us.
The moment the announcer starts talking about the next fight, Aksel and I reluctantly pull apart a little. We maintain our ruse, pretending to be a couple lost in each other’s embrace, but our attention is no longer on each other. Instead, we focus on the violence around us, our eyes scanning the crowd for any signs of danger.
Everyone’s focus has been pulled to the ring, making it easier for us.
As the fighters trade brutal blows in the center of the ring, I catch sight of Hammer, the greasy man who scolded Blaze for being late to his last fight.
He stands near the edge of the room, a sinister grin on his face as he counts money on the table. He’s barely watching the fight.
“Hammer’s over there,” I whisper to Aksel, nodding subtly in the man’s direction.
