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“Interesting,” Bell muses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It seems she’s trying to establish a personal connection with you. This could be a potential vulnerability we can exploit.”
“Or it could be a trap,” Evelyn Chang interjects, skepticism written all over her face. “She might be testing you, seeing how far you’ll go in order to infiltrate her organization.”
The room falls silent as the team digests this possibility.
I recall the warmth of Alessa’s eyes, and find myself wondering. The team is so sure she’s evil personified that I can’t help wanting to look at the other side, just to make sure that our assumptions are actually correct.
“So she’s interested, but we need more,” Arisha Khalil says flatly. Her boots are propped on the conference table beside a stack of files, her blazer draped over the back of her chair, as much a part of her wardrobe as the no-nonsense ponytail she’s worn since I first met her. Khalil is a prosecutor from the Department of Justice, helping out on the case. “You need into that club of hers. The Ruby Realm is our ticket to picking apart her network from the inside out.”
I force steel back into my spine as the footage continues rolling. “I tried. As soon as I mentioned it, she got suspicious, so I had to back off.”
“It was a ham-fisted attempt,” Hays says coolly. “Were you nervous, Miller?”
I fight back the first furious retort that comes to my lips. “I thought I’d softened the ground enough. Obviously I was mistaken.”
Yes, I was nervous. But not for the reasons I should have been, and that’s the last thing I plan to raise in this team meeting. I avoid Kris Hays’s speculative gaze.
“Well, Miller?” Bell prompts. “You’re the one who spent an evening with Alessa de Luca. What’s your take on her?”
I try to find the right words to convey my thoughts without revealing more than I’d like. “Alessa is…charismatic,” I begin cautiously. “She has this aura about her that makes people want to be near her. She’s also very intelligent. She seemed to know when to push and when to hold back during our conversation, always keeping me on my toes.”
“Does that worry you?” Hays asks.
“Of course it does,” I admit, my heart pounding in my chest. “But it also intrigued me. I think I’ve caught her attention, though. I just need to get a little closer to her.”
“It’s not a matter of getting closer,” Sam Wright interjects, his voice cautious. He’s been very quiet this whole meeting. “It’s a matter of getting an invite to her backroom casino. That’s all.”
“And she’ll do that by pursuing a friendship,” Hays points out. “Come on, now, Wright. That was the play from the start.”
He juts out his chin, and I’m grateful for his protection, even if I’m staying quiet. “Then how exactly should we proceed with the operation? De Luca’s no fool. She’ll suspect something if Miller suddenly starts showing up everywhere she goes.”
“Wright has a point,” Bell concedes, rubbing his cheekbone thoughtfully. “We need to be careful not to tip her off. But we also can’t afford to let this opportunity slip through our fingers. You’ll need to get bolder, Miller.” Stephen aims the remote at the screen like a weapon, freezing on an image of Alessa leaning toward me. “This woman is our pathway to dismantling one of the most influential crime syndicates in New York. Use whatever tactics you must to get her eating from your hand.”
There’s a charged silence as his directive sinks in.Whatevertactics.
And the thing is, I don’t hate the suggestion as much as I probably should.
“With all due respect,” Wright begins, “We can’t expect Natalie to—”
“I’ll do what’s necessary for the op,” I cut in quietly. Wright is staring at me, but I avoid meeting those blue eyes, knowing they’ll be filled with big brotherly concern. “Just tell me the play.”
Wright arches one eyebrow but stays silent as the team launches into a rapid debate on how best to leverage my connection with Alessa. O’Conner advocates using local news stories to pique her interest in my background, carefully fabricated. Chang suggests floating rumors through Alessa’s social circles to stoke her curiosity about me. But Hays cautions against overwhelming Alessa with manufactured drama, which might only provoke her suspicions instead.
As their voices blend into a dull roar around me, I slip into my mind, wandering back through the evening with Alessa. Candlelight flickering against her smooth, tan skin. The quiet laughter giving way to charged looks.
And in my fantasy I let her seduce me, let myself get carried away in a haze of stolen kisses and roaming hands.
“Miller.” Bell’s sharp tone yanks me back. “You still with us?”
“Yes, sir.” I pray no one notices the heat burning my cheeks. God, what iswrongwith me?
“As I was saying,” Bell continues, “there’s too much risk in trying to orchestrate an encounter from the outside. We need to utilize the direct channel we’ve already established.” He turns to Wright. “Set up a secure call. We’ll leverage Alicia Crane again.”
My chest tightens at the mention of Crane, the congresswoman we’ve coerced once already into helping us infiltrate Alessa’s circle. She’s our blackmail golden goose, her career on the line if word got out that she uses high-end escorts from Alessa’s club. But even under threat of exposure, I could see Crane’s hatred for me simmering beneath her polished veneer when we met at the charity event.
“Crane has no love for Miller already,” Wright argues. “We try to force this too fast and she could intentionally sabotage the op.”
Bell’s mouth tightens. “Then give her proper motivation. Remind Ms. Crane we can end more than just her political career if she fails to cooperate fully. If she wants to avoid jail time, she’ll do what we tell her.”
