Fatally Yours

Chapter 9

•INDIANA•

A knock sounded at the back door, and I immediately reacted on instinct. My gun lay on the kitchen counter, within reach. It was too early in the morning for any unexpected visitors from Lee's crew, so who the hell could this be?

I slowly moved against the wall and peeked around the corner. My heart rate eased a little when I saw Keith standing outside, casually waving at me.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to unlock the back door, letting him in.

"When you said you'd get in touch in the morning, I wasn't expecting you to show up at my doorstep," I said.

He smirked and walked past me, entering the house.

"I did a quick surveillance around the area about an hour ago, and it's all clear. No one's on the lookout for you," he said.

I closed the door and joined him in the kitchen.

"Still, it's too risky, and you know that."

He settled onto one of the kitchen barstools and smiled at me.

"I'm aware, detective, and let this be our last meeting. I came over to go through some recent reports we've collected over the past few days."

He pulled a brown envelope from under his arm and placed it on the kitchen counter. I got onto the barstool next to him and watched as he started pulling out papers from inside.

"We've got a couple of CIs working undercover in some of the black markets connected to the Valahia Syndicate. Now, these guys—" he passed me the profile documents of the CIs "—are our eyes and ears inside the black market operations. They're working close to figure out who's really running the Valahia Syndicate, but not close enough."

I picked up the papers and started going through the details of each CIs background. Three white males and one Hispanic female.

"Memorize their faces because you'll soon be working with them once Lee starts introducing you to how their operations work. They don't know you're undercover, so whatever you do, do not give them any reason to suspect you or your cover will be blown before you can blink in there. You all have different roles to play so for now, their loyalty lies with the Valahia Syndicate. But that's the least of your worries."

We both reached for another document lying to the side, and our fingers brushed against each other. Heat immediately surged through me from the contact, and our eyes met.

I quickly withdrew my hand, and he slowly picked up the paper without breaking eye contact. My face flushed, but it was a good thing I was a pro at masking my emotions.

Otherwise, I'd be completely screwed if he noticed how easily I was attracted to him.

"Lee is good at mind games, and he'll do anything to test your loyalty to them. I know you think you're prepared for that, detective, but if he uses one of our CIs as collateral, do not get involved. The CIs know their roles and what they have signed up for. Your only job is to get close to Lee—close enough for him to trust you and eventually confide in you."

I nodded slowly. "I understand."

He nodded once and then moved the papers and envelope to the side.

"Good. Now, is it too much to ask for coffee, or are you eager to get rid of me?"

I chuckled and slipped off the stool. "I guess we have time for coffee."

Just as the words left my mouth, my phone started ringing. I pulled it out of my back pocket, and the name on the screen erased all the giddy feelings I had been feeling earlier.