Fatally Yours

Chapter 19

•INDIANA•

I followed them back inside the house about ten minutes later, and to my surprise, the entire inner circle was gathered in the living room, discussing something in low, hushed tones. The conversation suddenly paused when they saw me enter.

"Should I leave or...?" I asked Lee, slowly turning toward the direction that led back to the foyer.

"No, stay," Dominik replied instead, turning around to face me while folding his arms.

I tried not to let my eyes betray me by wandering down to the biceps that flexed under his polo shirt. I'm still a girl, after all; it's hard not to notice these things.

Especially when they're right in front of me.

"We'll need your cooperation in this." My ears immediately perked up at that bit of information.

"What do you need help with?"

Dominik's eyes remained locked on mine before he responded.

"Do you know who Mason Rollins is?"

I raised a brow. "The drug dealer who sells cocaine around the block or the minister's secretary?"

I caught Alexa chuckling from my peripheral vision.

"The latter," Dominik replied sternly. "He's hosting a dinner party tomorrow night and was generous enough to extend an invitation to me. The problem is, Mason Rollins has always been a dirty politician, and he's using some valuable information about me as blackmail. I enjoy socializing with government types, but what I don't tolerate is when they think they can take control from me."

He paused, and silence fell in the room. Everyone was either looking at the floor or the ceiling, avoiding direct eye contact with him, except he was looking straight at me.

The fear he inflicted upon his own friends was palpable in the room; that's what they respected him for.

"You'll be my plus-one for this event. I'll need you to be a distraction for Mason while the guys sneak into his home office to retrieve the files we need."

A distraction, huh?

"So you want me to flirt with him?" I asked aloud, and all eyes snapped in my direction.

"Will that be a problem for you, Miss West?" Dominik asked, tilting his head to the side and giving me a quick once-over.

"No, sir. I'll handle Mason while you get things done."

"That's what I thought." He turned away from me and started talking to Lee in a low tone, discussing something else.

Alexa suddenly jumped off the couch and came toward me, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she grabbed hold of my hands.

"And I will do my best to make you look beautiful so that when that old toad looks at you, he won't be able to look at any other woman in the room," she gushed excitedly.

I quickly plastered a smile on my face that matched hers.

"I can't wait."

OoO

"Selling classified information, granting access to dark military ops—Mason Rollins is behind all that, but he's never been caught," Keith informed me, passing me the file on Mason.

I flipped through the pages to get a good look at all his information, so it would be useful to me tomorrow night.

After I left the mansion, I texted Keith right away to get me Mason's profile case, and we decided to meet up at a low-key spot. Both our vehicles were parked under the bridge, and the streetlamp nearby provided just enough light for me to read the file.

"What's with the dinner party he's throwing tomorrow?" I asked curiously.

"To celebrate a new business deal he made with a top Chinese diplomat, Sam Huang, who'll also be attending. A lot of important people will be there, so I suggest you keep a close eye on them. You never know; one of them might be making a trade right under your nose. Collect any evidence you can, and leave the rest to us."

I closed the file and leaned my back against the car.

"It's hard enough to keep Mason Rollins occupied, but to focus on fifty other people in the room? Sounds like a tough job."

Keith smiled, standing in front of me, his tall height towering over my five-foot-five frame.

"Hey, you're the most capable person I've ever met who can handle tough jobs. The fact that you've already come this far in this mission is truly admirable, and that's why you have me as your biggest fan."

His words made me smile, and a chuckle escaped my lips. It's a relief to finally put my guard down and slip out of character for a while. Being undercover is not as easy as it seems.

It's exhausting, and I'm living proof of that.

"Did you get in contact with my sister?" I asked, and his expression softened as he nodded.

"Yeah, she's fine. She misses you a lot and told me to say she's praying you'll be alright and make it out in one piece. Her words, not mine, but we're both thinking the same thing."

I gave him a grateful smile. That definitely sounded like something Hailey would say.

"I have to go. Tomorrow is another long, exhausting day, and I have to do my best to help the Valahia Syndicate get what they want."

He took a step back as I leaned off the car and opened the door. I slipped inside, closed the door, and started the engine. Keith leaned down to my window.

"You'll do great tomorrow, detective. I know it, and so will they."

I nodded, and he held my gaze a moment longer without saying anything else. I could feel the tension building between us, and if he could just lean a little closer...

"Goodnight, Detective," he said, tapping the window twice before stepping back.

I shook my head to clear the dangerous thoughts creeping in, mustered a smile at him once more, and drove away.

A distraction. That's what I'll be, but God only knows how badly I also needed one, right under that bridge.