CHAPTER TEN

brAXTON

I 'm half across the sidewalk when Gianna's car pulls away and my phone is at my ear.

Holy hell. It worked.

She thinks I'm making plans to fly out of the country and joining her for dinner in the hopes that her father will help with my little four-hundred-million-dollar problem in Europe.

"Connor Barrett."

"I'm in," I say, walking through the lobby of the hotel.

"Already?"

I grin. "What can I say? Tell Mack he can keep his money." I laugh. "But I still need your help."

"Braxton, I told you—"

"I know, I know. But we need to set up an entire sex trafficking operation in twelve hours."

Silence.

"Jesus Christ, you aren't joking." Connor groans. "Meet us at the King's headquarters in an hour. Lilly, cancel my meetings!"

I figure that's his PA.

The billionaire hangs up and I walk into the elevator with my heart pounding. This is exhilarating. I'm extremely happy with the progress I've made and my hope in getting Amy home is becoming a real possibility.

Even if it is early days.

Gianna is a surprise.

I'm not sure what's driving her, even if I want Decker to think it's my smooth moves. Truth is, fucking the mafia princess was far more pleasurable than I anticipated.

I'm playing a character, but I enjoyed every second of it.

Walking up beside her, even though I'd only had a small amount of sleep, caught me off guard. I had to remind myself where I was and why.

Then when I felt the warm body wriggle next to me, I responded in a way that I probably shouldn't have given she is a pawn in my game. I tugged her against me and nestled my face into her hair.

She smelled of sex...and me.

Even now, as I open the door to my hotel suite, after having her hand on my cock just minutes earlier, I am hard and eager to be back inside her.

Convince my father you love me, and he might very well let you do anything you please.

We both agreed to tell her father, the head of the Baldassare mafia, that Gianna and I had been seeing each other for a few weeks. That now things were getting serious.

I can go along with that.

I am unsure why she's helping me except she's a bored, rich, mafia princess who is looking for some fun.

Fine.

If it opens the doors to finding Amy, then I'll do it.

Hell, I'll marry the woman if I have to, but we don't have time for that. My plan worked perfectly.

I pack my bags and check out of the hotel. I need the Baldassare's to think I'm flying back to Europe.

Then I head back to the Dark King's headquarters.

––––––––

A N HOUR LATER, I'm sitting on the sofa drinking a coffee when Nathan and Decker walk in.

"Brax," Nathan says, already adopting the nickname for me.

"You just cost me two hundred dollars," Decker said, flopping on the other end of the sofa.

I grin widely. "What can I say?"

"That you lucked out and Mack needs to give me back my cash," Decker deadpans.

"Sorry. She's asked me home to meet the folks. I'm just that good."

"Shame they're gangsters." He snorts.

I let my eyes drift across the room. Gianna is a beautiful and intelligent woman. A part of me feels a bit guilty about how this is going to end. I don't know exactly how it's going to play out, but I suspect she'll be hurt.

She's not as tough as she makes out.

A man senses more about a woman when he's been inside her and looked into her soul.

Maybe I'm wrong. She could just be after a man who makes her feel good. It's my guess that men have put her on a pedestal because of who she is, whereas I treated her with dominance and disrespect.

Sometimes that's arousing for spoiled princesses.

My instincts say she's more complicated than that.

What I'm trying to ignore is the way we came together last night. It was more than a dominant lover pleasuring a woman in dire need of being submissive and controlled. There was a connection.

I'm not being romantic. Far fucking from it.

I've slept with a lot of women in my life and never felt the same sensation I did the moment I pressed my cock inside Gianna.

Like I say, better not to think about it.

"What's she like?" Nathan asks, cleaning the whiteboard as I drop my empty mug on the coffee table.

"Beautiful. Intelligent," I reply. "Looking for some excitement in her life, I guess."

I watch as he checks the ink on a few markers and glances my way.

"Don't, for god's sakes, fall in love with her like bloody Connor."

I snort. "She's a gangster's daughter. Not my type."

The last thing I want is a father-in-law who traffics human beings, among other things.

No fucking thanks.

And if he is responsible for whatever has happened to Amy, then he'll be lucky if I don't kill him.

That's if I can get both of us out alive.

Mack and Connor walk through the door. Both of them dressed in polar opposite outfits. Connor is in a tailored navy-blue suit and crisp white shirt. His shoes are shiny, and his face is cleanly shaven. He is every inch the Manhattan billionaire.

Mack, on the other hand, is in a pair of black jeans and a Barrett Security polo shirt. On his wrist hangs a sizable timepiece, I'd say cost a decent amount, and on his feet are a pair of heavy black Nikes.

The other two are in blue jeans and shirts rolled up their forearms with the top buttons open.

I'm dressed more like Connor, but without the jacket. I needed Gianna to see me as a wealthy businessman of sorts, and the new suits Connor's credit card bought me did the trick.

"Right. We don't have much time, so let's get to work," Connor says as Mack walks over to Decker, holding out his hand.

Decker pays him with a grunt.

Mack grins as he folds it and puts it in his pocket. I don't bother stopping my chuckle, but I'm surprised when Decker shoots me a smile.

"How long do we have?" Mack asks, leaning against the pool table and crossing his arms.

"Five hours. The Baldassare estate is in Scarsdale, so I'll Uber out there around six o'clock." I tell them. "Can't be late for dinner with the capo."

Connor walks to his desk and opens a drawer.

"And you can't Uber." He tosses a set of keys at me.

My eyes widen as I take in the Ferrari keychain. When I lift my head, the CEO firmly says, "Don't crash it."

Jesus.

Then he pulls out a watch from his pocket and hands it to me. Thank god it's not a Rolex. I take the Patek Phillipe and swallow loudly.

"Man, this is just—"

"This is how you stay alive. I can buy a hundred more. No one in my team goes deep undercover without all the tools. Mia is bringing a few more things over in an hour."

I nod, not wanting to ask how much the watch is worth, but I know it's more than I make in a year or two.

Connor is right. I need to play the part completely from head to toe. Frank Baldassare needs to believe I'm extremely rich from trafficking.

Fuck. I feel sick just thinking about it.

"Thank you."

"Just don't die. The feds are in on this, and I'd hate to have to make a phone call."

Wait, the feds?

"We are dialing in Agent Scott in an hour," Mack explains. "We don't have the resources to set something like this up in an hour, so we have called in a favor."

Jesus.

"We may not have enough detail before you leave, so you'll have to go in vague. Not a bad thing," Connor says.

"I agree with that," Decker says. His six years deep undercover with the Mexican cartel means he knows what he's talking about, so I agree with them.

The five of us start outlining a fake operation and business that I own and run globally. Then finally we jump on the videoconference with the agent.

"Good afternoon," Agent Scott says, a government office in the background. "Hey Connor."

"Hey," he replies, and it's clear from the smile in his voice the two are friendly. Even close. "Thanks for helping us out here."

"This is how we'd said we'd work together, so I was pleased to hear from you. If it gets your guy into the Baldassare crime family and saves lives, then it benefits us all," Scott says. "So, tell me what you have so far."

Mack walks him through our draft plan and after we make a few changes, the agent gives us a few names I can use as references.

Men who will confirm I am who I say I am.

Braxton Rossi. Independent contractor. A middleman who answers to no one but deals with the wealthiest and most dangerous people on the planet.

Not a US Marine, son, and brother.

"This is incredibly risky for these contacts. It goes without saying that their names can never be shared outside this circle," Scott presses.

A chill runs through me as the reality of what I'm doing sinks in. This isn't just about Amy anymore. I'm running a government approved operation.

A one-man black op.

As a Marine, I had a team around me. This time I won't have tanks or a chopper ready to pick me up should shit go down. The Dark Kings are proving to be the support I needed and with contacts in high places.

Thank fuck I reached out to Connor Barrett.

It may save my life and Amy's.

"We are well aware, Agent. We were undercover for six years, remember?" Nathan says.

"Braxton wasn't," Scott says. "These men's lives are at risk if anyone finds out they are agents."

"I understand, sir."

"Good. I've only had approval to do this because of the benefits of unearthing a potential trafficking ring, and you're a Marine working with Connor. But it's off the books."

"Understood," I say, then glance at Connor, who nods back at me.

"Right. Let's start putting this in motion," Decker says, climbing off the sofa as we end the call.

By six that night, I'm revving the engine of the Ferrari and pulling out into the streets of Manhattan to go deep undercover.

I'm excited.

I'm nervous.

But the most surprising thing is, I'm looking forward to having Gianna wrapped in my arms and my mouth on hers again.