Page 109 of Morally Corrupt

But then I shake my head. I need to do this with Adrian. Show him we can be a team.

I head towards the drawing room, as it's the only one I haven't checked.

The moment I walk inside, I can already tell the atmosphere is different. There are multiple tables spread around the room, similar to a casino. People are smoking inside, and the entire space is a hotbox. I step inside and take in the participants, my eyes scanning for Adrian. When I see no sign of him, I turn to leave but not before seeing a flash of white.

I'm not even conscious of my own actions. My feet take me forward until I'm in front of the table. A man is spreading cocaine onto the surface, preparing to inhale it. My hands clench at the sudden urge to move and partake as well.

I put one foot in front of the other, my eyes never leaving the white powder. Just as I'm about to reach the man sniffing the drug, someone pulls on my arm and twists me around.

I come face to face with Adrian, his eyes intently watching me, his hand coming up to my face for a light caress.

"Close your eyes and breathe," he says in a low voice, and I do. I then immediately feel his lips on mine, his mouth ever so lightly brushing against mine before his tongue strokes the seam of my lips, opening them for his invasion. The moment our mouths fuse together, I forget about everything. The magic powder is but a distant thought.

I don't want this to end. I tighten my arms around Adrian's biceps, clutching at his suit's material, my body begging him to never let go.

But he does.

I hear hands clapping around us, and I look to see a number of the older men at the poker tables are whistling and clapping at our public display.

Adrian excuses us and takes me into the hallway. He doesn't say anything, and I feel compelled to fill the void.

"Thank you. For distracting me." He just grunts in acknowledgment before lowering his head so he can whisper in my ear.

"Don't thank me. I managed to place one bug," he whispers, and I almost feel disappointed. "Let's go through the kitchen and into the study."

We quickly make an excuse to be in the kitchen, and while Adrian chats up the staff, I manage to stealthily place two bugs, one to the back of the fridge and one under the sink. After giving him a sign, he excuses himself, and we head to the study in the west wing.

"So far, so good," he says when he sees the hallway clear.

Three doors down, we come to a stop in front of the study. I signal him to open it while I stand guard.

He turns the knob ever so slowly to avoid making too much noise, but to our surprise, it's locked.

"Of course. We should have realized he wouldn't leave his study open during a house party?" I whisper angrily.

"What then?"

"Move aside and stand guard." We switch places, and I remove a couple ivory pins from my garter.

I'd remembered last minute to add them, but now they come in handy. The pins are extremely thin, sharp, and sturdy, making them the perfect mini weapons for metal detectors.

They can also do a lot of damage if used properly.

Although I'd never tried this before, maybe they can be used to pick a lock too.

I use the first pin as a tension wrench and insert it in the lower half of the lock. Then I add the second pin, and I jiggle it continuously while adding pressure on the first one. It takes about a minute or so for the first pin to give and a clicking sound to announce that the door is now unlocked.

I creak the door open and signal Adrian to follow me. When I turn, he's looking at me with an expression akin to awe.

"Impressive," he says in a hushed tone as he enters the room.

Enzo's study has a traditional European design with luxurious Italian furniture that blends New and Old World materials. I look around and see countless upon countless shelves of books.

"You think Enzo reads all this?" I ask, trailing my hands on the spines of the books. They're in different languages, too.

"He's very eloquent. I'd wager that yes, he does read them." I shrug at Adrian's words. My first impression of Enzo hadn't been a good one, but from our short interactions, even I could agree that he could teach rhetoric to the Greeks.

"We need to find a few spots that he's unlikely to touch," Adrian notes, scrutinizing the space.

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