Page 14 of The Merciless King

Wow!

The Dark Kings are doing far more for me than I ever anticipated.

In don’t know what I expected but being given an expense account—a bottomless one—was definitely not part of it.

“Don’t argue with him.” Mack shakes his head. “Waste of time.”

“Anyway, some of it is tax deductible. You’re on the payroll now,” Connor adds.

What?

Oh, hell no.

“No. That’s not...listen guys, I just need to get inside, then that’s all I need help with.”

They all stare at one another for a moment, then start laughing. Like full on belly laughs.

I wasn’t being funny.

I watch as Nathan stands and gets a soda from the refrigerator, then starts a game of pool. Decker walks to the board and starts writing some stuff.

I turn to Connor, who shrugs one shoulder. “Told you. That’s not how this works.”

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THE NEXT EVENING, showered and shaved, I walk down Fifty-seventh Street until I find the entrance to the bar where Mia is meeting Gianna.

We went over this for hours last night. Rehearsing being Braxton Rossi instead of Braxton Ashford. I’m an independent who works alone with key partners around the world.

Super vague.

Possibly not the best strategy, but we all agreed it might be better to pivot where needed rather than go in with a solid identity that might not work.

None of us know anything about the Baldassare’s except what Mia shared. Which was nothing of substance. Like all daughters, she wasn’t brought into the dark side of the business.

Nathan, who worked inside the Mancini family, also didn’t have a huge amount because he didn’t work at a level that was privy to that information.

So, yeah, winging it.

What they did share were tips on how to survive and navigate challenges while being undercover.

Unlike then, this is not a long-term plan. If Amy is still alive, I need to find out where she was taken and move fast.

“I figure the authorities are looking for her?” Connor asked me last night.

“They are now that I phoned them, but her mother is not helping. Plus, you know as well as I do the authorities don’t have the resources to help. Not in a situation like this. Amy is just another woman plucked off the street and put into human slavery.”

Decker cursed. “No matter how many we help, there will always be a million fucking more.”

I felt the same about war. None of it made any sense. Every person that fell because of my bullet, I knew he was only there fighting to stay alive on behalf of some fucking politician or ideologist.

The world is broken.

“We need to loop in Agent Scott,” Connor shared. “He will have some information about the Baldassare family. We’ve agreed to work alongside them independently.”

“I’d rather not be restricted by legalities.” I frowned.

“You won’t,” he replied firmly, so I left them to reach out to the feds and keep me updated.

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