Page 6 of Seeking Shadows

“It’s for coverage,” Charlie replies. “And let’s be real, Zane, you’re benefiting. Private jets. Designer suits. Mafia connections.”

“Oh, yeah. A dream come true.”

She snorts. “Quit whining. You’re basically an undercover sugar baby at this point.”

I groan. “That is the worst thing someone ever said to me.”

“Is it?” She smirks. “Because I distinctly remember you once telling me Mia was your downfall.”

I hesitate.

Yeah.

That sounds about right.

“He wants me to go to a party for Cartel allies. I didn’t even know they had allies,” I mutter to Charlie.

“Yeah, well, their allies are the weaker Cartels and the Yakuza. The Yakuza is their strongest connection, but they barely interact. They have their own rules, which is why we've never managed an alliance with them,” Charlie explains.

“Lovely,” I reply dryly.

“Also, we have another problem.”

I try to contain my eye roll. Of course we do.

This entire plan is one giant, flashing neon sign of problems.

"Tell me, what would it be?"

"Mitchell was deep into fighting, torture—the guy was a full-blown sadist. Honestly, I'm surprisedyouof all people managed to kill him."

I was a man on a mission, pissed off at the world and at myself, so it wasn’t exactly hard. Mitchell could fight, sure, but the guy was dumb as a rock. He thought brute force was everything. All I needed was a gun and a well-placed bomb to do the job.

But that wasn’t the real reason I did it.

I needed the plan to work. I needed it to lead me back toher. If I hadn’t killed him, I wouldn’t have had an excuse to see her again. Wouldn’t have had a way to put myself back in her orbit.

I risked everything for her.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

"Youshouldtake this as a sign that you need to get your ass in gear and actually train. I'm not saying Mitchell was the best, he could never beat me in a fight, and I'm not even the top fighter in the Society."

That honor goes to Giulia Ross, Trevor’s wife. I heard about their marriage even before I gave a damn.

The girl’s a machine. Honestly, I’m surprised she picked Trevor of all people—she seems like the type to eat him alive.

Maybe that’s what he’s into. Or maybe they just bond over their mutual love for knocking people’s teeth out.

The closest I ever got to that kind of thing was when one of my mom’s boyfriends tried to rip my manga in half.

Other than that? Total wimp.

Though I did blow up his car, so... fair trade, I guess. Got me a black eye, but whatever.

"Zane, are you even listening?"

"Oh, I am. But if this means I’m about to become the next Karate Kid, I’m out."

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