Chapter 2 The Deal

I woke with guilt clinging to my skin like sweat.

Not because I'd kissed him-but because I'd wanted to. Because I'd let it happen. Because even after I left that club and told myself it was a slip, my lips still burned with the memory of his.

Lucien Moretti was not supposed to be a man I wanted. He was the case. The target. The end of a three-year operation that had swallowed every part of my life.

And I had just handed him power with a kiss.

I sat up in bed and stared at the city beyond my apartment window. The skyline blinked back, bright and cold. I knew those lights. I knew what they hid. Behind every high-rise office and luxury penthouse was a ledger stained in red. Behind every politician's handshake, a favor owed. Behind every deal... someone like Lucien pulling strings.

But he was more than a name on a file now.

He was a problem.

The worst kind.

And the best kiss I'd ever had.

I shut my eyes and cursed.

By noon, I was back at the precinct, coat over my black dress like a shield. I kept my head down, my face unreadable, like nothing had happened. I wasn't ready to report the contact. Not yet. Not until I could spin it in a way that didn't end with me off the case.

I typed my notes from last night. Club location. Known associates spotted. Entry and exit points. I left out the room. The kiss. The heat.

And him calling me cop.

Because he knew.

And still, he let me go.

Why?

The answer came that evening, not in the form of a gunshot or a tail-but a card.

It was black. No name. Just an address and a time, written in clean, expensive ink.

9 PM. No wire. Come alone.

My heart hammered as I read it. Someone had slipped it under my apartment door.

He was baiting me.

And I was going to take it.

Because curiosity kills more than cats-it kills agents with bad judgment and worse instincts. And because deep down, I needed to know what game he was playing. If he wanted to expose me, he would've done it already.

So this was something else.

A proposition.

---

The building was a high-rise on the edge of the financial district. Not flashy, but guarded-like most of Lucien's assets. Private elevator. Keycard access. Everything clean and discreet.

The doors opened to a penthouse floor, and I stepped into silence.

Then I heard the piano.

Soft. Slow. A melody that dragged like smoke through the air.

I followed the sound into a wide, open space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the glittering city. And there he was-shirtless again, naturally-sitting at a glossy black grand piano like he didn't own every inch of the world outside that glass.

Lucien didn't look up when I walked in. Just kept playing, his fingers moving like the music came from his blood.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said, finally.

"I wasn't sure you were worth it."

He chuckled, low. "You kissed me like I was."

I folded my arms. "Cut the games. What do you want?"

He played one final note, then stood. That tattoo, bold and alive, flexed across his back as he turned.

"You're not like the other agents who tried to get close," he said. "You didn't come in guns blazing. You watched. You studied. You played the long game."

"Because I'm smarter than the rest."

"Because you're lonelier than the rest."

I flinched.

He stepped closer, slow and certain. "Tell me I'm wrong."

I didn't answer.

Lucien stopped a foot away. "You're here because you need something. And I'm offering it."

"What kind of offer?"

"I let you stay close. Real close. Embedded, as they say. You get access. Intel. Enough to keep your superiors happy without threatening my empire. In return..." He brushed a finger down my arm. "...you give me a reason to trust you."

My mouth went dry. "And if I refuse?"

"You won't."

I stared at him, trying to read beneath the smooth exterior. "You're risking a lot."

"I already am. Last night proved that."

He wasn't wrong.

"And why would you want me close?" I asked.

He met my eyes, dark and burning. "Because you're the first person in years who hasn't lied to my face and believed it. Because I see you, Sera. And because I want you close for the same reason you came tonight."

My breath caught.

He was too calm. Too in control. And somehow, I hated that I wanted to give it to him-control, power, proximity.

"I should turn you in."

"You should," he agreed. "But then you'd never know how this ends."

Silence stretched between us, thick with heat and risk.

Finally, I spoke.

"One condition."

He raised a brow.

"You don't lie to me. Not once."

Lucien smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That's dangerous, Sera. You might not like the truth."

"I don't care."

He stepped in until our bodies nearly touched, his mouth just beside my ear.

"Deal."

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