Chapter 14 - The Deep Cover
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The kiss was not hesitant. It was a collision of three years of unspoken tension, raw adrenaline, and absolute control finally snapping.
Larkin’s hands tangled in my hair, pulling me flush against his solid chest, kissing me with a desperate, consuming hunger that left me breathless. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back with every ounce of the passion I had buried beneath my sensible blouses.
When we finally broke apart, the air in the penthouse was thick and heavy.
Larkin rested his forehead against mine, his chest heaving, his dark eyes burning with a fierce, possessive fire. “You are going to ruin me, Penelope.”
“I’m going to balance you,” I corrected softly, tracing the sharp line of his jaw.
The moment of peace, however, was violently short-lived.
The encrypted phone on the counter buzzed loudly. Larkin sighed, stepping back, the cold mask of the syndicate boss slipping instantly back into place. He answered it, listening for a long, tense moment.
“Understood. Assemble the team,” Larkin ordered, hanging up.
He looked at me, the warmth in his eyes replaced by cold, tactical steel. “We have a problem. A ghost from the past has just resurfaced.”
“Thomas’s men?” I asked, my own instincts sharpening.
“No,” Larkin said grimly. “Your past. The Chicago syndicate that wiped out your family five years ago. They have expanded into New York. They are operating an illegal, high-stakes underground casino in Brooklyn to launder money and buy off local politicians.”
My blood ran entirely cold. The nightmare I had spent five years running from had followed me to my new home.
“They don't know you survived,” Larkin continued, walking toward his weapons safe. “But if they establish a foothold here, they will eventually find out who my new underboss is. We have to cut the head off the snake before it strikes.”
“We need their master ledger,” I said, my voice steady despite the terror clawing at my throat. “If we get their client list, we can blackmail the politicians they’ve bought and destroy their operation overnight.”
“The ledger is kept in a biometric safe in the VIP room of the casino,” Larkin explained, loading a magazine into a sleek handgun. “The casino is invite-only. Heavily guarded. I can't walk in without starting a war.”
“But I can,” I said quietly.
Larkin stopped, looking at me. “Absolutely not.”
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“They don't know my face, Larkin. I was a kid when I ran,” I insisted, walking toward him. “I go in as a high-roller. I distract the floor boss, get into the VIP room, and download the ledger. You breach the perimeter once I have the data.”
Larkin stared at me, warring between the protective boss and the tactical king. Finally, he nodded. “You get thirty minutes. Then I burn the place to the ground.”
