I didn’t touch the envelope. Just stared at it.
“I know of him. Russian. Wealthy. Connected. The kind of man who attracts rumors and leaves very little behind to prove them. His wife died a few years ago. Never sat right with me, but nobody’s ever managed to pin anything on him.”
I leaned back slightly, gaze narrowing. “Why are we talking about him?”
Nikos smiled the way he did when the punchline hadn’t landed yet.
“He has a daughter.”
Of course he did. They always did. Princesses in glass towers, locked away until their fathers needed a new pawn to play.
“Tell me you’re joking.” My tone was flat. Because if this was another one of Nikos’s twisted little Romeo ops, he was barking up the wrong sadist.
He arched a brow. “You’re the one they call Master Loki. Dark, dangerous, seductive. I figured it was finally your turn to weaponize that charm.”
“I infiltrate boardrooms and billionaires, nothearts. You’re the Romeo. I’m the hammer they never see coming. You know I don’t do romance, in or out of the job.”
“She’s not expecting romance,” he said mildly. “Her father moved her to the U.S. to keep her away from her ‘bad habits’.”
That earned a dry laugh. “Let me guess. Daddy’s little ice princess discovered she doesn’t like cages.”
“Something like that.” He looked entirely too pleased with himself. “Apparently, she’s developed a fondness for sex clubs.”
I stared at him, deadpan. “So he brought herhere? To the U.S.? The only country with more registered kink events than Starbucks locations?”
“His oversight,” Nikos said smoothly, “is our opportunity. I sent her an anonymous event flyer for tonight’s match-play showcase. She signed up within the hour.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. Loudly.
I only played with experienced submissives for a reason. My kind of domination wasn’t something you eased into. It was sharp, psychological, deep. I didn’tdabble, and I didn’t play with people who did.
“A rebellious, sheltered flower,” Nikos continued, voice light and infuriating, “will fall all over herself for the dark, mysterious Loki. She’s practically built for it.”
“This is a bad idea,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.
There were too many ways this could go sideways. Too many people here knew who I really was, or at least, who I was supposed to be. And I wasn’t built for this kind of emotional finesse. I didn’t seduce for trust. I didn’t manipulate the innocent. I didn’t dolong term.
Hell, my longest relationship lasted five scenes and ended with me forgetting her name at the door.
“Putting aside that I can’t use a cover at Midgard,” I said, glancing sideways at Nikos, “tell me again how seducing her helps us. If all you need is access—“
“We don’t need forever,” he cut in. “Just long enough for her to trust you. Get her to invite you back to her place. We get our program on their internal network, and you move on like you always do.”
He said it like she was just another assignment.
Which, technically, she was.
And yet.
Something about this one didn’t sit right. Maybe it was the setup. Maybe it was the way Nikos saidtrust you,like trust was just another lever to pull, a switch to flip. Tired of pretending detachment was the same thing as freedom, I opened my mouth to list every reason why this plan was flawed.
And that’s when I heard the familiar trio coming down the hall.
“There he is,” Colin called out, tone rich with mischief and bad intentions. “If we’d known you were that desperate, Loki, we could’ve set you up ourselves. No need to outsource your dry spell.”
Lincoln chuckled beside him—low, smooth, and just amused enough to be irritating. Zara followed a step behind, effortlessly poised, a glass in hand and the kind of smirk that said she was very much enjoying the show.
I didn’t turn to face them right away. Just closed my eyes for a long second.
