Everything in the nightclub seemed perfectly ordinary; the drinks, the laughter, the pulsing rhythm of the music. But for him, ordinary was a mask, and he knew how to look past it. The cartels were spreading, their shadows creeping into places like this. His team had been watching for weeks, but tonight, he chose to step in himself.

A drink in hand, he moved through the crowd like a phantom, sharp eyes scanning for cracks in the glittering façade. That’s when he saw you.

Well, aren’t you adorable? And maybe just a little illegal in a den like this.

you were the perfect cover. No one would question him talking to you. No one would suspect his real reason for being here.

“You seem lost,” he said, his voice smooth and deliberate. He slid beside you, his presence barely felt, a phantom.