Page 69 of Dangerous Seduction

Val grinned, already moving towards her bedroom. “I’ll grab my gear. You know, for a minute there, I was worried you’d gone soft on me, Ramirez. But this? This is the badass partner I know and love.”

As Val went to gather our equipment, I stared out her window at the Miami skyline. Somewhere out there, a traitor was hiding in plain sight, threatening everything we’d worked for.

“Ready to raise some hell?” Val called, emerging with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

I turned to her, a determined smile playing on my lips. “Let’s do this. We’ve got work to do.”

The neon sign of “The Rusty Anchor” flickered dimly in the humid Miami night. Val and I sat in her beat-up Chevy, watching as Julio stumbled into the seedy bar.

“Showtime,” Val muttered, killing the engine. “Remember, we’re just two gals out for a drink. Nothing suspicious.”

We sauntered into the bar, the stench of stale beer and desperation hitting us like a wall. Julio was nowhere to be seen.

“I’ll check the back,” I murmured to Val. “You take the bar.”

I pushed through the crowd, my eyes scanning for our target. As I approached the restrooms, I caught a glimpse of Julio slipping into the men’s room.

I signaled to Val, who nodded and made her way over. “Ladies’ room’s full,” she announced loudly. “Guess we’ll have to use the men’s!”

We burst into the bathroom, catching Julio mid-snort, a line of white powder disappearing up his nose.

“Jesus Christ!” he yelped, stumbling backward.

Val’s hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar. “Hello, Julio. Fancy meeting you here.”

His eyes darted between us, panic setting in. “I-I can explain?—”

“Save it,” I cut him off. “We need to talk.”

For the next twenty minutes, we grilled Julio mercilessly. He babbled about drop-offs and coded messages, but nothing we didn’t already know or suspect.

“Come on, Julio,” Val growled, her patience wearing thin. “There’s got to be more. Who’s the mole?”

Julio’s bloodshot eyes widened. “The mole? I-I don’t know anything about a mole!”

I leaned in close, my voice low and dangerous. “Think harder, Julio. Your freedom depends on it.”

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I swear, I don’t know who it is. But...” he hesitated.

“But what?” I pressed.

“There’s this agent I’ve seen snooping around a lot. More than usual, you know? Always asking questions, making deals.”

My heart rate quickened. “Who, Julio? Give me a name.”

He licked his lips nervously. “Agent Morrow. I’ve seen him all over the place lately. It’s like he’s everywhere, man.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Morrow? It couldn’t be. And yet...

I exchanged a shocked glance with Val, whose face had gone pale.

“You’re sure about this, Julio?” Val asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, yeah. Morrow’s been all over the place. It’s weird, you know?”

The implications of what Julio was saying crashed over me like a tidal wave. Morrow, my handler, the man I’d trusted with my life... could he really be the mole?

As we left Julio trembling in the bathroom, my mind was reeling. If Morrow was the mole, it explained his reluctance to pursue the lead, his insistence on maintaining the status quo. But it also meant that my entire operation, my cover, everything I’d worked for, was compromised to the enemy himself, Ricardo Reyes.

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