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Especially right now. An elderly couple were gushing over her, and she soaked up their attention. I couldn't help but smile until I noticed a man staring at her. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face . . .

“Who is that?” I hadn’t meant to say those words a loud, but now I had three angry men talking over each other.

“Who?” Cruz asked.

“Is it a shifter?” Javier demanded.

“Is she in danger?” Derek yelled.

“No, and no. The man watching her from one table over.” I glanced at Cruz. “Your four o’clock.”

Cruz turned his head with a casual smile, acting like he saw someone he knew, and passed the table. Once he was out of earshot, he cursed. “It’s Brazzi’s men.”

Great, and here I thought this night would go smoothly.

“He’s walking in.”

I moved toward a wall and watched the main doors, waiting until I had a visual.

There.

Alessio Dias walked in with two men at his back, sporting a deep maroon tux with a black shirt. Few men could pull off the look, but he somehow managed. Shit. He was good looking, fashionable, and rich.

But he wasn’t competition. He was our target.

She would never be interested in him. Not really.

Right?

Fuck. She was turning me into an insecure teenager.

“He’s here,” I announced as soon as I cleared my thoughts. “He just saw Brazzi.”

And Dias headed straight for his table.

“Cruz, get within hearing range,” Javier ordered.

“I can hear everything in this room,” Cruz scoffed.

“But the mics can’t. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Cruz rolled his eyes but got closer, pretending to sip on his drink while nonchalantly watching the crowd.

I focused on their conversation, but they were simply saying hello. Maybe he was just making sure Brazzi was aware he was there and that they were going to play nice?

Dias moved on, scanning the room and nodding occasionally to people he passed.

One of his men broke off and returned within seconds with three glasses of an amber liquid.

Dias took a sip, speaking to his men and perusing the crowd as they answered.

“––I checked but didn’t––”

“Fine. It’s going to cause a problem––”

“We’ll discuss it later,” he snapped.

Discuss what? Had I missed something?