Page 47 of Devil's Azalea

“All you have to do is ask,dolcezza,” Maximo purrs, wrapping a possessive arm around his wife and pulling her onto his lap.

I gently put Emma back beside her sister, taking an extra second to smooth the blanket around them. I linger for a moment longer, reluctant to leave their side.

But eventually, I step away and settle into the last free armchair in the corner, soaking in this rare quiet moment with my family.

In our world, there’s always something going on, so this stillness feels like gold.

15

EMILIA

“Let me guess—judging from the way you just walked, you’re bringing me bad news, aren’t you?” Greg asks as I close his office door behind me.

I pause, caught off guard by the immediate jab, though I really shouldn’t be. “Rafael Moretti got to the councilor before I had my chance to strike.” I keep my voice steady as I approach his desk, though every instinct screams at me to defend myself.

He leans back in his chair, swiveling left and right, left and right as he watches me. “What is it with you and the Nightshades? You’ve had zero success with them. Are you getting rusty as you get older?”

My spine goes rigid at the ridiculous accusation.Rusty? As I get older?At thirty, I’m in my absolute prime, the best shape of my life—and still two decades younger than this bastard. The savage reply builds in my throat like acid, but I force it down.Don’t give him ammunition. “No, sir.”

“I gave you the Nightshades case as well as the councilor’s because you’re one of my top agents and came highly recommended by the director.” His chair stops swiveling. “But you’re starting to give me reasons to doubt you, Emily.”

“With all due respect sir, it’s only been a handful of days. Less than a week,” I point out. “Cases like this usually take months—sometimes longer. The Nightshades have had over a decade to root themselves in this city. It’s going to take more than a few weeks to crack them.”They didn’t survive this long by being careless. And Rafael didn’t climb to the top by being predictable.

Greg doesn’t say anything for several excruciating minutes, and I fear I might have said too much, pushed too far. Challenging a superior’s assessment is career suicide in our line of work. But I’ll be damned if I let him write me off as some aging operative past her expiration date.

Finally, he gives me a curt nod. Then, without acknowledging my spiel, he says, “I’ve got something that might lead to a break in the case.” He pulls open his desk drawer and takes out a single document. I eye it warily.

“My attention has recently been drawn to a problem that’s becoming more rampant in the city. And like everything else here, I believe it’s linked to the Nightshades.” He slides the document across his desk.

It’s a briefing on pharmaceutical drug smuggling. Apparently, there’s an illegal unknown supplier in town, redistributing usually expensive, hard-to-access medications like Ozempic and morphine at dirt-cheap prices.

A classic Robin Hood scenario—stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Normally, the agency doesn’t waste time and resources on operations that aren’t actively harming civilians. But I’m guessing one of the big pharma companies got pissed and filed a complaint, and now that it might tie into the Nightshades, it’s officially our mess to clean up.

“I want you to find out who this supplier is, how they’re getting their drugs,howthey’re bringing them into the city, how they’re moving them—everything. Then shut it all down.”

“Yes sir,” I nod, the paper crumpling in my tight grip as I turn to escape his office.

As I pass through the hallway of closed doors leading to private offices, one suddenly swings open just as I walk by. Instinctively, I reach for my gun?—

—but relax when Matt’s head pops out.

He wiggles a brow at me, smirking. “You remember you can’t draw your weapons in here, right?”

I roll my eyes, letting go of my holster. “Don’t open doors so suddenly. You startled me.”

“I didn’t want to miss you this time. Last time you were in, you left so fast I barely caught a glimpse of that fine ass and missed my chance to see your pretty face.” He winks, stepping aside, silently inviting me into his office.

Oh, hell no.

Katie’s teasing words echo in my head, and I hesitate. Now his flirtatious demeanor feels glaringly obvious, and I’m not equipped to handle workplace romance right now. Or ever. “I’m not so sure I can stay to chat, Matt. Greg isn’t very happy with me right now, so I need to get back to work ASAP.”

His smirk dims for half a second, then bounces back. “Too much of a hotshot to spare a minute for us lowly agents, huh?”

I breathe out a little relief.Thank God he’s not turning this into a thing.

Maybe Katie read him wrong. Maybe he’s just naturally charming with everyone. Either way, I should gracefully exit the interaction before I complicate things further. “Maybe you need to solve a couple of big cases before I can deem you fit to be seen in my presence,” I tease back, then immediately second-guess myself.

Was that flirty? Or just friendly?Shit.I’m so out of practice with this kind of banter.