Forbidden Entanglement with Mafia Alpha

6: The Way of a Spy

Faith knew Bilal was a weakness in Magnus Lawson's otherwise impenetrable circle of loyal, highly-capable soldiers.

She did some research with a technological specialist from the Special Missions Group and found out Bilal's full name was Bilal Karim. He had only received the Red Flame Pack's initiation tattoo a year ago—too recent for someone to be in Magnus Lawson's inner circle. Which explained why Bilal had been less than competent that night at the Taste of Redemption.

The reason for Bilal's sudden promotion, Faith suspected, was Bilal's family. The Karim family were infamous for running illegal sports betting on a macro-scale. Faith had told her handler, SAC Armando Falls, that Magnus Lawson might be planning to dip into the illegal sports betting world, and he was trying to get into the Karim family's good graces by putting one of their sons in a high status. Armando had commended her for the information they had overlooked.

Spying on Bilal to get to Magnus was just as easy for Faith.

The beta was not skilled at detecting when he was being followed, or being watched from a window with high-power binoculars.

Scent of Heaven was a café Bilal liked to stop-by every weekday, between six and seven a.m. Faith had sent the name of the café to the tech specialist, and they found that the owner was a human (meaning: they were most likely not part of the Red Flame Pack). It was just another thing that Bilal carelessly did, as opposed to Magnus Lawson who—if he could help it—only dined or bought from places owned by his people.

For a week, Faith was patient, making sure to confirm that Bilal stuck to his morning stop at Scent of Heaven.

On a Tuesday morning, when Bilal made his usual order by lining up at the cashier, Faith smoothly lined up behind him. Her bleached hair was wrapped up and hidden completely by a peach scarf and a sun hat, cat-eye sunglasses perched on her nose, and a loose dress hiding her figure. Plus, a nearly putrid floral perfume to mask her natural scent lest Bilal remember Faith by her scent alone.

As Bilal pulled out his wallet to pay, Faith discreetly moved closer to the beta under the guise of looking at the menu board above the cashier.

However, what she was really doing was placing a flat microphone on the inside of his black leather belt. It was sturdy, made of real leather. The device was the same color as the leather and was thin and tiny enough to not be immediately noticeable when Bilal pulled his belt off at the end of the day.

All Faith needed was for the microphone to remain stuck to the man's belt for a few hours.

Faith had already put space between herself and Bilal before the beta had finished paying. She ordered herself a latte while Bilal left the café.

Outside, Bilal's own vehicle was nowhere to be seen.

Faith got into her car parked across the street. She turned on her government-issued laptop. Earlier, she had already set-up the application that would let her listen to whatever the small microphone picked up on.

Fortunately, the device remained intact in Bilal's belt. Faith first heard rustling through her headset, then the engine came through more quickly. There was a faint tune in the background; Bilal was listening to the radio.

As she waited, Faith sipped her coffee.

She didn't have to wait long for Bilal to start giving her what she needed.

A phone's ringtone. The microphone picked up the sound of Bilal clearing his throat. Given that the tiny device was squished between his belt and pants, Faith shouldn't have been able to hear Bilal's side of the conversation so clearly. But it was specifically designed by the New Order to catch human voices.

"Yo? Yeah, m'on my way now, just makin' a quick stop. Boss put me on grunt duty after the incident at the Taste of Redemption. I gotta pick up his dry cleaning for that art exhibit s**t at The Fountanier tomorrow."

The Fountanier. Faith knew where that place was. It was an events place, wherein events had to be booked months in advance.

Faith jotted it down in her little notebook.

Silence from Bilal. "Why can't you do it?" Another pause. "f*****g fine! I'll call the Grand Illuminate and check on the f*****g reception. Honestly, I don't gt why he insisted on hosting the after-party. He's never even been into art." He as in Magnus Lawson. Bilal Karim said the word art like it personally offended him.

More silence. "What do you mean the boss decided to invest in a few pieces? Why didn't I know?"

Faith narrowed her eyes.

Magnus Lawson, the top wanted alpha in the entire state, who already made too much money for him to possibly know what to do with it, had invested in the art world, and it was apparently unforeseen.

There was something going on there. Faith underlined the new fact she'd learned. She'd have to bring it up to Armando later.

But first, she had to get into The Fountanier for that art exhibit.

-----

"We've just stepped out of the limo and already your eyes are everywhere." Tyler's warm hand settled on Faith's lower back, her skin there exposed by the low back cut of her green silk cocktail dress.

Faith kept her eyes forward, trying to see if any of Magnus' men were outside the venue. "I'm not here for enjoyment, Tyler," Faith murmured to the man pressing against her side.

There was a line of people outside the double doors. A large sign with the words THE BORDER BETWEEN: AN ART EXHIBIT had spotlights on it, making it impossible for people passing by to miss what tonight's event was.

"I am aware," Tyler chuckled as he led her closer to the entrance with his hand still on Faith's lower back.

Outside of the New Order, there were only two people who knew what Faith really did for the government under the Special Missions Group.

Kiyana Petalia was one of them. Tyler was the other.

Faith turned towards Tyler, the man only a couple inches taller now that Faith was in heels. Tyler was objectively handsome, undoubtedly. His smile was like a flame that attracted moths, except the actual power was how he sweet-talked people into seeing his side or doing his bidding. Tyler's black curls had always been trimmed neatly ever since Faith first met the man, and he kept his facial hair at a minimum. He was usually in bespoke suits, paired with watches that cost ten times what Faith paid for her dress this evening (and it was a hefty amount for a dress).

Tyler ushered Faith past the line of people and towards the front. He kept one hand on Faith, the other reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket and flashing his I.D.

That was all the tall security guard needed for him to let them both in.

Inside, high ceilings and crystal chandeliers with marble tables and dark furniture gave the event a classy, mysterious vibe. There were walls of white with paintings by different artists arranged all over the place in an unclear pattern, like a mini-maze.

The line of people kept outside was so the inside remained uncrowded. The guards would only let in a number of (non-VIP) guests at a time.

A waiter in a white dress shirt walked over to them and offered two glasses of bubbly champagne. Tyler thanked the waiter and took both flutes, handing Faith one.

As soon as the waiter had walked off, Faith felt Tyler draw closer, his breath fanning her ear. "Are you really not allowed to tell me who your target is?" He gestured around the large space. "I can guess a few people on tonight's VIP guest list who might fit your criteria, however..."

"I'm not allowed to share any details. You can just ask your father, he's the one who signed off on my mission anyway." Faith could smell the musk from Tyler's cologne this close. The hand on Faith's lower back had been removed.

Tyler snorted as he downed half of his champagne. "My father never tells me anything, you know. Every time I attempt to ask him about those sorts of things, he says I should have become a military officer since I wanted to know so badly."

Faith shrugged, drinking her own sweet beverage at a slower pace. "Well, maybe someone else can tell you. I'm sure being the Commander of the New Order's son has its perks."

Tyler Venture and Faith Harper were unlikely friends.

Tyler was not even part of the army, nor was he part of any group formed by the government. At twenty-seven years old, Tyler was a businessman who owned multiple ships that brought goods in and out of Dreadus State.

Of course, being the only son of the New Order's Commander—now the highest position in the government—Tyler had a tremendous kickstart to his business, contributing to its current enormous success.

Tyler tried to suppress his own grin. He liked it whenever Faith teased him like this; mostly because it made him feel like Faith was being herself in his company. "Alright, alright. You win. I won't pry anymore if you really can't tell me. But consider me taking you here as a favor which I intend to collect in the near future."

"Thank you again for this," Faith murmured, conveyint her honest gratitude. "When I called to ask if you knew who put together this gallery, I hadn't expected you to be friends with her."

Tyler's brows rose in remembrance. "Speaking of Samantha, I should probably go look for her before she thinks I declined another one of her invites."

The man didn't immediately leave. He tucked a strand of Faith's curled hair behind her ear. "I'll let you focus on work now." In one smooth motion, he was holding Faith's right hand—the champagne still in her left—and he pressed a kiss on her knuckles before landing another peck on her cheek.

If Faith hadn't been expecting these actions, she'd have pushed Tyler off of her the second he held her hand.

"Call if you need help," was whispered in Faith's ear. Tyler stepped backwards before giving a pointed look. In his regular volume, he said, "I mean it."

Faith never needed help during her missions. "Okay. Have fun tonight."

-----

Faith wasn't knowledgeable about art.

She knew tons about hand-to-hand combat, wielding weapons, shooting guns, spiking drinks and food, even how to manipulate her scent so it would be stronger or weaker around her alpha targets.

But figuring out the deeper meaning of the paintings in the art gallery was a moot undertaking. Faith had no idea if the colors of the curtains of a painted messy room meant anything or if the two ladies who wore diamonds all over their necks were just pretending to have a deep conversation.

For her plan to work, Faith would have to look immersed in the art. Her target would be here any minute now, and she'd have to seem as if she truly had no idea that the Head Alpha would be here.

Clutching her half-empty champagne flute near her chest, Faith frowned at a painting of a werewolf—except its head was the only wolf part, and its lower half was not only a human's, but it was also naked.

There was a red sticker next to the painting's information card. Someone had already bought this piece.

Faith looked back at it, tilting her head.

What was appealing about it? In her opinion, the way the werewolf's head was drawn on the body looked creepy and a little unsettling for some reason.

It was only because Faith had been so absorbed in trying to find out what about this piece someone would find attractive enough to hang in their own home that she hadn't noticed the footsteps coming her way.

"If you wanted to see a naked werewolf, you only need to ask."

The slight jump Faith let out was not faked.

She whipped her head and saw the smirking, gorgeous face of Magnus Lawson, who was now standing less than a foot away from her.