ADRIAN'S POV
TWO DAYS LATER: BACK IN THE HOTEL
The room went quiet the moment I sat down, and it was not the polite, procedural quiet. Enzo leaned slightly toward me. "Sir," he murmured, just loud enough for the table to hear, and I let my gaze travel slowly, deliberately counting faces like assets. Clara Hayes, rigid and braced for combat. Ryan Mitchell is already calculating angles and exits. Sophie Alvarez, observant, watchful, her concern anchored squarely on one man. Nathan Cole sat three seats down, posture military-straight, hands folded, jaw tight enough to crack enamel, and he didn't look at me.
Captain Marcus Levin cleared his throat. "All right," he said, firm, controlled. "Let's begin."
I leaned back in my chair, crossing one ankle over the other. "By all means."
Levin shot me a look. "This is a formal cooperation meeting, Mr. Blackwood. I expect professionalism."
I smiled faintly. "Then we're aligned."
Clara didn't bother hiding her scoff. "That remains to be seen."
I turned my head toward her slowly. "Detective Hayes. You sound tense."
"Funny," she said flatly. "I was thinking the same about you."
Ryan muttered, "He's enjoying this."
"Oh, absolutely," I said, without looking at him.
Ryan stiffened. "You're not subtle."
"I'm efficient."
Levin raised a hand. "Enough. Adrian, you agreed to provide intelligence on Derrick Blackwood's operations. Let's start there."
"Start where?" I asked calmly.
"With hierarchy," Levin replied. "Structure. Verified names."
I tilted my head. "And if your structure is wrong?"
Levin paused. "Then we adjust."
"Incorrect," I said mildly. "If your structure is wrong, people die."
That earned me a reaction.
Sophie's pen stilled, and Clara's fingers curled into her sleeve, and Ryan's eyes flicked to Levin, then back to me.
Nate finally spoke. "Adrian."
The sound of his voice hit sharper than I expected. "Yes, Captain?"
"We're here to work," Nate said evenly, and he tried to sound serious, professional, and astute.
A few people exhaled relief, maybe, and authority reasserted, and I leaned forward slightly. "Then let's be honest."
Nate met my eyes now. Just briefly. Just enough to stir my blood and make my cock hard.
"Your current model assumes Derrick is centralized," I continued. "He isn't. He's fragmented by design. Cells that don't know each other, and he is using redundant couriers and ofcourse burnable assets."
Ryan leaned in. "That matches partial data."
"Partial data gets people killed," I replied with confidence and smirked while at it.
Clara snapped, "Then talk."
I smiled at her. "Ask properly."
Her chair scraped as she shifted forward. "Fine, tell me, Adrian. Where do we hit first?"
Levin cut in sharply. "Detective"
"No," I said. "Let her ask."
Clara's eyes burned. "Where is Derrick operating now?"
I held her gaze. "You already know the city."
"District."
"Warehouse corridor, south end. But that's not the heart."
"And where is the heart?" Nate asked.
There it was, and control wrapped in restraint, and I turned fully toward him. "You tell me, Captain, what do you think based on your files?"
He hesitated just a fraction. "Financial routing suggests offshore funnels through shell companies in Milan and Bucharest."
"Good," I said softly. "And wrong."
Ryan cursed under his breath. "That trail went cold last year."
"Because it was supposed to," I said. "The money moves domestically now. Smaller transfers. Charities. Medical logistics."
Sophie looked up sharply. "Hospitals?"
"Supply chains," I corrected. "No one audits them properly, and no one is keeping tabs or records that would raise an eyebrow.
Levin exhaled slowly. "Do you have proof?"
"I have certainty," I affirmed.
"That's not admissible," Clara snapped.
I shrugged. "Neither are bodies."
Silence slammed down, and the elephant in the room grew. Nate's voice cut through it. "Enough."
Every head turned. "This isn't about winning a room," he said, measured but edged. "It's about stopping a network."
I studied him. "Then stop trying to control it."
His jaw flexed. "I don't control criminals."
"You're trying to control me," I replied.
"That's my job."
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "Then do it better."
Enzo shifted beside me. "Sir "
"I'm fine," I said quietly.
Levin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Adrian. We need actionable intelligence. Today."
"You'll get it," I said. "Through him."
Clara stiffened. "Through Captain Cole?"
"Yes."
Nate turned sharply. "No."
I smiled. "There it is."
Levin frowned. "Explain."
"Captain Cole remains my sole point of contact," I said calmly. "Information flows through him. Decisions are filtered by him."
"That's unacceptable," Clara snapped.
Ryan added, "That isolates verification."
Sophie hesitated. "It also centralizes risk."
Nate stared at me. "You're doing this on purpose."
"Of course," I said. "But not for the reason you think."
"And what reason is that?" he asked.
"Because you're the only one in this room who understands what I'm saying." I pointed out and made sure to insinuate that Cole was everything.
"That's not true," Clara said sharply.
I didn't look at her. "You hear, but he listens."
Nate's voice dropped. "You're manipulating procedure."
"Yes," I agreed easily. "Yet you manipulate people."
Levin raised his voice. "Enough. Adrian, this is not a negotiation."
I met his gaze. "Everything is a negotiation."
Nate stood abruptly. "Sit down."
The room froze nand I looked up at him, slow and deliberate. "Careful, Captain."
"You don't get to dictate terms here," he said. "You cooperate, or this ends."
I rose to my feet, and the chair scraped back. Ryan's hand twitched toward his jacket. Clara tensed like a coiled wire. Enzo didn't move, and I leaned in just enough for Nate to hear me. "If this ends," I said softly, "you lose every lead I haven't shared yet."
His breath hitched. Just barely, and Levin said sharply, "Adrian. Sit. Down."
I did, and slowly. "Good," I murmured. "Now we're aligned again."
Nate didn't sit right away. When he did, it was controlled, rigid.
"You'll give us locations," he said.
I nodded. "Three. I'll start with one."
Ryan lifted his pen. "Go."
I looked at Nate. "Only if you confirm receipt."
His eyes narrowed. "You're unbelievable."
"And yet," I said, "you're listening."
A beat. "Go," he said.
I smiled. "Warehouse forty‑two. East rail spur. Tuesday nights."
Sophie wrote quickly. "Activity type?"
"Logistics and laundering."
Clara leaned forward. "Names."
"Later."
"That's not how this works."
"It is now."
Levin exhaled. "Captain Cole?"
Nate closed his eyes briefly. Then opened them. "Proceed."
Clara shot him a look. "Nate "
"We'll cross‑verify," he said. "We need momentum."
I watched him carefully, and the tension in his shoulders and the discipline cracking just enough to be useful. "Good," I said. His eyes snapped to mine, and that look of anger, control, something darker underneath.