Stop Bullshifting Me by Zora Black & Milly Taiden

Author:Zora Black & Milly Taiden [Black, Zora & Taiden, Milly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

17

RAFE

The night has teeth. I feel it in the chill that wedges between buildings, in the stray breeze that rattles shutters, in the empty sigh of streets that should hum but lie silent. I slip through alleys, keeping to shadow, every step measured. The safehouse sits behind peeling paint, barred windows, a door that folds open with a reluctant creak. It’s a place built for ghosts.

Inside, the scent of damp concrete and old wiring greets me. The lights are dimmed low. Javi waits in a back room, where the single bare bulb swings above a table scuffed by years of secrets and broken promises. He’s lean, eyes flickering, posture folding in on itself like he carries more weight than he should. He tilts his head when I enter and gestures me in.

I don’t greet him. I close the door. Silence blooms in the space between us. Then I say, “Tell me what Roman’s doing.”

He exhales. Wipes sweat from his brow. Tap, tap on the wood. “He’s crawling into pockets you didn’t think possible. He planted a fox ring in Madrid—supposed to be a courier cell, a supply chain. Beneath that, spies. He’s recruiting small pack leaders in Andalusia, bribing some, bludgeoning others. There’s a wolf contingent in Toledo he’s tried to sway. He’s infiltrated the underworld of shifters in Spain.”

My heart thunders. Infiltrate the underworld. That means trust betrayed, covers blown, alliances broken. The Seal under my chest presses hot. I want to rip it open. I want to hunt every shadow he’s hiding in.

“Who’s safe?” I ask.

Javi shakes his head. “No one is safe. But I’ve pulled what threads I can. I’ll send you leads. Disguises. Watchers. But the ring is growing. You have to move quickly.”

I nod once. “Thanks.” I rise, tension coiling in my shoulders. The room feels tight, walls pressing. I walk out without looking back.

Outside, the night air slaps me like a warning. The city is large and dark, buildings leaning. The whisper of danger rides the breeze. I don’t look back until I catch sight of the villa beyond the trees, lights off except a dim glimmer in one shuttered window.

I stride toward it, feet cracking pavement, mind spinning. The villa gate groans when I open it. Olive limbs cast restless shadows in courtyard light. Moon puddled in broken windows. The silence here isn’t peace. It’s a lull.

She waits in the courtyard, soft in shadow, hair falling over shoulders, hands loosely clasped. Her face is pale, but steady. When I approach, she doesn’t blink first. She meets me.

“You found him,” she says. “Roman.”

“Yeah.” I stop short of her. The cold seeps into my bones. I fight to keep edges clipped. “He’s deeper in than I thought.”

She steps forward. The cracked stone under her boots echoes. “You want me gone?”

I raise a hand, rub the seal beneath my shirt. It stings. “Yes and no. I want to protect you. But I also want you close enough to matter.”

Her eyes shine. “I choose matter.”

I suspend the moment.

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