Chapter 1
ZADE BRIXTON
Being an undercover agent means doing shit that makes you question your life choices. Tonight was one of those nights.
I sat across from Phillip Avignone, better known in the wrestling world as Talon X, the COO of Sinful Mayhem Wrestling. The man looked like he ate nails for breakfast and washed them down with whiskey. He barely glanced at the contract I slid across his desk before leaning back in his chair.
“Do your job and protect the twins,” he said, voice like gravel. “Welcome to Sinful Mayhem Wrestling, Zade Brixton.”
I forced a smirk. “Happy to be here.”
Bullshit. I wasn’t happy. I was tired. But when the bureau says jump, you ask how high — especially when the mission involves protecting two high-profile wrestlers who apparently had threats hanging over their heads.
Talon X didn’t need to know that Zade Brixton wasn’t my real name. Or that I was only here because someone wanted the twins hurt… or worse.
I left his office and stepped into the chaotic backstage area of the arena. The air smelled like sweat, cheap cologne, and adrenaline. Wrestlers, managers, and crew members moved around like it was organized madness. I adjusted the black hoodie I wore and kept my head down, trying to blend in while I got my bearings.
That’s when I heard the shouting.
“You arrogant piece of shit!”
The voice was female, sharp, and loud enough to cut through the noise. I turned toward the commotion and saw her.
Astra.
She stood in the middle of a group of wrestlers, eyes blazing, finger pointed at some pretty-boy wrestler with bleached hair and an ego bigger than his biceps. I recognized him from the files — her boyfriend. Or at least, he used to be.
“Don’t fucking call me, don’t text me, and don’t even look at me in the hallway,” Astra snapped, her voice dripping with venom and something that sounded a lot like relief. “We’re done. I should’ve ended this months ago.”
The guy tried to grab her arm. Big mistake.
Astra yanked it back and laughed — a short, bitter sound. “Touch me again and I’ll make sure you wrestle with a broken dick.”
The crowd around them erupted in laughter and whistles. Someone even shouted, “About damn time!”
I couldn’t look away.
She was stunning in that dangerous way — long dark hair pulled into a high ponytail, sharp cheekbones, and a body built for both violence and sin. She wore tight black wrestling gear that hugged every curve like it was painted on. But it wasn’t just her looks that held my attention. It was the fire in her eyes. The way she didn’t back down. The way she owned the moment.
Then her gaze swung in my direction.
Our eyes locked.
For a second, everything else faded — the noise, the people, the mission. There was just her. And the way she looked at me like she was trying to figure me out. Something hot and unexpected twisted low in my gut.
Fuck.
I broke the stare first, forcing myself to look away. I wasn’t here to get distracted by some wrestler with a bad attitude and a killer body. I was here to do a job.
“Zade Brixton?”
I turned to see a short, stocky man with a clipboard. One of the producers.
“Yeah.”
“Talon wants you working with Astra’s team for the next few weeks. Something about building chemistry for a new storyline.” He grinned. “Lucky bastard. She just became single.”
I kept my face neutral even as my cock gave a traitorous twitch at the thought.
“Got it,” I said.
As the producer walked away, I glanced back toward where Astra had been standing. She was gone, but the image of her stayed burned behind my eyes.
This mission just got a whole lot more complicated.
I was supposed to protect the twins, stay under the radar, and get out clean. Instead, I was already thinking about what Astra would sound like moaning my name — my real name — while I fucked her against a locker room wall.
I ran a hand over my face and muttered under my breath.
“Focus, Alex.”
But as I headed deeper into the arena, one thought kept circling in my head.
Protecting the twins might be the easy part.
Staying away from Astra?
That was going to
be a whole different kind of problem.
