Page 102 of A New Days Don

I retrieve the phone. Ren’s name flashes on the screen. I quickly silence it, allowing it to continue to ring as I regretfully exit my room and go to the hallway.

“What do you want?” I growl, and Ren chuckles on the other end.

“I figured you would be happier to hear from me.” Ren muses, his teasing tone makes my teeth grit with irritation.

“Get the fuck on with it,” I growl lowly, in an attempt not to wake up Mila.

Ren does exactly as I request, his finger flying across his keyboard, the clicking sounds of his mouse and the keys ring through the phone until he has what he wants to discuss up on his screen, “We found more encrypted footage that was on Fabio’s hard drive. I’m in the process of working through the encryption to get inside. For such an idiot, he had enough sense to make this difficult for anyone who tries to access it.”

I grunt, and he continues, “Based on what I was able to access on the hard drive, including his adultery outside his marriage and his slimy dealings against the Bianchi mafia, I have a feeling that whoever sent him these is the person who encrypted it. I don’t know if Fabio even had access to what was in there.”

“How long?” I mutter.

“A few days, maybe a week tops to get full access, but I’m chipping away at it. Any files that pop out, I will review and update you,” Ren replies.

“Is that all? What about the guy who shot Mila?” I clip, and he pauses for a moment, a moment far too long, “Spit it out.”

“The car at the scene, the one that sped off with the man who shot the bullets, I ran the partial plates for the black Mercedes CLA.” Ren’s gulp is audible, “It was registered to Dr. Mitch Alverez.”

Ren’s voice drowns out in the background. All I hear is each of my angry heartbeats. I had that motherfucker in my hands, and we let him go. I should have ended him when I had the chance.

No, you shouldn’t have. You were letting Mila seek the revenge she deserves.

My voice of reason echoes through the loud beating in my ears.

A part of me knows that Mila will never willingly put blood on her hands. Even if we knew he tried to kill her, she would insist on going through the justice system that has done so many, including her, wrong.

“He dies tonight,” I snap, but then my eyes wander to my bedroom door, where Mila is sleeping soundly right now. I can’t leave her.

Not here.

Not yet.

I haven’t been officially welcomed as the leader of the Vegas mafia. I have my long-time friends and a few loyalists to the Bianchi throne, but that is not enough to keep Mila safe. No, until I know without a doubt these men will follow my word. Until then, any of the men who had been ready to follow Fabio could use Mila to hurt me.

“In the morning,” I grumble, and Ren affirms his understanding.

“Are we taking a team?” He asks.

“No. I don’t want him to see it coming. Get Raphael to join us. We shouldn’t need more backup. Does he have a wife or children?”

“A wife, no children. He took his wife’s last name.” Ren confirms. Odd, but not unheard of. Though if he is the misogynistic pig we are after, that isn’t what I would have expected.

It is my turn to pause, and Ren seems to read it easily, “I thought the same thing.”

“Something's off.”

“I will do some more digging before the morning.” Ren agrees, typing away. Then he curses under his breath.

“What?!” I growl louder than I meant to. My body stiffens as I listen for any sign that Mila has woken.

“I had a bunch of dead ends when it came to Karmin and her little stalker.” Ren explains, “But I found her on a list.”

“What kind of list?” I snap through gritted teeth.

“Trafficking. She’s on the dark web, her photos, a few recordings of her voice, all of which she doesn’t seem to be the wiser for.”

“Get her the fuck off there!” I boom. The thought of Mila losing her friend to trafficking makes my palms prick with sweat. My heart is slowing to a near stop.