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The only reason I knew she was after buying girls was that I heard some men talking about it since she asked to meet Bryan Keyes personally. I also learned she was somehow involved because my CI had told me to track her. He didn’t say she was a criminal per se, but he assured me she was the key to my investigation. Other than that, she never let on to what she was up to; she always knew just the right things to say, and the right questions to ask.
Her fair complexion and big, doe-like, dark eyes only served to make her look more innocent, and not a threat. And she knew how to exploit that to her benefit. I seemed to be the only one who noticed how she always managed to gather the best information without letting out anything about her. That was because I paid an unhealthy amount of attention to her.
Which meant two things: she was smarter than whom she was dealing with, and that made her more dangerous.
Whenever she was around, I tried my best to do my job—my real one, not my managing and security sham. There was something oddly familiar about her. Besides that, something about her always managed to get my attention. I should be disgusted. I should just collect whatever intel I could to dismantle the cartel, bring her down, and get away from that hellhole. Yet I was drawn to her. More often than not, I even considered that, with her sharp mind, she could do one hell of a good job if she worked for the right side.
I approached her table from behind, still under the shadows of the room and cautiously enough not to bring attention to me. I tried to be privy to what she was discussing with the man I knew was connected to Keyes. But what surprised me was that, instead of asking for the man himself to close the deal, she was trying to go over his head and straight to Matias Salazar.
“You’re asking for too much, darling.” The smarmy dealer leaned over the table, trying to get into her personal space, and for whatever reason, that bothered me more than it should. “A meeting withThe Package, I canarrange. He loves closing businesses with beautiful women. But Matias is too busy a man to deal with it.”
“Busy enough to let go of a great deal?” Her melodic voice left me even moodier.
“Pretty girl, I know you’re bringing a lot of good things to the table,” the fucker said to her chest, “but just selling a few commodities here and there aren’t on his radar anymore. Not after they screwed things up,” he let it slip under his breath.
“Who screwed it up?”
He straightened in his chair, realizing his mistake, then threw what he thought was a charming smile. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it. It’s nothing a woman should be worried about.”
“Well, I’m willing to leave some heavy bucks for the merchandise. One in particular. So, if there are people out there getting in the way of your business, I have the right to know. If your organization is dealing with more than you can handle, I better bring my money to where I know I’ll have my needs met.”
Noticing the sharpness in her tone, the man tried to appease her. “There was just a little setback a while ago, some of our products got lost in the way, but we’re still thriving.”
She pushed her chair back, ready to leave. “If you can’t handle something as basic as transportation, then we’re done.”
“Wait, wait!” He held her forearm over the table, keeping her from leaving. She stared at where he was grabbing her, then glared at the man, raising a single brow to send her point across. He dropped her arm, muttering, “I’m sorry.” Lowering his voice, he proposed, “Look, I can get you a meeting in person with Bryan Keyes. You say the place and the time, and I’ll make it happen.”
She slowly sat back across from him; the power dynamics clear. She wasn’t the foolish woman he was trying to con and bed. She was the one in charge. She tapped the tip of her index finger on the table. “I don’t trust your methods anymore. You’re making mistakes left and right, losing the commodities right before they were about to be sold. Let’s not forget your second-in-command is in prison and your business is starting to fall apart. When was the last time the dome of your chain of command was able to achieve something?” At his shocked expression, she grinned. “I know a lot more than you can imagine. I’m not here to play with the little kids in the playground. I want the top. Bryan Keyes is already below my pay grade.”
The man gulped, yet he still tried to keep his composure. “I can’t set you up withLa Sangre. I can’t even meet him myself.” His voice was strained, and he kept gazing around, clearly pained at having to admit that.
“Then get me the next one. I want to meet Matias Salazar. At a place of my choosing.”
He fidgeted in his chair. “It’s not that easy. He’s busy dealing with some things for the boss. I can’t get him away from it.”
“Then that’s a shame. Because I could make his time worthwhile. I could even make his job easier.” She stood up and shouldered her purse. “If it’s not too much above your rank, set me up with him. He brings me my goods, and I bring him Gomes’s son.” The man paled, and I was sure I did as well.How the fuck does she know about the boy?“Now, if it’s too much for you, let me know. I can stomp your little body and get a more useful scorpion.”
With that, she turned on her heels and left. I knew she was someone I should keep my eye on. The pull she had on me wasn’t for nothing. That was what I told myself to justify my misplaced attraction as I followed her out. She knew more than she should.
The little thing must’ve been barely above five feet tall, yet she held more power than most men inside that place. It would’ve been admirable if she wasn’t dealing with despicable business. The feeling that she had the power to change my life only grew as I strode after her, still disguised by the dimmed lighting.
When she stopped at the end of the bar, I leaned close to the counter and clasped my hands in front of my body, as if I was only there to inspect the security of the space.
She asked for some water, and I added that oddity to the pile of intriguing things about her. The place was known for its wine list and high-quality drinks, yet she never ordered alcohol. That was another of the many mysteries that caught my attention about that woman.
As she waited for her water, I took my time to peruse the place, trying to be inconspicuous about keeping an eye on the woman a few feet away from me.
“Want me to send you an oil painting of myself? It’ll last longer.” She was gazing ahead, lazily roaming her index finger over the wooden counter, leaning against it, and not looking at me. I hadn’t been as discreet as I’d believed to be.
“It’s part of my job to keep this place safe and make sure its patrons are taken care of.” I kept my tone sharp and professional, trying to salvage my position.
“Is it also part of your job description to listen to conversations not pertaining to you?” she countered, still seemingly unbothered. Contrary to me, who was fuming for having been caught. Either I was losing my touch, or that small woman had bested me.
There was no pointing in pretending I wasn’t after her. “Only when they demand to meet with my bosses and claim to know things they shouldn’t.”
For the first time since I’d been watching her for all those months, she looked straight at me. Her big brown eyes held me captive, yet it was her raised brow that forced me to control my squirm. That and the lingering feeling that there was something familiar about her.
“What’s in it for you?”
