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If that meant costing innocent lives and my sanity, so be it.
The chatter among theAlacránswas that Carlos Gomes seemed to be planning a move after his son and the woman he called his after Matias’sdisappearance, which only added to my wariness and frustration, since I still didn’t know who they were.
My CI kept pushing me against the woman I was investigating, assuring me she was the key to what I needed. Which was a bummer, because I hadn’t seen her since the day the little spitfire-y trouble bested me. Either she was already taken care of, or she was hiding from me and possibly sniffing the cartel from other angles. My bet was on the latter. She seemed way too smart to let herself get caught.
It was a bold move demanding to see Matias, and that he died a few days later—although the cartel believed him to be hiding—mustn’t have helped her case, which could explain her absence.
If that wasn’t enough, the heat was increasing on Danny’s back and his friends’. It was known they were the ones who made Matiashide. Some were even going as far as claiming The Bryant Prodigy was back, which I highly doubted, since the word was that the guy was murdered over a year ago.
But what was bothering me the most was the talk about getting Pablo Salazar out. For everything he’d done, prison wasn’t enough for him. Neither was death. So, freedom was the last thing he deserved.
I was walking around the restaurant, seamlessly collecting all the information I could get—either by listening to the patrons or getting into the cartel’s systems—when I heard the news that would change my life forever.
“The little hottie was snooping around again,” one of the sick jerks said.
“The one who was after Matias?”
“Yes. She went back to demanding to meet Keyes again since Matias is wherever.” He leaned over the table in conspiracy yet kept his voice loud enough for people around to hear. His way of showing how well-informed he was. “She’s trying to buy the goodies.”
Chills coursed through me. That was disgusting for sure, but it could also be my ticket out of that damn assignment.
“I heard she’s looking for one pussy in particular. But she’s willing to buy the batch to get the one she wants.”
A wave of disappointment engulfed me. Even though I was after her, and she seemed way too involved to be innocent, a part of me still held on to the hope that she wasn’t all that bad. It must’ve been the part below my waist having the idiotic, wishful thinking.
“Damn! Can you imagine that hottie with those trained pussies? I’d get on board.” They laughed as I tried to keep my dinner from coming out of my mouth. “When is she buying?”
“She’s meeting Keyes right now at the Piccadilly. He was all too proud to announce it. I’m not sure when she’s collecting the goodies, though.”
Making a split-second decision, I marched outside the restaurant, calling one of the employees to take my place so I couldrun an errand, and raced to my car.
The Piccadilly was a well-known, overly posh place a town over, closer to Holy Water. From what I gathered, it was one of Bryan Keyes’s favorite restaurants in the area. It was fitting it was also where he sealed his business.
I pushed the gas, feeling excitement take over. It felt like a new beginning. I could feel it in my gut: my life as I knew it wouldn’t be the same anymore.
Faster than was safe or responsible, I arrived at the fancy place. Pulling in deep breaths to control my adrenaline, I walked inside and headed to the bar, all the while searching for the woman and Keyes.
I found them on his signature table. It wasn’t hard to spot; the man was wearing a bright silver three-piece suit, for God’s sake.
As if the Universe was finally smiling at me, the table at their back vacated, and I asked the hostess if I could be seated there. Money was no objection. Careful not to be seen by her, I walked around the room, taking the longest route to the table, and sat with my back to hers.
“I can get them to you in a month or two,” Keyes promised.
“Oh honey, I’ve waited long enough, I’m afraid your time is up. You’ve pushed all my buttons with this.” Her sweet voice didn’t hide her displeasure.
“I could try to push the right buttons for you,” he replied in a husky voice only he thought was seductive.
She huffed in annoyance. “You can barely handle a single business. Do you really think you could handle me? Don’t piss me off more than you’ve done already. You’re not the only one in this business.”
“I’m the only one who has the particular merchandise you want,” he warned, his nicety taking a step back.
A waiter approached me to take my order, and I just shook my head and pointed at the menu to indicate I was still perusing it, careful not to say anything in case she recognized my voice.
“Don’t fool yourself by thinking you’re the only one who can get me what I want,” she scolded him, with disdain. “We could do this the polite way, me paying you and you giving me what I want. Or I could save the money and still get what I’m after. If there’s a hole between your eyes, who would I pay, right?”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. It’s a warning. Stop wasting my time and close the deal already. I don’t want the trouble of getting you out of the way, but I wouldn’t mind it either.”
