It was more money than I’d ever seen in my entire life, and I wondered what the Las Balas did to get that kind of cash and have it in a bank account, ready for a transfer. From what Moves had told me, I always assumed that they were the kind of people that didn’t want a paper trail following them around, but I supposed I had a lot to learn about how powerful these biker gangs could really be if they got in touch with the right people. That thought alone scared me, because I wondered what they would do to me if they ever found out that I was slowly trying to unravel their operations alongside the Outlaw Souls.
Moves had told me a variety of terrible stories of the nasty things they’d done to get what they wanted. He explained the differences between biker gangs to me, and while the Outlaw Souls had no doubt done some questionable things in the past, they had only been trying to protect themselves. They didn’t engage in the kind of criminal activity that Las Balas prided themselves on, and that was one of the only reasons I could allow myself to get as close as I did.
I believed in Moves, and I believed in the connection between us, as it told me that he was always going to be there to protect me. It made me feel safe to know that he was right outside, that he was going to wait long enough out there to make sure that I came out okay, and that nothing happened to me. I sent him a message letting him know that I’d found something, telling him that I was going to come out in a minute.
There were a lot of people in the office that still had absolutely no idea that I was even involved in this case, and that was the beauty of undercover work. I managed to fly under the radar when I needed to, and I could only hope that we managed to plan the perfect attack to take down the DA and Las Balas once and for all.
I wanted nothing more than to see them all behind bars, wishing they’d made better choices in life, and it was in that moment that I realized I did have a purpose. For such a long time I’d been working, and secretly hating my job, but now I was able to see that it would have been worth it all along if it meant that I got to save an innocent man’s life.
You’re not going to get away with this, and it’s only a matter of time before the world knows what you really do when you’re not in the office.
Staring down at the evidence on my phone, I was trying to figure out how Las Balas could come up with such an incredible amount of money. The only things I could think of were the kind of crimes that no one liked to talk about. I knew I had to talk to Moves, because he would be the only one that could shine a light on this situation as we fought to get the rest of the truth.
Right now, we just need to focus on getting more evidence. When we have enough, we can finally make the real criminals pay.
Heading back out of the office, I made my way to where Moves had been waiting for me the entire time. He meant what he said about protecting me at all costs, and I was truly grateful to him for that.
“Got what you needed?” he asked.
“I believe I have. Now let’s find a way to finish this once and for all,” I said, and he pulled me in close, kissing me hard, telling me that this would never have been able to happen without me, and I couldn’t have been happier or more determined than I was right then.
I wrapped my arms around Moves’ torso again while he drove us back to Hawk’s place, and when the door finally swung open, I stared back at a face I certainly didn’t expect to see.
“Mona? What are you doing here?” I asked. She opened up the door to let us in, and I saw Hawk sitting down on his couch patiently waiting for us to get back.
“I’m here because Hawk filled me in on what’s going on. I’m so sorry, Lacey, I know you’ve been working alongside the DA for so long now. I can’t imagine what it must be like to find out that he’s done something like this,” she said, embracing me, and as much as I wanted to dwell on the fact that the DA had played me for a fool for a very long time, I knew I had much more important things to focus on, like how we were going to expose him for his terribly disgusting ways.
“It’s okay, Mona. I’ve learned a lot in the past twenty-four hours, and I realized that I needed to start putting my trust elsewhere. It’s time that we crack down on the DA and Las Balas, I just haven’t figured out how we’re going to do it. I went to his office today, and I found that his bank account was still there on his computer. One look at it told me that he’d been getting an obscene amount of money in from somewhere, and I could only imagine that El Diablo paid him off,” I said, addressing them all, and they nodded.
Mona turned to me, and I couldn’t quite read the expression on her face, but something told me that she was already devising a plan of her very own.
“What’s that look?” I asked her.
“I want to help you all out. Lacey, you’re far too close to this to be the one scoping them out, and El Diablo knows that the two of you are part of the Outlaw Souls. That only leaves one person, me,” she said, and I shook my head.
“There is no way in hell that I’m going to allow you to do that. Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be for you, Mona? I can’t let you walk into something you’re not sure you’re going to be able to get out of,” I explained, but she wasn’t having any of it. She’d already made up her mind that this was what she wanted to do, and I knew that if I didn’t give in, she was going to try to figure it out on her own.
“It’s much too dangerous, Mona,” said Hawk.
“All I need to do is to go to the DA and get him to show me the evidence,” she said, but she didn’t even know half of it.
“All we have is that little blurry video of the exchange, but it could be played off in any way, especially if the DA gets his hands on it. He’s not going to show anything to anyone, but you might be able to get a confession out of him or El Diablo,” I said, warming up to the idea, even though I knew that it was going to be incredibly dangerous for her to walk into the middle of something like that.
“I have all of you backing me up,” Mona said. “I know that I’m going to get through this, and I have to do what I can to help. I’m sure you guys don’t have much time to see this through, and if you have any better ideas, I’m all ears.”
We all looked at each other, realizing that we really didn’t have many other options.
“Moves, can you show Mona the video? She needs to get a good look at the two people she’s going to try to get in the middle of,” I said, and he pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through to find the video before placing it safely between her fingers. She watched it a few times, and I could see the expression on her face change completely. I couldn’t quite figure out why that was, and when she turned to me, I realized that I had hit a nerve with her.
“What is it, Mona?”
“Is that El Diablo?” she asked, and I nodded.
“That’s the same guy who was seen around my neighborhood several years ago,” she said as the blood drained out of her face. “There were rumors that he was trying to sex traffic a few of my neighbors, but there was no evidence that ever came out about that. Oh my God, is this the guy I’m going to try to get a confession out of?”
I could see the fear in her eyes. She was so afraid that something bad was going to happen to her, but I rested my hand on her shoulder, letting her know that she didn’t have to get in the middle of all of this if she didn’t want to. I knew that Hawk wanted nothing more than to keep her safe.
“Mona, you don’t have to do this. No one is asking you to do this,” said Hawk, but she shook her head, snapping out of her fear.
