I ignored his question. “She works here.”
He blinked. “The girl works here at Cipher?”
“She just started on mornings and is not the kind of person you’d expect to be working in a place like this—small-town country girl too full of syrupy happiness, chatting me up like I’d known her forever. Too muchbless your heart, not enough self-preservation. I tried to brush her off, but she mouthed off to me.Didn’t give a damn who I was. That’s what got my attention—that and the fact that Carmine defended her.” I paused, biting into my pastrami on rye and chewing as I continued. “So I ran her background. Quick scan.”
Rory’s grin curled into a smirk. “You ran a background check because a server was rude to you?”
“There’s something about her that got under my skin. She’s a walking contradiction. She comes off sweet—lighthearted, innocent. Optimistic even. But then…”
He took another bite. “But then?” he mumbled.
“She works at a strip club.”
That got a small grunt from him. “Jesus. Whiplash.”
“And it’s not just any club. It’s called The Sacrifice.”
Rory froze mid-chew.
“Delgado owns the place,” I said.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You sure?”
I tapped my phone and held up the message from Luca.
Rory exhaled slowly, all humor gone now. “That’s not a place a girl casually works at.”
“No,” I agreed.
Rory didn’t say anything for a moment. “So what’s your angle? You looking to burn the place down or save the girl?”
I didn’t answer right away.
“I want to know more,” I said finally, “which is why I’m going to follow her there tonight. See what I can learn about what Delgado’s running through that place. She might be a backdoor into Delgado’s operation.”
Rory’s gaze narrowed. “Since when do you tail leads personally? You’ve got a whole private army for that.”
I took a sip of coffee. It was bitter and fucking perfect.
He pressed. “Was that her place I picked you up from?”
My silence gave me away.
Rory gave a dry laugh. “Jesus. You followed her home?”
“She lives in a shitty three-bedroom on the fourth floor. The windows face the back alley. I had a few minutes. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Uh-huh.” His grin sharpened. “Let me guess. You followed her all day, didn’t you?”
I sidestepped the question and redirected us back to business.
“I need to know more about Delgado, especially after the mayor handed him that security contract on a platter. The syndicate’s looking for answers, and Ciro Delgado’s getting more aggressive by the day.” I took another bite of my sandwich. “MS-13’s expanding faster than we can cut off their supply lines. They’re getting bold—crossing into our neighborhoods, sniffing around Luca’s people. I’ve heard rumors that Delgado is moving young bodies faster than we move arms to Ukraine, but the thing is, I don’t know how he’s doing it. That club? I’m guessing it’s not just a fuckhouse. It’s a funnel.”
“So you do want to burn it down?” Rory asked, that lethal sort of enthusiasm in his voice.
“Not yet. First, I want to see who else has their hands in it. Let Luca’s new syndicate take the lead. In the meantime, I need more soldiers. I want my own brigade here in the city. Men with blood ties to me. Men who will be loyal to the new syndicate but will understandI’mtheir boss.”
“I’ll get on it.”
