I had to admit, the man was good. He was able to tell me more about Vinny Rodriquez than I’d ever been able to find out on my own. “He got out on good behavior, though according to the reports, his parole hearing wasn’t supposed to be for another six months.”
“Any way we can find out why it was moved up?”
“I’m working on that,” Ryder said. “I also found out who paid his legal fees and helped him get set up once he was released.”
“Who?”
“Cesar Del Marco.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
Dios Del Mal Cartel, meaning God of Evil, was one of the deadliest and profitable in the world. Del Marco was a former Mexican Judicial Federal Policeman who rose to power by dealing with Columbian cartels on the border.
“Afraid not. We’ve been watching Del Marco for years but the son of a bitch keeps his shit tight. He has a lot of US government officials and police officers on his payroll. Which makes him virtually untouchable. My question is, why hasn’t Del Marco gone after your girl before now?”
I opened my mouth to correct him but stopped myself.
My girl.
What I wouldn’t give to make her mine.
“Revenge. Vinny would have never been caught if Cassidy hadn’t been in that closet and later testified. This is personal for him.”
“I think we should approach Del Marco, ask him to call Vinny off.”
“How the hell do you propose we do that? And what makes you think he cares what happens to her?”
“I know ways to make him listen.”
My body tensed, bracing myself for battle. “What do you have in mind?”
Deep down I knew Reid was right—he would hurt me. It would be the greatest heartbreak of my life, but I welcomed the pain. Maybe I was depraved. Or maybe I’d had to endure so much pain in my life that I’d grown used to it.
That was a scary thought.
One thing I couldn’t miss either was the grief Reid still carried along with the guilt, and the reason I recognized it was because I carried it, too. Neither one of us were able to save Bodie, no matter how hard we tried or how badly we wanted to.
I was convinced Reid still struggled with that.
God knows I still did.
My mind tortured me with endlesswhat-ifs.
What ifI would have been brave enough to come out of that closet? Would he still be alive?
Shaking away the disturbing thoughts, I took off my dress and put on my tank top and shorts. Then I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Afterward, I hesitantly walked out. He’d finished his call and I found him sitting at the desk, pecking away on his laptop. He lifted his eyes, trailing them down my body as I walked out and tucked my things in my bag.
Reaching for my own laptop, I grabbed the power cord and moved to the bed.
I needed to get some work done and take my mind off the man on the other side of the room and the way his gaze heated my core.
Clearing his throat, he rose to his feet. “I’m going to grab a shower.”
He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him while I settled in bed, pulling up my email to download Max’s manuscript. One thing I loved about my job—and there were many things I loved about my job—but the best part was I could work from anywhere. It gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and go where I wanted. I got to travel a lot with Max. Helping her at her book signings and keeping her organized had become somewhat of a full-time job as well.
Lord knows I needed the distraction.
I followed up on a few other emails, letting my clients know I would be unavailable for an undetermined amount of time due to a family emergency, but I would still continue to work so as to not interfere with their deadlines. Thankfully, most of them were not pressing. Then I took care of a few loose ends for Max and shot her an email letting her know her schedule for next week. Her response was immediate.
