“It’s not as damning as we hoped for, but depending on who attends those parties, it could still be enough to take him down.”
“You want to take him down?”
I whip around to look at Paola, surprised to hear her speak. “You speak English?!”
“I’ve been in this country for ten years. Of course I speak English. But I pretend not to, so I can keep my job. You said you want to take Mr. Becker down?”
Fuck. How will she take that information? She needs her job, and we’re going after her employer. Will she ruin all this out of some sense of loyalty? She’s worked there for four years. She might fuck this up for us.
“We are,” Lex answers before I can think of an out.
I hold my breath, waiting for her reaction. Five seconds go by, and she decides, “Good.”
Phew …
“He’s not a good man,” she continues. “I’ve seen the news. I know people who have debt because of him.”
“Are you okay with maybe losing your job?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Mytiacan help me get a new one at the hotel where she works. I will be fine.”
“Hopefully, this will make up for it,” I say, handing her what’s left of the money.
Her hand trembles slightly as she takes it, probably having never held this much money before. I get it, it was the same for me until this morning, when Lex secured the cash.
“Do you have more questions?” she asks, looking up from the wads.
“We might. Would it be okay if we called you?”
She doesn’t hesitate long before agreeing. “Yes. I’ll give you my number.”
I take my phone out, save her number in my contacts, and send her a text. “If you come across that computer I showed you, or if you find the safe in his office, can you let us know?”
Once more, she nods. “I work tomorrow. I’ll look and let you know.”
“Thank you.”
When she returns her attention to the money in her hands, I face forward again. My eyes follow the players on the field, but my mind doesn’t. This went better than I expected, but we got fewer answers than we’d hoped for. Is there a safe in Becker’s office or not?
“We should go,” Lex suggests after several minutes have passed. “No need to stay exposed for longer than we need to.”
“Right. Let’s head back.”
Aweek goes by before Paola calls us. She’s worked in Becker’s office three times, has looked everywhere for a safe, but hasn’t found anything. Just like that, we’re three steps behind again.
“We need what’s on that laptop,” I say in a soft voice as we lie in bed together, defeated.
“I know that as much as you do, Andrea.”
The crazy idea that’s been on my mind for a few days resurfaces. It’s not that I don’t trust Paola, but we’veseenBecker bring his secret laptop to the hallway that leads to his home office. Therehasto be something there.
“There’s another solution,” I impulsively say.
“Don’t even say it.” His tone is harsh, imperious, and just like that, I know he thought about it too.
“Lex, we need to consider it. If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.”
His head turns toward me, and despite the darkness, I know he’s giving me a warning glance. “We’re not doing that, Andrea.”
