Page 45 of Love Above Law

"Look, let my friend go, and I'll come with you—I won't fight," I bargain.

"Nice try, but that's not gonna happen," Hugo says, and a sob escapes Dana's mouth.

"You think I don't know your little friend is going to call the police the moment I take you? No, she comes too."

"Please!" I plead once more.

"Shut the fuck up," he grits, spittle flying from his mouth. "You see that car right there?" he gestures toward a silver, four-door car with tinted windows parked next to us. "You," Hugo nudges Dana with his gun, "toss your cell into the trunk of your car then get your ass in the back of mine." When Dana stalls, Hugo presses the gun to my ribs. "Move your ass or your friend's blood will be on your hands." The threat works, and Dana reaches into her back pocket, produces her cell, and tosses it into the trunk of her car. She climbs into the back seat of his car and Hugo slams the door behind her. He grabs hold of my arm and runs his hand over my backside. "Where is your phone?"

"In my purse."

Hugo snatches my purse off my shoulder and throws into the trunk of Dana's car along with the rest of our belongings before he shoves me forward. "Move."

Opening the driver side door, he pushes me in. I climb over the armrest and onto the passenger seat. The first thing I do is look behind me at my friend. The look on her face guts me. It's because of me she is in danger. My first thought is maybe she can open the door and risk jumping out, but I quickly realize there is no handle on her door. I cut my eyes to the other door and see the same. I twist in my seat and feel the bile rise in my throat when I look at my door; it too is missing a handle. There are also no power switches. Fuck. Think, Leyna.

"I came prepared, Leyna. Give it up."

"Hugo, I'll do whatever you want, but please let my friend go. Drop her off on the side of the road if you have to. We'll be long gone before she has a chance to call anyone. Don't do this." I'm near hysterical at this point—my only thoughts at the moment are for Dana. My pleads go unanswered as Hugo tucks his gun away.

Just as he is about to shut the car door, I seize the opportunity. I know the second he closes that door, there will be no escape. In one swift move, I twist in my seat, brace one hand on the console and one on the headrest. Bringing my knees up, I kick Hugo as hard as I can. My action catches him off guard, and my spiked boot nails him in his arm. Without letting up, I kick once again, this time a blow to his ribs.

Dana screams from the back seat the same time Hugo pins my legs down, leans across the armrest and backhands me across my face, causing my head to snap back against the window behind me. The blow does the trick, knocking me into a daze. The sound of a door being slammed shut mixed with Dana's sobs brings me out of my fog. Throwing the car in reverse, Hugo peels out of the parking lot. "You're gonna pay for that little stunt, Leyna." Hugo's words are laced with evil as he continues to rake his beady eyes up and down my body. "The things I have planned for you," he licks his lips, and I shudder.

Looking out the window, I try to catalog every detail of my surroundings. Even though I'm terrified, keeping my wits about me is crucial to us getting out of this mess. I send a silent prayer hoping somebody saw something. Surely Dana's screams along with my struggle with Hugo did not go unnoticed.

Right now, our only hope is someone saw what happened, and they called the police. If not, there is still the fact that Dana and I are supposed to be at Rumors soon. Maybe us not showing will set off alarm bells. Either way, those are two factors working in our favor. If not, Lex will know something is wrong when he goes to pick me up from work, and I'm not there. Dread settles in my stomach because if option three is our only hope, it will be hours before anyone realizes we are missing.

23

Lex

We've been sitting around the table in the conference room for a few hours now. With most of us missing lunch, Dean decided to order everyone food from the burger joint right down the block. So, as everyone continues to pour over all the new evidence we obtained this morning, we eat.

"So, now we have the issue of flushing out this Hugo character," Dean states as he shovels fries into his mouth.

"Surveillance has already been put in place at several locations Santino once used to run his operations. Either Hugo goes back to what he knows, or he starts fresh somewhere else. At this point it's hard to say." Kurt drums the tip of his pen on the surface of the table.

Scratching the back of my head, I sit there mulling over all the facts. Would he risk staying in the states? All I know for sure is that Hugo is a loose cannon. He must have had all this figured out well before his boss's death. It's a possibility he had planned to take him out himself one day. I slump back in my chair. Or he was merely a greedy employee who saw an opportunity to replace the man he worked years for once he was dead. "Toss me one of the cheeseburgers," I call to Kai who is standing by the table in front of the window grabbing some of the fast food for himself to eat. Catching the burger, I unwrap it. Before I take a bite, Sara from the second floor enters the room.

"Hi guys," her eyes quickly land on me, "Lex, this just arrived." Walking across the room, she hands me a white envelope and a manila folder.

"Thanks, Sara," I casually smile at her. The smaller white business envelope happens to be from the Crime Lab. The burger in my hand gets placed on the table, and as soon as she closes the door, I open it first. "They found another person's DNA on the last homicide victim." My eyes land on the sealed folder I haven't opened yet.

Passing the letter from forensics over to Kurt, I pick up the folder and flip it open. They got a match. Snapping my fingers, I motion for someone as I stare at the name and image of the man flagged by the federal data registry. "Someone hand me Hugo's file."

Kai snatches it from the center of the table and hovers over my left shoulder as I hold the two images side by side.

"Holy shit," Kai exclaims.

"Hugo Diaz." He's much younger in the picture pulled from the system, but there is no denying it. Lifting my eyes, I tell Dean and Kurt. "Seems Hugo is also our killer, or at the least connected to the last homicide. Says here his DNA was found under the victim's fingernail." Dropping the papers on the table I give them a shove toward the others, and they take turns looking at them.

Why? That's what I don't understand. Is he responsible for all the murders? If he is responsible for all four homicides, why would he do it?

"Why would this guy be in Seattle killing women? Stealing money, trying to take over his dead boss's spot I get, but this?" Kurt pauses and puts his hands behind his head and leans back in his chair; the crease on his forehead deepens the more he ponders the new connection.

I stretch across the table and gather all the files scattered in the middle of the table between us. Laying the images of our victims alongside their killer, I sit there in my seat staring down at them. Was he trying to kidnap them? Documents prove he helped his dead boss in the human trafficking business, but that doesn't seem to factor into this, so it doesn't add up. Santino was never in direct contact with his victims and Hugo here seemed to always be at Santino's side. Why risk involving himself in any abduction?

Dragging my palms down my unshaven face, I blow out a frustrated breath.