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I chuckled, easing to her side and pressing one arm against the railing. “Are you always this direct?”
“I learned a long time ago that I had to be. My profession is full of men who think their shit doesn’t stink and that women are weak, incapable of running a business or chasing down bad guys. I’m certain you understand exactly what I’m talking about. I doubt there are many women inside your organization that hold a powerful position.”
Her challenge was harsh but warranted. “Up until a few years ago, I’d be forced to say you’re absolutely correct. Then my sister-in-law came into the fold. She runs the music production company and the creative side of our movie production company. She’s tough as nails, takes no shit from anyone including my brother and myself and hires mostly women in the corporate positions. So I would now need to disagree with you.”
My frankness drew a smile from her pouty lips, which only made me want to kiss them. Hell, I wanted to kiss her all over, stripping her bare right here in front of the entire water-based community. I could only imagine the stigma she’d go through. The thought was as evil as it was delicious.
“You surprise me, Diego.”
“I hope pleasantly so.”
“That remains to be seen.” She glanced toward the water. “Thank you for inviting me to take a look around but I don’t want any bullshit from you. If you lie to me, I will arrest you.”
“I’m certain that saves you the effort of getting a warrant. That is what you intended on doing. Yes?”
She laughed, although the sound was bitter. “The judge refused. He said I didn’t have enough evidence and that you were good people. Imagine that.”
“Well, your judge is wrong, but that’s nice to hear. Now, more to your point. We should talk. And this needs to stay between you and me in order for our alliance to work.”
“You are truly an arrogant man, determined to force me to obey you. I don’t think threatening the life of a law enforcement officer is in your best interest. That alone would be probable cause to lock you away for a long time. And I did not agree to this deal. Yet. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough.”
“I beg to differ. You did when you allowed me to walk out your door.”
Frowning, she took a deep breath. “Fine. Then talk. Tell me what you know.”
“Have you ever heard of the Death Squad?”
I could tell instantly she had.
“My medical examiner mentioned the organization today. It was something one of her professors mentioned.”
“Does she know anything about them?”
“No. Except they’re dangerous. A tattoo was found on the murder victim’s body as well as the one my deputy found in the woods.”
The way she was looking at me was accusatory. “In the woods.”
“Yes. By all rights I should arrest you since your blood was found on the victim’s body.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
“Because the man died of cyanide poisoning. Did you know that? Is that what you were trying to tell me?”
She was fishing, but that was just fine with me. “I did. He took it in the middle of our… disagreement.”
“Uh-huh. So you believed it was okay to dump the body.”
“As I did with the bag of fentanyl he had with him. It held a street value of around three million dollars, the amount capable of killing an entire four-block radius.”
“You should have brought it to me as evidence.”
“That’s not how I handle business, Sabrina,” I told her, which instantly irritated the beauty.
She placed one hand on her hip and closed the distance, her chest rising and falling from the rush of electricity that was evident we were both experiencing. “I will arrest you, Diego, if necessary.”
“So you’ve threatened many times. I think you know that won’t be in your best interest.” Her defiance was keeping my balls tight.
“You’re lucky that the medical examiner immediately realized the man’s cause of death. Now, tell me what you know about Carlos Deposito. I know he was a former South American cartel leader from decades before and I’m aware of your family’s connections to Colombia. Don’t fuck with me on this. I have the body of his nephew inside the morgue, Carlos has yet to arrive back in town, and the mayor is breathing down my neck. I don’t give a shit what you and I shared together. It means nothing to me. Do you hear me? Nothing.”
