I buried the violent thoughts before they leaked out of me. The last thing Harry needed was to worry about me too.
“It had to be Hawthorne,” Harry sighed. “If wehad kept in touch, I would’ve shared what I knew about Hawthorne with you. Maybe together we would’ve prevented Eva’s abduction.”
I understood the what-ifs that came after the fact. But blaming yourself did nothing to improve the current situation.
“It’s not your fault, nor mine. We couldn’t have expected this. What if we’d kept in touch and discovered more about Hawthorne? Our investigation could have alerted him, forcing him to eliminate us sooner.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Don’t dwell on the what-ifs, Harry. I’m a firm believer in working with what you’ve got now.”
His shoulders sagged, but he smiled at me. “You’re right.”
My mind wandered to Andrew. Did he know about this? I’d pay him a visit soon.
“Emilio should be home now.” Harry placed two hands on his thighs. “I’ll call him up.”
“Up?”
“He lives downstairs on the ground floor.”
Questions popped into my head. How long had Emilio lived in this apartment complex?
Harry looked at me. “Yes, I asked Emilio to monitor my girl because I lived far away. The bodyguard was his friend.”
While Harry called Emilio, I left a message with Andrew, requesting to meet tonight.
A knock sounded on the door, and Harry opened it for Emilio. He was the man who had been walking with Harry in the street, sporting the Bingo Delivery jacket. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, with dark brown hair and green eyes.
“Kain, please meet my friend Emilio.”
“My pleasure.” Emilio offered a firm handshake.
“Likewise.” I’d have liked to know more about him, but time was of the essence. Every second mattered. “Can you help us find Eva? I believe Hawthornehas her.”
Emilio took the cup of water Harry offered him. “I don’t think he has her.”
“How do you know?” My eyebrows furrowed.
“Francisco told me.” Emilio sipped, placing his cup on the coffee table. “I knew him and his brother. During their time with the organization, they never saw Hawthorne. Assignments were given by other supervisors. He didn’t even see the chapter manager.”
“Chapter manager?” I asked, unfamiliar with the chapters within Hawthorne’s organization. It must’ve been something new that developed later.
“Francisco worked for the New England Chapter.” Emilio looked at me. “There are chapters all over the country, all managed by Hawthorne’s men.”
“And here I thought I’d destroyed the headquarters back then.” Any of these chapters could’ve taken Eva.
“You did,” Emilio said. “You injured him and a lot of his men. He went into hiding after the explosion and took his time to heal and rebuild his empire.”
“How do you know so much?” I looked at Emilio and then at Harry.
I got the feeling these wise men sitting before me knew things beyond my grasp.
“Emilio is the expert on these crime cells,” Harry said. “He showed me all the layers that make up this corrupt world.”
“There are so many crime organizations out there, Kain.” Emilio leaned back on the couch. “You and your friends were victims of one. Victor Hawthorne’s was a small organization that grew over the years. But he has a lot of enemies. Competitors in the field.” He met my gaze, and I saw wisdom in his eyes—the kind that stemmed from firsthand experience. “I was a victim of one and survived. I know of men like you who destroyed a powerful crime syndicate called The Trogyn.”
“I know them too,” I said, remembering the wild story splashing all over the news.
“Victor assumed one of his enemies caused the disaster you created back then. But then he captured someone who claimed to have seen you and your friends escape through the woods.”
That meant his enemies had been spying on him. They probably saw us and cheered when the destruction occurred.
