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He leads and we follow. When we open the door, Manuel’s eyes pop wide when he sees us.
He’s chained to the wall with the blood and sweat from his face covering his white T-shirt. He looks to be in his late twenties, like me, with a shaved head and tattoos on his dark skin covering his entire neck and the side of his face.
This motherfucker is a terrible liar because the Navarro cartel’s mark of the black widow spider is on the hollow of his neck. I’m almost offended Diego sent this guy to investigate me.
“Manuel Gutierrez,” I state. He looks like he knows from the mention of his name that he’s a dead man.
He stares at us for a moment then rattles off a series of words in Portuguese, repeating what Leo said and telling us his English is bad.
To his shock, I respond in kind, replying in Portuguese, warning him not to fuck with me because I know who he is and I know he can speak English just fine.
His face goes pale at my warning. I take that as a sign to show him the pictures in my hand. I step forward and do just that, loving the way doom spreads over his already fucked-over expression.
I smile and point to the picture of me leaving Volkova Inc. last night.
“Okay, friend, looks like you and I are on the same page.” I chuckle and tap the side of his head. “You don’t want to play games with me, so this is the only warning I’m going to give you not to do it. Fuck with me and you die. Understand?”
“I understand.” His answer in English without an ounce of an accent confirms to the others that I’ve broken him.
“Wonderful. Now tell me, why did Diego send you to watch me?” I nod.
“It was just to get a heads-up for the meeting on Monday.”
“And why would he need that?” I’m screwing with him.
“He didn’t know why the Volkovas would want to speak to him and Esperanza in the week he’s supposed to take over the cartel. He also got a billion dollars’ worth of new contracts lined up for next week and doesn’t want anything to go wrong.”
I laugh. “Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
“And what does he think could go wrong if we’ve never done business before?” My voice takes on a chilling sing-song edge that sounds otherworldly even to my ears.
Manuel doesn’t answer. He just stares back at me with his eyes doubling in size. From the terror crawling all over his face, I suspect he’s aware of what the Navarros did to me.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” I nod. “Do you know what Diego’s father did to me?”
Manuel continues to be still and graveyard silent. He’s not even breathing.
“Answer me, friend.”
“Yes.”
Wow.Outside those I’ve told about the evidence I found, this is the first acknowledgement I’ve received. Just a simple yes that means so much.
“I’m guessing some of those contracts are people who work with the Knights, and he doesn’t want them to pull out.” I poke him in his chest. “Am I right?”
“Yes. You are.”
“Are you his tech?”
“Yes.”
“Are there more of you?” I search his eyes for signs that he might lie but find none.
“No. I’m the only one here.” Manuel stutters out the words.
I straighten and clasp my hands. “So, it’s only you who has the information.”
