Page 97 of His to Claim

He stood where he was, tilting his head until I looked away, reining in my anger. “Are you finished now?” he asked quietly.

I began to pace, running my fingers through my hair. “Yeah. Whatever.”

“You need to listen to me. I did some digging and what I found is going to blow this thing wide open.”

“Okay. You found something on Montenegro.”

Max snorted. “Hell, yeah. Vanessa knew exactly what to look for. From what I know about Trevor’s original case, he had nothing on the corporation in comparison to the volume of evidence Vanessa managed to find. I think the man is going away for a long time, his father too. The indictment was processed very quickly once the police chief saw what I had. Amazing what sixty minutes worth of time will do.”

“That’s great. How the fuck does that help us with the wolf?”

Max grumbled and walked to his bar, pouring two glasses of scotch before speaking again. As he walked back in my direction, his expression wasn’t one I could identify. Except for contempt.

I accepted the drink, taking a deep whiff of the aroma.

“Lucas Tremaine wasn’t his real name. That was his undercover name. His real name was Anthony Drago. For about six months, he was Michael Bigalo’s partner. From what little I was able to gain in a short period of time, Anthony was a weapons expert, having served in the Marines for years. He was tapped by the FBI to go undercover in a sting operation against Montenegro, because he wasn’t widely known in the area. His real identity was wiped out, replaced by Lucas Tremaine.”

“What?” I exhaled, my nerves on edge.

“Yeah. He lived that way for a full three months, finally receiving an arranged meeting with Thomas Montenegro. The two actually hit it off.”

“Let me guess, about the same time your father was friends with Thomas.” I took a gulp of scotch, fearful where this was headed.

“It would appear so. My father was a wise man in several ways, knowing that the situation had to play itself out. Lucas never wavered from his undercover persona. Even his partner was told Anthony had transferred out of the state. From what I could tell, Thomas was accused of some pretty heinous murders almost thirty years ago and no one had been able to put the man behind bars.”

“Let me guess, Anthony became Lucas.”

Max sighed. “Not at first. He reported back to his handler and evidence was garnered. Then he missed appointments, the information becoming less and less useful. Now, the captain I talked to was just a rookie at the time, so he’s going on what he remembers.”

“Montenegro eventually found out.”

“At the time, Lieutenant Bigalo was blamed for blowing Anthony’s cover since the FBI hadn’t authorized him to be in the loop. I guess it was a huge mess at the time. Thomas cornered Anthony and a single day later, he was off the grid. A body was never recovered so there was no way to arrest Thomas.”

“It’s possible Chris has no idea,” I said in passing.

“Possible, but I wouldn’t buy it. What Vanessa obtained has nothing to do with that particular case, as if everything involving what Anthony had been working on was erased.”

“That would explain why Vanessa could find so little about her father. I think she’ll be relieved. I appreciate you looking into it. So, her mother was working for the Montenegros?”

“We’re not finished with our discussion and here’s where the story gets messy and why Markel reacted the way he did.”

I watched as Max walked into the kitchen, returning with an envelope. “What’s this?”

“You’re going to want to sit down and read it. Just trust me.”

I eyed him for a few seconds before taking his advice, my feet heavy as I walked to the couch, placing my drink on the table. As I pulled out the documentation, I could tell that Max remained jumpy and I couldn’t help but think of what Markel had told me.

Things aren’t as they seem.

And within a few seconds, I knew exactly what he had meant.

* * *

“She’s gone.” I stood in front of my house, the note in my hand. I brought the paper close to my nostrils, inhaling her scent. The simple gesture allowed me to detect not only her fragrance but her raw emotions. She was all over the place, her mind reeling.

“What do you mean gone?” Max demanded.

“Her car isn’t here and she left a note. My guess is that she went after Montenegro.”

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