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He forks a hunk of chorizo. “I got the goods on the break-in. It was Coventry’s boys. Sloppy motherfuckers.”
“Coventry? They’re lowlife punks. What the fuck are they doing breaking into her place?”
“Hired out.” He takes a big drink of his coffee. “Paid in cash up front, no less, to toss her place.”
“What were they looking for?”
“They said nothing. Said they were hired to bust in but only when Cadence wasn’t home.”
I arch a brow. “And did you believe them?”
“No, not at first.” He spears another piece of sausage and chews it slowly. “But after I’d cut off fingers from three of the guys and they kept to the same story, I figured they were telling the truth.”
“Hmm. So who hired them?”
“That required me to extract a few teeth, but I got a name. You aren’t going to believe it.”
“Does that name happen to be Grant Fraser?”
“Bingo.” He nods and wipes his mouth. “How’d you know?”
“Just a gut feeling. She’s been telling me how overprotective he is. He puts a great value on her. It isn’t a leap that he might hire someone to break into her place. It would scare her enough that she’d go running back home to him.”
“Instead, she came running to you.” He levels me with a curious look. “What’s going on there, Vargas? Seems like you’ve taken a bit more than a professional interest.”
I ignore his question. “Anything else?”
“Actually, yes.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, sliding it to me across the table. “When I was going through the security footage, I found more than just the Coventry boys.”
“What?” I grab the paper. It’s simply a list of dates and times in Catarino’s slanted scrawl. “What’s this?” I twirl it in my fingers.
“Each time the Caesars cased her place.”
“The Caesars?” I crumple the paper in my hand, unbridled anger creeping into my blood. “They’ve been watching her?”
“I caught one of their heavies, Bartoli, on video out front. After that, I went searching. He and a few others have been keeping tabs on her. All Caesar men.”
“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair. What do the Caesars–the most hated criminal organization in my city–want with Cadence? They’ve been around for almost as long as my family, but instead of trying to turn their businesses legit, they’ve sunken into the depths of dirty deals–human trafficking, tainted drugs, even dog fighting, from what I’ve heard. They’re the lowest of the low, always have been.
“Um, hi.”
My head pops up when I hear Cadence’s timid voice.
“If I’m interrupting …” She glances nervously at Catarino.
“Not at all.” I stand and go to her, taking her hand and leading her to a chair as Mrs. Palacios hustles in with a stack of waffles covered with chocolate, strawberries, and whipped cream. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one anxiously awaiting her arrival.
“Cadence, this is my friend Cat.”
“Cat?” Her eyes brighten. “I’m a cat person, myself.”
Jealousy itches at the back of my skull as he gives her an easy smile. “Very nice to meet you, Cadence.”
“Cat was just leaving.” I glare at him.
He just smirks up at me, a knowing look in his eyes. “Right. I’ve got work to do.”
“Dig into the matter we just discussed. I want to know why as soon as possible.”
