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“There’re tons of music files, they must be filled with info about their operations, locations, people they’re working with. This could be our new Graal.” I loved seeing Mia excited again, although I hated it was for something so dangerous.
“How did you figure it out now?”
She looked up at me. “They miscalculated on this song. The guitar chords were dying down by the end of the first chorus, but their voices continued, so the song didn’t overlap this time, and I could hear them talking.”
“What should we do?” I didn’t mind not taking charge of the investigation. Zach used to be our strategist leader since he, Ben, and I were SEALs. Mia and I had been working together for years, but ever since the DEA, she was my superior, and I was happy to be working under a purposeful Mia again, rather than the grieving one. And if that helped patch the strangeness between her and Ben, I’d be happy to take a step back and let it all work out.
Even though he was impulsive, while Mia started being reckless, Ben seemed to be getting more cautious. It was time for our roles to come out, and for us to find our groove again.
Taking charge like she was born to, Mia sat up straighter while she watched both men in front of her, way bigger than her small frame, but never a match to her sharp decisions.
“I can understand some Spanish, so I can fill in when you’re unavailable. But until then, Danny, you translate the messages and pass them along to us. Ben, you work on the people they’re negotiating with. Everyone they’d been in touch with for the last five years at first. If need be, we go back further. I’ll work on the locations and chain of command. If Matias is trying torise in the cartel’s rank, it’s because they have an opening. Since Pablo Salazar was arrested, he can be the key to that.”
“Tomorrow, we rest.”
“Tomorrow, we rest,” they repeated after me.
I was counting down the minutes to see Lisa again at my place. I was addicted to my daughter’s nanny. But I had the rest of my life to drown myself in all things Lisa.
It was time to bring the cartel down.
CHAPTER TWENTY
It was Moana time. Again. I’d learned to like the movie—it was a survival response to being forced to watch it fourteen times—but I wouldn’t complain if Sofia chose to watch something different. Besides, I prefer watching Maui played by Danny during cooking time.
Nothing could compare to a man built like a tree flexing his pecks while singing tales of a cunning demigod to his daughter.
I was lost in my thoughts about him when Fee pulled me out of my not-so-innocent-movie-like thoughts. “I wish you lived here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want you to live in this house with me andPapi. And Grandma, too.”
“That’s so sweet, honey. But we already see each other almost every day. You’d get tired of me if I lived here.”
She shook her head with emphasis, her braids bouncing against her face. “I would be extra happy.Papi,too. He loves it when you’re here. He can hug you whenever he wants. Can you live here?”
“What about my parents? They might be sad if I leave.”
My argument was going nowhere. “We can let you visit them every day. But then you get back here to sleep and eat. We can play games, watch movies, have a spa every day.” She placed her small hands on my face, pushing my lips into a pout. “Pleeease.”
“I’ll think about it,” I promised through puckered lips. I wasn’t sure how Danny would want me to handle it, but I couldn’t ruin Sofia’s wish.
Thankfully, Fee’s next questions were interrupted by Sonia, who walked into the room bringing cookies and milk to watch Moana with us. From the glint in her eyes, I assumed she’d heard our conversation, and I was grateful she didn’t bring it up.
I’d love nothing more than to take my relationship with Danny to the next level, but that was something we needed to talk about first. I also needed to be ready to face my parents about it. I was a grown woman, but I still valued their thoughts. I wouldn’t let them get in the way of my love life, just like I couldn’t leave them if they still needed me or we were on a sour note.
We unpaused the movie and got lost in the girl’s quest to save her community until someone rang the doorbell.
Whoever it was, they were impatient enough to keep ringing it until Sonia called she was coming. When she opened the door, Andrea barged inside. “Where is the girl? I’m taking my daughter for visitation.”
“You most certainly are not,” Sonia retorted, not hiding her displeasure. “You’re not welcome here, Andrea. Go away and come back on a proper day.”
Sofia stared at me with round eyes, her little hands trembling in her lap. I signaled to her to stay in the TV room and walked to the hall, so I could intervene if Danny’s mother needed me.
“Aren’t you satisfied with ruining my marriage to your son, Sonia?” Andrea accused her. “You never liked me, and you always created ways to poison Daniel against me.”
“You ruined your marriage all on your own; the only help you had was with the man you cheated on my boy with. Aside from my granddaughter, you bring nothing but destruction with you. And it’s ‘Mrs. Delgado’ to you. Now leave.”
