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“Are you sure?” I asked him.
“Yes. I’ve been looking ever since Havoc showed up and wanted anyone who was directly involved in the bombing. Once I found the eight on her list, I knew none of them were high enough in rank to order a hit like that. It’s taken me some time, but I finally dug up Raul’s name.”
I believed him. Paolo was well known in our circles for being one of the best. It’s why he was still alive. No one wanted to kill him and lose his ability to root out dirt on their enemies.
“Paolo. Do you think you could set up a meeting for me?”
Shock rippled over his face, but it didn’t take long to hide it. “With Raul Guzman.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” I answered anyway.
Luca tensed at the mention of meeting with the cartel leader “Boss?”
“Word hasn’t hit the streets yet that Paolo is working for me. I want to use that to my advantage. I need you to go to Raul and offer to sell him information.” Besides being one of the best, it was well known that Paolo had no affiliations—or he hadn’t used to.
“You’re setting him up by making him think he’ll be catching you unaware,” Luca murmured.
“Exactly,” I replied. “Can you do it?” I asked Paolo. This was a dangerous job, so I was giving him an out if he didn’t think he could pull it off. I’d kill one of my own men myself if I caught them betraying me, but I tried not to place them in situations where the odds were stacked against them from the get go. It was hard to find good, loyal men and I preferred not to get them killed—when possible.
“Yes, Boss. Just tell me when and where and I’ll make it happen.”
“Perfect. I’ll need a month to kill the men on Havoc’s list.” I wanted to see how she handled herself before we went after the big guns, and I wanted to give us plenty of time to finish the job. I had no doubt I could protect her, but having her come with me meant I needed to plan accordingly. I wouldn’t rush into a situation and put her at risk. “I’ll need you to set the meeting up and do a little recon at the same time. See if you can meet him at his home.”
I doubted it would work. Very few would meet snitches in their homes. They were too afraid of what could be found out and that the information would be sold to the highest bidder. “If nothing else, I want a count of how many men he brings to the meeting, what kind of weapons they carry, basically anything you can find out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Luca frowned. “It could be dangerous sending him in alone.” I knew what he was thinking. If anyone found out that Paolo was here and connected with me, Guzman would kill him and be done with it.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it,” Paolo insisted. “I can talk my way out of most situations,” he finished with a grin.
I had no doubt he could. “How long will it take to set up?”
“A couple of weeks,” Paolo was already typing away on his phone. “I don’t want to rush it and have him suspect anything.”
“Perfect.” I met Luca’s gaze. “I’ll be going out tonight.”
His jaw clenched. “Who’s next?”
“Ted Méndez.”
“Ted?” Luca asked, humor coating his words.
“His name is Eduardo,” Paolo supplied, “but everyone calls him Ted.”
“I don’t like it, Boss,” Luca said after Paolo went back to texting. “I should go with you.”
I gave him a pointed look. “You don’t think I can handle one guy?”
He sighed. “It’s not that. I just… You’re going to be distracted and I don’t want it to bite you in the ass.”
He wasn’t wrong. Having Havoc along meant I’d have to keep an eye on both of us. I’d be damned if I’d let anything happen to her on my watch. Nothing was going to happen. I wasn’t sloppy, so I’d get the job done. Luca was a worrier, though, always had been. “It’ll be fine.” He started to speak, but I cut him off. “Just get everything ready for us for tonight.”
With that I left them to go find the woman who’d been on my mind all morning. The other night had been fucking perfection. Work had picked up, so I’d been coming to bed after she was already asleep. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her again. Once she’d let go she was wild and uninhibited. I had the claw marks down my back to prove it.
I found her sitting in the library reading. I chuckled inwardly when I saw she was reading a romance novel. She may think that a part of her had died with her husband, and maybe a small portion was gone, but she was still a woman. I couldn’t wait to learn more about her and teach her more about herself in return.
Havoc looked up as I approached. She gave me a shy smile, but I could see the indecision in her eyes. Our talk after we’d fucked had been surprising. Even more so was how much I liked it. There were many things I’d never shared with Maria. She’d been sweet and soft and I hadn’t wanted to taint her with the darkness that ran through me. Havoc, though, she and I were made from the same fabric and it’d been all too easy to open up to her.
