Delgano: A Dark Contemporary Interracial Romance

They headed out.

With Spettro’s help, they identified three additional locations where the woman and child might be, and Sayeda had supplied him with pictures. All he needed to do now was remember to get the information first.

“Know what I think?” Lee asked.

Trevor groaned. “Sure, Lee. We would love another conspiracy theory.”

Lee continued, unfazed, “I don’t think what happened with Sayeda is tied to a gang, cartel, or mafia. I think somebody led the group there, and she wasn’t discovered by chance.”

Trevor slapped the steering wheel. “Jeong-Hyeok, that’s probably the most sane thing I’ve ever heard you say since I’ve known you. I was thinking along similar lines. Personally, I think Sayeda is someone important’s legitimate, or illegitimate, kid. They either stuck her with us to keep her safe, or she’s here hiding from the public eye to prevent a scandal. But I think somebody found out, and now ‘Central’ is pretending they have everything under control.”

“I think she’s the doc’s kid,” Lee added.

“It is a valid assumption,” Adrían said, impressed. From what he’d seen, Sayeda and Mora didn’t favor each other closely enough to where he would have already drawn that conclusion on his own without insider knowledge. “Dr. Bentley is a Lieutenant General, and for her to be part of this ‘project’ means she has to have quite high security clearance.”

“I have a mate who was Special Ops the same time I was,” Trevor said. “One day, this guy just poof—vanishes off the face of the earth. Then, he resurfaces in California, of all places. Not only that, he’s living in a Malibu mansion. What does that sound like to you?”

“You think there are more teams?” Adrían asked.

“I do.” Trevor waved a finger around the truck. “But this shit stays between the three of us. I think Lee’s right. Hannah’s lying about something, and I’m still uncertain about the other two.”

Adrían removed his phone and checked the cameras Spettro recently installed at the villa. Sayeda and Hannah were poolside, and it looked like they were sharing a plate of something. Sayeda had mentioned wanting to experiment with a dessert that was a fusion between Creme Brûlée and Pudim De Leite, Brazilian flan. But he was supposed to be her first taste tester. If that was what she and Hannah were sharing, she would be due for a deep, deep punishment when he returned.

“I think Hannah is lying about something,” he prefaced, “but I don’t think it’s something that’s a hazard to us.”

Trevor shook his head. “I don’t know, kid. Spettro can find information on every single one of us, but Hannah didn’t exist five years ago.”

“Did he check out Dr. Bentley?” he asked, studying Sayeda’s expression to make sure she was as comfortable as she appeared to be.

“She checked out,” Lee said. “The only issue?”

“No kids,” Adrían finished.

Trevor nodded. “Exactly.”

While Lee and Trevor exchanged theories, he watched Sayeda. The closer he watched her, the more it looked like she and Hannah were devouring the dessert in question.

You betrayed me, querida.

Trevor stopped the truck at the end of a dark street. He put away the phone, hopped out, double-checked his equipment, and made his way toward a boxy structure several yards away. Luckily, these were the type of fuckers who preferred to hole up in non-distinct, isolated locations. In isolated locations, he didn’t have to worry about neighbors hearing a commotion and calling authorities. In places like this, he could have fun for as long as he needed.

He entered the structure.

Four men sat in the main room, watching softcore porn that looked like it had been recorded on a VHS cassette tape.

The door slammed behind him, and they were all so engrossed in the grainy skin flick, none of them turned around. However, when he put a bullet in the back of the head of the one farthest right, they noticed him then.

“I’m looking for information,” he said.

One of them opened his mouth as if to reply with a rebuttal. Annoyed, he shot him between the brows.

“Information,” he repeated. “Raise your hand if you will cooperate.”

The remaining two raised their hands.

“Oh, good. You understand English.” He looked from one to the next, shot the one on the left, and pulled out two images. “Do you know these people? I’m looking for them. It’s a woman and her daughter.”

The last man squinted at the image and then looked up at him. “No, I don’t know who they are.”