Page 60
Story: Devil's Bride
“What you heard could be true,” he said. “There are some Falcons in town according to some people I talked to.”
“Who do they work for?” I moved toward the desk, tossing the file and sitting down on the edge. Sitting was better than falling down at this point.
“Jamal Fassi.”
Antonio and the other men hissed.
I had no freaking clue.
“Explain,” I told him.
“He is bad. Very bad. Moroccan scum. He runs a terrible cartel. Many soldiers. Always new ones because he finds a reason to kill them.” Pedro seemed nervous, which shocked me.
“O-kay. Are you saying these Falcons are scouting for this Fassi dude?” I always fell into using more American slang when I was nervous. This had to be the son of a bitch responsible for the death of my father.
Dear God, it made me anxious.
“Yes.”
“For women, drugs, or property?” I asked.
“All of the above.”
I took a deep breath, forced to hold it so I wouldn’t make any sound.Think. Think like Papa.I glanced away and had an idea.“Do you think you can locate one of these Falcons and bring him to me?”
There wasn’t a man in the room who didn’t act surprised.
“That is dangerous, Madame Morales. Very much so.”
“Meaning we don’t have the skills to capture this man, or I don’t have the balls to torture him if necessary?” I threw it out casually, but the thought of being watched as I interrogated someone wasn’t on my bucket list.
Both Antonio and Pedro had the good graces to open their mouths just enough I could tell I’d shocked them. Hell, I’d shocked myself. Who was this woman? I was pretty certain if I looked into a mirror, the bitch staring back at me would keep mum.
Damn her.
“Oh, we can capture him, but if we do, Fassi could bring the entire Moroccan army down on us,” Antonio answered.
“Geography wasn’t necessarily my strongest subject in school, but isn’t Morocco something like twenty hours away?”
They looked at each other again. I guess they hadn’t learned anything about dark humor or watchedSaturday Night Livelike ever.
“The point is, gentlemen, that capturing him and trying to decipher the plan might not only buy us some time to adjust our security measures but also allow us a better understanding of their method of attack.”
Antonio took a few seconds to look over at Emiliano.
“The boss has a point,” he confirmed. “We can’t just sit by and do nothing. The best way of discovering information is to try and obtain even a few details from an interrogation.”
Antonio sighed and turned toward Pedro and the others. “Find one of them. I don’t care how you do it. Just make it happen.”
“Good.” Although at this point, I wasn’t certain there was anything good about the situation whatsoever.
“I’ll have another security detail head to the estate,” Antonio added.
All I could do was nod. Anything else would give away how terrified I felt.
The men filed out, but I sensed their apprehension from where I was standing. If they only knew how close my teeth were to chattering.
Once they were gone and only Antonio and Emiliano remained, I grabbed the file once again. “You’re sure about the numbers?” If Antonio’s documentation was on point, I’d been right about my father’s sense of business. He’d worked quietly and tirelessly under the radar for years, building additional wealth few knew about. That upped my power significantly.
“Who do they work for?” I moved toward the desk, tossing the file and sitting down on the edge. Sitting was better than falling down at this point.
“Jamal Fassi.”
Antonio and the other men hissed.
I had no freaking clue.
“Explain,” I told him.
“He is bad. Very bad. Moroccan scum. He runs a terrible cartel. Many soldiers. Always new ones because he finds a reason to kill them.” Pedro seemed nervous, which shocked me.
“O-kay. Are you saying these Falcons are scouting for this Fassi dude?” I always fell into using more American slang when I was nervous. This had to be the son of a bitch responsible for the death of my father.
Dear God, it made me anxious.
“Yes.”
“For women, drugs, or property?” I asked.
“All of the above.”
I took a deep breath, forced to hold it so I wouldn’t make any sound.Think. Think like Papa.I glanced away and had an idea.“Do you think you can locate one of these Falcons and bring him to me?”
There wasn’t a man in the room who didn’t act surprised.
“That is dangerous, Madame Morales. Very much so.”
“Meaning we don’t have the skills to capture this man, or I don’t have the balls to torture him if necessary?” I threw it out casually, but the thought of being watched as I interrogated someone wasn’t on my bucket list.
Both Antonio and Pedro had the good graces to open their mouths just enough I could tell I’d shocked them. Hell, I’d shocked myself. Who was this woman? I was pretty certain if I looked into a mirror, the bitch staring back at me would keep mum.
Damn her.
“Oh, we can capture him, but if we do, Fassi could bring the entire Moroccan army down on us,” Antonio answered.
“Geography wasn’t necessarily my strongest subject in school, but isn’t Morocco something like twenty hours away?”
They looked at each other again. I guess they hadn’t learned anything about dark humor or watchedSaturday Night Livelike ever.
“The point is, gentlemen, that capturing him and trying to decipher the plan might not only buy us some time to adjust our security measures but also allow us a better understanding of their method of attack.”
Antonio took a few seconds to look over at Emiliano.
“The boss has a point,” he confirmed. “We can’t just sit by and do nothing. The best way of discovering information is to try and obtain even a few details from an interrogation.”
Antonio sighed and turned toward Pedro and the others. “Find one of them. I don’t care how you do it. Just make it happen.”
“Good.” Although at this point, I wasn’t certain there was anything good about the situation whatsoever.
“I’ll have another security detail head to the estate,” Antonio added.
All I could do was nod. Anything else would give away how terrified I felt.
The men filed out, but I sensed their apprehension from where I was standing. If they only knew how close my teeth were to chattering.
Once they were gone and only Antonio and Emiliano remained, I grabbed the file once again. “You’re sure about the numbers?” If Antonio’s documentation was on point, I’d been right about my father’s sense of business. He’d worked quietly and tirelessly under the radar for years, building additional wealth few knew about. That upped my power significantly.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148