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There were still too many questions he needed answered.
Gia reached for the door handle.
He caught her wrist before she could bolt.
She froze, a sharp inhale raking his ears.
Shit.He let go immediately.“I’m sorry.” The last thing he needed was to scare her when he was trying to earn her trust. “What time?”
“Time?” she echoed.
“Dinner.”
“Oh. Six-thirty?”
“I’ll be here.”
Relief brightened her face. “Thank you for bringing me home,” she murmured.
He watched her until she disappeared inside, then waved at the officer and drove away.
Gia had been afraid he’d say no to a meal?
You need to work on your people skills.
On the drive back to the hotel, he called Nathan.“Tell me you have the information I asked for.”
“I do,” Nathan drawled. “Was gonna call you earlier but I got stuck working a security system retrofit for a client.”
His tone sharpened to a deadly edge. “Vincente Garcia’s shiny on the outside, but under the hood? Rotten. Reminds me of Jules Mirga.”
Caleb’s hands tightened on the wheel.
Mirga—the Parisian crime lord who nearly made Nathan’s fiancée, Emily, a victim of his sex trafficking ring.
Nathan continued, “Guy operates some legit businesses in Miami. Runs with the celebrity crowd. Works hard to keep certain familyconnections out of the press—uses his mother’s maiden name, Garcia. She’s a prominent figure in the Cuban community—best buds with the mayor.”
Dread curdled in Caleb’s gut. “What family connections?”
“Our boy’s Miami-Dade birth certificate lists his full name as Vincente Lopez Garcia. His daddy is Diego Lopez Becerra. Also known asEl Víbora—head of the Espina Negra cartel.”
Air rushed from Caleb’s lungs like he’d taken a punch straight to the solar plexus.
Everything made sense now.
Nathan kept going. “El Víboraruns the cartel from a heavily guarded compound in northwest Mexico, along with his brother Ramón. Rumor has it Vincente heads up the cartel’s US fentanyl trafficking operation, but the guy’s like Teflon—nothing sticks. DEA got an agent inside his Miami nightclub, but the man went missing a couple months ago. Hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”
Gia’s ex-fiancé was Espina Negra royalty. Head of their US fentanyl trafficking operation.
The man ultimately responsible for his mother’s death.
Son of a bitch.
“What about Doctor Barone?” His voice came out a rasp.
He forced the emotions down. Focused.
“Even more interesting. You sure you got the name right?”