Page 108 of Lethal Vengeance

She smiles and hands me Gabriel’s certificate. “It’s a deal. Here. I have a copy in the system now.”

Taking it from her, I stride over to where Sterling’s sitting.

With a sad smile on his face, he leans back in his chair. “What did you change his name to?”

“I didn’t,” I reply, watching his eyes light up with relief. “Why didn’t you tell me his last name was Lopez?” My finger taps the name on the certificate.

He tilts his head. “I got it in the mail and threw it in the drawer. It didn’t occur to me that it was different.”

I shove the certificate towards him. “His name is Gabriel Roberto Lopez—after my stepfather. He also has Roberto and Sophia’s last name. She loved Gabriel.”

“That’s good, right?” he asks, with a bewildered look.

“Yes. I…”

“Were you seriously going to come to the warehouse and not come by and say hi to me?” a snide voice asks from behind me.

“Margot?” I stand up and turn around to find her standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

46

QUINN

She pulls me to her and gives me a hug. “I heard you gutted that psycho, Armando. That’s good. He needed to be taken out.”

I smile weakly. “He did.”

She tilts her head. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry about it.”

“Not about Armando,” I say slowly. “Maybe some guilt around killing Julio.” For some reason, maybe because she used the word gutted, I find myself telling her all of it—about Gabriel, what I found out about Sophia and Julio, and the words Armando said to me before he died. “To top it off, I don’t know what to do about Gabriel. If I keep him, what the hell do I tell him about killing his father and beloved uncle?”

She heaves a huge sigh. “Wow, that’s a lot to unpack. And I think somewhere along the way, you lost the plot.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, biting my lip.

“First, let’s talk about Sophia and Julio. It sucks she didn’t tell you, but honestly, I wouldn’t have told you either.” When I rear back, she throws back her hair. “I’m attracted to bad boys and psychos. If there’s one on the East coast, I’ll find him. Just ask my father. He’s had to get rid of more of them than he’d like to admit.” She raises a shoulder and laughs. Clearly not the least bit concerned about her father getting rid of her boyfriends.

I raise an eyebrow. “Sounds like an appropriate response to me.”

“He doesn’t kill them, or at least not all of them. He either pays them off or gives them a job. Both of which instantly makes me lose interest in them,” she says, with an airy wave. “Your sister was around the same age as me, right?”

“Same age, but less worldly,” I remark. If Sophia had been the powerhouse Margot is, I might not have worried quite as much.

She gives me a wry smile. “I’ve got you fooled. I’m capable and smart because I’ve had to be. The world I grew up in isn’t pretty. But if you think I know everything I’m doing, you’re wrong. If I did, I wouldn’t have fallen for a guy who trafficked me to Mexico!” She holds up a finger. “My father did kill that one.”

She easily reads the confusion on my face. “The fact is… I trusted and fell for the wrong guy. It happens. Your sister did the same thing.”

“I’ve seen them together. He genuinely seemed to love her,” I protest. “But then, he does something crazy, and I feel like maybe he was just manipulating her.”

“I think you might be the less worldly one,” she murmurs. “Look. Just because he loved her doesn’t mean he wasn’t manipulating her, or he wasn’t a psycho. Believe me, the stuff my illustrious father dug up on the two brothers would make you sick. You did the world a favor when you got rid of them.”

When I still look uncertain, she puts an arm around me and turns me in a circle. “These are good men. Anyone who would put their own life aside to help these rescues is a good person. Use them as your marker, not Julio.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but I just don’t know. For some reason, my mind is stuck,” I say, trying to explain what’s going on in my head.

Her eyes narrow in thought. “Maybe because it’s the last person your sister loved? In fact, she loved him so much, she let you lose your mind rather than leave him and her child. Maybe you’re not feeling guilty about Julio’s death. Maybe you’re angry with Sophia for choosing that psycho over you,” she offers. “I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”

When I look at her in disbelief, she shrugs. “Do you honestly think growing up with Julio would have been the best thing for your nephew? He wasn’t a good man. His only redeeming grace might have been that he loved your sister. Me? I think it’s better that he’s dead and Gabriel doesn’t remember him.”