Page 33 of Shadows of Justice

“I can pick up a pretty good amount,” I lie with a shrug. My Spanish skills are embarrassingly bad considering how much I’m around it.

“Well, I’ll translate if you need it,” he says, and presses play on an audio file.

A phone conversation between two Spanish speaking males plays over the Malibu’s speakers. I listen for a few sentences, but they’re talking really fast. I pick up the words bomba and Colombiano, but everything else is lost on me. I shoot Leo a look for help and he starts to type again, smiling, that god-forsaken dimple deepening in his cheek.

On the iPad, a transcription of the conversation begins on the screen, first in Spanish, and then below, it’s translated to English. My eyes scan the words and I gulp. They’re discussing that stealing the design was successful, how Leo, “the Colombian,” and the US military contact are none the wiser, and how their revenge for K213 taking over their cocaine supplier is going to be explosive. They share a laugh at that.

Gangster puns. How cheeky.

The conversation ends and I chew my lip. There goes the possibility that Leo’s been lying to me about all of this.

“There’s something else,” Leo says, drawing my attention. “The Dogs discovered me listening in on this call. I guess it pinged on Tres’s system. It’s shockingly more high-tech than I assumed, a mistake I won’t make again.” He reaches back and rubs his neck, obvious exasperation on his face. I feel his stress, but the bulging of his veiny bicep momentarily distracts me. An image flashes through my mind of sinking my teeth into it as he moves above me and I blink, sucking in a sharp breath to try and rein in my dirty mind.

How long has it been since I had sex? Yikes.

I clear my throat. “W-what did they say to you?”

“That if I come after the design, they’ll turn my name over to the police with my location and say that I’m supplying them with explosives and other weapons. And, apparently, they have the tech to make all that appear as true. Not only is the whole block in Koreatown in danger, but I will be brought down if I’m discovered to be looking into them any more than I already have.” He starts to say something else but stops, suddenly looking conflicted.

My brow furrows, my heart rate climbing again. “What is it?”

“The message was accompanied by a dog on my front steps,” he says with a sigh. My eyes widen to saucers. “It was torn to shreds. I buried it.”

Nausea rolls in my stomach. I suddenly feel very, very small. My victories with Sugar and Mary-Ann shrink to small battles. This is a violent, dangerous war. One that I have decided to purposefully involve myself in. Panic reaches up and grips my throat, my breathing shallow and jagged.

Leo’s warm palm on my knee shakes me back to reality. “Are you okay?” he asks. “I know this is a lot.”

“Leo, you can’t go back home.”

He smiles softly and lightly squeezes my knee before retracting his hand. “Sí, I know. I have multiple addresses, all under aliases. Believe me, I’m safe.”

I fiddle with the loose thread again, and his eyes take in my fidgeting. “I hope you’re right,” I mumble.

“Worried about me?”

“Aren’t you worried about you?” I exclaim.

“That’s not what I asked,” he presses.

I throw up my hands. Sexy and argumentative.

“Fine. Yes. In the sense that as a public servant I worry for the well-being of all victims of gang violence. Yes. I’m worried about you.”

He chuckles, a slow, mischievous grin forming, and the sound of his laugh floats to me in the air like a tantalizing melody. “Well, thank you. As a member of the public, your servitude and worry are appreciated.”

I press my lips together, annoyed that he thinks my concern is laughable.

“Well, if we’re done here, I suppose I’ll be going. I’m going to need a miracle to get the captain to take this anonymous tip seriously without more evidence. Are you sure you can’t offer more? Like, your presence?”

“I’d never see the light of day again, chica. I’ve managed to stay out of cuffs this long—pardon me if I don’t plan on handing my wrists over now.” His gaze on me sharpens. “Unless, of course, it’s you putting them on me.” He winks slyly and I scoff at him to cover my attraction to that very scandalous idea.

Leo. Subdued and at my mercy.

Ay, Dios mío is right.

“Besides, you can do this,” he continues, all jokes fading. “I believe in you.” I turn from him to open the car door and step out into the blazing heat.

“You say that now,” I murmur, and shut the door behind me.

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