Page 57 of Escape You

I opened my mouth to explain but opted to introduce Tyler instead. “Guys, this is Chase Rossi. Chase, this is my hacker Manny and his little brother Tom.”

“I’m also a hacker. I’m the one who cracked the encoded files.” Tom pulled the curtain back, then shook Tyler’s hand without asking why Rossi’s grandson was helping.

I glanced at Vic in the corner, and he nodded. He’d said he’d have the room ready for me, and he delivered. By the look on Tyler’s face, this place rivaled any fancy ops room the ATF might have in its field offices. The hospital bed had been moved against the wall sideways. That left plenty of space for small tables, which were set up with laptops, printers, and even a server.

“What happened there?” Tyler asked Manny.

“Shattered leg from the last gig.” Manny sat a little taller in his wheelchair. He’d been waiting to be part of my crew since he was twelve. “Doc says I’ll be fine in a couple of months.”

“I hope they’re giving you the good stuff for the pain.”

Manny beamed at Tyler. “They are, man.”

“Great. What’ve you got?” Tyler braced his hands on his hips as he eyed Manny’s laptop with a tinge of greed in his eye. If I didn’t know any better, Tyler liked rolling with us criminals.

“We solved this shit for you.” Manny looked at me expectantly. He was eager to show Tyler, but he still needed my go-ahead. I nodded, and he barked out a laugh, typing furiously on his keyboard. “Okay. You already know what Rossi’s up to, right? You saw the other files we sent.”

“Yeah, we’re all caught up on Rossi’s fucked-up ventures.”

He winced. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, guess who’s supplying theinventory? No, wait, guess how Rossi knew where we’d be the night you were taken?”

Great, a snitch. I rubbed my forehead. “Just tell me.”

“Leo.” Vic’s voice boomed from the back corner of the room.

I turned to face him. That made sense. From day one, Leo had done anything to undermine my authority. Because of his antics of messing with the townspeople, the council had lost confidence in my ability to run the crew. He made me look weak with the neighboring factions, which gave Rossi the opportunity he needed to move in. An opportunity he had ordered Leo to create for him.

“I should’ve shot him in the leg when I had the chance.”

“That never works the way you think.” Tyler paced the room. “Did Leo talk to anyone else?”

“Like who?” Tom squared his hips in front of the small tables and started typing on the laptop keyboard.

Fuck. Did Leo know who Tyler was? He couldn’t, even if he was dumb enough to play the field with Rossi and the ATF.

“I’ll deal with Leo. Who else is in bed with Rossi?” I asked.

“The cartel.” Tom pursed his lips, running his finger across the screen. “They’re transport. The cargo waits for them on the Mexico side at the Guatemala border. Then they truck across to our side.”

I leaned my shoulder against the wall, next to Vic. His face showed we were thinking the same thing. “The cartel played nice because Rossi told them too, which means he needs our crew intact.”

“He needs you and Tyler to take over Jersey and then take over the new venture.”

“He’s crazy if he thinks I’m going to agree to something like that.”

“Where are the people coming from?” Tyler joined Tom. Tyler was here to get his own answers. He needed something to prove without a doubt that Rossi was the boss helping the crew in Maracaibo.

“I’m not sure. I can keep digging. It seems the guy in charge is collecting people from all over. Get this—he’s charging them money. They all think they’re here to work.” Manny’s face blanched. “There’s a list here of sweatshops and clandestine whore houses that have requestedinventory.Once they get there, the owners have no intention of paying. That’s how they make money.”

Tyler shook his head. “Keep digging. Maybe there’s a way we can make a deal with the supplier.”

“That’s true.” Tom returned his attention to the computer. “It’s going to take time, though. Every file and email is encoded. Some emails don’t even need to be secured. They’re just there to make the haystack bigger.”

I glared at Tyler. We had all the information we needed to stage a coup. This supplier of his would never want to deal with us. Unless we were willing to buy people from him, he had no reason to waste his time with us.

“Let’s focus on Rossi. Is this operation ongoing? Or is all this a bunch of plans that may or may not happen?”

“Mia, this has been going on for at least a month. According to his records, he’s already received two shipments. Made him a pretty penny too.”

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