Page 50 of Can You Take It?

Chapter 16

IZEL

We are riding back home in Richard’s car with that sick piece of crap now safely handed over to a uniformed officer.

“You do know that he’ll be charged with a misdemeanor, right?” I say, staring out the window. “We don’t have enough evidence to put him away for long.”

Without a word, Richard pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket, taps a few keys, and hands it to me.

I glance at the screen, and my eyes widen as I read the headline:Local Man Tied to International Drug Cartel, 2 Kilos of Narcotics Found with Vincenzo’sSignature Logo.

There’s a picture of the guy we just handed over to the cops. The same guy I was convinced we had nothing on.

I blink, my mind stuttering to catch up. “How...?”

Richard keeps his eyes on the road, a casual smirk still tugging at the corner of his lips. “I planted them in his warehouse.”

“You—what?” I twist in my seat to face him fully. “Why? How the fuck did you even get a hold of them?”

“A year back, I made contact with a girl who was selling for the Vincenzo cartel. I bought the product from her, two kilos of pure, uncut coke. Kept it stashed at a house I own but isn’t in my name.”

I blink. “So... you bought it from her? Then what? You just let her walk?”

“She was selling out of desperation. She needed money for school.”

I snort and start laughing. Like really laughing. My hand slaps the dashboard as I lean back in my seat, shaking my head. “Jesus Christ, Richard, you got played.”

“No, I didn’t.”

I wipe at my eyes, still grinning. “Oh yeah? How do you know she wasn’t lying to you?”

“Her eyes said it all. I could see the desperation. She wasn’t lying.”

I shift in my seat to face him, raising an eyebrow. “You’re telling me you can tell whether someone’s lying just by looking in their eyes?”

“You’d be surprised how much you can learn from someone’s eyes alone.”

“Alright. Let’s test that theory.” I unclip my seatbelt and lean closer. I inch toward him until my face is just inches from his, close enough to catch the scent of his aftershave, something woodsy and intoxicating. My gaze flicks to his lips for half a second before I look back into his eyes, “I like you.”

He doesn’t blink. “You’re lying.”

My bottom lip slips between my teeth, and I can’t stop my gaze from dropping back to his mouth. My body gives me away—the little slump in my shoulders, the way I shift awkwardly in my seat. I don't just like him.

I'm falling for him, hard, and he can see it.

“That’s because I hate you,” I respond with as much conviction as I can muster, straightening in my seat and looking away.

He chuckles softly, and warmth rises in my cheeks. “No, you don’t.”

I can’t respond. The silence stretches uncomfortably between us as I stare out the window, watching the scenery flash by, wishing I could focus on anything else but him.

Finally, I break the silence. “So, what’s going to happen to that guy?”

Richard doesn’t look at me, just keeps his eyes on the road, but I catch the way his fingers drum against the steering wheel. “Given the drugs we found, he’s going to be questioned. The FBI’s involved now since it’s cartel-related, and because I was the arresting officer, I’ll get dragged into it, but that piece of shit won’t admit to anything.” He gives me a sideways glance, that smirk creeping back. “Which means I’ll have to use some... off-the-book methods to make him talk.”

My eyes widen at that, and a grin pulls at my lips before I can stop it. “You’re going to torture him?”

“If there’s one category I despise more than serial killers, it’s fucking pedophiles. Scumbags like that deserve whatever they get. Besides...” He pauses, glancing at me like he’s deciding how much to tell. “There’s more at play here. This whole thing will connect him to the Vincenzo cartel—specifically, a woman named Lucia Ricci.”

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