Page 24 of Victorious Vice

“I don’t know. Don’t ask. And don’t tell them who we are. The driver says they have information.”

“All right.” I swallow, steeling myself. “Information about what?”

“I don’t know. Your grandfather insisted on this meeting.”

“And he didn’t bother telling me about it?” I shake my head. “I’m supposed to be his right-hand man.”

But of course, he doesn’t fully trust me.

A smart man, my grandfather. Except he’s not my grandfather, as I now know. He’s my father. Biologically, at least. A degenerate who raped his own daughter.

I am the unfortunate result.

Elmo talks to the two men in Spanish for a moment. I recognize a few words.

“Seguridad,” “peligro,” and “Vega.”

Security, danger, Vega.

And then…Bellamy.

With a Colombian accent, but it couldn’t mean anything else.

Bellamy. As in Austin Bellamy. As in Bellamy Ranch.

With wide eyes, I turn my head to look at Elmo. He cuts his conversation short and turns to me. “They know of Bellamy.”

“How?” I ask, the question barely above a whisper.

Elmo shrugs slightly. “News travels.”

I shake my head. “Not like this. Not information like this.”

Someone has been talking, someone who knows more than they should. And in this game, having unnecessary knowledge is dangerous.

Elmo looks at me, his dark eyes solemn. “Let’s find out what they know.”

“No names,” I tell him as he walks back toward the men. “Not until we figure out how deep this goes.”

He nods and begins speaking with them again, this time asking what they know about Bellamy.

The two men exchange a look and then answer in Spanish.

The wait is agonizing, but finally Elmo turns to me.

“Vega is building a new network. That’s what Puzo was working on. Vega had a falling out with your grandfather years ago and was demoted within his organization. He disappeared, and now he’s quietly rebuilding his network, which includes…”

“What? For God’s sake, what, Elmo?”

“It includes a new smuggling route. Right through the Bellamy ranch.”

9

RAVEN

“What is it?” Jared asks.

I gulp and show him my phone.

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