Page 74 of Born a Queen

Danny stood behind Vee, silent and mean-looking. They fell into their old roles, Vee as the boss and Danny her hired muscle. But he was more than a thug, he was her protection and she knew without a doubt he wouldn’t fail her.

"You’re talking to him," the man said, straightening up from the floor and dusting off the front of his jeans. “Name’s Lincoln Frye.”

"Good to meet you, Lincoln," Vee said, her voice cool and professional. "I want to talk about a recent job you and your team did for Daniela Velasquez."

The guy frowned. "I'm beginning to think there's something shady going on with that job. First that tough guy that owned the house grilled us, then his woman bodyguard, now you. What's up with that place?"

"It's not the place we're concerned about so much as the woman who infiltrated it. The woman who hired you was an imposter. She was not Daniela Velasquez."

Lincoln's eyebrows raised and he looked genuinely surprised. Vee realized that she’d given him a piece of information no one else had. When Mateo and Angela had interrogated him, they hadn't given him all the information, which meant he wouldn't have known how to form his responses accordingly. He would've answered their questions, but not through the filter of knowing there was something off about the woman who hired him.

"Yes, the real Daniela was found murdered in her home. We think the imposter killed her and took her place. What we don't know is why." Vee didn't feel a single moment’s hesitation about giving up all the information. She was confident she was doing the right thing, though Mateo likely wouldn't agree.

"Holy fuck," Lincoln drawled, his amazement building. He shook his head. "She was so fucking hot, hard to believe she could kill a person."

Vee closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them and exhaled. She hoped for his sake that this man never again met a woman who was both beautiful and deadly, because they were far more common that he apparently thought. Vee could kill him in an instant right where he stood, and he wouldn't even know he was dead before he hit the ground. She had a knife in her purse, and a gun in her holster at her back. Aside from that, she was also very good at hand-to-hand combat.

"We want to know what she was doing there. Did she ask you any questions about the place while you were renovating? Did she say anything to you that seems strange in hindsight?"

He thought about it, then shook his head. "Not really. Nothing set off any red flags. To be honest, she was a stone-cold bitch, none of us had much to do with her besides taking her direction on the renovations."

Vee felt deflated. This was the only lead she and Danny could come up with and it was going to be a bust. She was about to thank Lincoln for talking to her, when he spoke again.

"Though there was this one time that she loosened up enough to talk to me for more than two seconds. I asked her where she came from since she had a slight accent. I was surprised when she actually answered. I got the feeling she was proud of her hometown. Like she felt disgusted at having to be here. At the time it didn't really blip on my radar, but now, it does seem weird that a woman with a well-established interior design business in Florida would rather be in Mexico."

Excitement jolted through Vee and her hands shook when she clasped them together. "Where was she from? Where was her hometown?"

He didn't even pause, as though he remembered every detail of the conversation with the fake Daniela. "She was from the Durango region in Mexico, outside the city, up in the Sierra Madres."

Vee felt both elation and terror as she realized exactly who had come in close contact with her daughter. Desi. The woman who came to Sotza's Venezuelan island with her lover, Nicolás Garza, to kill them both and take over the Venezuelan cartel. Mateo had hunted down the man behind the attack, but he hadn't been able to find Desi.

And if she was being honest, Vee had to admit that none of them had put a whole lot of effort into finding Desi. As far as they had been concerned, Desi was Nico's second-in-command, she'd been forced to follow his orders, then she’d run away when things got hot.

Well, Desi had just become a priority. Vee was going to hunt her down and play with her insides.

Vee thanked Lincoln for his help, handed him a roll of bills and told him to buy his team a round of beer, then she turned on her heel and walked away with Danny at her side.

"Do you know who Desi is?" Vee asked Danny.

"Yes."

That one simple word held a grim finality to it. If Desi was still after Raina, then Raina was in very big trouble.

They drove back to Danny's house in silence. They would have to come up with a plan, but for now Vee needed to decide what she was going to do with this information. Did she keep it to herself or did she discuss it with Mateo?

Mateo would be furious if he found out that she'd interfered, but he would be less furious if Vee shared the information. Vee didn't need to make an enemy out of Mateo. Still… What if he didn't take this seriously, what if he didn't take the proper steps to protect Raina?

Vee was still contemplating what action she would take when they arrived at the house. She got out of the car and started walking toward the house, so lost in thought that she didn’t see the car with tinted windows until a door opened and a man got out.

He was tall, distinguished-looking, handsome and controlled. He wore his suit to perfection. Her heart stuttered when she caught sight of him. He strode angrily toward her, his face darkening into a thunderous frown.

"Elvira."

Dammit, he only ever called her that when he was furious. Well, two could play this game.

"Sotza," she said, using his last name, something she only did when he was being a dick.

---