Page 54 of Vincenzo
“I don’t think Amalia and Carlos were sent here to get port access.”
Teo raises a brow at me. “Oh, yeah?”
“I think they were sent here because of Amalia. Her uncle called a hit on her, and I think this entire trip to NYC was a way to get her killed.”
“Killed by Carlos? He could’ve done that in Miami.”
Shaking my head, I say, “No. That text to your phone. I think that was his attempt to get us to take her out for them.”
“Get us to take her out? Why the fuck would they need us to do it?”
I shrug. “Less of a mess on their hands. They have a ‘valid’ reason for her death. Nothing suspicious on their part.”
Teo nods. “Did they say why her uncle wants her dead?”
“Carlos didn’t know, and I didn’t give him a chance to try and figure it out. That asshole would’ve been useless anyway.”
“And Amalia?”
My jaw sets in a straight line, and I take a moment before answering. “She claims to not know.”
“Claims…”Teo repeats with intrigue.
“Yeah, I don’t think I believe her.”
Leaning forward in his chair, he sets his arms on the desk again. “You don’tthink?”
“I could tell when I asked her. She told me she doesn’t have any idea why her uncle would want her dead, and I almost believed her. After all, sheisstill working for him, and who would work for someone that wants them dead?”
“But …?”
“But it’s like I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She might’ve said she has no idea, but I think she was starting to put the pieces together.”
I rest my chin in my hand and stare at nothing in particular on my brother’s desk. I need to figure out what she’s hiding. If her uncle wants her dead, it has to be something dire. But what the fuck could it be?
The vibration from my phone goes off, so I take it from the inside of my jacket pocket and answer it.
“What’s going on, Nicco?” I say.
“Hey, you got a minute.”
“Anything for my favorite future brother-in-law.”
“Velasco and Montoya checked out of The Arlington.”
My back straightens and my stomach hollows out at his words. The stiffness in my body radiates up my spine and into my neck. “What?” The rigid tone in my voice has my brother perking up from across the desk.
“She checked out using the app early this morning. House cleaning went to their room and all of her shit was gone, but all of his shit was still there. I thought that was strange.”
“Fuck,”I hiss out, ignoring my brother boring his gaze into me.
“Okay, not the reaction I was expecting,” Nicco says on the other line. “Am I missing something? Didn’t we want them gone?”
I squeeze my phone so tightly to try and calm the sudden rage I feel at knowing Amalia has left the city. “Not exactly,” I grind out. “I gotta fucking go. I’ll call you later.”
“Uhh, yeah, sure… sounds good,” Nicco says.
Ending the call, I slowly raise my gaze to my brother, who’s already staring at me with intrigue in his eyes.
