Page 112 of Hunter's Revenge

“Gonna go home after?” Zakh gives me a sidelong glance. “It is your wedding day after all.”

I don’t look back at him. If anyone knows how conflicted I feel now, it’s him. It’s annoying sometimes that he can figure me out. Especially when I don’t want anyone to.

“No, I’m going to the office to finish up my work. I want full clarity next week. It’s safe to say Diego is already trying to fuck with me, and he doesn’t even know what I have in store for him yet.”

“Alright, brother, you know best. Just thought you might want to check on your new wife. That might give you clarity.”

If I touch her or go anywhere near her, she’ll ruin me.

I won’t want to leave her. I know it.

“This is what I need.” I point ahead at nothing in particular, but he knows what I mean.

Moments later, we’re down in the dungeon. The guards down there are mostly made up of my enforcers. The best on this earth. Also the most dangerous people you don’t want to fuck with.

Leo Novak, my second-in-command, greets us first with an uncanny smile. It was he who found our new friend. We’ve known Leo since we were kids. He’s Zakh’s best friend and close enough to me for me to consider him in the same way. He’s also Zakh’s wife’s older brother, so he’s family to us.

“He’s pissed himself,” Leo says.

“Shit, I hate it when they do that.” Zakh grits his teeth. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

“Rough him up a little bit.” Leo chuckles. “Don’t worry, I left some for you guys.”

“Is he talking?” I ask.

“He’s talking, but he’s not saying the right things. He’s also pretending he doesn’t speak English well and can’t understand us. It’s a lie. Some of the messages on his phone are in English.”

“What language is he speaking?” Although Spanish is the language mainly spoken in Mexico, some of Diego’s men speak Portuguese as he recruits from Brazil. It’s no problem as I speak both.

“Portuguese.”

“Name?”

“Manuel Gutierrez. He claims he’s a humble tourist who got lost when he wandered onto the compound, but the cameras picked him up killing a homeless man in the park.”

Typical cartel guy. “The homeless guy must have seen him trying to get in.”

“Yeah. I got the clean-up crew to take care of him. The fucker also doesn’t know we got the pictures off his phone yet. They were encrypted. We also have this. He hacked you Malik.” Leo hands me a copy of my email correspondence from this morning to my guy in L.A. discussing the paternity tests I arranged for Gwen.

Fucking hell. Not only did I not know this motherfucker was following me, but I allowed him to hack me. Zakh takes a look and frowns.

“Did he send this to Diego?” I ask.

“No. He hasn’t.” Leo lifts his chin. “Nearly did though. The message was in his drafts.”

“Do they know about Gwen?”

“No. Her name wasn’t mentioned at all.”

It wouldn’t have exactly mattered now. I’ve already married Gwen, and everything is in motion. I’ve already won. It’s just that their knowledge of what I’m up to would have made things a little more awkward. I want to bring war to their doorstep and not fight any battles along the way.

“Then time is still on our side.”

“It is.” Leo hands me a few of the pictures. “You can use these in whatever ways you see fit.”

I take them. “I will.”

“He’s this way.” Leo points to the cell door at the end of the room.

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