Page 49 of Corrupted Deception

To most of the world, Nacio Morales was known simply as the dangerous-as-fuck Colombian cartelcapowho nobody messed with, not if they wanted to keep breathing. But in recent months, he’d proven there was more to him. Deo had worked alongside him to take down human scum on more than one occasion.

Charlotte knew Nacio Morales, I mused silently. Her father was missing. It could have been she’d paid Morales to help her find him, but the relationship was clearly too personal for a simple business arrangement.

I drummed my fingers against my thigh as I turned the puzzle pieces this way and that, trying to find the right fit.

“I didn’t expect to seeyouhere,” Morales said, directing his attention to me as he closed the distance between us. We’d never been formally introduced, but it didn’t surprise me he knew who I was.

Charlotte’s gaze swung back and forth between me and the two men. “Nacio, this is—”

“Si, I know who he is,” he said.

Surprise flickered across her face before she managed to cover it up. “You do?”

The corners of Morales’ mouth twitched in a smile. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with his brother,cariño.How is Amadeo, Cielo?” he asked as he held out his hand to me.

I shook his hand, smiling wryly. “Deo’s good. I’m not sure he knows just how small the world seems to be getting these days.”

He nodded as he dropped his hand.

The burly man with what I could clearly see now was a pair of daggers tattooed beneath his eyebrow was still eyeing me warily. I couldn’t blame him. Nacio Morales wasn’t the only one with a reputation.

“I like your brother,” he said to me, his face expressionless. “I hope I’ll have reason to like you as well.” His gaze slipped to Charlotte, then back to me.

I shrugged, not quite sure how I felt about the protective vibe radiating from these men when it came to Charlotte. And I sure as hell had no idea where this fucking puzzle piece fit in.

“I’m sure you will. Everyone likes me better,” I said, a congenial smile on my face. I’d play friendly for now. It was a game I played often. In my line of work, it wasn’t solely about ending lives. It required a mastery of subtlety, the art of putting people at ease, and the finesse to lower their guard.

“Do you suppose we can talk,cariño?” Morales asked Charlotte, his eyes moving suggestively to the warehouse.

She looked at me, teeth digging into her bottom lip.

“It’s fine. He knows,” she said eventually. “And he’s like the cat who came back.” She rolled her eyes, cracking a smile. “’Just couldn’t stay away,”she said in an almost sing-song voice.

Even the burly, tatted guy cracked a smile.

“Just give me a minute to let Ray out,” she said, hurrying to the door, sliding her hand beneath the corrugated metal siding until the door clicked and she pulled it open.

The big dog came bounding out. After its behavior the other night, I half-expected him to come to a sudden stop or go scurrying back inside when he discovered there were people milling about, but instead, I swear the dog’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. He bounded around the dark, gravel lot, circling Charlotte, then Nacio, slowing long enough for an obligatory pet before running laps around the tatted man.

Charlotte laughed, shaking her head. “You’re still his favorite human, Julio.”

And if the attention Julio was bestowing on the dog was any indicator, the feeling was mutual.

“He’s just afraid I’ll send him back to that hellhole we found him in,” he said, his accented voice gruff as he brushed off the compliment.

She laughed and shook her head. “Not a chance. Ray knows you better than that.”

This Charlotte was different, not at all like the woman I’d seen or even the girl she’d been. She was… lighter in the company of these men, like their mere presence had lifted a heavy weight off her shoulders.

For just a moment, I set aside solving puzzles and figuring out what role they played in her life and why their presence here made something writhe uncomfortably beneath my skin. I just watched her as she smiled and laughed in between these men with whom she clearly had a history.

She’d never laughed like that. I don’t think she’d even smiled like that in all the time I knew her. But it lit her up from the inside out like her soul was smiling.

Christ, I think it might have been the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“I spoke with the son of aLos Cazadores Sangrientoslieutenant tonight,” Charlotte said as her smile fell away and her gaze shifted back and forth between Morales and Julio. “Carlos Mendoza—son of Luis Mendoza.”

Morales cocked an eyebrow while Julio grumbled low in his throat.

---