Page 77 of For The Days We Can't Forget

Mia’s gaze roamed the room in thought, her brows furrowed into a “V,” but instead of answering me, he pressed Aaron for more information. “Where is the son?”

With reluctance, he answered, “He...left. His mother took him out and ran a while ago.”

She stared at me with wide eyes, coming to a revelation I still wasn’t privy to. “The woman and the kid. When Izzie and I were attacked last year atthe company, Matias implied they were looking for information on a woman and kid. He’s after his son—the only heir—and the kid’s mother.”

“We need to find them,” I urged. “They’re in as much danger as we are.”

“But why look for them here?” Ben sounded as confused as I felt.

She scrunched her face in worry and pain, as if too afraid to come up with whatever conclusion roamed inside her head. Before I could ask her where her mind was leading her, she was startled by another insight.

“‘El Segador’ is still incarcerated!”

“Yes. So?”

“Carlos Gomes rules the cartel, but he always had Pablo Salazar with him. WithEl Segadorin prison, he needs a new second-in-command on the streets, even if it’s just for the time being.” She waved her hands around while talking, energy pumping through her at an alarming level for someone who was barely sleeping. “SinceLa Sangre’s heir is still too young to take over, the next in line could be Matias.”

“But Gomes wouldn’t just nominate Matias as his right hand,” Aaron countered. “Even though he’s dangerous, he still hasn’t reached his father’s level.”

She nodded. “That’s right. He still needs to be approved.”

“How?” I asked. “Like some sort of test?”

“Something like that.” She searched through the mess of papers around her. “They have some sort of rites of passage. Normally, it’s committing crimes for the benefit of the cartel. Since he’d already done his fair share of despicable things, then he must prove himself in some other way.”

Ben scrunched his brows. “So...not a crime?”

That didn’t make sense.

“Oh, most definitely a crime. But something specific.”

“Like selling the girls to Bryan Keyes,” Aaron suggested.

“Which we busted,” Ben chimed in.

“Or getting his son and the kid’s mother back,” Mia volunteered.

“Another thing we screwed up for him,” I recalled. “He was looking for them last year with Michael, but you managed to off Michael and some of the cartel guys and put Matias to run. Then he tried to sell the girls, but we rescued them first.” My insides recoiled, and it became harder to breathe. “Months later, he took Sofia.”

Mia nodded in concentration. “And we got her back as well.”

“So, he must be in trouble. He hasn’t been able to accomplish anything he tried,” Aaron pondered.

Mia rubbed her eyes again under her glasses. “I don’t think Gomes would be lenient about it. It surprises me that Matias hasn’t been punished yet. That we know of.”

“Probably because he’sEl Segador’s son,” I considered.

She nodded. “Most likely. Remember a few years back? Right before we got toEl Segador, we found one of their members. Well, what was left of him. The guy had failed to deliver a huge shipment of coke and ended up putting the heat onEl Segador. Salazar managed to extricate himself from the investigation, but it was too close to him for a while. From the autopsy and investigation, the man was tortured for days, before being decapitated. His body was thrown over a bridge, and his head was sent to his family. That Matias is still breathing is nothing short of a miracle.”

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. “Which means he’s a dangerous loose cannon willing to do whatever it takes to assume the second-in-command position and get intoLa Sangre’s good graces.”

Ominous silence loomed around us. We could barely hear each other breathe. If our assessments were correct, Matias was desperate and thirsty for revenge and a good bloodbath to report to his boss. We were right in the way of his rising, and he most certainly wasn’t happy about it.

“Salazar’s security needs to be improved,” Mia blurted.

Aaron frowned. “Him escaping prison is a stretch.”

I rubbed my face. “Would you put it past him? He has more resources than the government, and their reach is unimaginable.”

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