Dante
The air reeked of blood and gasoline. We poured gasoline on the floor, to quench the smell of blood. The docks were quiet now, only the sounds of the occasional waves lapping against the wooden planks breaking the silence. My men had done what needed to be done, Marco's shipment was ours now, and he'd be forced to take the loss. But that wasn't what had my mind tangled in knots.
Nico stood beside me, flipping through the files we'd pulled from one of the crates. It was mostly standard transaction logs, inventory sheets, coded messages that we'd decipher later. But then Nico's expression shifted.
"Dante," he called out, holding up a document. His voice was low, careful. "You need to see this."
I grabbed the file, scanning the words. At first, it looked like just another list of names, people involved in the transport, security, and finances. But my eyes landed on one in particular.
Leona Veraga. I stilled. The last time I checked, Leona's last name was Rivera. A slow, unsettling feeling crawled down my spine as I read the name again. Leona Veraga…. A name too close to be a coincidence, yet too different to be certain.
"What the fuck is this?" I muttered.
Nico glanced at me. "That's the bartender's name, isn't it?"
"No," I murmured, flipping through the rest of the file. "You told me it was Rivera."
"Could be a different Leona," Nico suggested, but even he didn't sound convinced.
It didn't sit right with me. A woman with the same first name, working in the same fucking circles? Not likely. I tried to push the thought aside, tried to be logical. Maybe it was just a mistake, a clerical error. But deep down, I knew better than to ignore my instincts. Still, I wasn't going to jump to conclusions.
"Find out if this Leona Veraga is a real person," I ordered, shutting the file. "Check every database, every record. If she exists, I want to know who she is. If she doesn't…" My jaw clenched. "Then we have a fucking problem."
Nico nodded. "Got it."
I turned away from the open crates, inhaling deeply. Marco wouldn't be happy about this raid, but I didn't give a shit. He'd been playing games with me for too long, and this? This was just me playing back. Yet, even as I walked away from the docks, I couldn't shake the unease in my chest. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was just overthinking. But I had a gut feeling that I wasn't.
ON THE DRIVE BACK HOME….
The black SUV frove through thestreets, the city blurred outside the tinted windows. My fingers tapped against my thigh as I stared at each building we passed, my thoughts still on that fucking name.
Leona Veraga. I closed my eyes for a brief second, rubbing my temple. I needed to let it go, for now. Then my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen. Sofia.
I hissed through my teeth, gripping the phone tight. Not now. I wasn't in the mood for her bullshit, and I sure as hell didn't want to hear whatever nonsense she had to say. The ringing continued, her name flashing across the screen like an annoying itch I couldn't scratch. I thought she would have given up by now. But that was me reaching for something impossible. Sofia didn't know how to let go. She never had.
I let the call ring out, shoving my phone back into my pocket. But the moment I did, it buzzed again. Persistent as ever.
Nico glanced at me from the front seat, raising a brow.
"You gonna answer that?"
I clenched my jaw. "No."
Nico smirked but didn't say anything. The call stopped. A moment of silence. Then a text message popped up on my screen.
'We need to talk. Now.'
I let out a humorless chuckle. Do we?. Another buzz.
'Don't ignore me, Dante. You owe me that much.'
I don't owe you a damn thing. I exhaled sharply, rubbing my palm down my face. Sofia had always been like this. Clingy, dramatic. Stuck in some delusion where she thought she still had a place in my life. I had ended things with her a long time ago. But she never truly left.
I finally picked up my phone, typing out a response.
'I don't have time for this.'
A few seconds later, she replied.
'Make time. I know things. Things you'll want to hear.'
My fingers hovered over the screen. Bullshit. I wasn't falling for that. She'd tried this before, dangling something in front of me just to get me to meet her. But then another message came in.
'It's about Marco'
I stilled. The irritation I felt toward her changed, shifting into something else. Curiosity and caution. A slow exhale left my lips.
'What about Marco?'
Three dots appeared, then disappeared. Then her message came through.
'Meet me, and I'll tell you.'
I leaned back into my seat, staring at the words on the screen. My gut told me this was a waste of time. But then again… I never ignored information, especially when it had to do with Marco Montenegro.
I locked my phone, my jaw ticking. Maybe Sofia had something worth hearing. And if she didn't? Then I'd make sure she learned not to waste my time again.