Chapter 10

The facthe could walk without letting Teresa know his dick was as hard as a cement post was amazing.

One kiss.

That was all it’d taken for his body to crave more of Teresa. Angelo licked his lips; he could still taste her.

What would’ve happened if he’d kissed her in high school?

Would he have been able to walk away from her and join the Navy?

One taste was all it took for him to become an addict.

He slammed the door shut on thoughts like that. He was acting like a teenager, believing he was in love with the girl after one kiss. Totally ridiculous, and so not like him.

Angelo enjoyed women. He enjoyed flirting and the freedom of not being attached to one person. Plus, no way was he going to do an Ox and Growler. While he was happy that they’d found their life partners, he was only thirty-two, he still had plenty of time before he needed to settle down.

Yes, that was what he needed to remember. He’d always been convinced he wouldn’t get married or involved in a serious relationship until later in life. Whether it was a rebellious action against his mother’s constant harping that he needed to settle down or not, he couldn’t guess—or refused to acknowledge.

If Angelica Donatello even got a hint that his interest in Teresa was more than just solving her current issue and ensuring her safety, she’d be booking her church for a traditional Catholic wedding ceremony and then booking the ballroom at the Ritz Carlton for the reception with five hundred people—four hundred and ninety-nine of them people he didn’t know.

Dammit, he shouldn’t have kissed her. Angelo couldn’t let it happen again. Which could prove difficult, because he had plans to convince her to stay at his place, but he would be able to control himself. He was a former SEAL; he could lock shit down deep.

With that resolve thrumming through his veins, he opened the door to Ox’s office and allowed Teresa to precede him, ordering himself to not check out her ass in the trousers she’d changed into when they’d gone to her place earlier. “You got some information for us?” Angelo asked and closed the door behind him.

Ox sat behind his desk, a view of downtown LA on display behind him through the floor to ceiling windows.

If Angelo had this office, he doubted he’d get much done. He’d be too busy looking at the view. Although, after a while, he’d probably get bored and do his work.

Fuck. Focus!

The way his thoughts were fixated on a view was pathetic. Not once, when he’d entered his boss’s office, had he ever thought about what lay beyond the glass windows.

The kiss had thrown off his equilibrium—another reason why it couldn’t happen again.

“Take a seat. Cass is just double checking some information.” His boss indicated the couch, where Cass was perched with her laptop resting on her lap, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Teresa, can I get you a drink?” Ox asked.

An irrational shaft of annoyance swirled in Angelo’s belly. He should be the one asking if she wanted anything.

“No, I’m fine, but thank you,” Teresa said, and sat next to Cass.

Angelo watched her move, unable to drag his gaze away.

She’d taken a maximum of five steps, and he wanted to drag her back to his side.

Abruptly, he strode over to the small fridge Ox had in his office, yanked the door open, and grabbed a bottle of water. Maybe the coolness of the liquid would be what he needed to get his attention on the job at hand and settle the irrational thoughts and reactions he was rocking.

“Want to tell me what bug is up your ass?” Ox muttered as he too grabbed a bottle of water.

Angelo didn’t believe his boss needed the drink, but he couldn’t ignore his question either. “Don’t know,” he said truthfully. There was a gamut of emotions ping ponging around his body. He was surprised he wasn’t covered in bruises.

Ox didn’t say anything else. He just stood there—waiting. That was what he was good at, waiting out the enemy or, in this case, him. Waiting for him to spill his guts.

Not going to happen.

Not until Angelo could understand them, which wouldn’t occur in the next five minutes.

As if Ox had taken up residence in Angelo’s mind, he squeezed his shoulder. “Always here if you need me.” The guy threw him a nod. “Now, how about we listen to what Cass has to say?”

“Thanks.” Angelo rolled his shoulders to alleviate the tension, and it helped a little.

The most important thing right then was trying to understand who put the bugs in Teresa’s house. It was unlikely they’d find out—they’d come up with a suspicion without confirmation.

“What you got for us, Cass?” Angelo asked as he sat on the vacant couch, opposite to the one Cass and Teresa were on.

Teresa seemed as if she was trying to catch his gaze, but he didn’t succumb to the urge to meet it.

Obviously, he wasn’t doing a good job at trying to be nonchalant because Cass lifted her head and looked between him and Teresa, as if attempting to analyze them the way she would a computer program.

Good luck with that, Cass, because even I don’t know what fuck I’m doing.

“Right. Well, what I can tell you is that your thought that maybe the bugs were placed by two different people is correct. They’re different devices. One is slightly larger and flatter than the other.”

“Are they still transmitting?” he asked. In the past, whenever he and his former SEAL team had come across any listening devices, all of them had ended up under the heel of their boot crushed until they were useless pieces of metal and wires.

“No. I managed to disable them without having to destroy them. I’m going to try to see if I can get anything from them, like where they were transmitting to, but it’s going to take time.”

“You can do that?” asked Teresa. “How?”

Cass shrugged. “There’re means of finding out information. I just need to put out the right message, and I’ll likely get something back.”

Angelo was always amazed at how Cass worked. How she was able to concentrate on three things at once. “Are you talking the dark web?”

“Correct.”

“How do you get them to talk to you?” Teresa asked. “Why would anyone want to give up that type of information? I’ve dabbled in the dark web on a couple of assignments, and I found it damn hard to follow or find anything at all.”

Angelo tensed. Teresa had dabbled in the dark web? When he’d first joined Alliez, Ox hadn’t liked that Cass was using it, but it’d been useful on so many occasions that now he accepted it.

Of course, Cass had made sure that there was no way anyone could find her. She was one of the best hackers around, and during Angelo’s time in the military, he’d been aware that Navy Intelligence had relied on a discrete few to give them the information they wanted.

Cass shrugged. “Before I started asking, I watched and learned. Like with everything, everyday phrases mean something else entirely on the dark web. In human trafficking. In the drug trade. After a while, I figured out which ones weren’t just casual comments and what they meant.”

“Damn, that’s impressive,” Teresa murmured.

Angelo suspected she wished she had a Cass on her side during some of her assignments. Perhaps if she had with this one, she might not be in the danger she was now in.

And then you wouldn’t have met her again.

He shushed that inner voice.

“Have you managed to get into Arturo’s files to determine how deep they’re in with the cartel?” Angelo asked.

“I have. They’re practically married to each other. Arturo has been cleaning the cartel’s money for years. They worked with Manuel Ramirez prior to his death. After Gomez managed to gain control of the cartel—” Cass looked at Teresa. “When Manuel was murdered in a shoot-out, many people tried to become the head honcho of the cartel. Gomez believed it was his right as Manuel’s brother, but others had different ideas. It took about four years before Gomez finally gained control and got the focus back on the drug trade and not killing each other.”

Angelo hadn’t been aware of the background of the Ramirez Cartel, only that they’d been after Astrid, and Growler’s former SEAL team had been sent to try to take Gomez out but had been thwarted.

Growler hadn’t expanded on why the Navy had gotten involved, but sometimes the information they were given was on a need-to-know basis, and there were some things that even their Commander wasn’t aware of.

“Anyway,” Cass said. “Arturo has been the most reliable firm for the cartel. They’ll do anything to protect their connection.”

Even killing those who try to expose them.

Cass might have not said the words, but they hung in the air like a bad smell.

Teresa had gone pale, and her gray eyes were wide.

Everything in Angelo wanted to rush over and pull her into his arms. Tell her everything was going to be fine.

He stayed where he was.

“They’re not going to let me live, are they? They’re going to keep coming after me until they get me.” Teresa twisted her fingers together, fear coloring her voice.

Fuck it, he wasn’t going to let her suffer while he sat and watched. Angelo shot up and rounded the coffee table, pulling Teresa into his arms.

She burrowed her face into his neck and clung to him.

“That’s not going to happen. We will do everything we can to make sure that the cartel forgets about you and what you’ve found.”

She pulled away from him. “How are you going to achieve that? Walk in and demand them to leave me alone? I’m not sure you have that much power, Angelo. We’re talking about a drug cartel. People who don’t blink when they kill someone. They holster their guns and step over the body without a backward glance.”

Nothing Teresa said was a lie. Cartels were ruthless, like many other organizations out there.

For whatever reason, the Ramirez cartel had lost interest in Astrid. Perhaps it would be the same for Teresa.

Was he grasping at straws? Maybe, but whatever it took, he’d make it happen.

“I’m not going to lie. It won’t be easy, but they’ve done it before, with Astrid Conway. If there’s a valid enough reason, it could happen again.” Angelo looked at Ox, willing his boss to back him up.

“We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that you’ll be safe and can go about your life, Teresa,” Ox said. It wasn’t exactly a guarantee, but it was better than nothing.

“Do we want to make enquiries with the DEA? They’re bound to be watching Ramirez, particularly as he’s increased his avenues into the US,” Angelo asked. They hadn’t worked in any capacity with the DEA, but on this occasion, it might be a good idea to reach out to them. “Or maybe ask Julian. I’m sure they’re on the FBI’s radar as well.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Ox nodded.

Teresa got tenser and tenser in Angelo’s arms, and when she pushed against his chest, he dropped his arms and stepped back, giving her the space she so clearly wanted.

“No. You can’t contact them.” The words rushed out of Teresa.

If he’d thought she was pale before, now she looked like a sheet of paper.

What did she know?

Why wouldn’t she want the DEA or FBI involved? It was the same reaction Angelo had gotten the night before when he’d mentioned going to the police about the attempted break-in.

He made a mental note to follow up on that, although if this was her reaction to a simple thought, he could imagine her reaction when he suggested she file a police report.

“Any reason why we shouldn’t?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

“Because you can’t trust any of them. They’re all on the take. If it isn’t Ramirez paying them to turn a blind eye and keep their mouths shut, it’s probably another cartel or organization lining their pockets.”

“Not everyone is bad, Tre. We have connections with local law enforcement and the FBI. These guys are all above board.”

“How can you be so sure?” Teresa demanded. “People can lie to your face without even breaking a sweat. I’ve seen it many times when I know the asshole I’m interviewing is as guilty as hell.”

“Because we vet anyone we work with thoroughly,” Ox said, his voice firm. “I’m well aware that not everyone is what they seem at face value. I’ve seen it firsthand. Experienced it as well. You can be damn sure that anyone I use for information is above board and clean.”

Angelo knew exactly how that was done. “You can trust what Ox says, Tre. We’ve got a frigging genius when it comes to computers, and everyone we deal with, in terms of with the various government agencies, is fully background checked and looked into. If there is even a hint of something gray in what we find, we don’t deal with them.”

Nothing he or Ox said seemed to reassure Teresa.

She still looked petrified, as if someone was going to storm through the door and kidnap her.

Not on his watch. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Teresa?” Cass called softly.

“Yes?” She faced their computer guru, and Angelo stepped up behind her.

Not touching, but letting her know he was there if she needed him.

“You have my word that whoever we contact within the DEA will be safe for us to talk to.”

The sincerity in Cass’s voice was as obvious as the computer on her lap.

Teresa pulled in her bottom lip with her teeth and chewed on it as she processed what Cass said.

Angelo wanted to reach out and rub his thumb beneath her lip, encouraging her to stop abusing her flesh. He didn’t do any of that, just stood there, along with his colleagues, and waited until she reached her decision.

Finally, Teresa nodded. “Okay, I trust you.”

Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.

Although even if Teresa didn’t believe them, Angelo knew Ox and Cass well enough that they’d proceed, with caution of course, but proceed in any case.

Any information the DEA could provide them would be information that would be critical to keeping Teresa safe because anything else wasn’t an option Angelo wanted to entertain.