Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
“He’s in the field,” Vienna said, her voice a little tight.
“Considering what we heard Blom saying about Wilder and the others, admitting that he believed his men should be disposed of once they were about to retire, perhaps Sam or Rainier should contact him and tell him to watch his back,” Stella said. “I don’t want to alarm you, but I think all of these men are at risk.”
“Don’t scare her, Stella,” Zahra cautioned.
“When it comes to Zale’s safety, I always act. I contacted Rainier right away and asked him to get word to Zale. He’d already done it. I should have known,” Vienna said.
“I can’t believe it was Blom who set up his own agents in Vegas,” Harlow said. “That’s terrifying to think that their own boss, a man in a huge position of power and authority, would decide the men working for him should be murdered if they want to retire.”
“I can believe it,” Vienna said. “Look at the way he treated my birth mother and me. His career was far more important to him. In other words, he was the important one.”
“Do they have physical proof that can ensure he will be arrested and charged with murder?” Stella asked Raine. “Did you follow up on that?”
Harlow couldn’t imagine that even as ill as she was, Raine hadn’t done her research the moment she had her laptop back.
Raine was silent for a moment, and then she sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t think the problem will be able to be handled so easily as to have him arrested, charged and convicted.”
The women exchanged long looks as the reality of that sank in. Harlow wondered how she had gotten to a stage where she believed that, sometimes, sending men like Rainier and Wilder out to quietly take care of a problem that couldn’t be resolved any other way was acceptable to her.
“Do you believe Wilder is dead?” Stella asked Raine.
Raine carefully avoided looking at Harlow. “He’s reputed to be one of the best in his field. I have serious doubts.”
Harlow felt as guilty as she could see Raine felt for keeping the truth from their friends. She told herself it was for Wilder. Blom couldn’t know where he was. He had all but admitted he had sent Wilder into an ambush and acted as though if he found him, he would again. That terrified her. Her father wielded power, but not in the same way as Blom. Blom seemed untouchable. She had believed her father to be, but Blom was a different monster altogether.
“What do you have on Guadalupe?” Stella asked. “We don’t have a lot of time before she gets here, and we’ll need a plan of action.”
“She’s a bit of a mystery,” Raine admitted. “I have no information prior to her marrying Benedict Brown. He is a Texan, was born and raised in Texas, and had a small ranch near the border. From what I understand, Guadalupe met him at a dance she had attended with some friends. She was part of a circle of friends learning, teaching or tutoring English. They all attended the dance together. Benedict was there, and they hit it off, beginning their relationship. She appears to have been living in Mexico at that time, but worked at the small school teaching English or Spanish. Spanish was taught to businessmen and women who wanted to be bilingual. The school was located quite close to Benedict’s ranch.”
“How old was she?” Harlow asked.
“According to her date of birth on the marriage certificate, she would have been nineteen.” Raine frowned and gave a little shake of her head. “When I first looked at all this, it appeared to be on the up and up. All of it. Even the school. The chance meeting at a dance with all of her friends.”
“But?” Harlow prompted.
“There were a few red flags. Enough that I started following them. She was nineteen. He was fifty.”
“What?” Shabina’s head snapped up. “He was that much older than she was?”
“It does happen that there is a big age difference, and it can be real love,” Vienna pointed out. “She lived in a very isolated community, and she was very young. She might have been looking for stability.”
“It seemed on the surface that was the case,” Raine agreed, “but there were several reports to the police that Benedict mistreated her. Guadalupe denied it every time and made excuses for black eyes and broken wrists. These incidents happened regularly after parties Benedict would throw.”
The women exchanged looks. That didn’t sound good at all.
“She made frequent trips back to Mexico, and each time she returned, there seemed to be an incident report of Guadalupe injured in some way,” Raine continued. “I couldn’t find any evidence of her parents living in that village. I couldn’t find a single living relative that would take her back to that village, yet she visited on a regular basis, and it appeared to cost her. Benedict never accompanied her. According to the few reports I could gather where the police were called, the incidents coincided with her return from Mexico.”