“Are you sure that’s the place?” I asked as I leaned over Gilberto’s shoulder. He was typing something on his computer, his short dark brown hair still a little damp from the shower he hadn’t had the time to finish because I’d come knocking on his door looking for help with finding Chiara. He glanced over his shoulder at me, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“Yep, that’s it.” He pointed at the red dot on the map that was on the screen. “If you look at the cameras, you’ll see Chiara was taken the moment she came out of the store and dragged into a black van. The van circled around a little, but one of the cameras caught the plates. They went straight for this building. There are no cameras on it, but I’m sure it has to be there because the van didn’t show up again anywhere else for at least an hour.”
“That’s great. Thanks.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I really appreciate your help.”
He turned around in his chair to face me. “Any time, Vix, but will you tell me now what’s going on? What are you planning to do?” His gaze fell on Seth who was standing right behind my back. “Don’t tell me you’re actually going to war with a gang.”
“No. I just want Chiara back. The guy who took her, Rubio, wants me to do something... I might not have any other choice but to agree to his terms.”
Gilberto narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not fooling me. I know about the Wolves and their leaders. If you just wanted to make a deal with Rubio, you’d have gone to him already or sent him a message. Please don’t tell me you’re planning to go save Chiara on your own.”
“No, of course not. That would be suicide.” I gave him an indignant look, although that was exactly what I’d been considering while he’d been searching for Chiara’s location. But not even my father could do much if I walked into Rubio’s den and didn’t come out alive.
“Um, okay.” Gilberto eyed me as if he didn’t quite believe me.
“I just want to make sure she’s alive before I sign any deals. That’s all. He could lie to me or show me fake videos. I need to make sure he won’t trick me,” I said, because that was something Gilberto could definitely believe.
“Oh.” He turned back to his computer. “And how do you intend to do that?”
“Can you give me more info about that building where they might be holding Chiara?” I stared at the dot on the screen, but that area was mostly unfamiliar to me. It was in the heart of Rubio’s area, and Rubio’s dealers were all over it. It wasn’t that unusual to run into a dying drug addict on the street. Everyone always warned me against going to that part of the city.
“It’s an old apartment building. Some people still live there,” he said. “But I don’t know who. It’s probably Rubio’s men and their families. They like to stick together.”
“How do you know?” If he was working with Rubio too, then all of this was pointless, but I had a feeling that he wasn’t. Not everyone in this damn city was involved with gangs and their crap.
“I’ve been watching them for a friend. Don’t like those guys much.”
“So Chiara could be in one of the apartments?” I asked. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to get inside the building, find the right apartment, and get her out of there unseen, especially since there’d be guards everywhere.
“Yeah, but she could also be...”
“In the basement,” Seth said, and I looked up at him.
“Exactly,” Gilberto said.
“What do you know about that?” I faced Seth, arching an eyebrow at him. He had to know something, because he hadn’t said a word until now.
“I knew some of the Wolves. They use basements for their prisoners.” Seth was focused on the computer instead on me, which made me frown.
“You knew Rubio’s men? What does that mean? Are you still in contact with them?” I moved toward him until he was no longer able to look anywhere else except at me.
“Like I said, I knew them. They’re dead,” he said calmly.
Well, that was convenient. “And it didn’t occur to you to mention that before?”
“There was no need.”
“Were you working for them or with them?” That would explain all the tattoos and scars on his back. If he’d been a part of the Wolves...
“No.” He didn’t even blink as he said it, his eyes intent on mine. “I’d never do that. But I had some dealings with them. It wasn’t... pleasant. I know what they’re capable of.”
“Care to share anything that might help?” I placed my hand on my hip.
“If Rubio’s men took Chiara to that building, she’ll probably be in the basement. Two guards will be at the entrance to the building, and three more at the door to the room where they’re keeping her.” Seth wrinkled his nose. “That’s how they operate with low-risk prisoners.”
“Were you one of the prisoners then?” I tilted my head at him.
“No,” he said, but he suddenly found something exceptionally interesting on the wall behind me. Yeah, right. It looked like he wasn’t willing to tell me about his past with the Wolves.
“Whatever,” I said. “But why would Chiara be a low-risk prisoner? She’s a fighter.” Chiara wasn’t just a pretty face at the club, and she had a really nasty right hook. It had taken me a huge amount of makeup to cover up the bruise she’d left.
“Doesn’t matter,” Seth said. “She’s not a member of any gang and isn’t there to be interrogated. And no matter how good of a fighter she is, she won’t be able to get out of there on her own. She’s probably been drugged.”
“Dude,” Gilberto said. “How do you even know all that?”
“See? Even Gilberto’s suspicious.” A smile built up on my lips. Seriously, what was Seth hiding? He clearly wasn’t Rubio’s spy because he wouldn’t have talked so much about this, but I still wasn’t going to trust him completely. “Gilberto, can you please verify that info somehow? Maybe hack another camera or something that could tell us how many men there are.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Gilberto’s fingers hit the keyboard again.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked Seth, whose face was deadly serious. “How can you know all that?”
“I just do.” There was bitterness in his voice. Well, hell.
“This seems pointless. There’s nothing for me to hack in that building,” Gilberto said, and I turned toward him. “Why don’t you just send Troy to walk past it? You know him, right? He lives like two blocks away. It won’t be weird. I think he passes there every day.”
“I don’t want to drag another person into this.” Someone could see him and kidnap him too. We so didn’t need that.
“You don’t even have to tell him what’s going on. Just ask him if he saw anything weird around that building.”
“Fine.” I pulled out my phone and sent Levi a text. “I’ll see if anyone can get in contact with him. Seth and I should go now.”
“I’ll text you if I find anything else,” Gilberto said. “But so far that doesn’t seem likely, but I’ll definitely let you know if another suspicious van shows up or if they try to transfer her somewhere.”
“They won’t,” Seth said, and both Gilberto and I looked at him. “It’s too much of a hassle for them to move her and they don’t have a reason to.”
“Well, great, Mr. Know-It-All.” I rolled my eyes, wondering if I should trust a word he said, because we definitely didn’t have a way to confirm if he was telling us the truth. And if this was some kind of a game he and Rubio were playing... But why even bother then? He’d had to be aware it would only make me more suspicious of him.
His eyes were filled with... It looked like anguish. He wanted to save Chiara, but maybe there was also something he wasn’t willing to share with me. The guy standing in front of me was a huge mystery. It was infuriating. “We’re leaving now. Thanks for everything,” I said to Gilberto.
“No problem,” he said, and then Seth and I headed for the door.
My phone vibrated when we were out on the street. It was a text from Levi, and I glowered at Seth who was openly staring at my screen. “Troy saw two guys at the front door who usually aren’t there. They seemed armed,” I said, even though I was sure Seth had already read the text. He’d been right about the two guards at the entrance.
“You should go home,” Seth said. “It’s not safe for you to be outside. Rubio’s men might be looking for you.”
“They have Chiara. Why on earth would they be looking for me now? If they wanted me, they would’ve taken me.”
“I don’t know, but you should go home.” He had his phone out—the one my father had given to him—and he was tapping the screen, careful to shield it from me. “Get a good night’s sleep and maybe a solution will come to you in the morning.”
“Gee, you sound like someone’s grandma.” I made a face.
“Do you have a better plan?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. So far, I didn’t really have a plan, aside from hiring Tobias’ gang to help me out with this. The Cobras would probably refuse, because attacking any of the Wolves would definitely be an act of war, and I was sure they wouldn’t go there for me.
Seth’s phone beeped and he quickly glanced at it. “So? What do you say? Going home seems good to you now?”
I squinted at him as if that was going to help me figure out why he was acting like this. “So your best suggestion is that I go to sleep and magically come up with a solution in the morning?”
“Not magically, but...” He shrugged.
“And how am I supposed to sleep while my friend is being... drugged and held prisoner and...” A lump was forming in my throat, and all I could think about was Chiara. I was failing her and I didn’t even know how to change that.
Seth’s face grew even more serious. “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want you in danger.”
My phone vibrated and I was surprised to see a text from my father. “Your bodyguard just asked for a night off,” I read out loud. “When he brings you home, Scott will take his place until he’s back.” My eyes lifted to Seth’s and he bit down on his lip. “What the fuck? You texted my father asking for a night off? Why? Are you afraid I’m going to run off to make a deal with Rubio and you don’t want to get blamed for it?”
“If that’s what you’re planning to do, then I’d advise against it.”
“I can’t believe you!” I threw my hands up in frustration. “Now my father will send a new guard for me and I won’t be able to...” At least Seth knew what I was doing and could come with me, but other guards... I couldn’t explain what was going on to them, and if I ditched them, they’d tell my father, who’d call the cops or something. “Are you trying to stop me from saving my friend’s life? Why?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Victoria...”
“If you don’t want to risk your job, then just leave. Say I hit you over the head with something and ran, but don’t do this.” I shook my head, not even sure what exactly he was doing. It wasn’t as if I was in any more danger now than I was before, and Seth seemed to know things about the Wolves, so why was he...?
Unless...
I met his gaze. “Wait, were you planning to... go to that building on your own? Is that why you want to take a night off and why you told me I might find a solution...” I couldn’t even believe it myself as I said it, but Seth flinched a little.
“No, I...” He licked his lips.
“Oh, my God.” My mouth fell open.