Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
GINO
“What am I looking at?” I ask Drew, who’s sitting across from me at my desk.
“Cell phone data. I’m still not fully on board with Juliet's theory that this was two people. But I’m indulging her,” he replies.
I give him a flat look. We both know that it’s two people, especially after John’s confession.
“If you don’t believe it, why did you look into this?”
“Because she asked and I don’t want to get on her bad side.”
“None of us do.” I lean forward and lean against the desk. “Explain what this is because these just look like lines of numbers to me.”
“Well, they are lines of numbers. But they all mean things. I asked Juliet to let me get into her phone and see if I can find anything on her end.” He pauses. “Don’t worry, I didn’t look at anything you sent her.”
I give him a flat look, and Mateo snorts from the couch.
“This line here—” he points to a line in the middle of the page, “—is from a burner that texted Juliet in August. It was bought from a gas station upstate. But this was where he made a mistake. It was bought with a credit card. That credit card was also used in the purchase of a long-term stay hotel.”
“Holy shit, Drew, how did you get this?” Ryan asks behind him.
“Once I found the credit card, I was able to use some contacts and my hacking skills to find the transaction history,” he says, lifting a file folder.
Mateo walks over and grabs it from him. “We’re never fucking doing this shit again. I’m not about to become a defense attorney for any of you assholes."
“You’re not going to be; it’s fine,” Drew says. “But in case you were wondering, the latest transaction was for a long-term hotel about an hour from here. Whoever this is, they're getting closer.”
“What hotel is it?” I ask.
“A Valley Court Motel off the freeway,” Drew replies.
“Mateo, you and I are going to go deal with this guy. The rest of you get out of here and go home.”
Ryan and Drew nod and quickly leave. Once they do, I shut the door and turn to look at Mateo, who is now seated back on the couch.
“And we’re going because?” he asks.
“One, we're not going to be violent.” He gives me a flat look. “Okay, we won’t be that violent,” he concedes. “And two, I’m dealing with this. This guy scared the woman I love, and you’re coming with me to help me at least somewhat keep my cool.”
He smirks. “Love, huh?”
“You’re such a dick.”
“No, I’m not; you’re just mad I’m back and call you out on your shit,” he says with a smile on his face. He stands up and walks out of the office.
I’m not far behind him and make my way down the stairs. “I’ll meet you in the car.”
“I’m going to let Vanessa know, and I’ll be right back,” he says, jogging out the front door.
Walking through the first floor, I make my way to the sunroom where Juliet is just finishing up a routine.
“Hey,” I call out. Her hair is in a tight bun in the middle of her head, and she’s wearing a light purple leotard, tan tights, and a white wrap skirt.
She turns and gives me a bright smile. “Hey,” she says, walking over to me.
I grab her waist and place a soft kiss on her lips.
“Mateo and I are going to deal with something about an hour away. I promise we’ll try not to get into any fights, but we'll be gone the rest of the day.” I tell her.
“Be careful, and I’ll have dinner ready when you get home,” she says.
“I’ll invite Mateo, Ness, and the twins over too.”
“Sounds great. I love you,” she says.
“I love you too.” I give her a quick kiss and walk through the house to the car.
Once Mateo gets back, we drive off. We spend the hour chatting about nothing and everything, and I hear about a hundred ‘I told you so’s’ in regard to Juliet and Vanessa.
We pull into the hotel and head into the lobby.
“Checking in?” A young desk attendant asks us.
“No, but we are looking for someone,” I say.
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give out guest information,” she replies.
“I understand. Do you mind if we wait for him?” I ask.
Before she can reply, Mateo clears his throat and lifts his chin towards the parking lot.
A black truck just pulled up, and a guy jumps out. His dark hair is slicked back, dressed in all black, and has at least two guns on him that I can see. Without hesitation, I know it’s him.
“Looks like he just got here,” I say, giving her a quick smile, and we walk out to the parking lot.
We take a few minutes to observe him from our car to make sure it’s him. After he looks out the window three different times, we’re pretty sure it’s him. But to make sure, I’m absolutely certain, I call Drew.
“What’s up?” He asks.
“Hey, we’re at the hotel. Do you have any idea if he’s in room 14?” I ask.
“Why?”
“Because we’re here; a guy pulled up about five minutes ago in a black truck and went into room 14,” I explain.
“Give me a minute to see if any new transactions hit or if the credit card hit for a rental car.”
“Alright,” I reply. I can hear him typing. I turn to Mateo. “Drew’s checking to see if we can verify this is him.” Mateo nods in agreement.
After five minutes, Drew’s voice comes over the phone, “It’s probably him; there was a transaction for a rental car. I got a copy of the receipt, and it was for a black truck.”
“Thanks,” I say, hanging up.
We both get out of the car and walk towards the door. I’m not risking Mateo’s life, so I stand in front of him and knock on the door.
Initially, he doesn’t answer. But after the third knock, he opens the door. I push it open, knocking him back.
“What the fuck?” He yells. He’s in dark wash jeans, a black T-shirt, and his black hair is slicked back.
“Want to tell me why you’re sending text messages to my woman?” I yell.
“Your woman?” he pauses, looking at me. I hear Mateo close the door behind us.
“I know you know who I am.”
“You have an ego, but yes, I know who you are,” he says.
“Tell me why you were sending her messages?” I ask.
“I ain’t telling you that,” he starts. Then I step right into his space.
“I promised her I wouldn’t get violent, so you better start talking,” I grit out.
“You can try all you want, but you’re not getting anything out of me,” he replies.
Mateo cuts in. “I’m guessing you don’t know then.
” He walks forward. “I don’t recognize you, and I’m guessing you don’t recognize me.
I’m Mateo Romano, the guy your boss was holding for a year.
So yeah, you’re going to start talking. I’m guessing you didn’t hear about me coming back, which means Anthony doesn’t know about you because he would have told you.
Which means if you go back to Italy, they won’t know you, and all you have is, what?
You worked for Lorenzo? And well, just like him—” he points to me, “—I promised my wife I wouldn’t get violent, but I’m getting close. ”
After a few minutes of silence. He starts talking, “It was Lorenzo’s directive.
He wanted me to get you off his tail. It didn’t work that well because your team is good.
I started getting aggressive, which I regret.
I honestly didn’t know I was messaging her; I thought I was messaging someone else in your crew until a few months ago.
That’s why I stopped. I wasn't okay with it anymore.”
“This is what you’re gonna do,” I start. “You are going to leave this state and never come back. I don’t want to hear, see, or interact with you again. Got it?”
He nods his head, and Mateo and I quickly leave.
Once we get back to my house, we walk in, and I can already smell what Juliet cooked for dinner. She made Vanessa’s favorite, chicken parmesan.
We both walk into the kitchen and see Juliet and Vanessa talking at the bar. Vanessa sees us first and gives us a bright smile.
“Hey, everything good?” she asks, and Juliet turns around.
“Yeah,” Mateo replies, walking to her and placing a kiss on her head. He whispers something to her, and they walk away.
“Hi,” Juliet smiles at me.
“Hey,” I reply. She gets close to me and kisses me.
“Wanna tell me what you two were up to?”
“Can I tell you later? I promise it was nothing we couldn’t handle, and we didn’t get violent.”
“Good.” She gives me a soft smile. “Dinner’s ready, so how about you clean yourself up and let’s eat.”
“Deal, “ I say, leaning down and giving her another kiss.