Delgano: The Intro - Page 113

There was no way it could be her. She had Sayeda’s face, Sayeda’s eyes, and even Sayeda’s name, but he saw the burning body. He’d smelled the burning flesh. He’d ignored the pain in his heart for the last decade.

Dez joined them. “What’s going on? You know her, Adrían? Because, when you walked in, you looked like you saw a ghost.”

He glanced again. “Did she see me?”

“Don’t think so,” Joel said. “Who is she? She’s the real reason you’ve been obsessed with Eesh, isn’t she? Don’t get me wrong, my wife is worth the obsession, but I fully intended to assassinate you.”

“It can’t be her,” he insisted. “The woman I knew, she died. How do you all know her?”

“Julien met her trying to break into Central’s servers,” Joel explained. “She’s helped him with a lot of confidential information. In turn, we’ve been helping her lay low, hence the fake name. First, he helped her escape Morocco?—”

“No, no.” Adrían, head bowed, thrust his fingers into his hair. “Morocco?”

Morocco.

Central.

Sayeda.

His head popped up. “Did Julien use a code or covert name? If he did, what was it?”

“Atlas,” Dez replied.

The blood drained from his body.

It was her.

It had to be.

How could he have given up on her so easily? All he’d seen was a body and a dress, and then he’d left her behind. He walked away. He’d closed himself off, but then the minute he saw Ayesha’s eyes, he crumbled.

“We think she might be related to Eesh,” Dez added. “She doesn’t know that yet, though. Nor does Ayesha. Julien brought her here. While she’s here, we plan to check…somehow.”

Adrían’s gaze flicked to the man standing beside her. “And who’s he?”

Dez looked across the room. “He said his name is Julio, and that he’s her fiancé, but Julien ran facial recognition the minute they stepped foot on the property, and you’ll never guess who he is: Rafael Henriques, the current head enforcer for the Chamas cartel in Brazil.”

“Say the word,” Joel said. “I made you a promise. If you want her, I will kill him.”

Dez nodded. “If he’s busy, I can do it.”

“I’m also available,” Mike said, passing by.

“Joel, you only want to kill him because you think me being with her will help me let go of Ayesha,” he argued.

Joel shrugged. “I have never made this a secret.”

Adrían cleared his throat and crossed the room, holding his breath. The group around her had momentarily dispersed, except for Theo, who appeared to be tossing questions at her rapid fire. She answered each one with enthusiasm, but the so-called fiancé enforcer at her side was clearly nearing his wit’s end.

“Excuse me?” Adrían called.

Theo looked up. “Adrían! Doesn’t she look just like Mama?”

He bent to allow Theo to climb onto his back, then his neck, where Theo then turned the top of his head into a drum set.

Sayeda looked up and gasped, her eyes widening. He saw her fingers spasm, saw her breaths come up short, and it was equally challenging for him not to pull her close and seek penance for his mistakes with his lips against hers. Although discreet, he saw her mouth silently form all three syllables of his name.

She extended a hand, her throat quivering as she swallowed. “Um…hi, I’m Juliana,” she greeted. “I’m a friend of Julien’s. It’s nice to meet you.”

He frowned, his hair twitching with each of Theo’s rhythmic pats. “Querida?—”

“Querida?” the man beside her jumped in. “Watch your mouth, jackass.”

Adrían looked over at the fake enforcer just as Joel and Dez walked up.

“The word,” he said.