Falling with Grace - Page 180

Andrés straightened, abandoning me naked and vulnerable on the cold floor, the door closing with a disheartening finality behind them all.

The deadbolt turned with a sinister click, saturating the air with a metallic stench. He’d left me sealed in the decaying room with the haunting echoes of horrors I could never undo, my body beaten and used.

And it was all my fault.

41

Elias

Javier loomed over my desk, his phone pressed to his ear, fingers raking through his hair. He exhaled, cheeks puffing out in frustration, his gaze fixated on the glowing computer screen.

“That’s all I’ve got.” He shrugged, failure evident in his tone. “We’ve turned every stone, knocked on every door. Some knew of him, but nothing substantial. No breadcrumbs leading us to him.” His hand fell to his side, ending his unanswered phone call. “I’ve leaned on our government contacts, but they’re dealing with the fallout from the murders of their top Generals.”

I sloped forward, resting my elbows on the desk, fingers steepled at my chin, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

There has to be something.

A heavy, sinking weight settled in my gut.

“Have you questioned the staff?”

He nodded. “Thoroughly. They deny ever having spoken to Andrés or his people.”

I huffed. “Maybe they didn’t know it was his contacts? Maybe they vented to the wrong person?”

Javier’s head swayed in a slow, disheartened shake. “I asked if anyone had crossed their paths lately, anyone new. Each one, without fail, denied it, except for their interaction with Grace.”

“It’s been seven days.” I shot up from my seat, my hand slamming against the desk. “How can one man slip through the cracks so effortlessly in my country, in mycity?”

Javier’s phone emitted a sharp ping. He glanced down at the screen and tipped his head back, groaning. “It’s Nadia.” He snarled, turning the screen with the guard’s message towards me. “She’s here.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t have time for her.”

He tapped on his phone.

“The dead men in my house…did youidentify them?”

“Yes.” He dropped his phone on the desk and tapped on his computer. “Victor Guzman, Pedro Vasquez, and six others.”

“And you’ve questioned their families?”

He nodded. “Two weeks ago, they were laid off from their construction jobs.” He shrugged. “Next thing the families knew, they were buying clothes and food for their families.”

“So he paid ghosts?”

“It would appear so—”

The door swung open, and Nadia stepped in with Mamá. “Elias, I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Who let her in?” I glared at Javier, and he shrugged.

“I told them to turn her away—”

Mamá looped her arm around Nadia’s. “I let her in.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath through my nose. My hands balled into fists against the polished wooden desk.

“She was concerned, Elias. You can’t just ignore her forever.”