Page 41 of Cartel King

“You invaded her privacy—touched her belongings to snoop—without asking me first.”

I look between my brother and nephew, stunned by this revelation. It’s not as though they haven’t taken these steps before, but they knew each of those times it was what I wanted. They have to know this is not,not, NOT what I wanted.

“We got the prints off her mailbox. We didn’t go in her house or anything like that.”

“Her mailbox? You got clear prints from that when any mail carrier could have smeared them or covered them.”

“We got a few different prints we identified. The set of prints that must be hers didn’t trigger anything in the system. That’s more than just suspicious,tío. That’s practically impossible. Even our fingerprints come up, and we make sure half the shit they’ve charged us with never sees the light of day.”

“Could she be in WITSEC?”

“No. Joaquin hacked that system as well. There’s nothing about her in the U.S. Marshals database. And I paid our informant to do a manual check at the WNRC.”

Washington National Records Center is part of the National Archives. That makes me raise my eyebrows. My nephews were thorough.

“Not only that, we looked for any flight or car rental reservations out of Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia. There was nothing. So, we expanded the search, and still nothing came up.”

“Private jet?”

Luis shakes his head. “She’s in a nice neighborhood, but she doesn’t have that kind of money if she’s living there.”

“Or maybe she does because she paid cash for that house. She doesn’t strike me as someone who needs anything flashy, but she enjoys comforts that don’t come for free.”

“Are you saying her furniture and decor are expensive?”

I glare at Pablo. It’s not a secret where I left from or what time I left when I made my impromptu trip to South America. However, it’s entirely different for Pablo to come out and ask about anything in Ellie’s home. I say nothing because I know I’m defensive about her. They don’t need to know the extent of how I feel. It’s unreasonable considering how little I obviously know about her and how little time I’ve spent with her despite seeing her most days for the past two months.

My visceral reaction is to tell him to tread carefully since he’s speaking about his future aunt. I definitely am not saying that aloud. They’ll flip the fuck out if I do. However, they must have some idea I see potential for Ellie and me. I told her I wouldn’t bring her anywhere near this world if I didn’t want something long-term. They must know that too.

She might not agree yet. But after the other night and what we shared, I think she’ll either run for the hills on her own or come around to my way of thinking.

That doesn’t mean I want to divulge any of this to anyone in my family.

“She’s doing just fine for money from what I can tell.”

That’s as much as I’m willing to give away. Luis knows his job is to play devil’s advocate. But he also realizes this is one topic that could put him on the path to hell with one wrong word. He’s quieter when he speaks this time.

“Could she have flown on somebody else’s private jet?”

“That’s entirely possible.”

When I look at my brother and nephew, I know what they’re thinking, but we’re not in a committed relationship. If she already had a trip planned with someone else, then she’s free to travel with them, whether it’s a girls’ trip or a romantic trip with someone else. I have no hold over her, though my mind screams I have a claim on her.

She’s mine!

The questions are going a mile a minute as I fight to remain calm, my suspicions screaming in my head as loudly as my claim thatshe’s mine.

If she’s on a romantic getaway, then she lied about whether she wants to be involved with anyone else and what she wants out of a relationship.

Could she have lied to me?

Did she say all of those things to push me away, then temptation got the better of her?

Did she say all of those things to push me away, knowing she already had plans with someone else?

I suppose anything is possible. I look at my brother again.

“So, what do you propose I do? Walk away? Never go back in that neighborhood? Never see her again?”

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