Page 72 of The Chameleon

Then Ares turned his attention to the boy.

“You and I are going to have words when we get out of this tunnel. I don’t want to be carrying a dead body all this way, and I’m certainly not leaving your carcass here to stink up my tunnels.”

The boy recoiled, taking a step behind Matteo.

“Don’t worry, he won’t touch you. Not with me around,” Matteo snarled back at Ares.

“Why? Your little pet just led a dozen or so armed men to your cabin to murder us. That doesn’t bode well for keeping the little prick alive.”

Matteo just glared at Ares.

“Like I said, words when we get out.” Ares turned and continued walking while pulling Matteo along. He didn’t give a shit ifHis Majestywas upset. The little dickwad tried to murder them. In Ares’s book, that meant dismemberment and a cement box.

Forty minutes later, they climbed another ladder that led them to another trapdoor, this one located inside the cellar of a tiny two-bedroom shack.

Ares held the trapdoor up as Matteo and Jorge climbed through the opening. He was half tempted to shove the boy back down the hole and nail shut the exit. He was pretty sure that Matteo had never used a hammer or crowbar, so rescuing the kid from the pit would probably be a challenge for Matteo.

But knowing the guy, Matteo would probably hire a whole demolition crew just to blow open the trapdoor, taking the entire shack along with it in the most dramatic Matteo-like fashion possible.

Dropping the duffle onto the floor, Ares ripped open the bag and pulled out a satellite phone. He punched in the number and waited for Elijah to answer.

“You’re getting slow, old man. Normally, it takes you thirty minutes to make it through that tunnel,” Elijah teased.

“Careful what you say. We have ears listening,” Ares warned, glaring at both Matteo and the sheepish young man currently cowering behind the angry Italian.

“Good ears or dead ears?”

“Not sure yet. So, what did you find out?” They didn’t have time to get into all the details before the murder squad invaded their home.

“Jorge Reyes, nineteen years old, both parents deceased, was working as a delivery boy until about a week ago when he quit his job, then made a two-thousand-dollar deposit to abank account that previously had a negative balance,” Elijah explained. “Want me to go over the video footage?”

“No. Let’s hear what the little shit has to say first. If he lies, let me know, then I’ll shoot him,” Ares snarled, eyes going dark as he turned his focus to the mysterious stranger who had suddenly entered their lives.

“Sounds good, boss.”

“You’re not killing anyone, Ares. Jorge was confessing to me in my bedroom when you came barging in.” Matteo turned to face Jorge. “You said someone hired you to lead them to me. What was the person’s name?”

“Some whitechiconamed Edwin. He showed up one day, telling me how you were a predator and that you needed to be stopped. He said he knew that you were in the area but wasn’t sure where.”

“So that’s when he asked you to text him my location when you came home with me that first night.”

The boy nodded.

Little rat piece of shit.

“What is the murder squad doing right now?” Ares asked Elijah over the sat phone, locking eyes with Matteo.

“They are searching through Matteo’s belongings, looking for something,” Elijah explained.

“How does he know what they’re doing?” Matteo asked, eyes still blazing at Ares.

There was a long pause from both Ares and Elijah.

“Don’t be mad. But I had hidden cameras installed around the cabin and motion sensors placed outside the property when you first purchased it.”

Matteo’s mouth dropped once again. The look of pure disgust and betrayal dripped from his face.

“I’m sorry. But I loved you—” Ares's voice caught in his throat when he realized that Elijah was still listening.

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