No One Heard Her Scream

'I thought you were some kind of muscle for the mob. An enforcer,' she confessed. 'What did you do for Rivera before all this started? You look like a guy who can handle himself. Don't tell me you were his CPA. The bean counter geek defense won't fly with me, Slick.'

He chuckled. 'Not exactly. But I do have a financial background, believe it or not. I look for investment opportunities for Joe. I find ways for him to spend his money.'

'Money laundering?' she asked.

'I only look for legitimate business ventures or properties for him to acquire or sell off. Beyond that, I have no idea how his finances are handled. I strictly optimize the hard assets of his net worth.'

'You must specialize in hostile takeovers then. Why else would you carry a concealed weapon?' she teased, sort of.

'Now that, I can explain. It was Joe's idea. A man should be able to defend himself, he would always say. Considering his career choice, I saw the merit in his point of view.' Diego grinned and shook his head. 'Joe arranged for my training and made sure I was proficient with weapons. And roughhousing with some of his guys put eyes in the back of my head. Hell, for a while Joe and I trained together, until prosperity made a beeline for his belly.'

'Up 'til now, the drills were exercise, a way for me to focus my mind and body. I never thought—' He stopped himself and fixed his eyes on her. 'Do you mind if I ask you a question?'

He turned the tables. She cleared her throat and forced a smile. 'I think I can handle that.'

'Trust is a gift, a two-way street. Do you trust me, Rebecca? If you do, I'd like to hear more about your sister.'

Becca swallowed, searching his eyes for a reprieve. None came. He waited for her to fill the silence. She had no idea where to start, so she cut to the heart of the matter, a testimony to her newfound trust in him.

'When she was little, Dani looked up to me. Somewhere along the way, I lost that. I took her love for granted and shoved it aside like it never mattered. I was too busy.' Becca stood and headed for the couch, wine bottle and glass in hand. With her prompting, Diego followed. 'Now I wish I had my time with her back. She died, and I never got a second chance to make things right between us.'

'If you had that second chance, what would you do differently?'

'I would have centered my world on what really mattered . . . my family. Momma and Dani would be top of my list.' A tear rolled down her cheek. Staring into the shimmering gold of her wine, Becca didn't bother to wipe the tear away. 'I feel so lost without them. My mother is dead inside, paralyzed with grief, and I can't find a way back into her life. She doesn't need me ... or want me there. I feel so ashamed of my part in this. And now, I can't even find Dani's killer.'

'That's hard to do when you've been banned from the investigation. You shouldn't blame yourself.' He leaned closer and reached for her hand, kissing her palm with tenderness. The compassion in his eyes touched her heart. 'I believe in second chances, Rebecca. And the people we love? We hold them in our hearts. They make us who we are, become part of us.'

He grasped her hand and squeezed it, infusing her with his strength. Becca shut her eyes and took a deep breath, comforted by his words. For an instant, she felt the love of her baby sister, even pictured her smiling face. God, it feels good to be connected again.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Diego in a new light. How could someone with deception in his heart speak like this? He had let her see inside him, given himself freely. And the foundation of his life had been family, something she envied. Diego made it look easy.

'You are a strong woman, Rebecca. But how you bear the burdens in your life defines that strength. Never be ashamed of your vulnerability. It's as much a part of you as your courage.'

He wiped a tear from her face and smiled. 'And what about this case you can't ignore? The body of a young girl found in the theater. I can see why it hits close to home, but do you think the murder is connected to Cavanaugh?'

'The evidence suggests other suspects, but my instincts as a cop tell me otherwise. I can't ignore those feelings. Somehow, I think this case is linked to him. I just haven't found the connection yet.'

Becca told him about her case, thankful to be off the painful topic of her family. He paid attention to every detail and asked intelligent questions. It felt good to bounce her theories off someone else. It felt good to have a partner.

'If Cavanaugh is involved in trafficking, he's got to have his stash of girls nearby. And I think Matt Brogan is up to his red neck in it.' Anger raced across Diego's eyes at the mention of Brogan. 'I haven't found any direct evidence, but I've been feeding possible locations to Draper as I find them.'

'I can't imagine it would be easy to catch Cavanaugh with his hands in the cookie jar.'

'No, the man would distance himself. Brogan is his middleman. I can feel it.'

'How have you been finding the locations, the ones you've been feeding Draper?' she asked.

'Any way I can. I rifle through his personal records, both online and hard copy, looking for properties he owns or leases. But lately, he's shut down my sources and changed security codes. His men have been mobilized, mostly at night, but I've got nothing. It's like starting over at ground zero.'

'What about your own audio surveillance, phone taps?' she asked. 'Draper should have been able to get anything you needed.'

'Cavanaugh sweeps the estate at irregular hours and is paranoid as hell. I couldn't risk getting caught planting my own bugs, equipment that might be detected before it did any good. And if the man was foolish enough to incriminate himself on the phone, he has the latest high-tech gear. The phones are encrypted, cells and landlines.'

Diego raked fingers through his hair, his frustration showing. He might have resented Draper's interference at the start, but Becca could tell he had found his own motivation to persevere. She respected him for it.

'So far, Draper has nothing. The warehouses and various locations were empty when he got there. We've worked the streets, canvassing for any unusual activity with the girls, and nothing.' Diego sighed and shook his head. 'If Joe had known Cavanaugh had this thing going on the side, he never would've approved any damned merger. He would've shut the guy down in a hurry. Joe's sick with worry over me and mad as hell the feds got me involved, but I think most of all, he feels guilty about the role he played in putting me here.'

'It's got to be hard for Rivera to sit on the sidelines, especially with his son paying the price for his sins.' She shifted her weight on the sofa to face him. 'So what's next?'

'Desperation. A 'Hail Mary' pass downfield.' He shook his head, dimples on full display.

Boyish charm mixed with his seductive qualities, a dangerous combination. Diego moved, his warm thigh touching her leg. Becca liked the feeling. When her cheeks flushed with heat, she didn't pull away. It took all her concentration to listen to what he had to say.

'You see, I found a receipt for some repair work at an old warehouse. Someone added a commercial-sized lock and reinforced the metal on a delivery bay door. It's not much, but I won't know until I check it out.'

'What part of town?' she asked. After he gave her the general area, she had to know. 'You and Draper going?'

'Yeah, I'm meeting him in an hour. It'll probably be another dead end, but this property? It doesn't show up on Cavanaugh's records, and none of his subsidiary companies are involved. Not a sublease either. As far as I can tell, it's not linked to him at all. The repair raised a red flag with me. I mean, why pay the bill if the property isn't yours, right?'

He finished his wine and set the glass on her coffee table.

'Sounds intriguing. Will you let me know what turns up?' she asked.

'Yeah, sure.' Diego stood and reached for her hand to help her up. 'Thanks for dinner . . . and everything.'

'The next time I feel the urge to have my eggs whipped, I'll know who to call. You make a mean omelet. My regards to the chef.' Becca grabbed his coat and walked him to the door. 'We're partners now, remember? From here on out, I'm looking out for your backside, Slick.'

'Good to know. My ass feels safer already.'

For the first time, she felt a twinge of worry for him. Tonight, Draper would be protecting his backside, not her. She should have been okay with Diego being in the company of the big bad FBI, but she only felt useless. A woman forced to take vacation.