God, the signs have all been there this entire time. I should have seen them.
“¿Cómo podría ser tan estúpida?” I mutter under my breath as I close my eyes and lower my head in failure.
“Amaya, look at me,” Isaac commands.
Slowly, I open my eyes and do as he demanded. This day started out great and has turned into the worst. “I’m sorry,” I utter quietly.
“Why are you sorry, Amaya? You didn’t do anything wrong. Now, are you sure it’s her?” Isaac asks, his voice vehement yet as he looks at me it’s not with hatred or condemnation.
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Sí, estoy seguro de que es ella.”
“Sweetness, you know I love it when you switch up like this but not right now. Need to understand you and I’m shit with Spanish,” he grumbles.
“She said, she’s sure it’s her,” a guy says from behind me. I glance over my shoulder and my eyes widen at the sight of a man I hadn’t seen before.
“Viper, what the fuck? We were supposed to be picking your ass up next week,” Stoney states loudly and chairs are scratched across the floor as men approach the guy.
Viper grins. “I got out a week early, ended up getting a fuckin’ Uber or whatever the hell that shit is called.”
“Shit. If I’d known we’d have been there. But it’s fuckin’ great to have you back where you belong,” Stoney grumbles.
“Good to be back, Prez. Good to be back,” Viper chuckles, but something in his eyes doesn’t match up with the humor. “Now, what’s this beautiful woman talking about?” he asks, switching the attention back to me.
“Sweetness, need you to tell us how you know,” Venom says, taking a seat next to me but he moves it so he’s even closer.
“Message received, brother,” Viper snickers and moves to another seat at the table.
I go on to explain things about the program I used to clear the image up enough to be able to get a visual on the tattoo on the one woman’s arm. I point out how she approaches both men. I then pull up the security feed from the parking lot of the apartment building one of the victims lived in. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you’d miss it, but I don’t. I pause the screen and show them. Making sure to clear the visual for them to be able to see her. There she is standing in the dark just outside of the lighting.
What gives her away is the fact she’s wearing bright colored shoes on her feet.
“Fuck,” Whip roars, slamming his fist on the table causing me to flinch at the sound.
“Calm down, Whip,” Tracker orders. I didn’t even notice him moving in closer.
“Sorry, Amaya,” Whip mutters instantly, having seen me jump at his outburst.
“How do we handle this?” Viper asks.
“First, I’m going to finally call the bitch back and find out what she has to say, see what she’s playing at. I bet you if she went after Brielle and Lucy, she’s working her way up here,” Venom announces as he pulls out his phone.
“Make sure to put it on speaker,” Stoney orders.
Venom nods and does something on his phone. It’s a touch screen and I’m not sure how those work. I probably do but I’ve never owned one.
I try to move from Venom’s touch when he puts the phone on the table, and it rings but he stops me from going anywhere.
“Isaac?” Emilia calls out his name as if she were surprised he’s calling her.
“You been calling me figured I’d call you back,” Venom says all too calmly.
“Oh Isaac, I’m sorry, I . . . I . . . need your help. Amaya, she took our son. I need you to help me find them,” Emilia says and starts sobbing. I want to scream at her so badly right now; however, Venom wraps an arm tight around my body.
“What do you mean our son?” he asks, acting surprised by this news.
“Don’t be silly, Isaac, you know our son, the little boy I had for you while you were away. When are you coming home? It’s been so long and he’s getting so big. Oh God. I can’t believe Amaya took him from me, from us,” Emilia says, sounding completely hysterical.
“Emilia, is that why you’ve been calling me every day?” How can he be so calm?
“Yes, Isaac, please help me,” she pleads.
“Where are you now?”
“I’m home where I’m supposed to be,” she says with a slight hitch in her voice. “Will you please help me find him?”
Oh my God. She’s seriously trying to play the victim.
“I’ll find him, send me a picture of him. But gotta ask why you haven’t reported it to the police?”
“Because it’s Amaya, you know how she is. She’s vindictive and I’m not about to have her harm him more than she already has. She tried to drown him, and she’s beaten him. I caught her trying to burn him with a cigarette.” I’m going to kill the bitch. That’s what the mark on his arm is from. How I could be so stupid to believe that it was just from him falling and scraping it on something.
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. Soy tan estúpida.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” he sighs, giving my sides a squeeze.
“Thank you, Isaac,” she murmurs, and I’m ready to cry at the sound of her voice. This is what she’d do to get her way with Isaac years ago. I only hope now it doesn’t work.
“I’ll call you later,” Isaac says and hangs up without waiting for her to respond. I open my eyes to glance around the
