Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I pore through the information. A lot of things are interesting, but not helpful. I find some medical records—Puzo recently had a colonoscopy, had testicular cancer in his late twenties, and has a pretty serious peanut allergy. I dig a little deeper and find that he’s frequented escort services quite a bit in the last few years. Another check for my theory that his marriage is in name only. Compromising information perhaps, but that can’t have anything to do with why my grandfather wants him dead.
But then I find something odd, something out of place in this picture-perfect narrative. A strange connection between Giacomo Puzo and an infamous cartel in South America. A too-frequent visitor of a certain coffee plantation, reportedly known as the hub for one of the largest narcotic operations in Colombia.
He’s been there often, far too often for it to be casual visits or business trips. Pictures of him with known cartel members—laughing, drinking, living it large.
A sudden wave of nausea hits me as I gaze at a picture dated just two weeks back—Giacomo Puzo and my grandfather sharing a toast, their eyes meeting in a silent understanding.
Why would my grandfather want me to kill his own ally?
That’s easy enough to answer. He’s not actually an ally.
What I need to know is if this man truly deserves the fate my grandfather has sentenced him to.
I need answers before I can make a decision, so I continue to pore over the archives, hitting every major database, scouring the dark web for even a hint of clarity.
I find a connection between Puzo and a string of mysterious disappearances among the workers at the narcotics operation. But it’s not enough concrete evidence to pin him as directly responsible. The missing women and children—was it Puzo’s handiwork or a coincidence? Could he be involved with human trafficking? Is that why my grandfather wants him gone? Because he’s getting our family into that operation?
With every new piece of information I uncover, it’s clear that this rabbit hole goes much deeper than I first thought.
Before leaving, I make sure to cover my tracks. The design of the Tails OS ensures that once the system is shut down, no trace of my activities will remain on the library computer. I close the Tor Browser, remove my USB stick, and shut down the machine, watching as it powers off and reverts to its normal state.
I stand up, glancing around again to ensure no one has been watching me too closely. Nothing to worry about. It’s a public library. As long as I’m not jacking off to porn in the corner, the librarians won’t care.
It’s not until I finally stand up from the computer that I realize how tense the muscles in my body are. I never thought I’d be revisiting the dark web. I thought that once I was back in the States, my time in the shadows of the information superhighway were behind me. I’m so ill at ease that I jerk when my phone buzzes against my pocket with a text.
I take it out, sure that it’s some federal employee coming for me for accessing information that was not rightly mine.
But it isn’t.
It’s Falcon Bellamy, my brother-in-law.
I need your help.
7
RAVEN
I storm into the kitchen. “What the hell is going on here? And don’t you fucking dare try to keep me out of it this time.”
“Ray…” Hawk eyes me.
“Don’t even. If you three are in trouble—”
“Fuck, Raven,” Eagle says, his eyes wide. “Anyone can hear you.”
“Dad’s in his office, and Mom’s out.”
“There’s still the housekeeper,” Falcon says. “You need to leave us to this.”
“Oh, is that why you’re talking in the kitchen, where no one ever goes?” I say sarcastically.
“Ray, just go upstairs.” Hawk props himself against the fridge, his arms folded across his chest.
“And why should I?” I shoot back. “You lied to me, Hawk. And you never lie.”
Hawk rubs his forehead, but he doesn’t say anything.
“He didn’t lie,” Falcon says.
“He did!” I poke Hawk in the chest. Hard. “He said everything was fine, even though I specifically heard otherwise.” I turn to Falcon. “I chose to believe you. To believe my brothers. But here you are again, and this time you say you need Savannah’s brother to help you?” I shake my head. “Everything is not fine, Falcon. Everything is not fine.”
Falcon opens his mouth, but I hold up a hand.
“No. Don’t go there. Don’t play the ‘oh, Ray, you’re still recovering from cancer’ card. I won’t put up with it. Something’s going on with you three—something that caused you to go to prison, Falcon—and if you don’t tell me what it is, I swear to God I’ll go straight to Dad.”
The room falls into a tense silence, the tick-tock of the kitchen clock loudly echoing. My brothers exchange uneasy glances, their faces etched with conflict and worry.