5
GABRIELA
I slumped down into my desk chair, my cheeks warming as I remembered what Diesel had done to me the night before. He’d taken what he wanted and left. I couldn’t be mad at him. I deserved it. But when he walked away, he had this look in his eyes. It was lust, but it was something along the lines of guilt ridden lust. I couldn’t help but want to know what those secrets were that he held so close to his heart.
I stared at my computer and realized there were a few messages I hadn’t opened the night before. One of them was just titled Diesel. Taking a moment, I clicked on it. At first I thought I was misreading things, so I carefully re-read what came up for me. It was him, Diesel, in my shock I realized it was his profile I was looking at. Diesel had a family, a wife! A newspaper clipping suddenly popped up. The title reading FBI Agent’s Wife Found Slain in Home. I scanned through the article and according to the report, FBI Agent Jack Roma, husband to Isabel Roma, was the one who found his pregnant wife dead in their home.
My hand shook as I continued to read the article-
Drug Kingpin, Liam Calvaro, was found to be the leading suspect of the heinous murder. FBI Agent Jack Roma had been in pursuit of Calvaro and his corrupt organization for years. It was known among the community that there was a death threat placed on Roma by Calvaro only a few days before his men were arrested for drug trafficking. According to witnesses who spotted Calvaro enter the property, gun shots were heard and he was seen fleeing the scene shortly after. The city’s push against drugs just took a step back with this vicious crime.
A cross agency manhunt has been issued against Liam Calvaro. Any leads on Calvaro or his known associates should be reported immediately to any law enforcement officer or FBI Agency.
I couldn’t stop myself from digging deeper. My heart ached for Jack, for his young pregnant wife, for his loss. A picture of Liam Calvaro stared back at me and I quickly dug through my folders, searching for that one picture I had received of La Cruz. There they were. Two fucking criminals having a leisurely drink as they planned to destroy more lives.
From the corner of my eye I noticed Chastity walking in. I hesitated for a moment, but figured it would be best to tell her, she would find out one way or another.
“What’s up? What’s with the scrunched up eyebrows?”
I grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the screen.
She smirked. “I know you like the guy, but having him as a screen saver is a bit much, don’t you think?”
I frowned and pointed to the documents strewn on the screen. “Read.”
She sighed. “Uhh, ex-military, ex-FBI agent, Jack Rom…” She paused and backed away from the screen. “Ex- FBI? What the fuck?”
I nodded and turned my chair towards her. “I know. I know!”
“How the hell did you find out?”
“Remember those backgrounds I pull on all the guys I date?”
“You actually do that?”
I shrugged. “Better safe than sorry.”
Chas rolled her eyes. “Okay. So, what did you find?”
“Nothing. Jack Diesel doesn’t exist. He’s a ghost.”
Chas rolled up a chair next to me. “So, how’d you get the information?”
“I contacted Daryl Simmons up in D.C.”
“You contacted the CIA! Who the fuck does that?”
I looked over at her, partially annoyed. “Like you wouldn’t have done the same?”
“I didn’t need to do that. I trust John.”
I smirked. “I don’t trust anyone.”
I clicked on the mouse and pulled up more details on Diesel. A handsome picture of him wearing a Navy Seals uniform popped up. “Daryl found him through an image scanner after I sent him a picture. He was merited the medal of honor for his courageous efforts in Afghanistan. He was also a hell of an FBI agent in New York. One of the best.” I paused and looked up at her. “He was married. Awaiting the birth of his first child.”
“So, what happened?”
I pulled up another file titled Liam Calvaro. “This is what happened.” An image of a white Italian male, bald, brown eyes and weighing around 250 lbs popped up.
“This is Liam Calvaro. He’s a feared Kingpin out of New York. Wanted to make a name for himself a few years back. FBI agent Jack Roma was on the case. He placed six of Calvaro’s men in jail and was after him next, so Calvaro took action.”
Chas took in a breath, expecting the worse. “He killed her.”
I nodded. “Raped Isabel Roma and mutilated her body, leaving her on Jack’s bed so he could find her.”
“Fuuuuck!”
“Jack went crazy, found him, and tortured him. Before he could kill him the cops arrived and arrested Jack…and Calvaro was let go pending charges.”
“Pending charges?”
I nodded. “Next thing you know the fucker disappears. They let him the fuck go and now he’s running around with La Cruz!” I slammed the photos down on the desk and she quickly rummaged through them. “So, the FBI had Jack Roma change his name, gave him a new identity and he became Jack Diesel.”
“Holy shit! This is big!” Chastity stood up and started to pace. “Gunner’s always protecting D, I never understood why.”
“Do the other Hellbound Lovers know about this?”
Chastity shook her head. “Other than maybe Wolf, I don’t think so.” She stopped and looked at me. “This explains why Diesel’s always on the move. Why we couldn’t find any information on him. He’s always taking trips out to the middle of nowhere.”
I nodded. “He’s looking for the man who killed his wife.”
Chas slammed her hands on the desk. “Does anybody else know about this?”
I shook my head. “Just Daryl.”
Quickly, she grabbed the mouse and started deleting the files off my computer. I tried sideswiping her but she pulled the mouse away.
“Stop it! What are you doing?!”
She stopped and turned to me. “Do you love him?”
My eyes went wide and I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.
“Gabriela! Do. You. Love. Him?”
I nodded. “What? I don’t know what I feel for him.”
“But you feel for him?”
I nodded, not able to get the words out.
“If you feel anything for him, then erase everything. Tell Daryl to keep his mouth shut and protect your man. Because if Calvaro finds out where he is, he’s going to kill him.”
I stared at Diesel’s picture on the screen for a long moment. He looked so different, so clean cut in that picture. It was an image of who he was before all this pain. But I was falling in love with Jack Diesel not Jack Roma. I was falling for the man who’d lost everything and I wanted him to know I was willing to give him everything once again. I immediately deleted the file off my computer and texted Daryl letting him know to ignore everything he just researched.
He sent me a message back saying, What are you talking about? What research?
I smiled, knowing he had my back.
Chas never took her eyes off me. “Hey.”
I looked over at her and tilted my head. “What?”
“If you love him, I think you should let him know.”
I shook my head, fear suddenly threatening to consume me. Fear of not knowing if he wanted me as much as I did him. I wasn’t one to fall in love easily and this scared me. This was a feeling I didn’t know how to handle.
“Go talk to him Cristiano. Don’t be stupid.”
“I can’t confront him with this?”
Chas came up to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I heard he’s leaving again. If you don’t confront him, then he’s going to leave without you and God knows when he’ll be back. You’ll never know what he feels for you if you don’t talk to him. Now go! And stop being such a pussy.”
“Hey! I have a strong pussy, baby.”
Chas smirked and rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen you like this before. I know what it feels like. I can see it in your eyes. Just go to him.”
I felt my eyes start to tear up and I got choked up. “What do I say? What if he doesn’t want me?”
Chastity shrugged. “I doubt that’s the case after how I’ve seen the way he looks at you. But if he doesn’t want you then at least you have no regrets.”
I quickly jumped out of my chair, grabbing my leather jacket as I ran out. Chastity was right, I needed to go after what I wanted before it left me. I had to admit, I was scared. But I guess being scared was okay, when you’re fighting for the one thing you love.