“We’ll see.”
Hammer chuckled again. The easy laughter from this family man was a welcome change from the guy Luca had lived with for the past few years. The same kind of change he wanted to happen within himself.
The front door of a tapas restaurant opened, and a man emerged from under the red-and-white-striped awning. He wore a suit and had a familiar face. “That’s Dr. Torres. He’s the one doing the procedure on Francisco.”
“So they’re going after the doctor to get to Francisco?”
“Maybe.” He watched the two men emerge from the vehicle and follow Dr. Torres along the street, away from where Luca had parked. “Let’s go.”
Dr. Torres turned the corner into an alley between two red brick buildings. The man would be around the corner in seconds.
“Drive over there,” Hammer said. “It’ll be faster.”
Whatever these two men from the cartel were going to do to Dr. Torres, Luca had to stop it from happening. He threw the truck into Reverse and peeled out of the space, slammed it into Drive, and hit the gas. Not concerned with how much attention he was drawing to himself. He checked there were no pedestrians and bumped the curb into the alley.
The two men had Dr. Torres backed up against the side of the brick building, both of them in his face. Luca spotted a knife at the doctor’s throat. Not going for any tactics with finesse. Apparently, these two men had chosen a bolder approach to getting what they wanted.
Usually, he would have called it in to the police and reported someone being mugged, but he needed to make sure Dr. Torres wasn’t killed first. Luca hit the brakes and put the truck in Park, threw his door open, and raced over. “Hey!”
The guy with the knife broke away from Torres and started to run.
Hammer said, “I’ve got him!” and raced after the fleeing man.
Luca pulled his weapon but kept it at a low angle. “Hands up. Drop your weapons.”
“You some kind of cop?”
The guy hadn’t run, but he might at any moment. Or he might try for the same bold tactics and go after Luca before he raced away.
Dr. Torres didn’t move, his back still to the wall and his face pale.
“I’m not a cop.” Luca shook his head. The guy flung a knife through the air and narrowly missed Luca’s shoulder. He brought his gun up. “Hands.”
The guy rushed Luca, tackling him to the ground. As soon as his back landed on the asphalt, Luca swung with his gun and slammed the butt into the man’s head. He rolled them both, then levered up enough to pull the guy’s hands behind his back.
He holstered his weapon, one knee holding the man down, and pulled out some plastic ties, which he used to secure the man’s hands behind his back. When he looked over at Dr. Torres, the man had vacated his position. He wasn’t anywhere around that Luca could see.
Hammer raced toward him from the other end of the alley, breathing hard. “He got away. Where’s the doc?”
“He must’ve run off.”
“At least we still have this guy.” Hammer motioned to the man under Luca.
“I guess he’s the one who’s going to give us some answers.”
Kira lifted the hem of her long silver gown just enough that she didn’t trip on it, walking up the steps to the stately house set back in the mountains on the west side of the city. A place that could be rented for events like this gala, or weddings. Something she definitely hadn’t contemplated before. Much. Debating, probably as most women did, between a big wedding and the kind of small, intimate gathering she might prefer.
The whole place was lit up, bustling with people. A valet took her keys and gave her a ticket, which she slipped into the tiny clutch.
The party didn’t start for another half an hour, but she wanted to have a few minutes with Destiny just to check in with her.
Kira showed her invitation to the young woman behind the table, who was wearing a white button-down shirt and black waistcoat, her hair tied behind her head and slicked down with gel. “I have a plus-one, but he will be here shortly.” She gave Luca’s name, and the woman indicated it on her paper.
“Enjoy the party.”
“Thank you very much.” Kira scanned the lobby of the event center, checking all their faces for Destiny Rousseau. Waitstaff wandered around with small trays of finger foods or glasses half filled with champagne.
Kira asked for a soda water and located Destiny in the corner, chatting with an older woman wearing a long green gown. Destiny wore a floor-length black velvet dress, her hair pinned on top of her head. Despite the attention to her appearance, Destiny had dark circles under her eyes and the edge of grief in her expression.