With swift but deliberate steps, Dante guided Raven through a tangle of backstreets. Morelli's men were still hunting them, so they couldn't afford to be reckless.
Raven clutched her shoulder and gasped, "So." "Who precisely are we trying to find? Tell me it's not someone worse than Morelli, please.
Dante glanced at her.
Raven let out a moan. "Oh, that's wonderful. I enjoy it when things in my life get worse and worse.
She was ignored by Dante. He took out his phone and presented Luis Ortega's name to her.
Raven's eyebrows went up. "Who's that?"
"Low-level fixer. Ortega probably knows about it, or knows someone who does, if something shady happens in this city," Dante said. "Someone like Ortega would have heard whispers if Russo's murder was an inside job."
"Okay, great," Raven whispered. "Hopefully, he's a talkative criminal rather than a murderous one."
Dante took them to a dilapidated car dealership on the outskirts of the city. The place smelled of gasoline and poor choices, and the neon sign flickered, barely hanging on.
"Charming," Raven muttered.
Dante rapped twice on the metal door, then again after a pause. A pair of suspicious eyes peered out from a peephole that had slid open.
"Go away," said a rough voice.
Dante grinned. Ortega, hurry up. You have to give me one.
The peephole closed. Raven briefly believed they were out of luck, but then the door creaked open.
Luis Ortega was inside, arms folded, leaning against a workbench. He had a calculating gaze, hands stained with grease, and was wiry, in his mid-forties. "Dante, I owe you nothing. However, I wonder why you knocked.
Dante entered, followed by Raven. "We require information. regarding Dominic Russo's passing.
Ortega gave a snort. "Big subject. dangerous subject.
Raven went on, "And one that might keep us from getting murdered." "So, please, be a pal?"
Ortega sighed after glancing between them. "All right. But I didn't tell you about this." He leaned closer. It turns out that Russo was set up by a person he trusted. A partner, not an outsider.
Dante's mouth clenched. "Morelli was betrayed by his own people?"
"Exactly," Ortega replied. "And that's where the interesting part begins. The man who planned it, you see? He is a part of something greater.
Raven scowled. "Bigger how?"
After a moment of hesitation, Ortega took a crumpled picture out of a drawer. He moved it across the table.
When Dante picked it up, he instantly froze.
Raven glanced behind him. The image displayed a man standing in the shadows of a warehouse wearing a dark suit. She could not see his face, but she could see the symbol on his ring, a silver snake encircling a dagger.
Her blood froze.
That was a symbol she had seen before.
On those responsible for Valerie's abduction.
Dante's jaw tightened. "You must be joking with me."
Ortega's eyebrows went up. "I assume you've met?"
Raven took a deep breath. "More than met."
Dante put down the picture, his thoughts racing. This was no longer just about Morelli if the individuals responsible for Russo's murder were also responsible for Valerie's abduction.
This was larger. Much larger.
All of a sudden, Raven was fleeing from something much worse than Morelli's men.
Dante looked her in the eye. "We must relocate. "Now."
Raven let out a moan. "I really need to start making better decisions in my life."
They slipped back into the night, giving Ortega a grim nod.
Because they were doing more than just solving a murder now.
They were entering a war directly.