Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Drake looked around the table. “That would explain Giacenta possibly tricking Cristo into thinking her leopard is going into heat.”
“Could Armande produce the perfume without Charisse’s help?” Jake asked.
“No, but according to her letter to me, she was destroying the batches she had been experimenting with when he came in and tried to physically stop her. He even shoved her to the floor. Of course, he was very sorry and apologized profusely and helped her up, then proceeded to agree with her that everything should be destroyed. He even helped her get rid of it, but she knew he stole some. She has a nose like few others, and she could smell it on him. That’s when she contacted me to ask who was the best investigator I knew. I didn’t know why she needed one, but I gave her your contact information.” He glanced at Maya.
“She really loves her brother,” Meiling said. “This must have crushed her beyond everything. As I understand it, her brother was all she had left.”
Drake nodded his agreement. “She relied very heavily on him. She’s extremely fragile.”
“Yet, when she believed he was betraying the lair, she turned him in to you and didn’t let him know,” Timur pointed out. “That shows strength and loyalty.”
Drake again scrubbed his palm down his face. “Charisse is very complicated. I don’t want to lose her. She knows Armande can’t survive this.” He glanced at Maya as if he needed her to take over.
Gorya’s fingers tightened on her shoulder for just a moment, giving her strength. None of them knew the cost to her because she didn’t show it.
“Armande is deeply embroiled in human trafficking. I think Charisse found that out herself, and that’s when she called me. The hybrid plant she had developed, Lover’s Leopard, had somehow escaped the greenhouse and was growing wild. She knew that someone who had access to her greenhouse had to have taken the plant. The Tregres had the plant growing on their land, and then it was found in Fenton’s Marsh. Her mother had killed several people in Fenton’s Marsh, but there wouldn’t have been a reason to transplant the flower to that marsh. I found all of that out easily, along with the fact that the marsh was regularly used for smuggling arms and drugs. Armande was behind that operation.”
Drake leaned his forehead into his hand, elbow on the table. “The Tregre brothers were the ones running the drug smuggling. That was proven.”
“Armande took it a step further,” Maya clarified. “At first, he continued business with the drugs, sending them out with the perfumes and soaps. He managed to establish the original connections and soon had a brisk business going all over the world. That wasn’t enough for him. Along came Tonio Escabar Alba, straight from Drake’s security. He’s highly recommended. He was trained in Borneo by Drake and his men, worked for Jake Bannaconni on his ranch and then asked to be transferred to New Orleans to work with Drake again. Drake sent him to the Merciers when Armande requested a bodyguard.”
Drake nodded. “I did that.”
“He’s the youngest son of Jaoa Escabar Velentez. A woman by the name of Imelda Cortez held a huge territory in Panama and conducted a reign of terror for years,” Maya continued. “Her family held it before her. They were killed and the territory vacated until Jaoa Escabar Velentez took over with his shifters. He’s quite a brilliant man and very patient. He planned carefully and didn’t make the mistakes Cortez did. Unlike Cortez, he didn’t try to rule those living in the forest; instead, he did his best to befriend them.”
Drake looked directly at Maya. “I know quite a bit about Jaoa, but I’ve only heard positive things about him. There’ve been a few rumors about him being friends with various factions in Russia and Florida, but all of us have these rumors surrounding us on occasion.”
Maya leaned more of her weight against Gorya. She was hurting. Her body had grown a little warmer.
It’s getting time to shut this meeting down. You’re getting shaky.
A few more minutes. They’ve come a long way. Drake is taking a lot of hits right now. I feel bad for him.
Feeling bad for him doesn’t mean you have to suffer. You have so much compassion in you, baby. I love that trait, since you make up for my lack of it, but not at the expense of your health. He can read the rest in a report.
“Maya, would you mind telling me who was with Mercier when he met with Krylov?” Drake asked.
“You know Tonio Escabar Alba was.”
“Yes, I took him personally under my wing when he first arrived in Borneo from Panama. He didn’t have a clue what he was doing. Nothing like training my own enemies.” He kept his gaze fixed on Maya.