Page 161 of Morally Corrupt
"So? That's a long shot to assume that the unknown father is Jimenez." I arch an eyebrow, thinking he's grasping at straws with this.
"Here." He spreads a few more pictures on the desk, and I see what he means. All of them show Carlos meeting with Quinn in a dark alley, their hands exchanging something.
"When was this taken?"
"Day before the shooting." I frown. Why would Marcel have pictures of Quinn from before the shooting?
"Before?" I ask, trying to mask the doubt in my voice.
"I've had someone watching the Gallaghers ever since they came to NYC." Wait, what?
"Why? Did Vlad put you up to this?"
"In a way. We watched Enzo and, by extension, the Gallaghers." It all sounds logical, given Vlad's blatant interest in Enzo. But why do I feel like it isn't the real reason…
"Maybe one of these days, you'll give me more details into this friendship of yours with Vlad," I add casually and watch Marcel's face fall for a second before he composes himself.
"Maybe…" he answers cryptically.
"Let me send a picture of Carlos to Bianca; that way, we can have direct confirmation without resorting to conjectures." I get my phone out and snap a picture of Carlos, sending it to Bianca.
"Right. How have things been with you and Bianca?"
"Good. She adopted a cat." I keep my answer short and vague, not wanting to disclose more details. Our new relationship is still in its infancy, and I don't want to jinx anything.
"A cat?" Marcel asks, clearly amused.
"Her name's Mally. You'll like her," I add fondly. However, Marcel doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm, as the prospect of meeting Mally has him already pale.
"Shit. Sorry, forgot about that." I shake my head at my thoughtlessness.
Marcel has a pet phobia. I know this because when we first met, I had one too many pets. One time, Marcel had come by my place, and at the sight of the animals racing towards him, he'd fled the premises and had declared my apartment off-limits. It seems that fate is about to repeat itself.
"No worries." He tries to dismiss it, but I can see I've ruined the mood.
I excuse myself and tell him I will update him when Bianca replies.
"One more thing…" Marcel says as I'm about to head out.
"Hm?"
"Carlos is still in NYC. Tell Bianca to be careful."
"Thanks."
Now, that's a worrying thought. Bianca had tried to describe her experience at the Block in as much detail as possible, and I'd been shocked at how close she'd come to being assaulted, first by the guards and then by the man who bought her.
He'd been bent on getting his due since, apparently, Martin had cheated him. I'd tried not to show Bianca just how upsetting those details had been to hear, mostly since it was clear that it wasn't too bad from her own perspective.
To just think of her in such a situation… I still blame myself for allowing her to do that in the first place. I don't care that it did yield results, and we uncovered Jimenez's identity. Not at that potential cost.
After wrapping up with Marcel, I head back to work to complete some paperwork. With everything going on, I'd been on leave for almost two weeks now. Although the amount of work I have to catch up with is outstanding, I leave at around six, thinking to surprise Bianca for dinner.
Since we've decided to give our relationship a try, things have been… too good. We've had various discussions, and we've both confessed the stuff we've done in our past. I'd told her about my childhood, how my parents had done the best they could with me, and that I'd been a happy teen until their deaths.
After that, I'd been placed in foster care, and because of bullying, I'd ended up on the streets only to be taken in by a Catholic church belonging to the Irish mob. I'd described my time in the ring and how it had forced me to grow up and mature. I'd also confided in her my shame at keeping that lifestyle for as long as I did when there wasn't anything forcing me to do it other than my thirst for revenge.
I owed Theo everything.