“Yes, it was so amazing,” Ria sighed. It was hard leaving him this morning, but she had already promised to meet Lacey. She was definitely feeling the aftereffects, though. She needed to crawl back into bed and get a few hours sleep.
“I’m happy for you, Ria,” Lacey said warmly. She would never have a more loyal friend than Lacey.
“I have some exciting news for you,” Lacey said with excitement.
“Really?” Lacey’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Ria was excited to hear the news.
“You can’t tell anyone,” Lacey said quietly.
Ria held her breath.
“Peter and I are moving in together!” Lacey exclaimed.
Ria’s mouth dropped open. “I thought you hated him?”
“That was before I got to know him.” Lacey rolled her eyes.
“Oh, my gosh! I couldn’t be more excited for you,” Ria responded with glee. She jumped up to give Lacey a hug. “I thought you were just a little too mean to him,” Ria teased, hugging her tightly.
Lacey hugged her back. “I went to the restaurant for lunch a few times, and we started talking. He’s a flirt, but he’s only allowed to flirt with me now. I may make an exception for you, though,” she teased back.
Ria sat back down and couldn’t take the smile off her face. She was truly happy for her friend. She wanted to tell Lacey her own good news. She’d actually passed the damn exam. All the studying had paid off. Then she recalled that she was still under Emiliano’s control and almost lost the smile; however, she still wanted to share her own happiness with her friend; have something of her own to be happy about.
“I just got my letter. I passed my exam!” Ria couldn’t contain her excitement any longer.
“Oh my God, that’s great news. So get your resume together and put your notice in at the new bar you’re working in.”
“What if I can’t find a job?” Ria asked. She still needed a job to support her and her mother when Emiliano let them go.
“I’ve already been working on getting you a job with the university hospital. I was just waiting for you to pass the test.” When Ria started to shake her head, Lacey stopped her. “No, Ria. This time, I’m helping you. Quit telling me you can do everything on your own. Plus, I’m being selfish; I want to see you more.”
Ria sighed. “Okay, I won’t argue with you this time. I’d like to work near you, too.”
“Great! But you still need to be thinking about finishing your degree,” Lacey gently reminded her.
“You never give up, do you?” Ria looked at her best friend.
“Nope,” Lacey replied as she popped a grape in her mouth.
They both laughed and enjoyed the rest of their breakfast.
* * *
Ria called Nicholas on the way home. He was at Zane’s gym, going over the fight with Ty and getting him ready for his next match. Ria wanted to wait until they were together to tell him she had passed her exam.
She entered her apartment and pulled the file out. This time, it was a woman in her late twenties. Her name was Kataya Meyers.
Ria stared at her picture. She looked like a nice woman, but the documents said she had been Emiliano’s secretary, and she had used information to hijack a shipment of illegal firearms. Damn, not only was the cartel into drugs, but firearms as well. She hadn’t even asked what type of drugs; she didn’t want to know. The less she knew the better.
She was last seen at Emiliano’s office downtown. Ria found it interesting that these people actually thought they would get away from Emiliano after betraying him. This woman should have known better since she had been around him every day.
Ria read a little farther. The firearms were worth over six figures.
Ria looked at the time. It was eleven in the morning. Nicholas would be busy until about seven that evening. There was no reason to delay the search.
Ria figured it would be best to start at Kataya’s house. It also was the safest because that would be the last place she would try to hide, so Ria had no fear of running into anyone.
Thankfully, Kataya’s home address was included, so she didn’t have to narrow it down like last time.
She took a deep breath and grabbed her keys.
* * *
“Now finish with the uppercut,” Nick said to Ty.
Ty did as he was told, executing the move with perfect timing.
“Excellent,” Nick complimented him. Nick motioned for Ty’s sparring partner to take a break and stepped into the ring to talk. “How are you feeling?”
“Fucking awesome,” Ty replied with enthusiasm.
“You’re doing great. You looked good during your last fight, and I know you’re ready for the next one.” Nick was being honest. Ty was very talented and had a bright future in cage fighting. He reminded him of himself at that age. But Ty had no care for his reputation. He was developing a troublemaker image and was limiting his potential for making additional money through endorsements by working for Emiliano.