Chapter 350: Out of the Mud

As soon as he got the call, Mateo arrived quickly. The moment he sat down, he said, “Sierra, whatever you need, just say the word!”

Sierra exchanged a glance with Johnathan before speaking. “We want you to look through blood reports from hospitals all over the world and find ones that match this one.” She circled a few key points on the report to make the search easier for Mateo.

“No problem!” Mateo made a hand gesture, and what would be an impossible task for most was just a matter of writing a program for him. Still, combing through such a massive database to find matching data wasn’t going to be easy—it would take time. Being as shamelessly friendly as ever, Mateo pretended not to see Johnathan’s pointed look and stuck around to mooch a meal.

When it became clear they wouldn’t be able to get rid of him, Johnathan stormed off to the kitchen with a dark expression. He wasn’t cooking for Mateo; it was because Sierra must be hungry.

Once Johnathan was gone, Mateo finally let out a sigh. “Man, getting a free meal these days is hard.”

“Alright,” Sierra said, “what did you actually come here to say?”

Mateo might seem like a goofball most of the time, but he wasn’t clueless. Normally, he’d know better than to hang around during a sensitive moment—unless he had something to say.

“Hey, Sierra…you’re really not mad at Maddox, right?” Mateo asked cautiously.

“Nope.” Sierra sighed. “He didn’t hurt me. Why would I be mad at him?”

“Well, yeah, but Maddox is all twisted up about it. He keeps blaming himself for what happened on his turf, especially since Trev’s his cousin. He’s been dragging us out drinking these past few days.”

Mateo looked a little troubled too. He genuinely liked Sierra. If the guy in the wrong hadn’t been Maddox’s cousin, who knows what he might’ve done by now?

Hearing that, Sierra glanced at him and said, “After all these years, they still include you in everything. They really do see you as one of their own.”

Chapter 350: Out of the Mud

who was sharp as a whip.

Clearly, Maddox had sent him here on purpose to pass a message—but unfortunately, Mateo hadn’t picked up on it at all.

Now Sierra understood why, out of all the guys, Johnathan was the most blunt with Mateo and Stone. One was clueless. The other was straight-laced. Draven had a bit of a sly streak. As for Maddox, he was the most calculating of them all—not surprising, given his background.

Even so, for all his scheming, he was genuinely loyal to Johnathan and the others. Mateo clearly didn’t catch the subtext in Sierra’s words and just looked at her in confusion. Sierra didn’t bother explaining. Instead, she said, “Tell him not to worry. Neither Johnathan nor I will let this affect our relationship with him.”

Still, she didn’t like how the Treno family had tried to cover for Trev. But after calming down, she had to admit—it was human nature. Even the fairest person would waver when it came to their own family. It’s only natural to go easy on someone you care about.

Mateo didn’t read too much into it. Hearing Sierra’s response, he immediately relaxed.

“Alright, I’ll let him know so he can stop sulking. Oh, by the way—Trev’s been sent to the police. Everything he’s done these past few years is now in their hands. The Treno family already said to let the authorities handle it however they need to. I heard his mom’s been making a huge fuss at home, but nobody’s paying her any mind. Even Talhand said if she keeps causing trouble, they’ll send her packing.”

Talking about the Treno family actually seemed to cheer Mateo up. “You have no idea how reckless Trey used to be. People just turned a blind eye because nothing serious ever happened. But this time, everyone’s saying he finally ran into someone he couldn’t mess with.”

A lot of people had been trying to figure out who Trey had pissed off, but the Treno family kept the matter tightly under wraps. So far, no one had connected it to Sierra.

Sierra couldn’t help but ask, “Were the things he did really not that big of a deal?”

Catching the meaning behind her words, Mateo nodded. “Honestly, Sierra, in our circle, what he did wasn’t even that bad. You saw the kind of stuff Kason pulled in Maviston. Trey’s usual antics were all consensual. He liked to throw money at people—worst case, he’d threaten someone, but he never hurt anyone or got into anything freaky. To tell you the truth, by your standards, he was pretty tame. Of course, we’re not like him. We’re the good ones.”

When the Flame of Love Fades