“We?” Carmelita’s voice rose shrilly. “Mom, don’t tell me you slept with Axe!”
Leanna sputtered, and Axe’s face heated. Leanna didn’t even have workable clothes because he’d ripped her blouse the night before.
“Axe is here because of Soledad.” Leanna cleared her throat and motioned to him to throw her a T-shirt.
“Uh-huh! I’ll bet,” Carmelita said. “My first night gone, and you two are fucking like rabbits.”
“Language!” Leanna put on a motherly tone, but Axe could tell it wasn’t going to work.
“Relax, Mom. It’s about time you had some fun. You’ve been stuck up your ass about the sundress and swimsuit competition like forever. You won anyway.”
“I won?” Leanna’s eyes popped big. “How?”
“Everyone in Mexico voted for you after I posted Miss Aztec Gold on all my social media. Oh, you should see the MeTube video. I even caught the shooting. Did you kiss the bruises Axe got?”
Leanna’s jaw dropped, and Axe chuckled, knowing Leanna hadn’t seen anything in the dark.
“Oh, got it,” Carmelita said. “Your eyes were closed or it was too dark. He took a few rubber bullets in the chest. Take a look.”
Axe threw Leanna one of his T-shirts and motioned that he would take a shower.
“That’s enough, young lady,” Leanna said. “We’re going to wake Soledad up and come pick you up. After that, I’m going to have a long conversation with you about stranger danger, teenage sex, and lay down the rules. Axe is going to be your daddy, and he’s not going to let any boys near either one of you. You might as well zip everything up, and lock it in the convent.”
Carmelita laughed.
* * *
Leanna couldn’t stop hugging Carmelita on the way home from the police station. Axe drove, and they’d decided to leave Soledad with Leanna’s mother in case Carmelita was hurt or traumatized.
“Mija, did he hurt you in any way? You can tell me.” Leanna squeezed her daughter tight.
Carmelita squirmed and rolled her eyes. “Ivan’s an idiot. He thought he was a badass. Did you know he wanted to be the Cano boss? He figured he’d set me up to some trafficker and then go in and rescue me, guns blazing.”
Oh, my goodness. Did she think this was a game of cops and robbers? She could have been drugged and enslaved, beaten and abused. She was lucky to be rescued before any real harm was done.
“You can’t trust anything he says. You hear me? Never, ever believe people you don’t know.” Leanna’s heart clenched in on itself at the close call. While she didn’t want to scare Carmelita, she did have to impress on her how dangerous the thugs were. “He was going to sell you to a human trafficker ring.”
Carmelita shrugged off Leanna’s arm. “Seriously? He was trying to switch sides, now that this El Bardo is dead.”
“It doesn’t matter. What he did was wrong,” Leanna huffed. “You’re only thirteen years old. It’s illegal for him to transport you across state lines.”
“Oh, come off it,” Carmelita scoffed. “I went all across Mexico with two guys and crossed the border. You think I’m a baby?”
“You take birth control pills. Why?”
“Why do you think?” Carmelita tossed her head. “Duh. Maybe you should, too. Am I getting a baby brother or sister, huh?”
“At least I know how to take care of a baby,” Leanna said.
“Oh, right, you changed all my diapers and burped me before giving me away. How could I forget?”
Leanna recoiled as if her face was slapped. She saw Axe glance at her in the rearview mirror.
“We’re talking about you,Mija,” Leanna said, taking on a motherly voice. “You have no idea what danger you were in. Ivan is not a good man. He’s a weasel. He’ll join any side who pays him. You think he was really going to get good with Abuelo? Maybe, maybe not. He takes anyone’s side. Juan or El Bardo? Veronica or Abuelo? He only cares about himself. I’m glad he didn’t hurt you, but I’m cautioning you against believing anything anyone tells you.”
“Even you?” Carmelita crossed her arms and sneered. “Are you going to tell me you didn’t kill El Bardo?”
“Ay, Dios mío,” Leanna sighed. “I’m not going to tell you anything. Have you ever heard ofomertà? You’d better learn it well.”
